Sunday, November 3, 2013

WE GOT CLOSE TO HOUSTON

Wednesday, October 30 – We are about 30 miles north of the heart of Houston on Rt. 59.

Traffic isn't any lighter since we were here back in March.
traffic

We are staying at Forest Retreat RV Park, in New Caney, TX.

DSC08123

The park has concrete sites, concrete streets, nice grass between the sites, 50 amp FHU's, some nice trees, and a beautiful club house. We are in site 122. We have a Maple tree, and it is turning colors. Marsha just stares out the window. This is the first "real" autumn colors we have seen.

Forest Retreat RV Park Site 122

Forest Retreat RV Park Site 122

We stayed here before, back in May of 2010. The WIFI is excellent. They offer free coffee all day and night and one bag of ice per day. It's a very nice campground and fairly well priced compared to other parks in the Houston area. But compared to the Elks lodge the price is high, but the amenities are better.

Looking right.
looking right

Looking left.
looking left

When we got ready to unhitch the truck, we were disappointed to find the left landing gear jack would not work. Remember, we knew it was acting up but hoped Paul had repaired it. “Not so fast, my friend.” It is out of commission! Well, after removing the jack from the 5th wheel and figuring out how to dismantle it, Paul found an internal sheer pin broken.

remove jack

Pointing at the sheer pin that is broken.DSC08044

Of course, it was pouring down rain making repairs difficult, and now we were faced with the problem of how to get to a hardware store to buy parts. No bus service in the area, and the closest hardware is about five miles away. Paul asked the office workers if anyone was considering a Home Depot trip but didn't have any luck. So, I guess tomorrow morning we'll haul the RV with us to fetch repair parts.....JEESH!

The good news is Paul was able to locate the problem and is able to make repairs once parts are obtained. So check back and see how the fix turns out.

He needs to keep all the parts together.
parts

One more splash of autumn for you.
fall colors

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

19 comments:

  1. Nice that you found a spot and diagnosed the problem. Get some shear pins and maybe a few spares. Have heard of a few people having that same problem.
    Good luck tomorrow.

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  2. Glad you worked out the problem.

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  3. It looks like a nice place to plant yourselves for a while and to get this problem taken care of.. Take care!

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  4. Happy to see you found such a nice place to land for a while. Bummer about having to pull off to get the pin, but knowing Paul, he'll buy several to have some spare ones. Love our handymen!

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  5. Why doesn't Paul prop some blocks under the frame rail on that side of the trailer. That way he can disconnect the truck from the trailer to use to go get his parts. (Don't forget a Hydraulic Bottle Jack while you're at it.) Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  6. Have you checked with your neighbors to see if one of them would take you to the store? When we were in Colorado, we asked our neighbor and they were more than willing to help us out so we didn't have to unhook. It's certainly worth a try.

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  7. I agree with Sandie. Ask a neighbor. I bet you might just find one that will take you.

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  8. Paul will get it fixed up...not to worry! Looks like nice weather, in a great looking park!

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  9. It looks like you found a nice campground to call home for a while. The colorful little maple tree is so pretty!

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  10. Thanks again for sharing your Fall colors, Marsha.

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  11. Sorry for the landing gear problems and knowing how good most RV's are about helping one another I'm sure a polite request would get results.

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  12. Sorry to hear about the landing gear problems. I'm sure Paul will get you fixed up quickly. Maybe you could rent a car? Love the red maple!

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  13. Looks like a nice park for your visit with Carrie. So sorry to hear about your situation. Hopefully, all will work out and Paul can find the parts. Not exactly fun dragging your house to look for parts.

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  14. Paul is just an all around mechanic, contractor, etc. What a vast knowledge he has. Sure saves you a ton of $$$$$!

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  15. If this happened last Wednesday, I imagine you have it all taken care of by now.

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  16. I'm shocked that a dozen guys didn't walk over to Paul saying "whatcha' doin?" Nothing seems to attract guys in a bunch like someone else trying to repair an RV. Usually, they are quite willing to help and a ride somewhere is usually offered.

    Maybe Paul should just stand in the roadway looking confused until someone offers him a ride!!

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  17. Nice Park! Our 2000 Carriage had twin lift Jack Motors due to the Raised twin Rail Chases! Never sheared a pins the system was different. If I had to do it again would of got the Model you have. The LSI model we had was just too heavy but liked the larger basement! Your Jack problem is common for that system. Miss three slides but your rig is much better then ours was. Always broke shocks,Rubbing the tires so I took them off never felt a difference! As Partimers I enjoy having a Motorhome again. Do you ever miss yours? You put so much Care and Love in it. Ours is a caught up but at 14 years Im careful with the old girl. Enjoy your Blog. We plan Oregon Coast next summer and a new Smart Phone with hot spot! Learned a lot with our new I-Pad. Safe Travels! We drove through Huston to and From Florida this spring but in the Car. Yes Traffic!

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  18. First off, I am glad to hear that you found a nice place to stay near Houston. So sorry to hear you are still having landing gear problems but I have to say that I am so impressed by what Paul is capable of fixing. Although this must be a hassle for him, most everyone else would need to rely upon a repair person getting out to them or bringing your rig into their service center. Way to go Paul!

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  19. Always seems to be something with our homes on wheels.

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