Makiing Adjustments

The past month has been a time of adjustment. A month ago today we traded in our Mobile Suites 5th wheel for a new Airstream. The MS had approximately 350 square feet of interior space. The Airstream has 224 square feet. That 125 square feet doesn't sound like much--maybe a large walk-in closet? But we reduced our living space by 1/3. That is taking a lot of mental and emotional effort to adapt to.

We lived full-time in a 5th wheel for 6 years. It contained everything we owned (except for what was in a small storage unit). For the past year and a half we have lived half the year in the RV, the other half in a small (719 sq ft) house in Arizona. When we moved into the house 2 winters ago, we left everything that we didn't need in the RV. So we had a lot of down-sizing to do. We have 8 large boxes of stuff our son Eric will ship to us in Arizona in October.

After that process, we had to figure out how to store things in this new, smaller trailer. It has been disorienting, stressful and irritating. Most of all, the small amount of floor space just to walk around in is an issue. We have to turn sideways to pass each other in the hall between the kitchen and the bedroom. The shower is tiny. There isn't much counter space in the kitchen. Much of the storage is at floor level--I get down on my knees numerous times a day. At least it keeps me flexible. But it has been emotionally trying, big time.

In addition to storage and space issues, we have to adjust to the location of cabinets and other hazards. For instance, there is the corner of this cabinet.

Monday night John leaned down to throw something in the trash--but his head hit the corner of the cabinet before he got to the wast basket. We made a trip to the emergency room. They first bandaged the head to get the bleeding stopped. Then they put in 10 staples to keep the wound closed until it healed. Ouch!

We are changing our way of living out here on the road--we are camping, yet we are still living in the RV. The 5th wheel had at least 13 feet of clothes rods. Now we have about 2 feet in addition to the few items we are hanging in the back seat of the truck.

The holding tanks are much smaller.  Each tank holds just under 40 gallons.  That means the tanks have to be emptied every 3 days.  On the positive side, the dump valve handles in the 5th wheel had gotten nearly impossible to pull in and out.  In the Airstream they operate easily.

In past years, we traveled cross-country in a pop-up tent trailer and were able to do that just fine. We only had 2 ice chests, no refrigerator and one suitcase, no closet. Our first 5th wheel had the same size refrigerator/freezer we have now. It will be fine as soon as I learn how much I can buy at one time. It means shopping more often.  (On one trip with that 5th wheel as we returned home from Philadelphia, the freezer door fell off.  We duct taped it back in place until we could get it repaired.)

There are really good aspects of the move as well. This trailer weighs 10,000 pounds less than the 5th wheel. It is so much easier to pull. And we can do it with a new, smaller truck. No more big butt dually! And the gas mileage is much better.  We even pulled into a Wal Mart parking lot this week to do some shopping.  That was a first.

We don't have to worry about any hydraulic slides or a hydraulic leveling system. There are only 2 steps up to the front door. We had 5 steps up into the 5th wheel door and three more into the bedroom!

Although we had 5th wheel trailers for 19 years, John never got really good at backing them into RV sites.  He had been using various types of bumper-pull trailers most of his life.  He is glad to be back to parking that type of trailer.

Before our 5th wheel had such problems, we were thinking about buying either a pickup camper or a popup tent trailer so we could park in campgrounds with smaller sites, like national parks and forest service campgrounds.  With this new trailer, more of those places will be open to us than with the 5th wheel.  And we no longer have to carefully watch signs for clearance under bridges.  The Mobile Suites was 13 ft 9 inches tall.  The Airstream is only 9 ft 9 inches.  Very few places we can't go with this trailer!

Over the winter we plan some changes/improvements. We hope to replace the gaucho couch with recliners.  We might also try to have some extra storage space built in. We're excited about that.

Gettin' Things Fixed

Last fall, we purchased a stacking washer-dryer from Lowe's for our winter home. The washer has always worked fine, but the dryer wasn't right. I could get the clothes dry if I used a timed setting--60 or 90 minutes. But none of the automatic settings worked right, leaving the clothes very damp. Several people said I should get it fixed.

Finally, I called Lowe's and requested service on the dryer. I was told they would schedule a repair person and get back to me. A couple of days later, I received a call saying Frigidaire had decided to replace the unit, rather than trying to repair it. What? That's unusual. However, it was fine with me. I imagine my problem wasn't at all unusual and they knew it couldn't be repaired. It took about 3 weeks, but here is my new washer-dryer. It is identical to the original one.

Soon, we will begin our summer travels. After looking at the truck tires, we decided it would be a good idea to get some new ones. They had 40,000 miles on them and the front tires, at least, looked worn. When John took it in to Big O tires, they made a disconcerting discovery. While removing one of the front tires, one of the bolts broke. And they found another broken bolt inside the hub cap! Can you imagine how dangerous that could be? The front wheel could have come off while we towed the trailer in the coming months!

Here are the two broken bolts:

And here are our new tires:

The tire company also suggested we have new shocks installed. That will happen in a couple of days. Since we tow and live in a 5th wheel trailer weighing 19,000 pounds during the summer, we want the truck to be in excellent condition at all times. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Waiting and Done

+Scott took our RV into the shop at 6 am. After going over our list of issue, he said he would see us again about 2 or 2:30. We had expected to be at the factory for 2 days, so we wondered if everything would really be done by then. Shortly before 2, he came out and said he was finished! We looked over all the work and saw that all items except one were taken care of. And they gave us the parts to install the last shelves ourselves. We were delighted with how quickly the work was done and very pleased with how it was done. We hooked up the truck to the 5th wheel and drove to Shipshewana, IN, where we will spend a few days.

While we were waiting for Scott to finish the work, we attended the 10 am factory tour to see how DRV builds 5th wheel trailers. We came away even more impressed with the quality of our Mobile Suites. And it helps to know what is hidden under the floors and inside the walls. Ryan Miller was the day's tour leader.



Here we could see the basic frame for a new trailer. They are just placing the floor, which has already been given a moisture-free barrier on the bottom side.



This is what the aluminum floor structure looks like before the sub-flooring and that black barrier is attached.



Vinyl floor squares are installed which allows individual pieces to be removed and replaced if they are damaged.



The front raised section framework is attached.



In some factories, there is a moving assembly line. At DRV, the individual units are moved by hand on this wheeled base, pushed by one a couple of workers.



Stacks of interior walls are moved from place to place.



Most RVs are built on I-beam chasses like this one. DRV uses I beams only on one less-expensive model.



All other DRV products, including our Mobile Suites, is built using 15" stacked box tube frames. The I-beam fram can support 9 1/2 pounds per square foot; the stacked box frame holds 21 pounds per square foot.



Ryan said that Trailer Life Magazine has reported that driving an RV down the road is like subjecting it to a 6.5 earthquake. In California, where buildings must be constructed to handle such earthquakes, components are assembled with screws and blue, not welding. So DRV uses screws and glue to fasten the studs to the trailer floor.



All the windows are framed with wood, helping to prevent transfer of cold or heat to the metal trailer frame.



The trailer insulation is made of wool, which is formaldehyde-free.



After the walls are up, the insulation is put in place.



Wiring is installed. Can you imagine keeping all this straight?



Next, a long sheet of fiberglass is attached to the exterior. First they put glue on studs, then glue it in place.



The covering is also screwed in place.



Next, the necessary openings for windows, doors and slide-out rooms are cut out. The slide-out rooms are also built in the factory by DRV craftsmen. The same roll of fiberglass is used to cover the slides as was used on the main trailer body.



We saw lots of evidence of the quality control used in the manufacturing. See all these instructions, comments on the fiberglass exterior of an RV. All are problems that must be corrected before the unit moves to the next stage.



We also saw light switches and window curtains being tested and cabinets wiped down with furniture polish, both inside and outside. At the DRV rally last month, we learned that each week a couple of newly-built units are randomly selected for a thorough quality inspection by department heads. That helps them keep ahead of possible poor work habits.

We have subjected our home on wheels to earthquakes and also found some issues with appliances that had been installed. But we continue to be impressed with the quality of construction and we love our home. Our factory experience yesterday just increased our confidence.