Our RV Adventures

Hoping we would be back in the rig today, we had breakfast about 9am at the motel, sitting out on the patio and enjoying the sun.

Since we were supposed to check out by 11am, I called the repair shop to be sure we would be able to get back in our rig this morning before we left the motel. I was told that it was still in the bay up on the jack because they wanted to go over some things with me, but after that they would bring it out of the repair bay and get it parked for us.

Getting there, the first thing I saw was the damaged fuel tank that had been replaced.

All I can say was WOW! It’s hard to imagine how that happened. Luckily they were able to save and transfer most of the remaining diesel to the new tank.

It looked like they made a lot of headway while we were gone. The new (used) mirror was installed,

as well as the new (new) step.

And the new side panel around the wheel well looks great.

I do wish however they had gone ahead and repainted the fuel door to match the new panel. I’ll have to talk to them about that.

They told me that when they actually got under the rig they discovered a big hole in the bottom of the front bay right behind the wheel, and so they had repaired that too, as well as completely relined the wheel well itself.

It also looks like all the wiring is repaired, but I’ll be checking it out for myself in the next couple of days.

I mentioned the other day that they had also discovered that the rear airbag on the side of the blowout had been punctured and will also need to be replaced. So that’s still on order.

They pulled the rig out of the bay about 11:30 but didn’t have a space to park for hookups yet, so they moved it over to the other side of the lot until a space opened up. Jan and I both checked it out and it all looked OK. One thing I did notice however was that the refrigerator was at about 50 degrees, though the freezer part seems OK, as does the little electric icemaker freezer.

At first I thought they had not had the rig plugged in while it was in the bay, but they said they did. And the electric freezer was fine. Then after thinking about it for a while, I figured out what had happened. The front end of the rig had been 3 feet off the ground for several days while they worked on it, and the gas/electric refrigerators don’t work well on a severe slant. In fact running one like that can sometimes damage it permanently. But later in the afternoon, it had already started pulling the temp down. Right now, at about 11:30, it’s down to 37 degrees.

Don’t know what we left in the fridge, except maybe drinks and cheese, but we’ll have to check it  carefully.

Finally about 1:45 we gave up waiting and went to lunch at the nearby Cowgirl in the Kitchen Café, a new favorite of ours. We’ve eaten here twice for breakfast, but this is our first lunch.

We both started with a bowl of their delicious chili, then Jan went with the Tuna Salad Sandwich which is one of her favorites. For my part, I joined the Mile High Club.

No wait. That’s not right. I ordered the Mile High Club. There, that’s sounds better.

And Mile High is a very apt description.

In fact it’s almost too big to eat. But I managed.

Getting back about 2:30, we found that our rig was now parked and hooked to power, so we started moving all our stuff back into the rig from our trip.

But Jan quickly noticed a new problem. Or rather a second occurrence of an old problem.

As in the cracked windshield that we had replaced about a year ago up in Elkhart, IN.

Turns out they had cracked it somehow moving it. And they said they’ll take care of it.

I had hoped we might be on our way by the middle of next week, but probably not now, since we’re waiting for a new airbag as well as a new windshield.

On a bright note though, if they keep replacing parts, we’ll soon have an all new rig.

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Thought for the Day:

The next statement is true.
The previous statement is false.

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After a really nice night at this Comfort Inn, we checked out their breakfast and enjoyed it sitting out on the patio. This is a beautiful motel built back in the hills south of Prescott. You can smell the pines in the air.

So much different from our room in Amarillo the other night.

About 10am I drove over to the rig to see how things were going, and didn’t learn much because everyone was in a meeting. I did see the rig in the bay with the front end up on jacks, presumably to install the new fuel tank.

After making a Fry’s stop across the street, I headed back to the motel to let them know we’d be spending another night. With checkout at 11, I didn’t have a lot of leeway.

Of course about 2pm they called and said they would have the coach out of the bay about 5 and ready for us to move back in. So I told them to take their time and that we’d be over tomorrow morning.

Also it now looks like the rear airbag on the passenger may have also been damaged in the blowout. The mudflap that hung down right behind the tire is ripped out and completely gone, along with the big piece of angle iron that was fastened to it. This is what it looks like on the driver’s side.

And this is what’s left on the passenger side.

So maybe that’s the culprit. I guess we’ll know more tomorrow.

After a nice afternoon of goofing off, reading, and napping, really nice after the go-go-go of the last week or so, about 3:30 we headed over to the Cracker Barrel. This being Thursday, it was Turkey and Dressing Day, Jan’s favorite Cracker Barrel day.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to have. At first I thought about breakfast, but looking over the menu, this caught my eye.

Who knew Cracker Barrel has great burgers? This is a half pound bacon cheeseburger with the meat’s crispy burnt edges on the outside, and moist and juicy on the inside. The bacon was very crisp, and the cheese was a thick chunk, not just a slice, and the Cole slaw and fries were good too. Just about a perfect good-old burger.

The side dish at the upper left is their Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole, one my favorites, so I always get it when it’s available, not matter what else I’m getting.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow we’ll know more about our timeline for the rest of this year, and can decide what we’ll be doing

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Thought for the Day:

Woman begins by resisting a man’s advances and ends by blocking his retreat. ~Oscar Wilde

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