Thursday, September 15, 2011

Arrived Back in Tampa

Lutz, Florida

(warning…kitten pictures)

We left Vero Beach around noon yesterday for our 136 mile trip to Tampa.

We found a truck stop Highway 60 that had easy access in and out, and intended to fuel up.

When we got there, the pumps had what appeared to be 2 different types of diesel.  One said ultra low sulphur and the other said low sulphur.  One said for 2007 engines and later, and the other said good for all engines.  The problem was, those warnings were on both pumps so we didn’t know which was which, or which to use.  When Al saw that the third pump said unleaded, we just decided to drive on without re-fueling.  Better to be safe.  We knew we had plenty of fuel but weren’t sure exactly how much because our fuel gauge quit working.  It reads full all the time!  When we left Lazy Days, when they filled up the diesel and propane they noticed the fuel gauge wouldn’t go past 3/4.  They took it back in and fixed it and it had been working fine until we left for Vero Beach. 

We have been running the generator and both a/c’s while traveling and part way back Al had to brake kind of hard.  We heard a clunk and a while later noticed the generator wasn’t running.  We started it back up but it kept quitting on us.

We had to drive right by Lazy Days,  so we decided to pull in and see if they could fix it right then.  (yeah right).  The guy who handles the 30 day warranty stuff asked if we had low fuel.  We knew the generator wouldn’t run if the fuel was at 1/4 tank, but we felt sure we had more fuel than that.  He said the manuals say 1/4 tank is the cut off, but in his 20 years there, he had seen it cut off between 1/4 and 1/2 tank.  We went next door and filled the tank.  It took over 50 gallons, which means we were slightly below 1/2 tank.  The generator kept running after that, so I guess that was the problem.  It never occurred to me and we thought we had more fuel than that.  Yikes.  Our mileage isn’t as good as we hoped.  The previous owners told us they got about 10 miles per gallon when running 65 mph.  We think got about 6.5.  Of course ours was with the generator running the whole time.  Not great, but what can you do.

We made an appointment for next week to get the fuel gauge fixed and a few other things checked.  Al has been hearing a noise from the left front end.  I haven’t heard it.  Yesterday he thought something felt funny.  I guess we’d better get them checked out.  We’re trying to decide what is normal noises for this motorhome and engine and what could be problems.  It’s not quiet like a well sealed car and it does have some noise when driving.  I hate like hell to have to go back to Lazy Days, but I guess we will do it.

We haven’t decided where to go next.  It’s probably between Vero Beach, Fort Myers, or St Augustine.  We have Thousand Trails memberships in all three places.  Al wants to go back to Vero.  This is my choice this time though since Al got his choice last time! 

I have had a couple questions on our Thousand Trails membership.  The regular regional membership that we bought at the Rv show cost us $199.  It included the southeast states and had about 26 campgrounds.  Only three were in Florida.  We also purchased the “Max your Pass” membership for an additional $199.  That gives you  6 additional  Florida campgrounds.  We get 30 days free and after the 30 days, we have to pay $3.00  a night.  We can stay up to two weeks at a time, then we have to be out of the system for 7 days.  Since we knew we would be mostly staying in Florida, we thought it was a good idea.  One of those campgrounds is in the Florida Keys, near Marathon.  We are trying to plan a trip there.

The little no-name kitten made a trip to the vet in Vero Beach yesterday.  I wanted to confirm it was a female,  like Judy thought.  Well “she” turned out to be a “he.” I guess we would have figured that out shortly, but when they are very young, it’s hard to tell. We had wanted a female, but there’s no exchanging him now because  we already love him!  He weighed a whopping 1.9 pounds.  They gave us a free sample of Science Diet kitten food and we bought him some vitamins.  They are chewable and supposed to be tasty, but he doesn’t like them.  I want to start him off right and keep him healthy!

The kitties travel in their kitty cages.  The little one did just fine.  I was worried he would get car sick.  Thankfully he didn’t, and he was as good as gold.  I let him out to get a snack and go to the kitty pan when we stopped for fuel.

He meowed a time or two, but for the most part he just slept.

IMG_5027

Thanks to everyone that sent in name suggestions.  We’re still trying to find a name that sticks.  One of the first things I started calling him was Fuzz butt.  Al thought of Ozzie.  We normally just wait and see what sticks.  A good suggestion was Little Bit, but we used to have a kitty named Little Bitty Kitty and he went by LB. I knew Little Bit would end up being LB.   Keep those suggestions coming!

He was full of the devil last night after his busy travel day yesterday.  I was worried that he wouldn’t be ready for bed.

When it was bed time, I put him down beside my pillow on the nightstand beside the bed.  He immediately plopped down and went right to sleep.  Of course Miss Kitty had a snit fit because she thinks that is now her spot and she hates the little guy.  The baby slept while Miss Kitty was hissing, growling and spitting!

I worry he will wake up in the middle of the night and fall off the bed.  It’s along way down for a little guy and one side of the bed is on a tile floor.  I kind of slept with one eye open, but he didn’t stayed put.  Sometime in the middle of the night we got up and he had a snack and a kitty pan trip.  He played a while before he was ready to sleep again.  When I woke up this morning he was sleeping on Al’s night stand.   I don’t mind that once in a while, but he belongs beside me.  Smile

When we first got him I showed him where the kitty pan was.  The entrance is higher than his head.  I thought of getting him a shallower pan until he grows up a bit, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.    The first day, he found it again on his own and was using it.  What a good little boy!  I guess he won’t need a special kitty pan after all!

kitten with shoe

IMG_5040

IMG_5057

kitten butt

The end.

17 comments:

  1. nice ending!..glad your new addtion is adjusting well!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the kitty pictures. He really is a cutie pie. We only got about 7 or 7.5 mph in our motorhome. I think anybody who says 10 may not be lying exactly but it just doesn't happen.
    I'm like Al - I used to hear all these strange noises and would have to have them checked out so I knew if they were okay noises or something wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe when braking hard the fuel tank sloshed enough to shut off the generator on low fuel and once off, stayed off until refueling. It would be pretty unhandy for it not to run at half full all the time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a real pain that the fuel gage stopped working. :(

    ReplyDelete
  5. We too had the previous owner tell us he got 10mpg at 55 mph. The best we have ever gotten is 7 while towing. Perhaps he wasn't towing but still....10?

    We never run our generator on the road but we have a little bitty 34 foot and seldom drive as much as 4 hours a day so we just turn the fridge off.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love kittens! How funny, I was thinking of OZ as a name for him yesterday, but thought he was a little female and that didn't work.

    Why do you run the generator when driving?

    ReplyDelete
  7. We get about 7.5 mpg. We have gotten over 8, but not very often. All the kayak photos taken on the water are so pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Would Lazy Days consider selling you a permanent site there? You might need it. Next year will probably be better repair/maintenance-wise.

    ReplyDelete
  9. OWWIE!

    Nutz in prison already - this doesn't bode well.

    Roxanne

    ReplyDelete
  10. Do you run the generator so you can run the house air? That's what we do if necessary.

    ReplyDelete
  11. New kitty so darn cute... Sorry you had some issues ~ hope you can get them all taken care of quickly!
    Have fun & travel safe
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  12. I had two cats, Baxter, a grey tabby like yours, and Brady, a yellow tabby. Both were wonderful cats. I love your kitty pics, you can post LOTS more. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chuck and Anneke
    Yes, we think the sloshing fuel caused the generator to quit. The service guy said even though they say 1/4 tank is the cut off, he has seen many that cut off much higher.

    Sherry and Merikay
    We run the generator so that we can run the house air. It's hot here in Florida! We didn't travel much in the summer when we had the other smaller motor home, so we didn't often have to run the a/c while traveling. With this new one the dash air doesn't keep it very cool.

    Margie
    At least Lazy Days lets me spend the night free. I hope we don't have to spend much more time there. We really need the fuel gauge to work and check out the front end noise Al is hearing. Hope it's a quick fix.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Chuck and Anneke
    Yes, we think the sloshing fuel caused the generator to quit. The service guy said even though they say 1/4 tank is the cut off, he has seen many that cut off much higher.

    Sherry and Merikay
    We run the generator so that we can run the house air. It's hot here in Florida! We didn't travel much in the summer when we had the other smaller motor home, so we didn't often have to run the a/c while traveling. With this new one the dash air doesn't keep it very cool.

    Margie
    At least Lazy Days lets me spend the night free. I hope we don't have to spend much more time there. We really need the fuel gauge to work and check out the front end noise Al is hearing. Hope it's a quick fix.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Little "no name" is adorable!! Hope you get things fixed up on the MH! I know it is a real pain to have to return to Lazy Days but you want to get those things fixed/looked into while still under warranty!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Congrats on the new addition to the family. Hope you get those problems fixed up quick and with no hassle.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a cutie! Thanks for the TT info, too. Susan.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave comments. We love to read them! To contact me directly you can send e-mail to rvtravels2@yahoo.com