Thank Our Lucky Stars: Don’t Touch That It’s HOT!

November 2016

This story ended in early November 2016. It started in June 2016!

We opted for a Cummins Onan propane-powered generator when we got our fifth-wheel. It’s an option that apparently not a lot of people go for. Neither the sales people nor the tech guy who gave us our little tour when we picked it up knew much about it. But you can turn it on from inside the rig so that’s a nice feature.

We almost always get hookups so we don’t use the generator a lot but sometimes it comes in handy. Like in Yellowstone, where there were no hookups. Even with the generator you have to be really careful about how much you run. Microwave and toaster together? Nope! But I need to start my day with coffee so the generator goes on for a little bit in the morning.

This is where we first used our generator. Plus a good excuse to show off our adorable Grandkids again!

It took about an hour to make coffee, toast and charge the battery then we turned it off. When Larry opened the outside door to the storage area where the generator is the vinyl inside of the door was all rippled and melted. That’s not right! From the looks of it, had we run it much longer the whole rig could have caught fire! We contacted Heartland who contacted Cummings.

From the sound of it we were the first people to use that particular generator in that particular RV model. They didn’t know if it was the generator, Cummins fault, or installation, Heartland’s problem. Because we’re on the road so much it took some doing to set up a time and place to have it looked at. Meanwhile we were told to keep the door open and not use it for too long.

The Tetons, where we used the generator with the door open! Plus it's a good... well... you know!

The first place we had it looked at was a dealership in Nebraska. We were told there’d be no charge to test it. They put some kind of sensor in the compartment, closed the door and let the generator run. After an hour the tech guy opened the door and lightly touched the vinyl with his finger. Yep, squishy! A sales guy who knew about the issue happened by and was told about the vinyl being too hot. Mr. Brilliant says, “Really?” and put his hand on the vinyl! HIS WHOLE HAND!!!! I guess there’s a reason he’s the sales guy and NOT the tech guy! Long story short, they figured out the generator was fine but the riser used in installing it was wrong, Heartland’s problem. As Larry was giving the guy the information he needed to send to Heartland the service manager comes up and hands us a bill for over $200! Wait…what?!?

When Larry told him we were told there’d be no charge for diagnostics the guy says we were told that by the sales department who did not have the authority to tell us that! Larry always manages to stay calm in situations like that! Me: I told him to charge the sales guy because there was no f@*%ing way we were paying that bill! I had to leave before I did something that might get me arrested but as I was leaving I looked back at Larry and said, “We’re NOT paying that!”

I walked around fuming for a while then Larry came out, shook some guys hand, smiled at me and said, “Come on lets get the dogs in the car.” We didn’t pay the bill but he wasn’t sure if the correct information was going to get to the Heartland people!

It did! Finally! Several stops and many months later we ended up at a Cummins dealer in Kenly, NC. It was right after Hurricane Matthew struck. They got the part and started working on switching it out. It was the SAME part that was already installed! Heartland sent the wrong part! The Cummins dealer was nice enough to let us spend the night in their parking lot. It was a parking lot but at least it was equipped with full hook ups and sewer and had a really nice view of a little lake across the road. They contacted Heartland and another appointment was set up in Birmingham, Alabama! As we were driving away the next morning I realized what I thought was a pretty little lake was a field still flooded by Matthew!

The Cummins dealer in Birmingham also had hook ups in their parking lot but we decided to stay at a hotel anyway so they could work on Stella! We were there for a few days and enjoyed a couple of Alabama state parks. We got the generator fixed, Heartland paid for it and we got hats!