New Motor Home

It's been over a month since I updated the blog. Lots of things have been happening, keeping me busy and away from computers.

Back last fall we found major structural damage to the Discovery. The braces that separate the frame and body were under manufactured. One had failed completely and the others were showing their damage. We headed for Decatur IN for repairs at the factory. Although it was obviously a manufacturing issue, we ended up paying for the repairs.

Last December we discovered another problem with our Discovery (how's that for poetry?). The floor beams are welded together. The weld had failed and the floor had dropped down onto the frame, thus causing the outside wall, the ceiling and the inside wall to all separate from each other. It would only get worse with time, so doing nothing wasn't an option. The estimated repair cost was so high that it didn't make sense to sink more money into an old motor home with structural problems.

Solution: Buy a new motor home. We found a 2008 Itasca Latitude at Lazy Days RV in Seffner, FL on closeout that seemed to fit our needs. It is a 39W model (no pictures, broke my camera).

So we made a quick decision and started the move. Of course, the organization drawers and boxes, etc. won't work in the new place. The storage areas are different so we have been slaving to get everything in its new rightful place. What a job!

Buying a new rig was never in our plans. We thought we would keep the Discovery until we had to hang up the keys. I'm not sure if the economic situation was helpful or harmful for us. Our 401ks and IRAs have lost value, but the slowdown in RV sales dropped prices a good bit.

I think we are almost to the point that we aren't spending all our time working (there's that nasty word again).

Our travels are still a journey of discovery, so I think I'll keep the same blog. And, my New Year's Resolution is to be more faithful to the blog. So keep checking up on us and we'll try to keep you up to date on our travels.