Community Forums

beaudrya786 · 03-25-2012, 02:44 PM

Hi there, I have been coming to this site often but hadn't purchased an rv until yesterday. we bought an 1989 chieftain winnebago, and it is in excellent condition. everything worked at the seller's house but when my hubby started cleaning things up and spraying here and there, lo and behold the generator would no longer power the a/c or the microwave. so hubby couldn't sleep all night, he kept going back outside and trying to figure it out. We went to our local rv superstore and the young guy there said hubby had flipped some sort of switch on the generator. I am sure we are going to have loads of those moments to come, but we do have a full owner's manual, and I have this site. So I feel confident that we will have some fun times ahead. In fact we are going camping this week coming up to silverwood lake. so excited, thanks angela

MSHappyCampers · 03-25-2012, 05:35 PM

Hi Angela! Welcome to IRV2! Sure glad you guys joined the bunch here! Congrats on the new rig! Yep, you'll have lots of moments like that! Good luck & God bless!

EMD_Driver · 03-25-2012, 05:38 PM

Welcome to the club Angela! Please feel free to post any and all pictures of your RV happenings!

trampsrv · 03-25-2012, 05:50 PM

happy camping!

SarahW · 03-25-2012, 06:30 PM

Howdy Angela and welcome to the forum!

Enjoy your Winnie!

bsirby · 03-25-2012, 07:18 PM

Hi Angela, welcome to the forum. We all have had our moments so don't feel alone. lol. You have some beautiful areas around you to camp in. We spent a week at Skinner Lake and visited some of the local wineries. Loved the Temecula area. Hoping you have many great trips in your Chieftain.

historyljc · 03-25-2012, 09:58 PM

Hi Angela, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new coach. Probably the circuit breaker on the generator opened. Same thing has happened on mine. It's always nice when a circuit breaker invertergoes in the middle of the night because of too much load on the circuit. Of course it's alway cold and raining when that happens.

Steve N Sal · 03-26-2012, 04:55 AM

Hello Angela and welcome to the forum. Congrats on the purchase and hope you really enjoy it. Be safe and Happy Motoring!!!

barbaram · 03-26-2012, 05:35 AM

Welcome Angela - we had a generator problem our first time out also. My husband drove the 200 miles back to the dealer to find it to be a loose wire. Needless to say, he has became much more adept at problem solving now and is in the process of replacing a fan bearing himself. Even with little hiccups, we still love our MH and RVing. Good luck

JimmyLeggett · 03-26-2012, 05:40 AM

There are mighty few who have not had those moments.It is called RVing I think. Frustrating but it is part of the fun of owning one of these beasts

DoctorJohn · 03-26-2012, 06:05 AM

Me too; just bought my first RV last week. Cannot tell you how excited I am. Feel like a kid getting ready for summer camp! Mine was a 1999 Winnie Adv. 34V diesel and I'm a computer guy, therefore (if you remember "Y2K", year 2000) you'll understand my vanity license plate: "Y2K RDY"

As I always say, it may be late, but it may still be coming. At least now I'll be Ready.

longarrow · 03-26-2012, 07:06 AM

Welcome to IRV2!

Magic Bus · 03-26-2012, 07:09 AM

Welcome, and wishing y'all many miles of smiles!

beaudrya786 · 04-03-2012, 05:05 PM

i posted this on another thread, but just wanted to update you all on our first trip out. before we left on friday, I wanted to test the awning out, the thing just wouldnt open with three of us trying. I was reading the manual and my hubby and son were following directions. seemed to me the brake was stuck so my hubby hit it with a hammer and his side of the awning seemed to buckle. my son's side ripped out of the holder, so he let go and the whole upper part just sagged, couldnt get the legs back in the brackets as one whole bracket was ripped off and we ended up having to take the whole awning off. It was heartbreaking as when we opened it up on the ground you could see it was hardly used and in great condition. so now it is sitting at the side of the house. it rained before we left on the trip and we had to seal a few areas on the roof that held up fine. the two tvs that came with the rv were a bear to get to work and wasted so much of my time that I wanted to scream. my son's friend came over and fixed them up in under an hour. why don't I have kids like that? we got the rv loaded up with way too much food, 3 ice chests that we didn't need, too much clothing, not enough socks, not enough pots and pans, brand new portable grill, that kept catching on fire, bought a bike rack the morning we were leaving for four bikes(so glad I did). lots of movies and video games, bought a dryer rack thingy that was a piece of u know what from wallyworld. thing couldn't even hold two semi wet towels. also bought a collapsible laundry hamper,that held up well,plus two collapsible trash cans for outside the rv.shampoo/conditioner holder.
things I learned on this trip- full hookups are the way to go. however unlimited water does not mean unlimited hot water, when you are guiding someone back into your spot, turn the radio down so you can hear them yelling stop.( hole and large crack in the bumper now courtesy of hubby) Do not put your ice chests in front of the exhaust thingy.( ice chest and side storage cabinet now severly bubbled and cracked, yes hubby again) Don't run your fridge on max cold or you will have frozen eggs amongst other frozen items that are not meant to be frozen. remember to practice patience and if that fails just down a beer really fast.
need to buy -something that cleans the black water tank,rugs, pull out shelves, slippers for inside the rv. small trash cans, extra tool box, with duct tape,screws and nails, only brought one hose realized we need at least two. built in holder for paper towels, cups, flashlights, and paper plates.
all in all, it was a good first trip, the rv held up well and we had a fun time, already planning our next trip and what we want to fix up on the rv. my hubby named it APPA, after avatar the last airbender, a big flying bison. I had my own names for the MH but as I have 3 sons, I didn't stand a chance.