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Dear Friends,

After several weeks of boxing, lifting, moving and general chaos, we have moved our operation into new digs. Our apologies to anyone who we missed with phone calls and emails as all things internet took awhile to setup.

Thanks for your continued patience and your business!  RVPartsNOW.com has doubled in size and has quickly become a 10 hour a day job and I and my family are very grateful for this.

Now to plan the next RV trip for a much needed break!

Jeff

Warning – Not RV Related!

This is a rant about our experience with our GE appliances in our new home and maybe might help the next poor fool that comes along to not repeat this fiasco…

A bit of history first, our house was purchased new in 2007 and the appliances came out of the box as we watched, we have no children (reduced wear-n-tear) and had an extended warranty.

When we moved in the General Electric – “GE” appliances seemed to be the perfect choice and of course worked perfectly.  The first hint of trouble was the dishwasher that after about 6 weeks the faceplate and control panel started falling off.

Faceplate started falling off after 6 weeks!

So, being the happy new homeowners we called our dealer and were given the contact for GE warranty.  After getting through to the service desk we had a tech dispatched within 2 days and he replaced the entire faceplate.

“Great” we are thinking to ourselves that is done with…

About a week later the NEW faceplate began to come off… Hmmm, so another call to the service desk and another GE field technician comes out.  Are you ready for this – He tells us that this is a known issue and that they (GE) “aren’t addressing it, but should”, he says.

So we pressed him for a solution and guess what?  He had two more faceplate shipped to us and told us to apply them “if needed”.  It turns out that it is a cheap sticker.

Well, that didn’t make us very happy but we are still satisfied with our extended warranty and thinking that this will work itself out.  As many more months go by we start to notice the stove is looking strange…

Now the Stove is Falling Apart~!

Oh boy!  More calls and now they won’t send anybody out because it doesn’t affect operation and must be something “We Did!” and the initial GE 1 year warranty has expired we are told.

Now, are you sitting down?  Within 1 week of the 1 year warranty expiring we had the following and please tell me how this is all just a coincidence…

The faceplate fell off the dishwasher (again) the stove faceplate bubbled up as you can see in the picture (second time), the microwave died and started a nice shower of sparks and smoke! and within 2 weeks of that the dishwasher pump went out, the washing machine pump began sounding like it had ball bearings rolling around in it and – (wait for it…) Yes the fridge started squealing (fan motor).

New Microwave at 1 year 3 weeks

Wheeee!

So off to the store for the new microwave as the (now extended) warranty folks are no longer wanting to acknowledge our existence and are claiming that they “will get back with us”.  After a bit of “back-n-Forth” we are told that the extended warranty does not cover “face plates” and trim.  Also if we wanted to be reimbursed for the microwave we should have not removed it and let a technician “evaluate it and make a determination and then we could be reimbursed several weeks later.  That’s great unless you needed to cook dinner that night!

So we screwed ourselves by running down to the local box store and buying a replacement on a Saturday night and should have waited several weeks??? Again Hmmmm…

At this point we just pretty much gave up and moved on as we are busy with life and websites and have little time for cooking or kitchen appliances (stupid us).  As they continue to fail we have been replacing or repairing and I am sure that this is exactly what GE has in mind is stupid consumers like us that simply replace instead of repair.

My only purpose in writing this is to VENT a bit and to maybe let the next poor sucker… oh sorry, I meant consumer know to check very carefully on your extended warranty terms and to not let them bully you.

But further and most importantly… What the hell has happened to “Made in the USA”?  These appliances made by an enormous US company are simply junk and we WILL be replacing them with Hitachi, Toshiba, Samsung or another brand as I have vowed to never own another GE appliance again.

What do you think?  I hate that as Americans we can’t seem to keep up and have sent everything overseas and what little we do produce seems so substandard so often.

Oh well, that’s my rant for today and as they say “buyer beware”!

Today I started an experiment in green shipping to see what the true costs and any impact would be.  As you may be aware there is almost nothing (in my mind) that is more wasteful then our shipping and packaging methods.  You go to the store and purchase a small bottle of perfume and it comes in an 18″ high plastic box (to alleviate theft).   You buy a cheeseburger at the local “choke-n-puke” and just look at all the “extra” packaging that comes with it.

My point is that our home recycle bins are overflowing with materials to be recycled, but I was not seeing this at work.  So we started purchasing recycled boxes, peanuts made from corn starch and avoiding “bubble wrap” at all costs.

The first and painfully obvious thing is the cost of raw materials (packing peanuts, box’s, etc.) is so much higher.  For example if a standard Styrofoam packing peanut is 1 cent (a gross exaggeration) then the Eco friendly version is 1.5 cent each.

For those that aren’t aware there are two kinds of packing peanuts…  The normal blowing around in the desert for the next 100,000 years kind and the much more earth friendly ones made from water soluble corn starch.

The one on the left (circled) is the corn starch peanut..

So, we have 160 cubic feet of the “new” peanuts on their way as well as 400+ corrugated cartons… that’s cardboard box to you and I… that are made from recycled content.

The question I have now is that I am told that the tape we use to seal the cartons and the postage labels, stickers and etc. are prone to not adhering as well to the recycled boxes and this may present an issue.

You can imagine that it kind of defeats the entire purpose to have the tape and or label fall off during transit!

So I wait and wonder if this was a stupid move that simply costs more money and makes me feel better at night or if it will actually do some small amount of good and save a tree (or small bush) somehow.

The next part is to print up some small fliers to insert in each package asking the customer to try and recycle or reuse when possible… What do you think about that?

I welcome your feedback and look forward to the day when Walmart bags and bubble wrap will disintegrate in the sun (this century)!

Now, about that packing tape…

This has been the most relaxing and wonderful day in, well.. It seems forever!

Where the heck are we?

My Grandfather and I decided to take a break from filling orders and stocking shelves and randomly set out from Tucson heading “east”.  After driving along several back-roads for a bit we noticed this little sign on the side of the road with the simple words “Winery” printed on it.  Now, for those of you that don’t know me there is one little word that will get my heart all in a flutter and that is “cheeseburger”… Oh wait sorry it’s “Winery”!

So after applying liberal amounts of foot to brake pedal we managed to pull off and take stock of the situation.  To my amazement there perched on a distant hillside could be seen neat rows of grape vines!  Further I realized that being a Saturday afternoon that we stood a good chance of finding the owners about.  We set about heading up the hill and as you can see from the picture it is a fair bit over a (smooth) dirt road and up a small hill.

One note, I would not recommend that you take your (25′ plus) RV up the hill as you may find it a bit tight.

Short drive up a dirt lane...

I can assure you that it will be worth the drive and that the end is near at hand.  Once you round the final turn you will come to the beginning of the vineyards and the neat rows that stand against the surrounding hillside.  Everything is neat and tidy with row after row of mature vines beckoning you to come closer.

The entrance is easy to find and I am told they are open Friday – Sunday 10am-6pm so we had arrived on the perfect day.

After parking we were greeted by Milton Craig the owner who was very friendly and we spent several enjoyable minutes discussing the vineyard and the surrounding area.  Since we had decided to drive out to a winery that conveniently has a tasting room, he suggested that we might step inside and meet his wife.

We followed Milton into the comfortable tasting room that overlooks the vineyard and the surrounding valley with a beautiful view that is not to be missed.  They offer a patio with chairs to take in the view and maybe bring a pick-nick and stay awhile!  Inside we were warmly greeted by Susan Craig Co-owner who introduced us to the history of their vineyard and the circumstances that led them to this beautiful valley and to own a vineyard… but that is their story to tell and you will just have to visit and find out for yourself!.

Susan explained the two wines they are offering at this time, their signature is a White Merlot that really reminded me of a White Zin with a hint of Apricots and maybe peach? Also their Red is a Syrah that is simply put; “delicious”.

Now, I am not a wine expert by any means but an avid and willing consumer and I know what I like and both of these wines are wonderful.  After sampling both and deciding that I needed to take several home with me I realized one other important note… Bring cash!  It is a very long drive to the next ATM machine and to keep cost low they are not yet able to accept credit cards.

A fun place...

Just to be clear, that the way we approached the vineyard was very backwards and I actually was not aware of just how close to I-10 and Tucson we were.  It is a simple matter of traveling east down I-10 to exit 281 and take hwy 83 south for a few miles till you see the winery sign on the left.  If you are in a large RV and have a toad there is a nice sized lot just at the sign and plenty of room to disconnect and take the toad up to the winery.

Their information is;
Charron Vineyards
18585 S Sonoita Hwy
Vail, AZ 85641
520-762-8585
www.charronvineyards.com

Simply Yummy!!...

I do hope that this little review will encourage you to head over to the vineyard next time you are through Tucson… But one little favor to ask…

Please don’t tell anybody about this place, because as my Grandfather says “everybody will come and we will never find parking…”.  Maybe he is right so just keep it between us. OK?

Now to decide which bottle to open first…

— Position Filled, thanks! —

Summer Web Design Intern with Wild Tangent Ventures Inc. in Tucson, AZ — May 07, 2010

Overview:
This is a 5-week summer internship in Tucson, AZ.  This internship will work off-site on your own computer. An initial meeting will take place on-site at Wild Tangent Ventures Inc.  Compensation for 5-week virtual (off-site) position is $500.

Responsibilities:
- Re-designing existing homepages
- Graphic & design enhancements throughout the application and homepages
- Assist in developing an installation script/package for existing .php application
- Creating many enhancements and additions to existing .php application

Experience:
Significant experience in web design (please send links to your work)

Requirements for Web Intern:
- Knowledge of html, Dreamweaver and Flash preferred.
- Ability to code (My SQL and/or PHP) required, with Java, Javascript knowledge highly desirable.
- Good writing and communication skills.
- Ability to work diplomatically in a team environment (in meetings, via email and on the phone).
- Detail oriented, accurate, and thorough including ability to troubleshoot own work for errors and functionality.
- Knowledge of graphics / media arts preferable.
- Knowledge of both Mac and PC environments preferred.
- Ability to work independently.

Education:
Current college student (undergrad or graduate school)

How to Apply for this Internship:
If interested, forward a resume and a cover letter explaining reasons for interest and addressing how you meet the requirements. please send us URLs of your work (sites you’ve designed or worked on). We will be interviewing in May, and will contact you for an appointment if we are interested.

Email your application materials to:
Jeff Skinner, President, at jeff@wildtangentventures.com
By Friday, May 20, 2010. (no phone calls please)

Had the pleasure of meeting with Rick from Trailer Refrigeration Inc. today and was reminded of what a great resource they are to the RV community.

They are the experts that will sell you a rebuilt cooling unit for your RV fridge.  They have been in business for many, many years and they only do one thing… RV fridge cooling units.  I was able to see behind the scenes and was really impressed with Ricks vast technical knowledge and industry experience.   Having the added benefit of living in Tucson near their facility made me wonder what happens to someone who lives out of state?  I learned that they will ship you a new cooling unit packaged with instructions and installation materials that will allow you to rebuild your dead fridge.  Then, after completing repairs you simply return the old core in the provided carton and they credit you for the return.

Pretty neat system and I understand they are very affordable with a 2 year warranty on their product.

When my cooling unit gives up the ghost on the old Winni, you can be sure I will be heading over to Rick and company and get mine rebuilt.

You can learn more at their website http://rvrefrig.com/index.html

Or give Rick a call at 520-573-0483

A friend emailed this to me today…

The perception of our statements, questions and replies. What do they say about us.

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below. He descended a bit more and shouted,” Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man below replied, “You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”

“You must be an engineer,” said the balloonist.

“I am,” replied the man on the ground. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of you, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help so far.”

The engineer responded, “You must be in management.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”

“Well,” said the engineer, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault!”

Author unknown…

We just spent a great weekend with some really neat people from Alaska that came down to Tucson to “warm up” a bit and we learned they have a really neat business with cabin rentals and kayaks, etc.

Located near Ketchikan at Coffman Cove Bay on Prince of Wales Island.

We are planning our trip now and recommend you do the same before they are “discovered” and booked up all year!

Check them out at; http://a5outdoorrec.com/index.html

Just ask for Mike or Julie!

Have you seen that movie “True Lies” (1994) with Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis?

Well, in the movie there is a scene where the bad guy (Aziz) is filming the impending nuclear bomb (or whatever) and the poor camera-man has run out of battery while the maniac Aziz is giving his manifesto and planning to kill everyone in sight.  So the camera-man (shaking in his shoes) says ‘Batteries Aziz” and almost breaks out in tears, because he is sure to be shot for this interuption…

The point of all of this is that this weekend I had a chance to use that line as I sat there turning the key in our Winni to the resounding chorus of;

“click” – “buzz” – “click”… etc.

After removing the engine battery and taking it to our local battery shop we found that it had been shorted out inside and was dead as a doorknob.

After replacement and a quick test drive to make sure everything was back in working order. I got to thinking of how I had only parked it three weeks ago and everything was fine.

So be sure to check your battery fluid (use distilled water!) and it would be a good idea to get one of those Harbor freight battery load testers as they are inexpensive and will tell you if your battery is “getting tired”.

I have one and plan on making it part of my semi-annual test and maintenance schedule.

So, the next time you are planning world destruction and using a video camera… remember fresh batteries!

I have to admit that one of our favorite “hobbies” is movies and we have the Netflix service www.netflix.com for the DVD’s and a Roku digital player that streams older movies from the web via Netflix.

And, once in a while we actually pay the outrageous fees at the theater… NO $9 POPCORN! for us though~

Recently viewed;

Avatar (of course) – Loved it!!!
Sherlock Holmes – was fun, but just seemed a bit “dull” to us for some reason we couldn’t but our finger on.

Spy games – Robert Redford & Brad Pit – Fun flick
Pitch Black – Vin Diesel – Corny but entertaining

And I hear that Inglorious Bastards is a typical Tarantino senseless bloodbath? Have you seen it yet?

One of our favorite weekend getaways is to take a movie (or 2) out to the RV and snuggle up and enjoy with no phone or distractions.

Oh, and a big side benefit is the really great gas mileage from not leaving the driveway.