~Saturday, April 30, 2022~
Day 685
We’ve just spent 4 months in the desert and are about to spend the next 5 months in the mountains, BIG mountains. Hopefully it won’t take us too long to adjust to the altitude. I can already tell just walking up the hill to dump our trash leaves me a bit more winded these last few days. We’ve read that it can take up to 3 months for a body to physiologically adapt to its new “environment”. I promised myself not to get too frustrated if our hiking performance is a little lackluster from what it was in Utah. I’m sure all the hiking we did these last few months better prepared us for what’s in store in Colorado.
We wanted today to be our only day of getting needed tasks done since there’s much we want to see and do in the area. While I went off to the nearby town of Montrose to replenish our refrigerator and pantry and do a few other errands, Jeff stayed back with Sadie to work on 1) Replacing the shower door and 2) switching out the water pump. This would be our 3rd shower door since owning the trailer. The design is pretty bad, as I’ve expressed to the manufacturer (SEA Industries). I hope our suggestions are not falling on deaf ears since the design could be so much better. Both times they’ve offered to replace the door for free ($160 value) to which we’re grateful, but I’m sure we’re not the only customers experiencing an issue. I’ve described the design flaw to ya’ll before, but in case you forgot…….there is an inside hard plastic flap at the bottom that runs the width of the shower curtain.
This flap is turned up toward the inside of the shower stall where water, over time, gets trapped inside the flap. And the holes from stitching it in the first place, only make matters worse. Anyway, we all know what trapped water does over time……produces mold. Staring at what appears to be a mold experiment, everyday, is not my idea of fun nor is it healthy.
When I arrived back at the trailer with my load (I must have had about 10 grocery bags), there was my poor hubby Jeff, under the sink, cursing his new water pump. Things were obviously not going smoothly. Taking a break from his frustration, Jeff showed me at least one project that did go well.….the shower door. After caulking the heck out of it, he still thinks at some point again, the door will mildew. Hopefully the extra bit of seal on it this time around, will prolong that outcome.
Anyway, the water pump
is now leaking under the sink, and there’s too much air in the lines, causing the faucets to sputter (not a smooth flow). Plus the pump won’t shut off when we turn the faucet off. Not good. Jeff thinks there’s a possibility that there could be a crack in the lines somewhere that’s causing air to seep in. But, if that were the case, we’d be seeing water leaking somewhere.
And Jeff’s not seeing any of that other than at the pump itself. It’s stuff like this that can really turn your plans upside down. The lead time for any RV repairs is at least 2 months out with supply chain and staffing issues as the culprit. Depending on the city we’re in, there’s the handy mobile RV services which I’m sure charge a premium. But there is one thing I know for sure…..my husband will try everything before raising the white flag. Thank God for a handy husband!
Trying to stay out of Jeff’s way, I wasn’t able to put the groceries away until about 9:00. Hopefully looking at the water issue with a fresh mind and a new set of eyes tomorrow morning will be better. With our chaotic evening, we settled on dinner being 2 bowls of Cheerios. It wasn’t quite what we had in mind for a breakfast dinner, as waffles and eggs would have been so much better. At least it was something.