Book Trailer
Debt And The Survivalist
September 20, 2011 | 
Author Debt and the Survivalist
By Joseph Parish
As the story goes, there once was a survivalist named Mel Tappan who wrote books on setting up the ideal retreat. His advice to the novice was to obtain some high ground in one of the western states and construct your self a log cabin complete with an underground bunker, have a usable barn to compliment your pasture land and locate all this near a free running stream.
Sounds like the ideal retreat to me however, before embarking upon a hefty goal such as this one has to consider how much it is going to cost me. You see Mel was fortunate in that he was married to the heiress of Mac Trucks, Nancy Mac Tappan. To him money was no objective and he had plenty to work with. If he needed survival supplies he could pull out the checkbook and write an amount with as many digits as needed to get his retreat going along nicely. For you and I the procedure is totally different. We must look at our budget and plan according a little at a time.
Mel’s ideal retreat was certainly a good idea however our goal should be to ultimately have no mortgage or debt hanging over our head. In taking Mr. Tappan’s advice we would certainly be well into debt for many years. Most of us are wage workers or we survive on a fixed income and simply can not afford the luxuries of the rich and famous like Mt. Tappan can do. Often people attempting to follow Mel’s lead in the past have become discourage and given up on preparing for any sort of crisis.
The last thing anyone would want to do during a potential meltdown of our infrastructure would be to obtain additional debt. Following the role of Tappan one could find financial burdens increasing at an alarming rate. Going into debt is not one of the recommended procedures for dealing appropriately with survivalist preparations during potential devastating times. During periods of economic collapse liabilities such as mortgages will certainly not be placed on a holding pattern nor will they go away just because the money is no longer there. A typical example is the rush of foreclosures that are taking place now as people are losing their jobs or becoming sick and disabled. The bankers and loan officials simply are not a breed of creature that possess a forgiving nature when it comes to getting their money back and they do eventually find you even if you happen to be held up safely in the backwoods somewhere. During the great depression many people were tossed out of their homes and onto the street simply because they could not pay the house payments. Under these stressful situations it is likely that you could find yourself with no home what-so-ever. Let’s face it if you can not make your payments as agreed you will eventually be evicted from the property and ultimately you stand no better off then what you were when you started and in some cases perhaps even worse.
With that view in mind it would be better for us to reconsider our positions and make our plans a little less elaborate than Mr. Tappan has done. I previously outline a plan and proved that a family can reside in a travel trailer for a length of time even during the winter months. By placing this trailer on some land that may not have all the amenities of Mel’s we could create a useable and affordable retreat. Although the idea may leave much to be desired we at least won’t have to worry about the wolves at the door when we don’t have the money to pay for the huge mortgage.
Copyright @2010 Joseph Parish
www.survival-training.info
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RV Manufacturer Warranty
I can not stress enough how important it is to read your owners manual that comes with your RV. It looks like a generic book, but it has information in there that you need to know. Things that may not be relayed to you during your initial walk through after purchasing a new pop up, travel trailer, fifth wheel or motor home can be found in this manual. If one is not included with your paperwork mark that down on the paperwork that goes back to the RV manufacturer from the dealership. The paperwork I am referring to is the one that proves your warranty start date with the manufacturer or your PDI Checklist. Request the dealership give you a we owe slip for an owners manual.
The first section you need to read is maintenance. Even if you have a 1 or 2 year warranty you are still responsible for maintenance. This is one of the main fights that develop between customer, RV dealership and manufacturer. Most owners manuals will go over what the manufacture considers the customer to maintain and how often it is recommended. It doesn’t go into this next piece of advice, but any maintenance you do should be recorded on a maintenance log and any products purchased to do the maintenance receipts should be kept. If you had an RV dealership do the work for you keep that work order as proof also even if it is the RV dealership you bought your RV from. This way if you do have a problem you can prove you followed the maintenance they consider to be your responsibility. If you can not show you have maintained your RV chances of them helping you with repairs will be slim to none. It is your responsibility to show proof not your RV dealership.
Some forms of maintenance and customer responsibility are listed here, but this is not in any way a complete list.
*Sealant on roof, windows, seams, around vents, lights, shower, tub, drains, etc are your responsibility. They should be checked on a regular basis to make sure there are no gaps, voids or cracks in the sealant. If there are then new sealant needs to be applied so water intrusion does not happen.
*Lugs are your responsibility to check. They should be checked before you make a trip and if you are on a long trip they should be checked during the trip also.
*Adjusting drawers, cabinets doors etc. RV Manufacturers only cover adjustments for the first 30-90 days of ownership. Each manufacture is different on this. This is something you need to verify with your dealership before you leave. The warranty administrator should be able to answer this question. ***Adjustments are not warranty***
If you are out on the road and have a problem it’s OK to call the RV dealership that you purchased your trailer from, but chances are they can’t help you if you are in another state. You should call the customer service line to the manufacturer. They know where their dealers are located through out the United States. They can help arrange getting you into another dealership for an appointment. They also are alerted of the problem you are having should you mutually decide it’s not something that needs to be looked at right then and it can wait until you can get back to your selling dealer.
Most manufacturers these days are using the same rule. If it is their component then they cover it, but if they use something from another supplier then it holds their warranty. This becomes a nightmare for customers at times. If you have a problem with your microwave and you have a Forest River travel trailer Forest River is not responsible for the warranty on that microwave. It goes straight back to the manufacturer of that appliance. This can also be a plus for a customer, because if they are out on the road or a distance from their selling dealer just about any RV dealership can work on that appliance. So when you get that package from your dealership after the purchase of your new RV send in all the warranty cards for each appliance or register them online. If your trailer has a 2 year warranty, but your microwave has 1 then after that first year you have no warranty on your microwave, but you will still have warranty on your trailer.
Tires are another pain for both customer and RV dealership. This is an important one to know. RV manufactures do not hold a tire warranty. Problems with tires have to go back through the tire manufacture and this is something that is unfortunately the customer’s responsibility. This is another piece of information you will find in the package of papers you are handed from your dealership after the purchase. This is something I would say 95% of the time will not be relayed to a new customer. Make sure you read the pamphlet on your tires. It gives specific instructions should a problem arise. If not followed the customer is out a lot of money. You will also see they note that they are not responsible for damage caused due to tire failure. I will tell you I have seen them take this case by case. I’ve seen them pay and I’ve seen them stand to a firm no.
All the papers you receive when you purchase a new RV is worth reading. It may seem tedious and time consuming, but can save you many headaches, tears and frustration in the long run. Customer’s have to take responsibility for their new RV. RV dealerships do not build them and are only allowed to make the repair the manufacture tells them. If you don’t like the answer the manufacturer is giving your dealership never be afraid to call the manufacture and voice your opinion.