There are many in Richmond Hill who have recreational vehicles, and who could tell you stories of the adventures they have experienced on the trail.
Those who participate in RV’ing find themselves widening their horizons, discovering abilities they never thought they had, meeting people of different cultures and exposing, in themselves, hidden personal characteristics.
Being RV’ers, my wife and I have traveled to many places. We have been introduced to a different world and have met many different people, among those, one being a celebrity.
Strangely enough, I love to talk about RV’ing in the context of a ship at sea, and I am its captain. I find the activity more exciting in that respect. My wife is my first mate.
Having problems is a challenging part of RV’ing, and solving them myself even surprises me. For instance, a recent blowout in one of the rear tires damaged a storage compartment that had to be repaired.
On RV’s that are 10 years old or older, some parts for the coach are unattainable. I had to find a way to fix it myself. I mended the walls of the compartment and patted myself on the back for doing a good job. I never thought I could do that.
Blowouts are a horrible thought, and it happened to us. Automobiles are probably not as dangerous in this respect as heavy RVs.
Recently, when we were traveling down a crowded highway at a high speed, we heard a loud, frightening burst in the rear, followed by a violent flapping sound. It was a blowout.
Normally, you’d think one would lose control. But instinct seemed to take over, and I managed to bring the ship to a safe stop. I never thought I could do that.
One must constantly listen to the telegraphing, warning, road sounds, especially coming from the front tires. Some times, tires don’t give a warning sound − they just blow out and the rim hits the ground.
In another scene, one evening while in port, we were relaxing and having a drink. A large limb from an overhead tree fell down on an RV just across the way from us. It crashed into and heavily damaged the canopy.
The RV’er came out, pulled the limb off, picked up the broken part of the canopy and slammed it into the back of his truck. I watched as he stomped around his RV, talking to himself, patching what he could, and then moved out of the park.
This is an example of what can happen. I learned a lesson. The incident could have been avoided had the RV’er taken the proper precautions to never park his RV under some trees or other questionable overhead objects.
Plumbing leaks are another matter that can dull one’s voyage. Imagine getting up in the middle of the night while in port, stepping your bare feet out on the plush carpet to feel cold water squishing between your toes. Your night's rest has been ruined. It’s like being in a ship at sea and the hull is leaking.
This happened to me. I got out of my pajamas and into my work clothes. Until dawn I worked, hunted and finally located and stopped the water leaks. After a while of dealing with these problems, you become a salty sailor, and that makes it even more a challenge to one’s character.
One of my favorite scenarios is waking up in the morning and preparing to get underway. I want to move on to wider horizons.
Immediately after breakfast, we make reservations for our next port, about 250 miles away. In preparations to move out, we have our specific duties.
My first mate makes up the bed, prepares the galley, washing and putting away the dishes and securing all drawers and doors.
My duty is securing the outside, disconnecting all the facilities, such as the power cable, shutting off the water and rolling up the hose, disconnecting the TV cable and draining the wastewater tanks.
Bond lives in Richmond Hill.
Those who participate in RV’ing find themselves widening their horizons, discovering abilities they never thought they had, meeting people of different cultures and exposing, in themselves, hidden personal characteristics.
Being RV’ers, my wife and I have traveled to many places. We have been introduced to a different world and have met many different people, among those, one being a celebrity.
Strangely enough, I love to talk about RV’ing in the context of a ship at sea, and I am its captain. I find the activity more exciting in that respect. My wife is my first mate.
Having problems is a challenging part of RV’ing, and solving them myself even surprises me. For instance, a recent blowout in one of the rear tires damaged a storage compartment that had to be repaired.
On RV’s that are 10 years old or older, some parts for the coach are unattainable. I had to find a way to fix it myself. I mended the walls of the compartment and patted myself on the back for doing a good job. I never thought I could do that.
Blowouts are a horrible thought, and it happened to us. Automobiles are probably not as dangerous in this respect as heavy RVs.
Recently, when we were traveling down a crowded highway at a high speed, we heard a loud, frightening burst in the rear, followed by a violent flapping sound. It was a blowout.
Normally, you’d think one would lose control. But instinct seemed to take over, and I managed to bring the ship to a safe stop. I never thought I could do that.
One must constantly listen to the telegraphing, warning, road sounds, especially coming from the front tires. Some times, tires don’t give a warning sound − they just blow out and the rim hits the ground.
In another scene, one evening while in port, we were relaxing and having a drink. A large limb from an overhead tree fell down on an RV just across the way from us. It crashed into and heavily damaged the canopy.
The RV’er came out, pulled the limb off, picked up the broken part of the canopy and slammed it into the back of his truck. I watched as he stomped around his RV, talking to himself, patching what he could, and then moved out of the park.
This is an example of what can happen. I learned a lesson. The incident could have been avoided had the RV’er taken the proper precautions to never park his RV under some trees or other questionable overhead objects.
Plumbing leaks are another matter that can dull one’s voyage. Imagine getting up in the middle of the night while in port, stepping your bare feet out on the plush carpet to feel cold water squishing between your toes. Your night's rest has been ruined. It’s like being in a ship at sea and the hull is leaking.
This happened to me. I got out of my pajamas and into my work clothes. Until dawn I worked, hunted and finally located and stopped the water leaks. After a while of dealing with these problems, you become a salty sailor, and that makes it even more a challenge to one’s character.
One of my favorite scenarios is waking up in the morning and preparing to get underway. I want to move on to wider horizons.
Immediately after breakfast, we make reservations for our next port, about 250 miles away. In preparations to move out, we have our specific duties.
My first mate makes up the bed, prepares the galley, washing and putting away the dishes and securing all drawers and doors.
My duty is securing the outside, disconnecting all the facilities, such as the power cable, shutting off the water and rolling up the hose, disconnecting the TV cable and draining the wastewater tanks.
Bond lives in Richmond Hill.