Travel Day to Asheboro, NC and RV Repairs

Today actually worked out much better than I expected.  We began the day with an early start to be able to make our 9:00 am appointment at RV Outlet near Myrtle Beach for some warranty repairs.  I had heard/read many RV repair horror stories over the last few years, so I guess that I had some low expectations and was prepared to battle it out to get a few repairs done while we waited.

The background to the story is that we purchased our 5th wheel camper from RV Outlet, a high volume dealer in Ringgold, VA and immediately began our retirement from work and travels on the road.  No real shake-down or test out period to speak of.  The internet blogs and Facebook groups are full of stories of months in the repair shops and ruined travel plans for brand new RVs.  Many people believe the best way is to buy used and assume the previous owner has fixed all issues.  We felt that buying new was best for us since we will be in  full-time use and wanted to give avoid having issues with age related problems right away.

So, after a month of on the road use, we did have a short list of minor fixes. The items were:

1. one of the living room stereo speakers had a loose connection
2. the vacuum cleaner mount came loose from the wall inside the closet
3. a very small water leak under the bathroom sink cabinet
4. one of the basement door handle locks would not lock
5. rubber gasket upper seal on one of the slide outs kept coming loose
6. Norcold RV fridge was not cooling as well as it first did

Since we purchased at their Virginia location and were stopping in at their Myrtle Beach location was another concern of mine that issues could be lurking.

My concerns were completely swept aside as soon as I arrived they backed the truck and camper immediately into one of their service bays.  No paper work or proof of purchase documentation required, just my word.  They assigned two people to the task list and had it done in 2.5 hours, so that we were able to have a quick lunch in the camper before getting on the road at about noon.   All warranty repairs finished, pleasant and helpful service folks, and no huge trip interruption!  Wow.  I highly recommend these folks.

Even Tigger, our cat, got to stroll around their facility on a leash exploring new places.  He has taken very well to walking on his leash although we rarely do at campgrounds just because of the large number of campers who have dogs.  Would not work out well.

The rest of the drive to our Asheboro, NC campground went well with many road changes led by our Garmin RV GPS.  The route was I-73/74 and US-220 most of the way with a few two-lane roads.  The scariest was the 4 miles on the extremely narrow, winding road that led to the campground.  Narrow with no shoulder at all.  I suppose a little bit of a stessed up drive makes the unwinding at camp even better.  By 4:30 pm we were fully set up, AC cranking, and having an adult beverage.  Heavy rains and thunderstorms as I type this.

Tomorrow we explore Asheboro.  Enjoy a few photos:

We are staying at Asheboro for a couple of days at Zooland Family Campground, then back “home” to a Virginia campground, then a quick flight to Florida for a family matter and then back to VA to work for a few days for my former employer.