Our new "home" on wheels

Our new "home on wheels"

We did it- I can't believe it- we got an RV.  It's been a little crazy as we were lined up to buy a 2004 Cougar quad bunk that was located in Chico, CA (north of SF- so about 8 hours from us).  We had it inspected by a professional and checked out an identical unit closer to home to be sure it was what we wanted.  We prayed for Gods guidance as it was our max budget including the gas up there and back and it needed to be in tip-top shape.  The owner said it was but we felt we should have it inspected first.  Turns out the owner wasn't available for the inspection guy to come out until Saturday Sept 3rd.  He decided to show the unit to someone on Friday even though we had the inspection scheduled for Saturday morning.  The inspection was over mid morning and - supposedly- immediately afterwards the viewer from Friday showed up with cash and gave him more than we were going to.  AWWW- We were so upset- the rug was pulled from right under us- AND we were out the inspection cost we had paid.  BUT- God is good.  The inspection came back that the unit was not in as good of shape as was told us and most alarming was that there was a "soft spot" in the queen room on the roof.  After voicing our frustrations Josh and I came to two realizations:
1. Even if the unit hadn't sold to someone else- we likely wouldn't have wanted it anyway and would have been out the inspection fee either way
2. God went before us and protected us from a long trip to come back empty handed.

So back to the drawing board.  We found another RV- about an hour north.  It wasn't in perfect condition but was HALF the price we were willing to spend because the guy needed it gone that day.  We called- we were packing to go see it and pick it up.  We figured at half the cost we could afford near any minor repair but needed to see it before fully committing.  Once again the guy sold it to someone - literally an hour after we contacted him- and this time for LESS than we were committed to give him.  We were frustrated BUT learned our lesson from rug pull #1 and really were just thankful for whatever it was God was protecting us from in that purchase.

Then Josh found a different bunkhouse (a double bunk house is what we were looking for- that is 4 bunk beds in the rear- one per kiddo).  It was in Lake Havasu and was recently reduced- priced to sell.  We spoke with the owner- a sweet Grandmother who let her kids and their kids use the unit at the lake and stored in onsite also at the lake.  The thing was hardly driven.  She had gotten new tires on it (a large expense we were thankful was already done).  So we did what we did with the SF unit- tried to order an inspection.  Turns out that the AZ side of Lake Havasu has plenty of inspectors but the CA side- is pretty much desolate.  We got a few quotes from people willing to travel around the lake, or down from Las Vegas but the travel expenses were so high that we realized we could drive out there, not get it, and come back for cheaper- so that was the plan.  We invited my mom to join, and my dad, my mom offered to babysit so we could go but it ended up just being us- Josh, Sarah and the kids- all of them.

Josh bought a hitch, got the truck ready and come Saturday morning (9/12) I woke the kids up before the "sky was awake" and told them we were going on an adventure!  Amazingly- and if you have children you have to know how miraculous this is- EACH KID WOKE UP HAPPY- not a tear was shed.  I kept the lights low, nursed the baby and put her in the carseat, gently woke my oldest and got her dressed in bed, then Charlotte (who is doing great at night due to the Dry-me alarm given to us by a nice craigslist lady), then Levi.  I woke him up the gentlest and whispered about the adventure. He said "adventure" and this kid doesn't talk!  So we all sat out on the curb in the early morning waiting for Daddy and the "silver bullet"

It was about a 6 hour drive (3 movies worth is what I told the kids).  I had a special gift for them to open after we passed each 100 mile mark.  The gifts were mainly things they already had that they'd just forgotten about.
1. Crayola Color Wonder paper and markers
2. A lacing game we "raced" to finish
3. Travel Guess Who game
4. A Jake and the Neverland Pirates figurine for Levi

We watched: How to Train your Dragon, The Incredibles and Frozen.

Once out there we met with the owners son in law who had gotten there early enough to set up the unit in our campsite.  See we still don't have a generator so weren't sure how to test it- until I suggested that we just purchase a campsite for the night and have it hooked up there.  $32 and we can test everything out.  It was so nice to have it already pulled in, AC going, slide out, leveled and hooked up.  The interior was great, a few minor cosmetic things but overall real nice.  The outside was as expected with the peeling decals and awning fabric torn.  We knew all that before driving out there.  What we didn't know was that the roof had a few rubber sections that needed patching, a skylight that was cracked, a vent missing and that the fresh water tank was dry and in need of replacement.

In need of recaulking/ resealing

Gashes i the rubber

In need of a new rubber layer (apparently this is painted on yearly in well maintained trailers)

The newest rubber layer flaking off

Cracked skylight (means potential leaks)

Missing an entire vent cover

The largest of the rubber gashes

We also weren't confident in the refrigerator as after 2 hours it still wasn't showing any sign of chill.  Nevertheless we went for it- we took the Ref risk after learning it could take up to 24 hours to cool completely and bought the RV for $3200 under our budget-!! We intend to use that to fix up the roof, water tank etc though.  The kids were hungry so I brought them to a little grocery store nearby while Josh finished up the paperwork.  I figured it would take the owners about an hour to empty out all of their stuff.  BUT they just LEFT IT ALL.  Good and bad I guess.  A lot of it was trash, or old BUT it was like a treasure hunt to clean the thing out.  So far we have found:
Brand new grill meant to mount on a boat
Boat propeller
A scuba propeller
2 pull behind huge blow up boat raft toys
A hoover vaccuum
A wake board
A waterski
New hubcaps for the RV
3 large papasan folding chairs
Tons of sheets, blankets etc
4 animal pillows that Savannah was hopeful they would leave!
RV "Stuff" for the toilet
Cleaning stuff
Brand new zip locks, trash bags, paper towels, cleaning supplies
Lots of pots and pans and other cookware
An expresso maker
A starbucks small carafe coffee maker
AND we aren't even done going through everything.
Josh has been diligently selling our furniture, bikes and extra stuff out of the garage so he is certain he can sell some of the above that we can't use- and this will help make up the fridge cost- if there is any.



Here is a video tour of the inside: