So, after our last optimistic post with Bill and Jefferson, our handyman heroes, it rained. Not much, but enough to make us realized the roof was still leaking.
You must understand, there's little that creates more sturm und drang in RVers' lives than a leak. When water finds its way from outside to the inside, there's more at stake than ones possessions and a dry place to sleep. In particular, older models of RVs have coach bodies that are constructed from plywood and framed out with wood, rather than newer models which are usually entirely aluminum. So, little Lucy has wooden framing and walls, and if water finds its way in there, it's very difficult to get out, and therefore, can lead to mold, mildew, and ultimately rot. Catching a leak early is crucial to maintaining the integrity of one's RV, and protecting it from the Phantom Menace of leaks. (See what I did there?)
Saturday:
Well, we caught it. It's definitely been rained on a few times before we could repair it, but we seem to be able to keep drying things out. Jefferson and Bill repaired the window on Saturday morning, and ran a hose along the window, with no leaks. Hooray! We went along our merry way, fixing all the other things that can go wrong with a 20 year-old RV: do those awning arms lock? (Yes.) Why are they bending in the wind? (Because you didn't lock them.) Why won't the generator start up? (Don't know. Good thing we've got power.) Why did that fan stop working? (Fuse blew.) Wait, the microwave and AC just went off. OHMIGOD WE BROKE LUCILLE! (No. City power went out. Bill doesn't have power either. GET A GRIP, WOMAN.)
*whew* Seriously. If you're as dramatic as me, living in an older RV is an emotional rollercoaster.
Sunday:
Then, it rained Saturday night. And in the morning, we checked the overcab area: the Phantom Menace had risen again. So much for our lazy Sunday. Jeff would spend 3 hours in the hot sun on the roof, patching with a different kind of sealant to see if the water was coming from higher up, and just escaping around the window.
But first, we made pancakes. Because when troubled by the Phantom Menace, a breakfast of coffee and pancakes is a handyman hero's superweapon.
Jefferson went roofward, and I went into the RV to struggle with Crankers McCrankypants, who had gone several days taking really crappy naps, if any at all. It was a long day. When folks asked me if we were EXCITED about moving into an RV, I always said yes, but with the caveats that at times, it would suck, and that the first 2 weeks would probably be the hardest. I recalled those comments later in the evening, and Jefferson said, "yeah, I believed you, but I didn't think it would be quite this hard." We both went to bed feeling a bit discouraged about the state of Lucy, saddened by McCrankypants' difficulty with the transition to RV living, and teething, and not nursing to sleep, and not napping in a swing, and generally wondering if we had made a big mistake.
Monday Morning:
Jeff went back to the hospital this morning. I woke up at 6am to the sound of heavy rain on the RV. I ever-so-gently crept around a SLEEPING BABY in my bed, extracted myself without waking her, and snuck up into the overcab area to check the leak. It was damp, but I was pretty sure that was the day before. I checked again at 8am (baby still sleeping!), and no pooled water. Just checked again at 9am and there was only a few drops where the leak is. Now we're getting somewhere. A New Hope springs forth! Hopefully in the next few days, before we leave the RV for a week in storage, we'll be able to get the leak taken care of completely. Meanwhile, forecast calls for rain every day, so we'll have plenty of chances to check it.
Oh, and did I mention Addie slept until 9:10am?
Looks like Monday morning is the new Saturday afternoon. A new hope, indeed.
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