RVenture Lessons: Windshield repairs…

Life is never dull when you live in a rolling house. Our weekly saying for this week is: “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.” That is right, we had to make another RV repair. We have been enjoying the uncharacteristic chilly Gulf coast but each morning we noticed condensation on our windshield. Then when I was cleaning the house and doing a stinkbug sweep (yes, we still do occasionally see one of those dreadful cilantro flavored bugs) I noticed a pool of water between our windshield and dashboard. OH NO! And yes, there were stinkbugs floating in this water. So, we cleaned it up with some absorbent towels and added a dehumidifier, hoping that would do the trick. Well the next morning there it was again. A couple of phone calls later we had an appointment with Camping World.

The unique problem for RVers is that when the car goes into the shop, so does your home! So my next question was, “What about the animals?”

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Wizard can stay with us, no problem. But what about Raja? Do I put her in her cat carrier and keep her in the car, do we rent a hotel, do I put her in kitty daycare, and if so where (especially because I am veterinarian and SUPER picky about where my 15 year cat will stay)? Our solution was to keep them with us (I don’t easily release control over my pet OCD). We packed up our home and headed to Camping World early Friday morning. Luckily when we got there, they were fine with keeping Raja closed in the bedroom area and Wizard was allowed in the store. Whew, Raja will be much happier in her ‘home’ versus in a carrier in the car. After several hours, the technician told us that the windshield’s bottom seal had leaks. However, they could not repair it because the windshield would have to be removed for the seal to be fixed and they are not capable of doing it. So they referred us to a glass specialist in the closest major city (1.5 hours away). Since it was Friday, the glass specialist was not able to see us until Monday. That is right, they are going to have to remove our huge RV windshield!! Even with the most skilled team, there is a 50-60% chance of windshield breakage when removed. And if that happens we are talking at least $3000. Best yet, our extended warranty will not cover the repairs because glass is an exclusion. Great. But we drove back ‘home’ and set up for the weekend.

However, once again my pet questions re-emerged, especially if they would have to remove the windshield. Raja can not stay in the RV without a windshield and it may take all day or worse several days to repair. Therefore, we looked into daycare options. We found a pet resort near our park and drove there to check it out. I always advise people to physically check out and tour daycare/vet facilities. Any reputable company will gladly and proudly give you a tour. If not, I would not allow my pets to stay there. The facility we visited was owned by a retired veterinarian and gladly gave us a tour. It was suitable for our needs, so we scheduled Monday daycare for Wizard and Raja. We enjoyed our weekend by hitting up the local farmers market, riding our bikes (Citizen Folding Bikes), and watching beach sunsets.

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Come Monday morning, as most are aware, the USA is experiencing record-breaking low temperatures and it is freezing where we are. So our thoughts went to what happens when you re-seal a windshield in freezing temperatures? Because our appointment was at 8 am on Monday morning we would just have to drive there and find out. Hopefully, our fuel would not be wasted. However, by Monday morning my pet OCD had re-emerged and we took the animals with us. I know Wizard would have been fine, but both Wade and I worried the stress Raja would feel was not worth it. So we packed up our home again (the third time in one week), canceled the daycare appointments, put Raja in her cat carrier, and Wizard’s Calming Collar on and hit the road at sunrise. When we arrived at the glass specialist, Precision Auto Glass, we were told that we might have to drop off Atreyu for 24 hours. However, the owner informed us that they would re-test the windshield and may not have to remove the glass. He also educated us that the windshield is structurally part of the RV and the significance of removing it, scary stuff. But he was a nice, trustworthy guy, so we loaded the animals into the car and headed out to get some coffee and breakfast while they analyzed the seals. We also did a driving tour of the city, Mobile, Alabama. We were making lemonade. After 2 hours, we checked in and to our relief it was only the bottom seal that leaked and they had already resealed it!  No windshield removal necessary and it only cost $200! We had to leave it there for the seal to dry for several hours, but we were allowed to live in it while we waited. Therefore we put the animals in their home and made some more lemonade.

We drove away, comfortable with animals set up in the house, and went to the battleship, USS Alabama. This historic site is amazing. Walking through this gigantic battleship built-in the 1940’s is awe-inspiring. Wade’s favorite part was pretending to man the guns, while mine was exploring the medical quarters. It is so remarkable, it makes you wonder how sophisticated and high-tech the current battleships are. There is also a submarine, the USS Drum, at this site. That was also super cool. Walking by torpedoes, through submarine doors, and the confined quarters makes you further appreciate the size of the battleship. After admiring some military (even a black operation model) airplanes we headed back to retrieve our home. All went smoothly and we made it back to our campsite by 4 pm. So another repair done, and lots of lemonade made!

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