Oooops! Our scheduled trip out West is nowTEMP on HOLD due to an accident. Not our fault!

Our continuing saga of problems with this Thor Challenger 37LX has led us to start considering swapping to another RV. Don't get me wrong, we are aware that every new RV has its share of problems, but this one has had its fair share and then some; and mostly it is that some of the problems seem un-diagnosable and unable to be fixed. It has already been through four (4) Thor dealers' service departments and still has unresolved problems with the hydraulic jacks and some electrical issues. So, having lost use of our wipers (for the third time) in the middle of a rain storm arriving at Lake Medina, near San Antonio, we called Thor Warranty and were directed to Lone Star RV Center in Harker Heights (180 miles away) near Ft. Hood/Killeen, TX, to be attended to right away. Thor had overnighted a complete new windshield wiper assembly to them, which they replaced to our satisfaction. However, while addressing the other issue (like jacks not working on Automatic and electrical charging being a hit and miss). Thor kept overnighting them new parts (one daily for 4 days) but these only partially helped yet did not fix the problems. We have spent the last week (yes, exactly 7 days today) at Lone Star RV Center semi-dry camping in their parking lot. They have been very nice and accommodating to us, hooking us up to 50Amp electrical service and connecting us with potable water. Only the grey and black water tanks need to be dumped, as needed when they fill up. So, it was in light of all these experiences that we had already pretty much come to the decision to start to look at other coaches, considering trading out of this brand new gas coach for another, and opting to get a diesel pusher instead. We went on Saturday to look at some at Motor Home Specialists RV (MHSRV.com) in Alvarado, TX (about 116 miles away) and found a Thor Palazzo 35.1 model we liked and can afford to trade up to. It would be a trade down from 1-1/12 baths to a single bath, and that bath is rather small, but all else suits us to what we like that this coach does not have. Anyway, then we drove back to our Lone Star RV Center digs. On Sunday (yesterday) with one head being about 90% full and the other about 50% full (not bad for 7 days use), found an Army Corps of Engineers Park that had dump facilities with rinse water available about 10 miles away, so we closed up our home and proceeded to that end. On the way back, getting ready to turn right with a sharp curve on the opposing traffic lane of traffic, (plus a light rain falling), there was an old woman driving a 2007 Hyundai, who admitted that she felt the curve was too closed and no doubt surprised by the large motor home on the opposite side of the road, she braked too hard to slow herself down and lost control of her car, hydroplaning and swerving as she crashed into our mid section. I tried to move over out of her way but was faced with a 'close curve' sign and a dropping shoulder on my right, so I was unable to get out of her way. The damage is quite extensive as it took out 4 basement doors and the wheel well (no info yet as to whether the wheel's alignment was affected). We called in the claim this morning and found out that the lady had already opened a claim, and she was the driver ticketed, so it was clearly all on her. So we now have to hang out around here waiting for the repairs to our coach, which they estimate could take about 20-30 days. The good news is that :1) No one was hurt, 2) It can be fixed, 3) We were already staying a Thor authorized RV Center, capable of doing body/paint work to repair it, and 4) As for the past week and for most of the time it takes to fix it, we can stay in our coach, hooked up to 50Amp service and with potable water connected. THE BAD NEWS: Last night  (after the accident) we found out that there was no need to go dump our tanks anywhere else, as they have a dump available right here. Oh well, we understand this to mean that EITHER we were meant to be there to keep the woman from rolling her car or crashing into God knows what else and dying or being seriously hurt... OR that we are not supposed to have proceeded with our trip yet. All the same, it is now clear to us that we need to swap out of this coach once our motorhome is fixed, and we will probably trade it in for a diesel pusher.

So that's the skinny on our last week's activities and pretty much on what we shall be doing for the next 3-4 weeks. More to follow as our news updates. Here are some photos of the accident, the damage and our current location.

The accident...

 

 And current digs...

As of April 25th - At Lake Medina and San Antonio, Texas

Here are some photos from Mary’s input on the April 24, 2016 posting, of the Texas A&M ‘Muster’ Reunion of the Villages Texas A&M Club, and of our stay in Wildwood while our coach was getting last minute warranty work done to it:

 

April 30, 2016

After a few eventualities, such as losing our wiper function in the middle of a pouring rainstorm on I-10, we managed to make it safely to the Thousand Trails Lake Medina RV Campground in Lakehills, TX by April 26th, where we will be until May 2, 2016... so far. Alternatively we may need to rearrange our itinerary as we are working with the RV manufacturer to find us a dealer that will make the necessary repairs of the wipers and hydraulic jacks ASAP. 

This campground is on the middle edge of Medina Lake (Reservoir) with beautiful lakeside views in the Texas hill country just outside of San Antonio. Here the local deer (mostly does though we did spot a few young 2 and 4 point bucks) wander freely around the campsites and even let the campers feed and even pet them when they feel at ease with someone.

On April27 we drove into San Antonio where we visited the Alamo and had lunch at a restaurant along the River Walk. The Alamo is a bit of a disappointment being surrounded by so many tall and modern buildings, but the history of what happened there is wonderful. In 1836, 189 defenders  died at the Alamo fighting the Mexican Army under the General Santa Ana. There is another ‘Alamo’ (a movie set and tourist attraction called ‘Alamo Village’) north of Brackettville TX (about 100+ miles away from the real one), which some say is more realistic of what the Alamo was really like. It was the first movie set built in Texas, originally constructed for and best known as the setting for ‘The Alamo’ (a 1960 movie directed by and starring John Wayne, as Davy Crocket, and other great actors like Richard Widmark, Lawrence Harvey and Frankie Avalon. Due to the distance, however, we did not go there, settling for the historical evidence instead. About a third of a mile away and almost across the street is another famous San Antonio landmark, River Walk. It is a beautiful and refreshing network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River, one story beneath the streets of downtown San Antonio, lined with restaurants, hotels and even a CVS store. Naturally we had a Mexican lunch. 

The rest of the time we spent at the campground hiking various trails and feeding the deer, as well as taking a bottle of wine and our cameras to the water’s edge to witness beautiful sunsets and observe the local wildlife.

Last night we had a fierce thunderstorm from a system which caused 5 deaths in Palestine TX, due to flooding, but for the record, it just grazed us here in Lake Medina with the outer edges of the storm literally passing within 5 miles of us, according to the radar, and really did not affect us any, other than giving us a chorus of thunder and pouring hard rain, which sounded wonderfully soothing on the fiberglass roof of the RV.

Here are some photos of our stay at the

Thousand Trails Lake Medina Campground

on Medina Lake in Lakehills, TX:

 

 

And of our visit to San Antonio (The Alamo and River Walk):

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