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Lucky Us, a Campground Water Leak at Our Site

Tuesday February 10, 2015
Koreshan State Historic Site
Edisto, Florida

 

This morning David went outside to do something around 8am and discovered a small lake just behind our campsite.  The water was bubbling up.  We called the Ranger Station and they sent over someone to look, who called someone else, who called someone else and ultimately there were 5 people here.  They determined, as we had figured, that one of the water pipes under our site had sprung a leak.   What fun.  At least it didn’t happen yesterday when Mike and Terri were here.

So we spend the day making sure that we aren’t floated away as they hammer and pick and saw to find and stop the leak.   Not exactly how we wanted to spend our Tuesday but at least it was too windy to kayak or go to the beach.  David did manage to install the new solenoid for the right rear jack which wouldn’t stay down.   We’ll know if that worked in the morning.   I managed to run a couple of errands and do 10,700 steps while David kept an eye on the guys.

We had to move Winnona to the very front of our site and of course another jack gave us problems.  The passenger side front wouldn’t come up without help.  Now this one has had the spring changed, the solenoid replaced and it gets WD-40 every time we move.  So what’s its problem?

Full timing is not always a party even when the temperatures are 76 in February.   Here is the evidence.

 

The water is crystal clear so you can’t see the magnitude of the lake when I took this picture at 9am. This is at the back of our cement patio.   The leak is actually bubbling out in the dark area to the left of the white pole.  It’s coming at quite a clip.

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We move Winnona up to the front of the site and pile our stuff on the picnic table.  The latter is a strategic mistake as later it is covered with concrete dust.  They can’t move us to another site because the campground is completely full for days.  Good reason that some state parks keep one site for “emergencies”.

First they have to find the leak.   Of course it takes 3 people to supervise the one doing the work.

 

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What a mess.

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In come the big tools and the dust flies all over everywhere and everything.

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Back to the pickaxe.

 

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Is the leak down there?

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Times for a conference.

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Guess they found to spot.  Water is now bubbling up through the hole they have made in the concrete. Now how to get to it.

 

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They saw, they drill, they dig out the concrete to find the pipe beneath it.  What a mess.  And we can’t move Winnona to a different site.

 

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David gets a close up of the problem.  See the crack in that white elbow?

 

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They cut out the bad and now have to put in the replacement.

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Four and sometimes five people are here all day long and they have it repaired by nightfall. Good thing since they had to shut off the water to the entire park. How in the world did we get to be the lucky ones under whose site the line decided to crack?

Here are the after dark shots with a board over the hole and debris everywhere.   They say they will be back tomorrow to clean it up.  David uncovers the hole and there are the new pipes.   The water is back on and things SEEM to be ok.  Guess we’ll find out if the lake reappears tomorrow.  So stay tuned. 

Will the lake reappear?  Will our jack recede again even with its new solenoid?  Always something exciting in the life of full timers.   And I really need one more trip to the beach before we leave on Sunday and that is supposed to be tomorrow.

 

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Wednesday morning they are back to fill in the hole at least a little.  They promise to clean up the mess they’d made all over Winnona and the dolly and our tire covers and our picnic table cloth and pads and our electrical and water hoses. 

 

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They did bring a pressure washer and cleaned up the cement area but if they cleaned any of the mess they made for us it sure wasn’t obvious.  So now we have a huge clean up job.   But not today.  We spent all of yesterday on their problem, today we’re going to Lover’s Key State Park.

22 comments:

  1. Well, at least it was a new experience, and it wasn't just another boring day in paradise. ;-) Wish I were there to help with the cleanup (and warm up! Temps dropping here). Hang in!

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  2. Thank heavens the leak was in you site and not Winnona. Still doesn't excuse them from the lousy cleanup they did of the mess they made. Just another exciting adventure of life on the road. :c(

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  3. It's a shame they couldn't let you pull into a space at the Visitors' Center, or whatever pull over is near the entrance. But then you (David) wouldn't have had a front row seat! I'd be pretty ticked off if they promised to clean my stuff and they didn't, but I guess there are some things you have to take in stride.

    While I would like the freedom to move if I wanted to, and to take my home with me, I had enough of RV's in a few short years to never want another one. There is maintenance and work on a house, but not like with an RV.

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  4. We called the Ranger Station and they sent over someone to look, who called someone else, who called someone else and ultimately there were 5 people here.

    Four and sometimes five people are here all day long.

    To fix one water leak? How many would it take to change a light bulb?

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  5. The up side, you didn't have to dig, saw, pick and replace. I think for safety reasons any job done by government workers requires 5 people. ;) I'd definitely complain about them not cleaning up their entire mess. Dang, what a way to spend a day. RVs do require maintenance and replacements and nothing breaks at a good time.

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  6. Rather than WD-40, I use a silicone spray on the jacks. Not my favorite chore to worm under the rig, but I've been told it doesn't attract as much dust and dirt as WD-40. Just a thought.

    I wouldn't like the clean up you are stuck with, but the whole leak episode is interesting to me.

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  7. Now that is funny, it took a village to find a leak! What a mess indeed.
    Its a never ending job, we fix one then another one shows up its ugly head. Life on the road is one challenge to another. I guess it is how we see it and approach it that makes our journey interesting.

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  8. First I was very glad to see it wasn't Winonna's leak, but as the job got "deeper" I thought maybe she would have been a quicker, cleaner fix! Still, I'm glad I'm not the one who had to make the repairs - or figure out the wheres and the whats. Funny that it looks like the newest piece of PVC is what cracked...... Did it make them nervous that you were taking pics of their work? Ditto on Judy's question about the WD-40 - we've been warned against using it on anything outdoors that slides because of the dirt it attracts and then "jams" the moving pieces......of course I have zero experience from which to spout advice :-) Hope you got your beach fix yesterday and that all is well where you landed!

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  9. Well, you got a lake side campsite and didn't even have to pay extra! I'll bet there were some unhappy people in the campground with the water off all day. Good reminder, to always keep some freshwater in your tank.

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  10. Yes, sometimes life brings us lemons. You sure had a lemon day. Glad they were able to fix it in one day and you didn't have to leave:) Hope all goes well with your jack. Can't wait to hear about your kayaking day at Lover's Key, a nice place.

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  11. Well, you ended up with waterfront property. Now they need to come up and clean everything properly. What and experience

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  12. Oh my. Not a fun way to spend the day for sure. Hope that Winnona's legs get fixed soon!

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  13. Just like living in a house - something is always breaking and needing repair or maintenance. That's life. But at least it's warm where you are. It was 6 degrees here this morning and the wind was blowing!

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  14. well. . .aren't you just the lucky one? Not a fun day in the least. . .will love to read about the follow up. . .

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  15. Oh bummer, leaks are never fun to deal with. At least it wasn't a leak inside Winona, if that's any comfort! I'll bet you were ready for a fun day, and kayaking sounds just perfect!

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  16. Funny they are doing the same thing in our east parking lot. Although they have been going at it for days trying to find the leak without pulling up the whole parking lot.

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  17. Well, goodness - you shut water off to the whole place - what a day! Was the guy with the round saw wearing two different shoes? That is just about the first thing I noticed....lol. That water certainly was clear - I am glad they got it fix by night fall, but, it is too bad it had to be such a mess and I have no doubt the sawing and drilling was annoyingly noisy. So funny how that type of work involves so many people - some to work and some to stand. Glad they were able to deal with it immediately and no water got in Winnona!

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  18. I am glad it wasn't my leak to fix and pay for parts and rental tools & I am most impressed at how they were able to listen to the concrete pad and determine exactly where to cut the hole. The cracked pipe was a good 3 feet below and nearly centered in the hole they cut. Impressive for what we regard as government workers. Too bad cleaning is not one of their greatest joys though the older fellow did come back with a bucket and brush after the power wash proved ineffective. He did get some things clean, but unfortunately not everything. I am hopeful it wont be beyond my cleaning expertise tomorrow.

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  19. Definitely not a fun day, but I like Roger's viewpoint: at least you had to deal with it in nice warm weather instead of someplace where it was 6 degrees. Yikes!

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