LYFE IN TOW

Upon leaving Mount Rainier, the closest and most suitable place I could find with electrical hookups was in Enumclaw, WA, about an hour southeast of Seattle. Haven’t heard of Enumclaw? Neither had I. But the campground was more than okay and close to stores if I needed supplies.

I started focusing on the Truma immediately. There were multiple issues:

Multiple error codes appeared when I turned on the heater. Sometimes it was one code, sometimes it was another, making it difficult to diagnose.
Usually, when the Airstream is plugged into shore power (electric power), a little “plug” icon appears on the Truma control panel screen (see image below). This was not happening, so it seemed the Truma didn’t recognize the connection.

Strike 1

The first call I made was to Truma customer service. They were extremely helpful, but after troubleshooting with me over the phone, they concluded that a professional needed to see it in person. On to the next option: Seattle Airstream dealer.

Strike 2

I called Seattle Airstream, and they were booked out for weeks. This is a HUGE problem with Airstream dealerships/service centers. They are so busy and in such high demand that they can't (or don't) make room for full-timers who live in their Airstreams. It's frustrating.

The gentleman on the phone was friendly and gave me some things to try. Since one of the error codes I was receiving pertained to the fan, he suggested that the fan's electric connection perhaps became inactive. He advised me to test the wire that fed the fan to see if it was hot. I went out, bought a tester, and tried it. The wire was hot, concluding that this was not the issue. I appreciated his help, but none of his suggestions got me far. I got the impression that he could feel my pain in my voice.

Strike 3

The third idea was to see if any remote RV repair services were around the area and available. I knocked on the camp host door, and the friendly host gave me the name and number of a guy. I called. He was booked out for three weeks. I went back, asked if she knew of anyone else, and she gave me another. No luck with that one either.

I was zero for three, and I was beginning to feel like I was out of options. My neighbor at the campground saw me flustered and asked if he could help. He gave me the name of yet another guy, but I couldn’t even through to that guy when I called.

Oh, Yes. The Bumper.

Let’s also not forget that I still needed to address the bumper situation. Given my travel route, I would pass through a few more Airstream dealerships in the next few months. The bumper was not urgent, but after calling a few dealerships along my way, I learned that the new bumper would take six weeks to manufacture and deliver. I would be close to Utah with that timing, so I coordinated with Airstream of Utah in Salt Lake City to order the part and make the repair when the time came.

Conclusion

I spent the entire day on the phone, trying different potential solutions and getting more and more irritated. I needed to take a shower, so I braved a cold one in desperation.

Typically, I can solve my problems one way or another. But in this case, I felt so helpless and hopeless. My hands were tied. I was at the end of my rope. The tears of frustration began to roll.

It didn’t take me long to snap out of it, remembering my motto: 10% is what happens to me and 90% is how I react to it. I have some friends in the Seattle area and decided to retreat from my Airstream problems for at least a night and head to their house in Burien the next morning.