Mesa, AZ - Big Changes

Well, we visited our RV at the shop today. We had taken it in last Monday for some work - all by choice. We had decided that we wanted to have something, anything, rather than the carpeted floor we had in the bedroom and around various spots in the RV. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like carpeting, we’ve had lots in the various homes we’ve owned. It’s soft on the feet, it’s warm and it adds a softer look. But, in an RV, it is difficult to vacuum, and attracts dust. I’m retired and have mountains calling my name: I don’t have time to clean carpeting. I want to take a mop, sweep it all around the floor in my RV and call the floor clean. I don’t want to get out the vacuum and do the several carpeted parts we have and then get out the mop for the rest.

I’ve heard that manufacturers are slowing learning that carpeting in RV’s is not the favorite floor covering and are replacing it with other surfaces, like tile and wood. But the operative word is ‘slowly’ and it’s too slow for us. When we got this RV, we had carpet in the bedroom, under both the passenger and driver chairs, under the foot pedals, in the corner under the lounge chair and in several other places. In the main living area we had very nice tile, dark, mottled and it didn’t show dust. And, isn’t that the main criterion for a floor? However, when we went to match this tile for the bedroom, not a piece was to be found. I checked our Winnebago parts lists, got the name of the tile and the manufacturer, called several flooring dealers who had this exact tile on their web page only to be told that it was out of production and discontinued and they had no more left. (Well, then, why is it on your web page?) Blind alley.

So, we put on our thinking caps and - voila, why not replace the tile also with a nice wood laminate? Perfect and that is one of the things we’re having done. We’ve also sold the lounge chair and are putting a small desk in its place. Both Gary and use our computers a lot and our small table is a bit small for two computers, lots of paperwork and - oh, yeah, we need to eat here too. So, Gary is getting a desk and he can go to his corner now. Big changes but we think it will make it more livable for us. Not for everyone, since we got rid of the nice lounge chair which others might use to watch TV. We don’t watch TV much so it was never being used and a desk is much handier for us.

New flooring and a new desk - sounds like it’s going to be a mess and we’d better move out. It’s not as if we have a place to go. How about a motel? Hmmm, that’s why we got an RV to begin with - we wanted to travel and not in a motel with restaurant meals. How about a trip to LA or China, places we’ve thought we’d like to visit. Hmmm, would you go that far away if your RV were being worked on? I though not. How about renting a park model in the same resort that we’ve been in since late October. We’ve got a living room, a kitchen, a dinette, a bedroom and a bath. Perfect. Now we play the waiting game. 5 days and we should have our RV back.

And, yes, I took some before and after pictures so we can see the changes we’ve made and the differences.

Remember that 5th wheeler that I pictured in my blog 2 days ago, we learned some more about the story. It was a hit and run by a semi which hit the corner of the 5th as it was passing and then took off down the highway. Probably the owners of the 5th were so shocked about what had happened that they didn’t get the license plate of the truck. I certainly would be. You can see the the outside damage: the corner, the slide, the top of the RV. What you can’t see is the interior damage to the floor which buckled and to the furniture. Meanwhile the owners are renting a unit in a resort like we are until their RV work is done.