No, this isn't about our trip to Branson. Our trailer is still not fixed and after the last rant, you don't want to hear anymore about that. This must have been the week for purchases. Mr. W's brother and sister-in-law bought a new trailer. They got an Outback and sister-in-law is planning to retire at the end of the year, so they are hoping to do some traveling. But, the big news is, Son bought a brand new trailer! Yay! for my DIL!
Son cannot have just any trailer. He will be pulling it with a 1/2 ton Suburban that is only rated to pull about 7500 lbs. total. This is not dry weight. This is total weight. He and DIL have 3 children and wanted a bunkhouse model trailer. He also did not want a trailer that was longer than 30 feet. OK, I think you are starting to see his dilemma. Oh, and I almost forgot, he didn't want to spend much more than $10K for it. Now you really see his dilemma.
DIL had found a place that had 5- 2014 trailers that had 3 bunks, was 30 ft., and dry weight was about 5500 lbs. Sounded perfect. She contacted the dealership, got a quote, and gave the info to Son. Son did not get enthused. The quote was over his $10K budget but the trailer was new and it was a good price for a new trailer. Son did finally call the guy, offered him quite a bit less, the guy turned him down, and slowly, DIL watched the inventory go from having 5 trailers to 0 trailers.
At this point, DIL decided to remove herself from the trailer finding process. She was frustrated with Son. I am feeling bad for her, so I start looking. Son is now realizing that to find what they want, they will have to buy a used trailer. That is never a fun process, especially when you are a person like him who has very little time to research and go look at them. But, the search begins. They looked at PPL, Craigslist, Ebay, etc., etc., etc. Nothing. It finally got to a point to where Son was willing to buy a 2012 trailer for $13K but after looking at it, the trailer was too heavy. I had still been searching and was noticing the trend that Wildwood made a trailer perfect for them with the 3 bunks, horseshoe dinette, separate bedroom for Mom and Dad, stainless steel appliances, electric jacks, electric awning, etc. and several places looked like they would be willing to sell them for around $15K-$16K. Well, if you are willing to spend $13K for a 2012, why wouldn't you spend $16 for a brand new 2015 that still has all the factory warrantys, etc.?
If you are ever in the market for an RV, whether it is a Class A, Class C, 5W, bumper pull trailer, pop-up, you need to check out RV Wholesalers (rvwholesalers.com), RV Direct (rv-direct.com)or RVs for Less (rvsforless.net). These people have great inventory and great reputations. You will probably have to make a road trip to pick up your RV or pay to have it delivered. But, even with the cost of delivery, you can get a great deal. Come to find out, RV Wholesalers had the Wildwood trailer they wanted at a great price and were very easy to work with. So, after a few hours of conversations, they came to a deal and were the proud owners of a new 2015 Wildwood 26TBSS trailer. They ended up getting the trailer for about 45% off the MSRP.
Mr. W had told DIL to put a posting on Uship.com to get bids from some company/person to bring the trailer to them. RV Wholesalers is in Lakeview, OH. DIL was a little concerned about this, so Mr. W told her that we would drive to Ohio, pick up the trailer, and deliver it for $1 less than the lowest bid or the cost of getting 4 new tires on his truck. She jumped right on that! I get a phone call this morning asking if we can be in Ohio next Friday morning to pick up the trailer. Yes, we can. Man, this is deja vu from buying my 5W! So, next week, I will make a road trip to Ohio to pick up a new trailer. I guess if I can't be in Branson for a couple of weeks, I might as well go to Ohio! Come to think of it, I better check the weather!
bar harbor
Friday, September 19, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
NEW TOY
I got a "new to me" toy this past week. A 2006 Deckliner VIP boat with a 115 four stroke Suzuki outboard motor.
I had the other boat for 10 years. Wow! I thought I had it for about 7 or 8 years, but when I got the title out so I could list it for sale, I titled the boat 10 years ago. Where does the time go?
Anyway, Mr. W and I were talking after this purchase and realized that this makes our 4th boat we have owned since we have been married and next May we will have been married 40 years. We did not purchase the first boat until we had been married about 7 or 8 years. As you can tell, we tend to keep boats (cars, trucks, rv's..........well, pretty much everything) for long periods of time. I told the kids that the next boat is going to be out of their pocket. But, if we keep this boat as long as we have kept the other 3, they will have about 10 years to save up!
We have never bought a boat new. Mr. W could never justify the cost of a new boat vs. the amount of time our family would use it. We use the boat a lot during the summer months but then it sits in storage for about 7 months. I will say that Mr. W is great at looking and looking and looking until he finds a used boat that he feels is the "right" one. He can d-r-I-v-e me crazy with all the looking, but in the end, I'm glad he did. One thing I have learned over the years is that Mr. W will look and look and bargain and bargain. But, when the deal is done and until he picks up whatever it is that he bought, he worries, second guesses himself, lists all the things that are wrong or could go wrong with the item, thinks about calling the deal off, talks about it constantly and gets stomach aches. Once he picks up the purchase, that usually all goes away. I am then the one that usually has the stomach ache after listening to him for days until he picks up the item! Geez!
The same scenario happened with this boat. After he picked it up, brought it to the lake, cleaned it up, put all of our "stuff" in it, went fishing in it, had me pull him on a slalom ski, and went riding around the lake, he told me that he really liked the boat and was happy that we bought it. Then, I couldn't hardly get him out of the boat. Men. They definitely are from Mars or Venus or some place foreign to me!
Anyway, most people kept asking me why I was going back to Texas in July. A boat is part of the answer. My family LOVES to do things that revolves around a boat and water. Mr. W learned to ski when he was 5. My kids learned to ski when they were 5 or 6. They grew up riding water towables every summer. Mr. W loves to fish and now the grandkids are liking to fish. They too LOVE riding the water towables and Boy-child has learned to ski. He is counting on learning to slalom next summer. The grandkids will also climb in the boat after they have been pulled around and around the lake and play pirate ship or navy ship or whatever kind of ship. Mr. W is still ski-ing and he will be......well, let's just say OLD next year. Daughter is determined to be the oldest female in the family to still water ski. I think the last time I skied I was 46 and it was on 2 skis and I did it once that summer. I have a niece that still skis and she is pretty close to that age. So, if Daughter can keep ski-ing til she's 50, she may hold the record. Son loves to ski and to ride the towables with the kids. I love to take pictures of them doing all the hard......I mean fun stuff! ;)
There is the answer to why I come back to Texas in July. My family has so much fun which means that I have so much fun and we make a lot of great memories. Isn't that what retirement is all about? Heck, isn't that what life is all about? So, here's to the "new" boat and may it help make many new memories of fun times in the hot July sun in Texas.
I had the other boat for 10 years. Wow! I thought I had it for about 7 or 8 years, but when I got the title out so I could list it for sale, I titled the boat 10 years ago. Where does the time go?
Anyway, Mr. W and I were talking after this purchase and realized that this makes our 4th boat we have owned since we have been married and next May we will have been married 40 years. We did not purchase the first boat until we had been married about 7 or 8 years. As you can tell, we tend to keep boats (cars, trucks, rv's..........well, pretty much everything) for long periods of time. I told the kids that the next boat is going to be out of their pocket. But, if we keep this boat as long as we have kept the other 3, they will have about 10 years to save up!
We have never bought a boat new. Mr. W could never justify the cost of a new boat vs. the amount of time our family would use it. We use the boat a lot during the summer months but then it sits in storage for about 7 months. I will say that Mr. W is great at looking and looking and looking until he finds a used boat that he feels is the "right" one. He can d-r-I-v-e me crazy with all the looking, but in the end, I'm glad he did. One thing I have learned over the years is that Mr. W will look and look and bargain and bargain. But, when the deal is done and until he picks up whatever it is that he bought, he worries, second guesses himself, lists all the things that are wrong or could go wrong with the item, thinks about calling the deal off, talks about it constantly and gets stomach aches. Once he picks up the purchase, that usually all goes away. I am then the one that usually has the stomach ache after listening to him for days until he picks up the item! Geez!
The same scenario happened with this boat. After he picked it up, brought it to the lake, cleaned it up, put all of our "stuff" in it, went fishing in it, had me pull him on a slalom ski, and went riding around the lake, he told me that he really liked the boat and was happy that we bought it. Then, I couldn't hardly get him out of the boat. Men. They definitely are from Mars or Venus or some place foreign to me!
Anyway, most people kept asking me why I was going back to Texas in July. A boat is part of the answer. My family LOVES to do things that revolves around a boat and water. Mr. W learned to ski when he was 5. My kids learned to ski when they were 5 or 6. They grew up riding water towables every summer. Mr. W loves to fish and now the grandkids are liking to fish. They too LOVE riding the water towables and Boy-child has learned to ski. He is counting on learning to slalom next summer. The grandkids will also climb in the boat after they have been pulled around and around the lake and play pirate ship or navy ship or whatever kind of ship. Mr. W is still ski-ing and he will be......well, let's just say OLD next year. Daughter is determined to be the oldest female in the family to still water ski. I think the last time I skied I was 46 and it was on 2 skis and I did it once that summer. I have a niece that still skis and she is pretty close to that age. So, if Daughter can keep ski-ing til she's 50, she may hold the record. Son loves to ski and to ride the towables with the kids. I love to take pictures of them doing all the hard......I mean fun stuff! ;)
There is the answer to why I come back to Texas in July. My family has so much fun which means that I have so much fun and we make a lot of great memories. Isn't that what retirement is all about? Heck, isn't that what life is all about? So, here's to the "new" boat and may it help make many new memories of fun times in the hot July sun in Texas.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
WARNING!
WARNING! A full on, straight up rant is about to take place! You have been warned.
I am severely ticked off a the recreational vehicle industry right now. Let's review for those of you who are lagging behind in blog posts.
1. Had a blow out which did damage to the 5W
2. Insurance adjustor came out, assessed the damage, wrote up an estimate, but repair place JOEL WEST, in Livingston, TX, made us come in for him to look at anyway. This took place on a Friday. Rick, the guy handling our repair, told us, on that Friday, he would call the manufacturer and order the parts.
3. The following Wednesday, we went to JOEL WEST and asked if indeed the parts had been ordered. The girl handling this for Rick says, "Oh, come to think of it, that guy never sent me an email. I guess I need to email him tomorrow to see what is going on." DOES THE PHRASE 'FOLLOW UP' MEAN NOTHING! Good thing we went in to check or we would still be waiting for her to remember that she had not received an email.
4. Rick (repair guy - keep up) calls Mr. W and says that he can not order direct from the factory because of a crazy Texas law, so a dealership that sells Redwoods would have to order the parts and then ship them to him. He can't find anyone to that. I AM BEGINNING TO SEE WHY HE HAS NO FRIENDS IN TEXAS!
5. Mr. W calls the manufacturer who gives him the name and number of a dealership that will drop ship the parts to anyone, anywhere. Rick calls this person the Friday before Labor Day, August 29th. He then calls Mr. W back and says that the parts will be shipped that day and he should receive them 4 to 5 business days later.
6. Last Friday was 5 business days. Mr. W calls and asks about the parts. The above girl (which we now know is Susan) said the parts were still not in. Mr. W asked if we could go ahead and book Wednesday (tomorrow) to bring in the trailer to be fixed. She said she would but she also said that if the parts didn't come in by Wednesday, they wouldn't be able to fix it on Wednesday. REALLY??? WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN?????
7. Today (Tuesday) Mr. W calls again. Susan says that she has a call into the dealership to check on the parts. She then proceeds to tell Mr. W that it kind of concerns her because she never got a confirmation number in a confirmation email. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? ANOTHER EMAIL THAT SHE DID NOT FOLLOW UP ON????
8. Susan calls back. The dealership's warehouse is very busy and way behind. They are filling orders placed on August 28th. They should be filling orders placed on August 29th in a day or 2. JUST PEACHY!
9. Susan tells Mr. W that she is going to call them back in 2 days to verify. Mr. W told her that she better call because he was going to call HER back in 2 days and he expected an update. GEEZ!
Remember when we had the broken shackle in Virginia Beach? The manufacturer was going to mail the shackle on the Friday before Memorial Day. We should have it by the following Tuesday. When Mr. W contacted him on Wednesday when we did not receive the part on Tuesday, IT HAD NEVER BEEN SHIPPED!
The RV industry doesn't have the first clue about customer service. Or, if they do, they don't care about customer service. Do NOT take your RV to JOEL WEST RV in Livingston, TX. They haven't even touched my RV yet, but I would never recommend them just by the way they have handled, or should I say NOT handled, this transaction from the beginning. I'll let you know when the parts are received.
I warned you.
I am severely ticked off a the recreational vehicle industry right now. Let's review for those of you who are lagging behind in blog posts.
1. Had a blow out which did damage to the 5W
2. Insurance adjustor came out, assessed the damage, wrote up an estimate, but repair place JOEL WEST, in Livingston, TX, made us come in for him to look at anyway. This took place on a Friday. Rick, the guy handling our repair, told us, on that Friday, he would call the manufacturer and order the parts.
3. The following Wednesday, we went to JOEL WEST and asked if indeed the parts had been ordered. The girl handling this for Rick says, "Oh, come to think of it, that guy never sent me an email. I guess I need to email him tomorrow to see what is going on." DOES THE PHRASE 'FOLLOW UP' MEAN NOTHING! Good thing we went in to check or we would still be waiting for her to remember that she had not received an email.
4. Rick (repair guy - keep up) calls Mr. W and says that he can not order direct from the factory because of a crazy Texas law, so a dealership that sells Redwoods would have to order the parts and then ship them to him. He can't find anyone to that. I AM BEGINNING TO SEE WHY HE HAS NO FRIENDS IN TEXAS!
5. Mr. W calls the manufacturer who gives him the name and number of a dealership that will drop ship the parts to anyone, anywhere. Rick calls this person the Friday before Labor Day, August 29th. He then calls Mr. W back and says that the parts will be shipped that day and he should receive them 4 to 5 business days later.
6. Last Friday was 5 business days. Mr. W calls and asks about the parts. The above girl (which we now know is Susan) said the parts were still not in. Mr. W asked if we could go ahead and book Wednesday (tomorrow) to bring in the trailer to be fixed. She said she would but she also said that if the parts didn't come in by Wednesday, they wouldn't be able to fix it on Wednesday. REALLY??? WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN?????
7. Today (Tuesday) Mr. W calls again. Susan says that she has a call into the dealership to check on the parts. She then proceeds to tell Mr. W that it kind of concerns her because she never got a confirmation number in a confirmation email. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? ANOTHER EMAIL THAT SHE DID NOT FOLLOW UP ON????
8. Susan calls back. The dealership's warehouse is very busy and way behind. They are filling orders placed on August 28th. They should be filling orders placed on August 29th in a day or 2. JUST PEACHY!
9. Susan tells Mr. W that she is going to call them back in 2 days to verify. Mr. W told her that she better call because he was going to call HER back in 2 days and he expected an update. GEEZ!
Remember when we had the broken shackle in Virginia Beach? The manufacturer was going to mail the shackle on the Friday before Memorial Day. We should have it by the following Tuesday. When Mr. W contacted him on Wednesday when we did not receive the part on Tuesday, IT HAD NEVER BEEN SHIPPED!
The RV industry doesn't have the first clue about customer service. Or, if they do, they don't care about customer service. Do NOT take your RV to JOEL WEST RV in Livingston, TX. They haven't even touched my RV yet, but I would never recommend them just by the way they have handled, or should I say NOT handled, this transaction from the beginning. I'll let you know when the parts are received.
I warned you.
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