The morning started with the dripping sound of a fresh cup of coffee being brewed. The problem was when the coffee was finished the dripping sound wasn't. That sound is not music to an Rv'ers ears.
A quick look around did not show anything being wet. I checked under the sinks and all was dry. Time to go outside. Walking around the outside showed a huge amount of water underneath. This can't be good. But where is the water coming from? I opened the basement doors and found a steady stream of water coming from some hidden source above the floor. OK, time to stop the flow, so I turn the valve at the pedestal off. The flow stops, which is good, but I still don't know where the leak is. It appears the water is coming out of a crack in the floor that is below the fridge. Back inside to investigate. Hmmm, dry all around the fridge. The bathroom is adjacent to the fridge, so I check there again. Nothing wet around or under the sink. The floor around the tiolet looks dry and is, but I stick my hand around the back and find the wetness.
A quick check of the connections shows everything tight, but still wet. The toilet in this rv has some electric valves which I know I will never find in a small town. Gosh, I hope its not one of those. I feel around the best I can, but even after turning the water back on I can't find the exact source. Time to pull the toilet out. Great, just what I want to do. This goes pretty quick in even in the confines of the small bathroom. As I move the toilet off the drain, the source of the leak is now clear. As I had not turned the water back off before moving the toilet, the fitting that was leaking, completely lets go. Water shoots at full pressure from the supply line. That was smart... Luckily there is a valve right at the toilet, so I quickly shut it off.
Ok, problem found. The fitting that broke is obviously a specialty piece. I have high hopes though, as on the way into town I had spotted a large RV store. With piece in hand I head to the store. The parts counter guy looks up the part and says he can have it for me in about 2 weeks. Hmmm…. Plan B.
Plan B is to cobble something together that might work. I had passed a plumbing supply store on my way the RV store, hopefully they would have something. They did not have the greatest selection but I found enough stuff to make it work.
After arriving back at the RV park I reassembled everything and we were back in business. What a relief. I was worried this would end up taking all day, but finished the repair by 11:00. We had made reservations for a Jet boat ride later in the afternoon and I sure didn’t want to miss that.
Hellgate Jet Boats had some room for us and we arrived at about 1:30, just when it was starting to get hot. Hot up here is in the mid 80’s. We happily joined about 30 other people for our 2 hour cruise.
We set out heading down river, pausing occasionally to hear a story from our boat pilot or to view some of the beautiful riverside parks and residences..JPG)
In between stories we were entertained by the performance of the the boat. These boats are moved along by 3 engines at a speed of about 55 mph. They are capable of operating in only about 7” of water. When you look out of the boat and see rocks just inches under water it sure is unnerving at first.
.JPG)
.JPG)
One of the highlights is the 360* spin the boats perform. Check out this link for a demo http://www.hellgate.com/Page.asp?NavID=46 It was a blast. We also saw lots of wildlife along the way including deer, osprey and bald eagles.
.JPG)
What a great way to spend the afternoon. We all had a blast.
.JPG)
.JPG)
After all that fun it was time to relax back at the RV. Again the nice breeze was blowing across the river keeping us cool. Renee broke out a bottle of wine and we kicked back while the kids played a game of Othello on the picnic table..JPG)
A quick look around did not show anything being wet. I checked under the sinks and all was dry. Time to go outside. Walking around the outside showed a huge amount of water underneath. This can't be good. But where is the water coming from? I opened the basement doors and found a steady stream of water coming from some hidden source above the floor. OK, time to stop the flow, so I turn the valve at the pedestal off. The flow stops, which is good, but I still don't know where the leak is. It appears the water is coming out of a crack in the floor that is below the fridge. Back inside to investigate. Hmmm, dry all around the fridge. The bathroom is adjacent to the fridge, so I check there again. Nothing wet around or under the sink. The floor around the tiolet looks dry and is, but I stick my hand around the back and find the wetness.
A quick check of the connections shows everything tight, but still wet. The toilet in this rv has some electric valves which I know I will never find in a small town. Gosh, I hope its not one of those. I feel around the best I can, but even after turning the water back on I can't find the exact source. Time to pull the toilet out. Great, just what I want to do. This goes pretty quick in even in the confines of the small bathroom. As I move the toilet off the drain, the source of the leak is now clear. As I had not turned the water back off before moving the toilet, the fitting that was leaking, completely lets go. Water shoots at full pressure from the supply line. That was smart... Luckily there is a valve right at the toilet, so I quickly shut it off.
Ok, problem found. The fitting that broke is obviously a specialty piece. I have high hopes though, as on the way into town I had spotted a large RV store. With piece in hand I head to the store. The parts counter guy looks up the part and says he can have it for me in about 2 weeks. Hmmm…. Plan B.
Plan B is to cobble something together that might work. I had passed a plumbing supply store on my way the RV store, hopefully they would have something. They did not have the greatest selection but I found enough stuff to make it work.
After arriving back at the RV park I reassembled everything and we were back in business. What a relief. I was worried this would end up taking all day, but finished the repair by 11:00. We had made reservations for a Jet boat ride later in the afternoon and I sure didn’t want to miss that.
Hellgate Jet Boats had some room for us and we arrived at about 1:30, just when it was starting to get hot. Hot up here is in the mid 80’s. We happily joined about 30 other people for our 2 hour cruise.
We set out heading down river, pausing occasionally to hear a story from our boat pilot or to view some of the beautiful riverside parks and residences.
.JPG)
In between stories we were entertained by the performance of the the boat. These boats are moved along by 3 engines at a speed of about 55 mph. They are capable of operating in only about 7” of water. When you look out of the boat and see rocks just inches under water it sure is unnerving at first..JPG)
.JPG)
One of the highlights is the 360* spin the boats perform. Check out this link for a demo http://www.hellgate.com/Page.asp?NavID=46 It was a blast. We also saw lots of wildlife along the way including deer, osprey and bald eagles.
.JPG)
What a great way to spend the afternoon. We all had a blast.
.JPG)
.JPG)
After all that fun it was time to relax back at the RV. Again the nice breeze was blowing across the river keeping us cool. Renee broke out a bottle of wine and we kicked back while the kids played a game of Othello on the picnic table.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)