The Browns
camping out
in Coachmen
C atalina.
W hat you
need to
know about motorhomes....
but don’t have the sense to ask
By Warren Brown
You learn many things on m otorhom e trips, like humility.
H ere are two examples culled from our recent 5,300-m ile trip
through the South and Central U nited States in a 1998 C oach
men Catalina Class A motorhome.
The Learning Tree
Dateline: Chincoteague Island, Va. (Tom's Cove RV Camp). 1
should’ve backed in. Perhaps, 1 shouldn’t have tried to park there
at all. W hat the hell? 1 should've missed that tree limb. It scraped
the top-left edge of the m otorhom e, took oft some o f the rubber
covering, dented the top-left-side molding, scratched the slide-
out room's vinyl root cover, and gave me a big headache. Exactly
not the way to start an RV trip.
T he dam age was relatively m inor—nothing functionally ru
ined. But 1 felt a little dow n—and a lot stupid. 1 wanted to blame
somebody. My wife, Mary Anne, seemed the easiest target. RVing
is at least a two-person affair—someone to pilot the vehicle, some
one to navigate.
The navigator is all-im portant, especially when it comes to
driving the big, 33-toot-longC oachm an Catalina motorhome.
W hen docking—that is, parking at the cam psite—it’s the
navigator's job to safely guide the pilot into position, something
Mary Anne has done with aplomb on numerous occasions. This
wasn't one ot them.
After finding another cam ping spot, 1 w ent back to examine
the offending tree limb. T he thing was a botanical optical illu
sion. From the rear, where M ary Anne was standing and looking
up, the lim b appeared to rise high enough to provide clearance
lor the 12-ft.-high Catalina.
But when I walked around to the ftont ot the tree limb, I saw
the problem —a hum ongous bulge, angled downward, still wear
ing some of the residue ot RV root rubber. M arv A nne couldn’t
30
AFRICAN AMERICANS O N * HEH S
have seen that Bulge from her po
sition.
I later repaired the roof with RV
patching materials. But there was some
other patching to do.
M ary Anne knew 1 had pointed a m ental finger at her, even
though I kept my m outh shut.“I should've never tried park
ing in that spot,” I said. “Either that, or that tree limb should
have Been higher and turned the other way,” she said.
1 should've listened to her when she advised me, as soon as
we entered the camp, to park in a clearing—sans trees, sans
overhangs.
The Royal Flush
There were warning signs. T he sewage outlet hose slipped off
twice. Each time it was no big deal. T he stuff that flowed out was
water from the soapy water holding tank. M otorhom es are
equipped with three holding tanks: A fresh-water holding tank
for showers, dish-cleaning and toilet flushes; a soapy water tank
to handle runoff from the bathroom shower stall and sink, and
from the kitchen sink and a third tank to hold toilet waste.
It is vety im portant to dum p the tanks in proper sequence:
D um p the toilet tank first. D um p the soapy water tank second.
Because waste from both tanks flow’ from the motorhome through
the same hose, the soapy water washes away the stench o f the
toilet water. T he fresh water is released through a separate outlet.
Are you with me?
I could have easily fixed the slipping-hose problem . Marv
Anne suggested buying a new hose with a tighter clamp. 1 agreed,
but did nothing.
T hat's how I got the royal flush. Before retu rn in g the
motorhome to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, w hich
arranged the vehicle loan, I w anted to make sure all tanks were
empty. So, 1 took the thing to a public dum ping station in Fairfax
County, Va.
I put the sewage outlet hose into the dum p station's recep
tacle. I pulled the toilet waste valve. T he sewage hose began to
tremble and rumble.
It broke loose from the m otorhom es sewage pipe. I was bap
tized! And in the process, 1 was born again. 1 swear, the next time.
In i going to listen to that woman.
Standard 5.4-liter V-8 engine
Standard load-leveling suspension systems
Standard integrated illuminated
running boards
Standard leather seating surfaces
Standard second-row bucket seats
with center console
Burl wood interior-trim accents
i
Duplicate steering wheel controls
(audio and climate)
Six-way power passenger's seat
Memory power driver's seat
and side mirrors