Mobile service visit: repairs, temporary fixes, and heat concerns

A mobile technician is here today. Unfortunately, I can't watch because I have a dentist appointment. I'm sure my husband is kibitzing!

So, lots of little things and a couple big things on our service house call.

Sewer hatch: The technician worked on the sewer-hose hatch door. I don't think it will fly open on the road anymore when empty, but it is still not real secure and we are not going to put our sewer hose in there. That extra weight jiggling around might be enough to push it open again. They are thinking about a different fix. Temporary fix.

Oven dead: My 4-in-1 oven was just unplugged, and it is not easy to access. The technician had to take off the top fridge trim to get back in there. Resolved.

Caulk: Bad, gaping caulk in the bathroom upper wall above the toilet. Fixed.

Dog-bowl drawer: It was cracked, swollen, and pushing apart at the seams—apparently water damaged. I fear this will happen again. Dogs are sloppy drinkers. A tray for dog food and water needs to hold up to water. I don't think we caused this; we only used it once and it didn't get more than a couple drops in the drawer part. Replaced; we'll see if it happens again.

Murphy-bed moldings: The triangle parts at either end of the Murphy bed on the non-window side were loose and rattly. The technician put tape on them to stabilize them. I think this is another Band-Aid fix; we'll see. It wasn't hurting anything, just aesthetically annoying. Temporary fix.

Shower-curtain track: This was sagging, especially when hot. We'd pushed it back in place a couple of times. Since others had problems with it completely falling down, we mentioned it. The technician put screws in it; it was a known problem with a standard fix. Fixed.

Front door sticking: In the heat, the main door took a good pull to open and made a cracking sound. You could see the outside panels flex opposite the door handle, right where the window meets the siding. The technician adjusted the latch. Time will tell. Fixed, maybe.

Front-door gasket: The thick black door gasket had daylight between it and the upper-right corner when looking out. It was improved a little, but we think the whole gasket will need to be replaced. This was also heat-exacerbated. Temporary fix.

Final service thoughts: the technician was great—knowledgeable, personable, polite, and kept us updated on arrival time. Things are fixed well enough that we can camp Memorial Day weekend. He promised to talk to Pebble about the things that couldn't be completely fixed.

Pebble needs to address heat stress. This is a vehicle with a lot of glass that sits in the sun for long periods. Inside temperatures are going to be high. Things inside need to be heat-proof—tape, caulk, glue, etc.—and materials need to account for expansion and contraction.

That sewer hatch needs to be completely re-engineered. I'd like to see it have a latch with a key or an iPad-controlled lock like the gear tunnel.