Dead batteries and a botched service attempt

It got really cold here last weekend and Shad and I were both overloaded with work so we had left the rig plugged in for a few days.  When we went out to start it on Tuesday our batteries were completely zapped by the cold.  We tried to jump off each battery one at a time and were getting a little juice, but the Honda's battery was just not cutting it.  We ended up calling an RV technician on Wednesday and juiced the batteries with his chargers for about half a day and we were running again!

We were able to get out and drive around a bit and enjoy the rig for the first time just the two of us.  It was a fun ride and we even stopped and parked at Walmart and ran in for some "doggie crack" aka Beggin' Strips.  

Every day is going to be a learning experience for us and yesterday we learned a big lesson... Watch out for trees with low branches!  We managed to damage the grate area on the side of one of our AC units; it's a bummer, but it could have been much worse.

We had called around last week looking for a place to get the rig in and get a once over of the engine, fluids, etc.  After many calls we were referred to our local Buick dealership.  Shad called the service department and the assured him that they could look at our engine.  We found our way through construction areas to the service area (Shad is getting good at this driving thing..) and were told to wedge our 40' beast into a small area leading to a service bay.  Shad nervously made his way to the bay and then we were turned away because the technician said he didn't realize we had a Detroit diesel engine.  He referred us to a big-rig place outside of town.   Greeaaat...  So for the first time Shad got to guide the beast through a maze of new cars in reverse.   The whole time he was thinking our insurance was going to LOVE us if he swiped a row of new trucks.  He handled it like a pro and I stood behind and guided him and it all turned out okay.  We both agree we need to get the backup camera installed asap!  

Today we checked all of the plugs and they are all functional.  So far the only things we have found that aren't working are the bus horn, and two lighting fixtures.  Hopefully those will be easy fixes.  We also measured the bed frame and it looks like we can replace the mattress with a residential queen..  this made us very happy!

We cleaned all of the surfaces and exposed areas today and it wasn't too dirty.  We still need to attack the kitchen floor, fridge, ice maker, and bathroom, but the most of it is done.  I start a four night work stretch tonight so the rest is going to have to wait until next week.   Hopefully we can get it into the shop and find out more about the engine next week as well.  

Thanks for reading!