Prior Lake, MN, Sunday, Aug. 19 -- More Boundary Waters photos -- they are nicer to share than pictures of me crying. We arrived back at Shirley’s around 7 Friday night, wet and tired and cranky, to some good news and some bad news. The good news was that Charlie was just fine and happy to see me home. The bad news was that while we were gone something had happened with the electrical system in the Mo. Tim talked to some people he knows who sell motorhomes. Apparently he had hooked me up with 50 amps of service but it was connected to 220 volts, not the 110 volts used by most motorhomes. Well, I wouldn’t have known the difference, to be quite honest, since electrical circuitry is not one of my hobbies. Guess it should be.
The bottom line was something had happened and I had no electricity at all. I called the service place in Junction City where I’d had the work done before and was lucky enough to get a technician. He said there were several possibilities: I might have blown the inverter that converts dc to ac. Or we could have blown the microwave and/or the tv and/or the air conditioners. Or we might have to replace all the appliances. The inverter alone is probably $2,500 to replace. I then contacted Monaco Service to see who they could recommend in the Twin Cities to work on it. I didn’t get to talk with a technician and none called me back so I borrowed a battery-powered lantern and went to bed in the dark.
Saturday I called Monaco again and did get to talk with a technician. He suggested I try starting the generator. When I told him I got nothing he was worried that we had some serious problems. He gave me several certified repair places close to Prior Lake. Unfortunately, none are open on Saturdays. Tim and I spent most of the rest of the day dinking around trying to figure out what the problems were. At one point I checked the batteries and turned the house battery off and then back on. Whammo, everything lit up and when I ran the engine it seemed to be charging the batteries. We were able to get lights, the refrigerator was working, the air conditioner and the heat were working and the inverter seemed to be doing it’s thing. We were able to charge the batteries up enough that I could get the generator started. So it’s possible that only the microwave and television (which refused to work when Tim first plugged me into power last week) are screwed up. But as we worked on things, it was clear that there was an issue with the house battery and instead of charging, it seemed to be draining. So Tim called his friend in the motorhome business and she and her husband came by. After talking awhile and looking at things, her husband decided to try connecting the cellunoid that works between the house and the coach/chassis batteries. He used his jumper cable “jaws” to connect the two and the difference that resulted was obvious. He suggested we take the cellunoid off and try replacing it. Monday, of course. But we were able to generate enough power to get the two slides closed so at least I can drive the Mo now and take it someplace for repairs. Assuming I can get it in someplace. When I had the service done in Oregon they were booking things a month out.
It would be nice if replacing the cellunoid took care of the problem. But I think the microwave and television still represent some serious issues. Still they would be less expensive to replace than the inverter and/or all the appliances. And I really don’t watch tv anyway; but it’s nice to have the tv and dvd for movies. It’s possible my insurance might cover some of the cost of repairing the damages, according to the service people I’ve talked to. I guess I won’t know anything for sure until Monday when I have a chance to talk to some service people here in town. I may end up having to take the motorhome to Elkhart, Ind., to the Monaco Service place. Actually, it’s probably only about a day’s drive away. The other two places Monaco has are in Florida and Oregon. It’s tempting to think about going back to Oregon where I have plenty of people who love me and would take care of me. But (a) I don’t want to drive for four days without electricity, and (b) it’s in the wrong direction.
So once again I am finding out how very little I know about mechanical things. Truth be told, I really don’t WANT to know about these things. I want all these kinds of problems to just go away.
Sometimes I feel that all these things are nothing more than temptations to make me abandon this pilgrimage. That makes me believe it is even more important for me to continue on this journey. There must be some reason that evil forces want me to quit. But in my heart I know I am not a quitter, and pushing me only makes my Irish take over, and I can get stubborn and even belligerent. I have discovered a steel core inside myself that keeps me standing straight in adversity. I can certainly bend when it is necessary to bend and be flexible, but I have also learned that giving up or falling apart or despairing are of no value. So I might allow myself to wallow in self-pity for a little while, but I am just as likely to come up swinging when I’ve regained my strength.
So just another little challenge to face in this voyage of self-discovery I’ve undertaken.
TravelinLady
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