Ah, the trials and tribulations of buying an RV for the first time when you know nothing about cars. We had a hell of a time just getting Jeero's Ride from the place we left it, in a city 40 minutes away, to our driveway.
So we bought the RV in a small city about forty minutes from our house.This proved to be a problem, because technically we needed to get it registered and licensed before driving it home, and the place we left it to get it all fixed up and in good running condition didn't do inspections. We couldn't figure out how we were gonna get it taken care of because we obviously needed two people to go pick it up and get the stuff done, and Cameron couldn't do it in time during the week, and everything was closed on the weekends.
Finally, after trying to figure out a good way to work it out, we just said fuck it, let's do it illegally. So after weeks of not having the RV, we took Cam's license plate off his car and set off to pick up the RV. We were both nervous about driving it home, seeing as neither of us had any experience driving an RV, especially me, who really has no experience driving anything bigger than a Honda Accord. So we were discussing who was going to drive it home as we were driving, when it started flurrying. Which was annoying but we figured it was no big deal and we could still pick it up. Then it started snowing harder. And harder. And harder. Until we finally decided to turn around (after getting about halfway there) and go home RV-less. So yeah, that was a bummer, especially after putting it off for so long.
Going To Pick Up the RV Take Two happened the next week. It was a sunny day, which we figured was a good omen. But apparently it wasn't. We picked up the RV without too much issue, but as we were driving it home (illegally, with Cam's license plate), it ran out of gas. About 30 seconds down the road from a gas station. Cameron and I took my car to the station and got some gas. Which we then couldn't figure out where to put. Yeah, I was thinking, we are definitely two people who should be owning an RV. But we did eventually figure it out and put it in. But still, the RV wouldn't start. At all. The battery had needed to be charged before we left the mechanic's, so we figured that was probably the problem, but still, we didn't know what to think. For all we knew, our RV that we had just spent almost $700 in repairs on was unable to run.
We didn't really have any way to jump it (because I am stupid enough to not have cables), so eventually and at a loss, we called AAA. It turned out that even though I have the highest level of membership, you need a special RV membership for RVs. Yeah, nice, AAA. So we got a tow truck (and had to lie about it being registered) but it cost like $70. And apparently it was kind of illegal for him to be towing a vehicle that big with his tow truck, so it turned out we were being extra illegal. Yay.
Well we finally got it home, parked it in front of the house, and went inside, vowing not to bother with it any more that day and to do something less stressful for the remainder of the day. But we still needed to get it into the driveway.
So we put that off for a while until we decided to do it like a half hour before we were supposed to leave to go up to Cameron's parent's house for Christmas. Yeah, we are awesome planners and super-organized people who never put things off and then get really stressed out by the things we put off. No, we would never let that happen. Anyway, so we're like, "Shit, we need to get this thing jumped and into the driveway." So we pull Cameron's car in front of the RV, and prepare to jump it, but to no avail, because his battery is too corroded to fit the cable on to it. So we moved our cars around until my car was in front of the RV, but then it turned out that my battery, for some inexplicable reason, has no indications of which part is negative and which part is positive. None at all. I even went online to try to figure out another way to tell but didn't find anything useful. So finally, we played musical cars one more time and got our friend/roommate Elana's car in front of the RV. Despite the fact that we were actually able to attach the cables that time and attempt the jump it, the RV still. Would. Not. Start.
We didn't have time to mess with it any more so we said fuck it, left it in front of the house, and got on the road. And we tried to forget about it for the time we were home over Christmas.
This story, does, in fact, have a happy ending. When we got back to town, we jumped the RV again, this time for about 20 minutes, and finally got it to run long enough to get it into the driveway. So while it is still uninspected, unlicensed, and unregistered, it is at least in the driveway and we have at least proven it is capable of running.
So for now, we're gonna leave it in the driveway and just work on renovating and fixing up the inside. After that, maybe someday, it will be road legal and we can actually practice driving it, then, maybe even, I don't know, take it somewhere. We shall see.
"I'm trying hard to love you, there's got to be an easy way."
you don't make it easy babe
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