We have arrived back at Davis-Monthan AFB on February 18th prior to our planned trip to New Mexico and Texas. We had to go into overflow parking since the park was completely packed. We estimated that it would take us about a week to get into a slot with services. You get on a waiting list and are moved up the list every day. On Sunday, February 23, we were offered a slot with services, but it was a small slot with only 30-amp service. We decided to wait at the top of the list until the next day to get a larger slot with 50-amps of service. On Monday, we got a very nice slot and moved in.
Our first goal here is to get service on the trailer. The warranty is up in March, so we need to get some things fixed. Here is a list of what we need fixed:
One electrical switch not working.
Large slider (push-out) making lots of weird noises when it goes in and out. Might fail?
Check center air conditioner unit - seems to not be working properly.
The leveling system is not working - The right-rear leveler drives too far and creates an error message.
Two phone charging ports are not working.
How to fill gas tanks on RV without the pump handle constantly shutting off.
Re-secure the recliner console due to its coming loose when the recliners "autonomously" start opening with the table supports right in front of them.
We have an appointment at Happy Daze RV on March 4th. We may have to leave it overnight; we will see. Once the repairs are made, we will be off to New Mexico and then to Texas.
One reason that we are staying in Tucson is that we are nearing the end of the warranty period on the RV, so we have scheduled maintenance on several items. We waited in line for two weeks to be seen and then we dropped off the trailer for service. What they do first is what they call a "diagnosis" of the issues we have. Then they begin the process of going to Jayco to make sure that they will cover the work under warranty. This takes time, especially since they only have on lady who does the warranty work and she is "working from home" while on maternity leave. The problem is that they will not work on the trailer until they get the warranty approvals. So, after three days in the shop, we still do not have warranty approvals. We had spent nearly $200 staying in base quarters waiting for the repairs and nothing had been done. On Friday, we told the dealer that we needed to take the trailer for the weekend since the base quarters are not available and it would cost us about $500 to go downtown to a hotel. I mentioned that we would need the items fixed regardless of whether or not Jayco covered the work under warranty. We essentially said that we would pay, but this not the way it works for them and they have yet to do any work on the rig. This is frustrating for us, but this appears to be a part of being a full-time RVer. We are supposed to take the rig in on Monday, but we will likely call first to make sure that some work will be done and it will not just sit there. We will see what happens.
MAINTENANCE UPDATE: Lazydaze had our RV for five days and the only thing they accomplished was to put a couple screws in the recliner base to hold the unit down. They couldn't do anything with the slideout or the leveling system. They failed to order the light for the vanity (for which we had paid in advance) and they never secured warranty authorization. Their warranty requester is on maternity leave and working from home. Our slideout sticks and the levelers "error out" before leveling is complete. We can get by, but, hopefully, they won't fail completely. LESSONS LEARNED: Get hydraulic levelers for your RV; not electric. They are too sensitive and don't have the needed power. Check with several people who have used a repair facility before you go there. Talk to other RVers; they seem to know the dealers. We plan to take the RV to the Jayco manufacturer when we get to Indiana. They will repair all issues if you contact them in advance. They will do five items if you just show up. They build the RVs so they know how to fix them.
Our second goal while hear is to search the area for places where we might like to purchase a home or condo in the future. We have not yet decided which state we will settle down in, but we know it will not be California. We are, primarily, looking at Arizona and Texas as the main possibilities for places to live. The cost of living is much less and the taxes are much less too when compared to California. So far, we have looked at Oro Valley just north of Tucson and The Quail Creek Resort in Green Valley to the south of Tucson towards Nogales. Lots of opportunities in both places. Houses are about one-half the price of a home in Sacramento for the same quality. Gas and electric costs about $120 per month for a 2000 square foot home. Arizona has a nuclear power plant. All landscaping is "desert." No lawns. So, there is very little maintenance to be done. In fact, most places have Homeowners Associations (HOAs) where you pay a monthly fee for your yard and street maintenance. The monthly rates are pretty low too; usually less than $100 per month.
Oro Valley - Nice homes with close access to great hiking, bike paths, and shopping. Also close to downtown Tucson and the University of Arizona. Close to the biking and driving trip up Mount Lemmon and close to great hiking in the Catalina Mountains, north of town.
Quail Creek in Green Valley (20 miles south of Tucson) - Quail Creek Resort (A Robson Resort Community) for adults 40 and over. About 2300 homes already built. The homes are built very well with costs from $260K for 1600 square feet to $400 for 2,700 square feet. These costs do not include the cost of the land that varies from $10,000 to $100,000 dollars based upon the location, view, and size. Lots of services offered with this location; golf, biking, hiking, all sorts of clubs, dining, shopping, and much more. This is a very tempting location to build or purchase a home.
Green Valley - Lots of homes available both new and established. Great views and nice homes.
Florence near Phoenix - This is another area that is being recommended for finding a great home. The entire Phoenix area is available to you, but with it comes traffic and congestion. We have not yet traveled to Florence to check out the area.
Dancing - We went to a salsa lesson and dance last Sunday afternoon. It started at 5:30 with a fun lesson and then dancing afterwards until 8:30 in the evening. The lesson included a shine that was followed by a pattern. Near the end of the lesson, both the shine and the pattern were put together. Pretty well done. We had a good time at the social dance afterwards. All-in-all, a great opportunity to dust off our salsa dancing.
Heritage Flight Certification Week - Four aircraft just flew over our RV at the Davis-Monthan Family Camp. I went out to see what they were and saw three World War II fighters flying in formation with a state-of-the-art F-35 out of Hill AFB, Utah. As it turns out, Davis-Monthan AFB hosts the certification program where highly experienced civilian aviators who own vintage World War II and Korean War aircraft can practice flying in formation with top line military aircraft and then become certified to conduct "Heritage Flights" at airshows all around the country. There are three jets from the Korean War here; two F-86s and an F-100. There was also a P-38 Lightning, a P-47 Thunderbolt, a P-40 Warhawk, and six P-51 Mustangs. They practice flying for two days with the military aircraft and then on Saturday and Sunday, they stage simulated airshows with announcers and support staff. They allow all military members who can access the base to come out and look at the aircraft up close, and they we become the audience for the heritage flights. Pretty cool! We were able to intermingle with the maintainers of the aircraft and we got to see the demonstration team pilots up-close-and-personal. The top two air force fighters, the F-35 LIghtning II and the F-33 Raptor, had both of their demonstration teams there along with the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the A-10 Warthog demo teams. They all learned to fly with the vintage aircraft. For several hours we watched the flights and also aerobatics by the Air Force Teams. Pretty impressive!! We were also just standing by the barrier separating the crowd from the flight line when a gentleman walked up to say, "Hi." Turns out it was Four-Star General Mike Holmes, Commander of Air Combat Command. He is in charge of all the bases that house fighters and bombers and directs the strategies to employ them. He is a very nice man who spoke with Lisa and I very casually and comfortably. I shook his hand and let him know that I really appreciated what he was doing. He took photos with the security teams and was very charming. He stated that he was there to certify the Heritage Flight Teams and the Demonstration teams for the various aircraft. What a great opportunity for Lisa and me. We were able to see an F-35 do a "tail-slide" and also a "flat spin," both of which I did not even think a jet could do. Amazing. Be sure to see the photos for this activity.
We have been riding bikes quite a bit. I am trying to get back in shape, so I rode a 57-miler on the "Tucson Loop" trail that goes all around the city. Tucson has 124 miles of beautifully maintained bike trails, and the public makes great use of it. I got in another 40 miles the next day and then Lisa and I have ridden two 30-milers over the last two day. Great exercise. The weather has been very agreeable with highs in the upper 70s. Tucson provides great opportunities to cycle with great trails and good places to climb in the nearby mountains. I rode the climb to the top of Mt. Lemmon with my friend Roy from the Family Camp. Roy is a strong rider and challenged me to work harder on the climb. We climbed 21 miles up the hill (42 miles round trip) with a little under 5,000 feet and the grades were mostly seven percent or less with a touch of eight percent here and there. This is a great training climb and I would do it frequently if I lived in Tucson. Good shoulder for riding and many bikes on the road. Drivers were very courteous overall.
Today is Sunday, March 1st and we have decided to drive to Florence, Arizona to see if the area might be a location where we could buy a home and live. There are several new housing developments there and it sits about one-and-a-half hours north of Tucson and 45 minutes south of Phoenix. We went to see some of the homes in the area. On the way there, we passed through the town of Coolidge, Arizona. This is a small town that is home to the prehistoric Native American ruins that we call "Casa Grande National Monument." We stopped there and toured the ruins. We were led by a wonderful docent who really informed us about the people who live there and built these wood and mud buildings. We learned a lot about how the natives lived, what they ate, and how they used what was available to them from the desert. Pretty amazing. After leaving the "Casa Grande" ruins, we went to Florence and drove through the older "historic" part of the town. Quite a dichotomy with older buildings surrounded by newer state-of-the-art facilities. After lunch at Taco Bell, we did something that I never thought I would do; we drove out to the Sun City Anthem development at Merrill Ranch about five miles west of Florence. We went in an looked at about eight model homes ranging in size from 1700 to 2700 square feet. Very nice houses that ranged in price from $240,000 to $310,000 for a basic home in the development. To this cost, you would have to add between $10,000 and $20,000 for the land and then add about 25% of the cost for upgrades that you will likely want to include. When all is said and done, you can get a home here for about half of the price of home in Rocklin, Roseville, or Folsom. Electricity is also at least half of what we would pay in California. A very nice volunteer also informed us that he pays about $2000 a year in property taxes for a 2700 square foot home. In Rocklin, we are paying $9000 for a 2400 square foot home. You can save a lot of $$$ if you move to Arizona; you just have to adapt to the desert life-style. When we returned to Davis-Monthan AFB, we went for a walk around the base of about four miles and were treated to one of the best sunsets we have seen in a while. The sunset was amazing in its deep red and orange colors across the sky and the changing colors of the mountains in our area.
We went for a hike at the Sabino Canyon State Recreation Area. This is an excellent place to hike and the scenery is awesome. They have a trolley ride that will take you eight miles up a road to a trail-head. From there you can hike and then, when you return, you can take the trolley down the hill. We chose to take a bus shuttle to Bear Canyon where we could hike three miles up to Seven Falls. On this trail, you cross the creek seven times by stepping on rocks. Made the hike more challenging an fun. The trail is well used so easy to follow and I would consider it "moderate" in level. There were some places with fairly steep drop-offs along the trail, but it was not hard to stay on the trail. The falls are really pretty with spring-fed, cold water coming down from the high country. I would highly recommend this hike. This is a real treasure for the community. We plan to go back and take the trolley ride before we leave. Also, you can ride bicycles on the roads before 9:00 in the morning and after 5:00 in the afternoon. This would be a fun ride.