Life in the Sonoran Desert

Our new home since February 1 has been at the QYB Ranch in Marana, AZ. We found out about this Hipcamp venue from Scott Shackelford our mobile RV Tech. What a gorgeous place to enjoy the Arizona sunset and sunrise! We traveled the 2.1 miles on a dirt road but it was relatively easy to get to the ranch and we were welcomed immediately by James. The spot is a flat sand/gravel base off the main dirt road and the full hookups make this a great stop. We set up the gas fire pit, solar powered torches, colored blue lights under the rig at night and enjoy the views of the night sky surrounded by multiple Saguaros. Sabrina, our hostess was very understanding and responded quickly when we explained our freshwater tank issue and worked with us to get the site scheduled.

We've been in constant communication with Alliance RV back in Elkhart, IN regarding the needed repairs to our trailer. The big problem is the replacement 98 gallon freshwater tank is on backorder, and according to Tim at Alliance the Parts Department, the rest of the parts on the order will ship out Wednesday 2/8. So they will get to us about 2/15. Some of the minor parts were shipped to Scott, our amazing RV Tech, and arrived today Friday, February 3. Scott, is under the rig right now prefabricating a serious upgrade to the stringers that will hold the new tank. He showed me the material he's using and it is beefy steel angle iron! Scott has been awesome and he's a surprise blessing from God.. We're fortunate to have his craftsmanship and work ethic. Lippert, the manufacturer of the trailer frame purchased by Alliance, did a crappy job welding the stringers and used some wimpie materials on the undercarriage supports. Scott's solution will guarantee we never have this problem ever again.

For now we are in the Tucson area for another two weeks, probably until Friday, February 17. Fortunately, we can still live in our rig while we wait for the repairs to be completed. We have no out of pocket expenses associated with the repairs. Alliance is paying for the parts and labor. Unfortunately, we will miss our first RVICS assignment in Texas. Karen and I were looking forward to participating with our fellow RV'ers. That said, we have other RVICS opportunities in the queue to do later this year. The weather in Tucson this time of year is lovely. For now it is time to enjoy the beautiful desert scenery. We have all year to see the rest of the country once repairs get completed.