Rough Testing

Usually, I refrain from reporting hardships or trouble in too much detail. But this past week, ending with Saturday the 12th has been a heck of a gut-twister. That would include Moctezuma's Revenge. Right now, it's Sunday and I'm writing this on Windows Live Writer to publish it later. Why later? My modem suddenly stopped functioning after my Wednesday post. This means having to go to San Juan del Rio, first taking a bus to Tequisquiapan, then another one to San Juan, a cab to Telcel for a new air card (modem), then doing the reverse. What would require a 20 minute drive and another 20 back will devour at least half a day and will cost a lot more than just gas. So until I go to San Juan, no internet, no email, no blog...

OK. Now to this fateful Wednesday. I needed to do the laundry. My washer is in the bodega and I run it electrically from the RV generator. A hose connected from the RV to the washer supplies the water. Since I have lost my water heater to wear, cold water only is available (yep, even for showers). No RV water heater to be found in Mexico. My generator had been giving me trouble lately, despite doing all the required maintenance. Half-way through the wash, a full load I might add, the generator balked and would not re-ignite. Oh well, guess I'll do the laundry by hand...

Now to the generator. I got a friend's husband to look at it on Saturday (yesterday) with a promise of immediate payment. He's trained as a mechanic and is in charge of a whole bank of machines at his place of work. He tested a number of areas including the gas pump attached to the generator. A hose runs from the RV gas tank to feed fuel to the generator. In testing the generator fuel pump, some gasoline dropped onto the base part already coated with oil residue. Also, on MY tools spread out below. When afterwards he tested a spark plug, the whole thing shot up in flames; in the generator cubicle and on the ground. Quickly he called to me to give him a fire extinguisher but even after emptying it all the flames would not be extinguished. I WAS GOING TO LOSE MY HOUSE, MY RV, ALL MY POSSESSIONS.  Nothing shoots up in flames as quickly as an RV--less than a half-hour until complete destruction! Calm despite my racing heart, I passed him water, one container after another from the kitchen which is right over the generator, no time to disconnect the hose from the washer, until he finally succeeded in putting out the fire. He left telling me he'd send me someone he trained as soon as he could find him. I'll pass on that one...

Now, the only way to fix the generator is to dismantle it from its cubicle while the RV is jacked up, remove it also jacked up (it weighs a ton) to a truck and take it to the shop. Without my generator, no washer, no air conditioner, no use of power tools. That's a little rough since the worker who was going to build me a roof shelter to replace the 18ft awning that had given up the ghost said he would not work without his power tools. I'll have to find someone else who is willing to work by hand. So while the temp hits the high nineties, even over 100 in the rig, the galvanized sheets are resting in the yard until I find someone to finish building this roof...

What had started out as an adventure is now becoming an incredible challenge. My plan had been to slowly build the place up. Yet one problem after another have cropped up and had to be fixed before I could proceed further. And believe me, I'm skimming lightly on the problems, one of which is finding people who are BOTH qualified and willing to work at a reasonable rate. There is a lot more to it than what's described here. Another part of my plan had been to put some money aside to get me a vehicle. Having a vehicle is crucial. Without transportation, not only construction, but my whole life has become REALLY problematic. Anyone out there with cash or a vehicle to spare?

The lack of financial means is hurting awfully bad. Let me say that I do not regret my decision to boondock on my lot. At times, I knock my head against the wall, but not too hard; I can't afford to fix walls on top of all else... Having the water finally worked out would alleviate some of the hardships; (a work in progress) but even more so having a source of electricity other than the generator. To get it, I have to go to Queretaro and apply for it. Probably 4 to 6 trips to get the whole thing worked out. Electricity involves purchasing and installing two posts and running the wires all the way through 2 or 3 lots to my place, with me footing the whole shebang for now. I had more or less counted on Google Ads for a trickle of money. No go. Solar energy would solve everything but I have first to have a fixed roof to get the extra panels. And the money to buy panels and batteries. And the proper enclosure for the batteries. Plus temporary wiring to the bodega and RV. A later project...

The alternatives to giving up the lot are even more unthinkable, especially when I look back to living in a seniors chicken coop surrounded by the living dead. Boondocking in the Desert Southwest was becoming as problematic as boondocking right here at home. Plus it involved finding other boondocking areas for the spring and summer months. Let me state this unequivocally here. Boondocking is not a cheap living solution. RVs are not made to support constant living. And they involve a LOT of work. At least, I'm home. Guess I'll have to figure out a way to tough it out...

I suppose I should lump all this under "learning experiences". Make no mistake about it. I'm all for learning. Just that getting an overdose of it at 71 feels overwhelming at times. How does the saying go? When times are tough, the tough get going? Or in my case, get to stay put...

LiveJournal Tags: RV boondocking