Road Trip Time is Here
Get everything set and working, then get going!
March 2023
It’s getting close to that time when I will be planning my first real road trip of the year. The van I bought is almost ready to go on an extended trip. I tested it out this month doing what RV’ers call a “shake-down trip”. This is where you head out to some destination and you test your systems. Does the heater work? Can I use the van cooktop to make my coffee in the morning? How does the van handle on dirt and gravel roads? Did I pack everything needed for a camping trip and is it all ready to go?
In late March I took a ride to the small town of Monte Vista in south central Colorado to see the migrating sand hill cranes. My van is very basic. There’s no tv, no internet, no bathroom or shower (I do have a camping toilet which works just fine). I decided to try using an induction cooktop and an electric heater instead of using the propane appliances that came in the van. Both failed miserable. The cooktop turned on but wouldn’t heat up. The electric heater sucked the batteries power so fast it would have drained them within four hours. Considering the temperature the night I was camping was about 15 degrees, this was not ideal. So the two nights I planned on spending at the campsite turned into one. And while this might sound like a completely horrid, busted trip, it was actually eye opening. I realized the additional things that had to be done to make subsequent trips in the van enjoyable. So, I started out by reinstalling the propane cooktop when I got home. I also began researching having an external propane tank installed. As we were driving two different sensor messages flashed on the dashboard. Both of these would need to be checked out.
When I bought the van the previous owner told me he had an extended service warranty that was valid until October 2024. All we had to do was fill out the paperwork, send in a $50 check, and the remaining service contract would be transferred to me. Fabulous, right? Well, let me tell you this… so far my experience with extended warranty contracts is very bad. The previous owner sent in the paperwork to get the contract switched to me back on March 1st. As of today (April 11th), I have not heard a word from Mopar Extended Warranties in Troy, Michigan. I have called several times, and all I get is how sorry they are but the paperwork hasn’t been processed yet. I’ve asked to talk to a supervisor and have yet to receive a call back from anyone in charge (they apparently as too busy or on a coffee break or just not there to take the call when it comes in). I was told a supervisor would call me back within 3 - 5 days from when I called. That was over a week ago.
Extended warranty plans sound wonderful in principle. Your vehicle is getting older and all those mechanical parts and pieces will likely fail at some point. Buy this service contract - usually costing thousands of dollars - when you first buy the vehicle, have that additional cost rolled into your monthly payment so you’ll barely notice it, and then rest assured your maintenance bills will be covered for years after the basic warranty runs out. Or, better yet, buy a warranty contract now on that old beater car you have and save so much money on all this costly repairs. Commercials featuring actors and athletes hawking these services are on tv all the time. New car prices are outrageous, so this wonderful service is allowing you to keep your older car and also give you the peace of mind that when the engine blows up you can get it a new one installed for a minimal amount - not $5000 for that new engine, but only $100. Well, all I can say to this is GOOD LUCK. Maybe I’m cynical because of my current experience with trying to get a transferable warranty transferred, or maybe I’m this way because of extended warranties I’ve purchased that I never used, or maybe I’m this way because of claims that I’ve tried to put in that were denied because (if you read the fine print) that part isn’t covered. All in all, these warranty plans are not cheap. The one originally purchased for the van I have was just shy of $4000 when the previous owner bought it in 2017. When I looked into extended warranties for used RV’s, prices were well over $6000 for four years of coverage. Considering most RV’s aren’t used 12 months a year this is a pretty steep price. Unless, of course, the engine blows up, the rear axle falls off, or the transmission seizes during that four years of coverage.
Instead of waiting for this extended warranty policy to maybe transfer to me, I’m taking the van to a local mechanic to get those warning messages that popped up checked out. I’m hoping there are just sensors that need to be reset. If they are a bigger problem, then I’ll get back on the phone with Mopar and see if I can finally get the extended warranty transferred.
April
The van has had some changes done to it. After calling several RV shops, I found one that would actually install an extrenal propane tank for me. Propane inside the van under the bed is not the safest thing (it’s really frowned upon if you look it up), especially since any sort of leak in the hoses can cause death. I also got a mesh screen installed so that the sliding side door can be left open for ventilation with no worry about critters flying in. It also helps to keep the dog in the van as well (although Dexter can still manage to fall out without trying too hard). As for the warning messages about systems that needed checking - when I brought the van to the mechanic he couldn’t determine anything wrong with either system. But he did find a small hole in the radiator. Instead of waiting for the small hole to become a big hole, I got this fixed as well.
May
On May 6th I headed out to Missouri, specifically the Lake of the Ozarks. The drive took two days, and was relatively uneventful except for the occasional cross winds as we drove on I-70 in Kansas. And by cross winds, I mean wind known as gusts, which are short bursts of high-speed wind that hit into the side of the vehicle - so high speed that it causes the vehicle to swerve on the road. And if you aren’t ready with both hands on the wheel you can lose control. Luckily that didn’t happen, but the van did shift on the road a bit. There is nothing (and I mean NOTHING) to break the wind moving across the road along I-70 in eastern Colorado and almost all of Kansas.
I’m in a place called Osage Beach, a town right along the Lake of the Ozarks.
So far it’s rained every day since I got here. But we’ve still managed to get out and about. Ha Ha Tonka State Park has ruins of a castle that a wealthy merchant built in the late 1800’s. The structure is on top of a bluff overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks. Besides the castle, there is a water pump house and a natural bridge to hike to. We stopped at Ozarkland, the tourist trap where I bought a post card. We toured Stark Caverns and went to the Ice Cream Factory, both in Eldon, MO.
I have one more day here in Osage Beach. There’s a 50% chance of rain tomorrow, but no matter what the weather is I’m sure we’ll find someting fun to do. Then it will be time to get back in the van and head back to Colorado.
P.S. - I never did hear back about the extended warranty being transferred to me. So getting any work that may be needed on the van covered by Mopar isn’t going to happen. That’s those fabulous transferrable extended warranties for you.
love following your adventures! every time i have a grilled cheese sandwich, i think of you..miss you