Being the always-be-prepared kind of guy Fritz is, naturally the motorhome has to be in tip-top shape. We always take a 'test' trip before a big trip to make sure all is working, so off we went in June to Palouse Falls. It was beautiful! We were joined on this trip by our daughter-of-the-heart, Charli, and friends, Mike and Sharon. The weather was cool and rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves in spite of it.
So , while there, I went to test out the new showerhead Fritz had installed. I turned on the water ...... nothing. No water even came out the faucet, much less the showerhead! He added that to the growing list of failing items on the motorhome: the central vac that no longer sucks, the porch light that doesn't work, the sagging headliner in the bedroom cupboards, the water filter that is apparently plugged. (Sigh!) No rest for the.....weary!
Fritz set to work when we got home. I am so blessed that he is so smart, capable and able to accomplish so much yet! He created a new porch light with some LED lights given us by our friend, Mike. The remaining tasks weren't so easy. To get to the bathroom fixtures, he had to pull out the stove. Of course, there was a grommet of an unusual nature that NOBODY carries. He tried the internet, he called a half-dozen plumbers. Nada. Zip. Zero. As a last resort, he stumbled into a no-name builder's supply store in Colville and, wouldn't you know it? THEY had the part! He cleaned out the faucet, replaced the grommet and tested the system. All good! He waited to put the stove back until he installed a water detection alarm, then put it back together.
Well, as if there wasn't enough needed doing, I begged that we might replace the nasty carpet in the living area, bathroom and hallway. Since it'll be home for 8 months, he relented. So he set about tearing out carpet only to discover.....a wet floor in front of the couch! Ugh; NOW what? He should've been a detective, I tell ya! Seems the water pump had been bounced around so long that it developed a damaged seal that, of course, was on the PUMP, not the outgoing hose, which means we had to replace the whole pump! (Of course, when I say "WE", I mean "HE"!) And since we ordered it online, it took about a week to arrive, so we dried out the floor, continued ripping up carpet and pulling staples out of the floor (they used a LOT of staples!). He also had to pull up the toilet, two chairs and a cupboard that houses our table. In the process of pulling up the toilet, he had become aware that there was a leak from the sprayer hose to the toilet. That was replaced, he built a small box around some plumbing behind the toilet, and reinstalled the toilet. (This sounds WAY easier than it was!) Finally the pump arrived and he replaced it. The new one is SO MUCH quieter! What advancements they've made in the 23 years since our motorhome was built! So we put a second water detection alarm under the couch. The installers arrived and laid the flooring. I'll share a picture next time! SO nice to not have that carpet!
He began happily checking off things from the list in his head! Ah, Sunday, a much needed day of rest. We walked to the car to head for church when I heard it.....an alarm. I almost said a bad word. I'm sure he had to think one! We scrambled into the motorhome and, of course, it was the water detection alarm BEHIND the stove! He pulled out a drawer beneath the stove and found a smidge of water on the floor. Next day, he pulled out the stove and determined that a seal in the faucet was cracked. Of course, you can't just buy the seal, you have to buy a whole faucet! And, Murphy's Law alive and well here, our fixtures are GOLD! They don't make much in the way of gold fixtures any more. Back to the internet, stove still pulled out.....we ordered one today. We're running out of time!
Meanwhile, we found a replacement vacuum (it seems indulgent to have a central vac in a motorhome, but I love it!) which he installed AND which works like a dream. So now he's working on installing new trim in the overheads in the bedroom and tomorrow will buy a new water filter for the kitchen. Shoot, we've spent so much money getting ready, I hope we have enough left to GO!!
He is one incredible man. He has saved us tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years by his skill and labor!
Oh, and to throw a wrench in the works, we got a call yesterday that a realtor wanted to show our house today! First showing this year! I don't expect anything to come of it, but it sure got us spinning for a bit....
Well, tomorrow we get Gunnar for a week. I sure wish he was old enough to follow grandpa around and learn a bunch from him. In the meantime, Fritz will continue to pick away at having that motorhome in tip-top shape, ready to take on half the country!
Til next time......!
