So what on earth is this picture I’m showing you?

Well for those who RV they may or may not know.  You see many pull-behind RVs don’t have them, but many of the newer motorhomes have them.  They are part of the suspension system.  You see our RV is a 2007, but it has an air suspension system.  What you are looking at is one of the 12 airbags on the system.

Our motorhome does not have a hydraulic jack system.  So the way it works is that it is constantly adding or releasing air pressure in those airbags to keep the unit level.  As you can see in this picture, this one is completely cracked and torn and leaking air constantly, so our system is constantly running. Unfortunately, that is the best of 8 that need replaced.

One thing we have learned is that when you find a mechanic who knows what he is doing and is somewhat reasonable, you are willing to travel whatever mileage to make it happen. This repair brought us back to Tucson, Arizona.  Of course the parts had to be ordered and we know how long that takes, so we called ahead, gave him all the info, and planned to be there after he had the parts, so it hopefully would only take 1 day.

You see we have learned that many shops have significant wait times, so if you have emergency stuff that needs done you need to make their life as easy as possible, so they will fit you in.  Then you have to be willing to stay elsewhere if they don’t want to close it all up each night if it takes longer than 1 day.  Some shops are set up to do that, but some aren’t

So by planning for the new emergency, we are able to work out how to best use our time either working, exploring a new area, or chilling somewhere relaxing.  It’s never a dull life for sure and it’s not for the faint of heart.  It is absolutely worth it, if you value the flexibility it provides, the freedom it allows and the many new adventures along the way.

Now what to do with our car that just got totalled in an accident?  Guess I’ll save that for next time.