09/15/2026
This has been the year from, well, let's just say it's been quite a challenge.
The year started off with the belly covering on the RV getting nearly ripped off due to a factory service error that took place last year. That was eventually fixed by the factory at no charge this year.
Then the water pump needed replacing. Turns out it was leaking through the electrical connector of all places! Some of the felt basement wall coverings had soaked up some of the water but it didn't appear like it had soaked into the flooring.
Up in the middle of nowhere Minnesota we noticed the passenger side slide topper had ripped pretty bad and was close to coming completely off of its mounting bracket. That was eventually fixed (about 3-4 weeks later) when we swung back through Elkhart, IN. Couldn't find any other mobile techs that could help before then. While there I paid some extra $$ to have someone wash and put a ceramic coated shine on the RV. More expensive than I had thought it might be but they did a great job.
And while I was at the campground I noticed that I couldn't get my water heater to work on propane but it worked fine on electric. By luck, a mobile tech pulled in next to me and helped me track it down to what should have been an easy to find wire coming loose from the back of the switch. I could have fixed that but I had minimal tools with me and we started troubleshooting backwards - from the most complex to the simplest. When will we learn?
I think I mentioned before the switch problem with one of my solar inverters that caused it to not produce AC power. Apparently happened at the factory when the belly covering was replaced but even after checking everything I never noticed that switch was in the wrong position. I know I even moved it through its different positions and apparently never got it back into its correct position. That's on me (uggghhh).
Because of the apparent issues too many people were having with their Battleborn lithium batteries installed as part of their solar upgrades, I decided to have mine replaced even though I saw no apparent adverse effects - yet. But they were a safety and fire hazard so out they went. $2500 to replace them and to chase down a wiring gremlin I've had probably since day one. Only to notice that the flooring in my basement was rather soft. Oh no - water damage. I know that the water outlet next to the entry door was leaking a few years ago and that was capped off; apparently it was a slow leak that was running down the inside wall onto the floor under the vinyl covering and wasn't visible or noticeable. Probably just have to get a couple of pieces of 3/4" plywood to lay down on top of the existing flooring and cover it in vinyl to match as closely as possible.
And not RV related, about a week after I got home I noticed our home lift station sewer pump was throwing fault codes so that had to be replaced as well. Fortunately that one was on the city. They had to look to find a new pump (old style, not made any more) and completed that fix yesterday.
There's three and a half months left this year; what else can go wrong? (Hopefully nothing...)
