What we bought at the RV show

One of the reasons we came to Quartzsite was that we figured we might get some deals on things that we need and want for Sherman. A few repair and maintenance items, and a few things that we simply wanted. But we had a list, and we've now crossed quite a few things off that list!

So yesterday morning, we drove back and parked so that we were walking distance to the show, about 1/2 a mile away.

Besides the people selling brand new RV's, there are also parts dealers, and general flea market items. One stall had a bicycle for sale, and Ruth has needed a bike for a couple of years now. This one is a basic 10 speed mountain bike, a little older, but in really good condition and with new tires and tubes. Everything works perfectly and it's the right size. The guy was asking $40 ($50 CDN) which I thought was slightly high for a bike that old, but he wouldn't budge on the price. I didn't really blame him, so we paid his asking price.

So, we can go bike riding together again!

When we had been out the other day, we bought a new burner assembly and ignitor unit  for the fridge. You'll remember that I had a lot of problems in Mazatlan getting it to work properly, and I knew we needed a new one. I managed to get it working properly back then, so I won't change it until it starts acting up again. Those two pieces cost a total of $45.55 ($56.94 CDN).

And, I bought some emergency repair tape. Too much of it really! Three rolls for $25 ($31.25 CDN), but at least if we have all the radiator hoses blow at once, we'll still be able to get back on the road! Pretty versatile stuff this tape. I bet you could even use it as a fan belt if one broke.

And I bought a new motor for the vent fan above the stove. They're normally $20 or so, which is an awfully lot for such a small motor. Sure enough, I found what I thought was a used one for $10, but the lady told me they were brand new old stock...fine with me. So, $10 ($12.50 CDN) for that.

The old motor. I had taken it with me to ensure getting the proper one as there are several different ones.

Kevin, replacing the motor.

And, I finally bought new springs for our entrance door handle. When I took the handle apart, one of the two springs was broken, and the other was very weak. I knew the springs were the problem, I just didn't know they were that bad. The two new springs were 10 cents each.

A pretty cheap fix, but I needed the correct size of spring!

I cleaned it all up, and greased it and changed the springs. Works like new now!

Into our eighth year of RV'ing, and we've never owned a proper outdoor RV mat. We just always thought they were too expensive, and even here at the show everyone was asking between $40 and $45. I wanted a deal, but nobody would budge. Eventually, I found a stall that had them for $29 ($36.25), and I asked the lady why they were cheap. She said she only had two colors, and one size available and they weren't the most wanted design. We thought the design looked fine, and one of the colors was blue and beige so it kind of matches up with Sherman. So now when we're camping in one spot for a while, we can put out our new 9 x 12 patio mat. 

And we finally bought a propane hose and connector kit so that we can use Sherman's main propane tank to supply our Weber grill (and our new Mr. Heater Buddy when we get it) instead of using those stupid little 1 lb cylinders.

$69.95 for a piece of hose and a fitting?

Yes, the price seems high at $69.95 ($87.49 CDN) for a piece of hose and a fitting. (Although it is a 12' hose, and propane line is pretty expensive to begin with). But I've wanted one for years and although it's slightly cheaper on a few RV parts websites, I would have had to pay the shipping and I would have ended up saving about $5. So I just decided to go for it. Now we've got it!

And we bought picnic mat for $5 ($6.25 CDN). It's a padded cloth mat, and I actually figured that it would be a great work mat for those times when I have to crawl underneath Sherman to do something. They had them on "blowout clearance" so we picked one up.

Bought seven replacement bulbs for our interior lights. Some of ours had turned black and weren't putting out nearly the light they should, so I've replaced them and we've now got a couple of spares.

So, we're almost done shopping, but one major item left to buy today. Sherman needs a new awning fabric. It's the original fabric, and Sherman is going to be 20 years old this summer. The original fabric has quite a few pinholes in it, and it's just starting to look frayed and ratty. There's a distributor here who sells a replacement kit including instructions for do-it-your-selfers and he was asking $249, but I can buy the exact same thing online for $199 and he said he would sell it to me for that price. 

A couple of other things still left on our list, but we'll pick them up as we go along over the next days and weeks. One is the actual Mr. Heater Buddy, and the other is new front sway bar bushings for Sherman's suspension. Two have actually broken off and are missing, and the remaining two are in bad shape. Too many potholed Mexican roads!

Ruth made a delicious dinner last night. Beef enchiladas. Even when we're not in Mexico anymore, we still eat Mexican food!

Delicious! I am so lucky!

Beautiful sunset last night.

Yesterday's Amazon deal was such a success we're repeating it today. Happy Camper RV toilet tank treatment is simply the best there is. If you're having any holding tank odor issues, this is the stuff! Once you've used Happy Camper you'll never try anything else.

Some of you bought the large size yesterday, and that's certainly the best value...

Happy Campers Organic RV Holding Tank Treatment - extra large 130oz tub (130-treatments)

That works out to just over 50 cents per tankful!