Oh, the joys of RV life! As business owners we often talk about different scenarios to plan out ways to mitigate risk, but as an RV owner, there are only so many ways you can do that. We have learned that our Monaco Dynasty Platinum IV 40, is actually 42 feet, not 40 and that they went bankrupt just 2 years after building ours. They got bought out by Navistar and then the REV group and consequently much of the proprietary information did not go along with the sales. So, the operators manual is rarely useful, and trying to find any kind of schematics for anything is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
It makes me long for my gearhead days when I could just break open a Chilton’s manual. Those were the good old days. Every time Kurt has to get into any compartment he gets covered in grease. We have found many disconnected wires and reran wires that just makes us scratch our heads. Fuses, fuses, fuses, every where fuses and it is usually an inline fuse somewhere that we have to find, but we have rarely been successful. Then we are desperately looking for a mobile mechanic or RV mechanic, who actually has availability in their schedule, which is few and far between. Then it’s back to the blogs and YouTube videos to find any more nuggets of info. These times are constantly bathed in prayers.
These particular pics are from the time we got stranded in the park because only 2 of our 4 slides would come in. This sent us on a grand adventure of how to manually get our slides in. All the manuals and other RVs had hand cranks or other ways, but nope not ours. As I write this now, I’m working to finish so that a bunch of friends can show up so we can all push these 2,000-pound slides in, not a fun time, but it will be a great time to show who’s muscles are bigger 😉
Yes, RV life is not for the faint at heart. You have to be up for a new challenge, potentially every day, and in the trade off be willing to enjoy a more diverse and fulfilling life. You also have to be willing to learn new things and ask questions. Other RV owners in the park are often the best sources, so sometimes we are walking through the park to find other RVs like ours and ask what may seem like random questions to them. Yet each time, we find they had experienced the same thing at one time or another. It always gives us a great opportunity to meet new folks. Yes, the RV community is a very diverse community and always brings new adventures and we are so thankful for all the new friends we have met and the new ones yet to meet! On to the next adventure!
