Hurricane Repairs - RV Construction - Route Planning

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

After it is all dry and things have settled down we are dealing with our hurricane damage. It's all about water and it's just like an rv or sunroof.  Water knows how to find it's way into everything.  As the water rose it breached the tile around the front of the house and went above the tile trim.  They are here today to do the repairs.  They are able to salvage the tile pieces by trimming off the grout and some of the cement on the backsides.  It would be easier to replace the pieces but good luck ever finding a match.  

In addition, it turns out that the cement foundation for the house was poured before the porch that runs around the house leaving some spaces between the two.  When the rains or drought come there is some movement.  Also, the knucleheads that did the tile work to begin with, should have removed the paint from the cement block or prepared it with a barrier.  Because that was never done, that paint has to be removed.  

It's worse than it looks.  Also, instead of using cement (cemento blanco), they used stucco. 

Here they are removing the tile and the paint and giving it a good cleaning.  They are using a product similar to piso sobre piso, which is a mortar-like product that allows you to lay tile over tile.  It's sticks to everything and very well.  

I talked to the insurance company and they said we could call for an adjuster but I think the amount for the work doesn't warrant a claim after paying the deductible.  Now that they have started the work, I wonder if I can file a claim.  Maybe I will.

Okay, so here's to rv construction.  I watched this very interesting video of a couple that bought a $600,000 US motorhome.  They heard a lot of air during the first demo ride, and the salesman sitting in the coach said it sounded like a window was open.  Well, it wasn't, the windshield was falling out!

They fixed it, the couple bought the coach and had tons of issues.  This is supposed to be a top-of-the-line motorhome.  But here is the part I found interesting unless I am a very naive person.  Take a close look at the taillights.  

Before asking for a completely new motorhome and the factory fixing everything, the new owner saw that one of his taillights was out.  He discovered the problem in a circuit connection and ordered the part using the VIN number.  The factory said it wasn't their number but probably a Lippert number.  They called Lippert and they said the same thing.  To make a long story short, two separate taillights make up each side.  The 4 taillights are from a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe!  What?  This is a 2024 motorhome.  I couldn't believe it.  So how did they figure out the design?  Did they buy out the stock of Chevy Tahoe taillights?  Please educate me.

The moral of the story is a private inspection and a leak test.  BTW, we looked at another Durango.  Company-owned, all dealer maintenance and reasonable mileage.  We got there, it was exactly what we wanted until we opened the hood.  She said it was a V8, it's a V6.  Perfect conditions for buying but the wrong engine.

Here is the preliminary map for our Route 66 trip this fall.  I still need to figure out boondocking locations along the route and make them flexible enough in case we stay longer or shorter in our stops.

I've found maps by state with all the major stops and we will have to pick and choose which famous places we want to see.