Savannah Update

Still in Savannah.  Our scheduled departure date was February 21st but that is going to be delayed by at least a week as we get our trailer issue resolved.  In my last posting I mentioned about the problem with one of the slide motors.  The motor would run but the gears would not engage with the drive so the slide did not move.  This meant the slide was fully extended but we had to get it in so the trailer could be brought into the shop.  Getting the slide out when we first came back from the shop was not that difficult as it could be pushed out since the gears were not engaged.  However to get the slide back in it must jump up an inch or so to clear the floor and then glide over it.  This meant pushing it in was not possible due to the weight of the slide.  I had always thought there was a manual override that involved a crank, but I was wrong.  It took awhile for me to figure it out but I discovered that I could manually move the slide by attaching vise grip pliers to the drive shaft and turning it.  It then moved the slide very easily.  The hassle was that I had to take off a panel underneath the trailer and then move the slide while laying on my back under the trailer.  Some engineer was not thinking this through when they designed this slide mechanism (note to self: check for manual override on next rig!).

Ok, I got the slide in but with no gears engaged the slide could come back out and we had to drive 6 miles to the repair shop.  Needless to say we drove very cautiously and kept a keen eye on the slide.  At the shop they did another diagnosis, now that the slide was not actually moving, and determined that a whole new motor assembly was needed.  This needed to be ordered, so no repair today.  The repair tech was nice enough to cut a piece of wood to brace the slide from the top so it would not move on the drive back.  The good news is that our extended warranty is covering the repair and the repair shop is handling all the paperwork for the claim.  We now have to wait for the part to come in.

As for sightseeing we went into Savannah and took the trolley tour.  This was nice tour of the historical district, Victorian district and a stop at the river area.  We had a nice lunch, with ice cream, at a famous ice cream parlor, Leopold’s.

Leopold’s Ice Cream Shop

What is so cool about Savannah is the architecture and the trees with the Spanish moss.

Down by the river

One of the many squares

Fran posing with Johnny Mercer

Hanging Out

It has been a couple of weeks so I will get you caught up.  We are still in Savannah where the weather has been nice.  It has gotten cold, close to freezing, on some nights but during the day it is generally warm and sunny.

As for activities, we have found a very nice, challenging, par 3 golf course near the airport and have been playing that each week.  We did visit Fort Pulaski near Tybee Island.  Fascinating story in that the fort was built prior to the Civil War to defend the coastline, but when it actually was needed during the war the newer weapons, longer firing cannons, made the fort obsolete and it was quickly over taken by the Union forces.  It took something like 6 years to build and was surrendered within two weeks.

We had lunch at a famous local eatery, The Pirates House.  The structure dates back to the 1700’s.  Good food and an interesting place with costumed pirates walking around.

We have had an issue come up with the RV that we are in the process of getting resolved.  Since the weather is nice here we started our annual cleaning and maintenance of the rig.  During this process the slide on the door side was sticking and the motor was not turning off.  Fortunately there is a local Jayco dealer, which is also a Camping World, just 6 miles away.  I brought it in for a diagnosis and they believe it just needs to be adjusted but they were not able to get to it that day so we have to bring it back next week.  When we came back to the RV park the slide would not go in or out with the motor, we had to physically push it to get it to extend.  So I am thinking there is more going on here than just an adjustment.  We will see. 

If its more than an adjustment this will be our first claim on the mechanical portion of our extended warranty, so hopefully it all goes smoothly!