If you want a job done right...

You must drive to Indiana.

You will remember my last post mentioned that we were having some 

tire wear issues and a blown hydraulic piston that moves one of the slides.

Well...  after driving 2.5hrs to a dealer,

leaving it there for over 7 weeks,

We finally gave up and yesterday I drove back and liberated the

RV from the clutches of incompetence.

Nothing was fixed...  Nada.... Zilch.

I still need to get everything fixed, and the clock is ticking down to

our mid December departure to Arizona so I have formulated a plan B.

The Elkhart Indiana area is basically ground zero for the RV Industry & our

unit was built near there in Goshen.  The advertising literature on our RV

touts the fact that it was built by Amish Craftsmen...

The local Walmart even has a special parking shed for the Amish Buggies.

  

In addition most of the RV Industry support firms that make items 

such as Frames, Appliances, hitches, and slide rooms to name just a few,

are located in the immediate vicinity as well.

So......

Plan B is to drive up to Indiana next Saturday.

On Monday I have a 2 day appointment at MorRyde Industries where

they will cut off the suspension and install an upgraded independent suspension

with disc brakes.  My current trailer brakes are not up to the task.

Basically the type and strength of suspension and braking system

that should have been supplied in the first place.

Then on Weds, I have an 0800 appointment at Lippert Industries, the company that built

both the frame and the slide rooms.   They will fix the hydraulic piston.

While at MorRyde I will sleep in the RV at night while it's in their shop.

They have electric hookup, cable tv connection and will feed me 

breakfast and lunch....    That's service.

They have a great customer service Living Room where I can set up my

office if I don't want to work in the trailer while they are working on it.

I'm also planning on upgrading the wheels and tires to a higher load rated size

to give us a better safety margin.  So while at MorRyde I might have to make a quick

day trip to Ohio (80miles) and back to pick them up while the trailer is being worked on.

Weds afternoon hopefully all has come together enough that I will be back on the road to home.

Only 32 hrs and 1,700 miles later I should be home.

2 weeks later we head to Arizona for some wintertime desert living.

Odds N Ends

Last week we were treated to a visit by our Sailing Buds

Hayden & Radeen.

Passing thru on their 35' Island Packet "Island Spirit" they

always try to make a stop at the Beaufort Wayward Sailors Rest Home

and we are always glad that they do.

Of course Gracie always finds a comfortable lap to place herself

On Sunday we took the new little boat out for a tour of the local waters.

Since ei' Lean was pretty much the same boat as Island Spirit we

showed them some of the places that they could travel, where the water 

was deep enough and that they could enjoy and spend time when

passing thru on future visits.

The Ladies took to the bow and enjoyed the great sunshine.

Upon looking at the pictures I noticed a spot in the middle -  thought it was

just some dirt  -but unfortunately the lens somehow got scratched so

we had to buy a new camera...  Fortunately it was the point and shoot

and not my DSLR.

Later in the week after our guests had resumed their voyage South, Kate and I

needed to take the RV in for some warranty service.

It was a 5 hr round trip to the service center.

It seems that one of the hydraulic pistons that extends and retracts one of the

slide-outs developed a leak.  I first noticed it when I saw our hydraulic fluid

reservoir had lost a fair amount of fluid.

You can see the oil and dirt around the piston.

The rubber seal around the center is deformed.

A closeup of the piston shows it more clearly

Any problem that is discovered in the driveway vs in the middle of

the desert is a good problem in my book.

Since the rig is still under warranty I decided to take it in for the repair rather

than fix it myself.

I've also got some strange wear patterns developing on some of my

trailer tires.  Could be an alignment or camber issue.

Since the tires I have on the trailer are extra-heavy duty and

an expensive upgrade this is something that I definitely want to

have fixed as well and I would not be able to perform a camber adjustment.

Turns out some others on my Montana Forum are having similar issues

so we are all discussing and following each others problem/resolution.

So we dropped her off...  Waved goodbye

And now we'll find out just how good their warranty and service promises are.