I made the trip back down to Manchester with my son-in-law Matt. Aside from a rain shower or two, the ride down was hassle free. We arrived at the sellers home and the camper fired right up. As we checked tire pressure, fluids, and making sure all was secure inside the RV, we noticed that the front bumper had no license plate screws. So, the search was on. We found a pair that worked perfectly - two of the front fender screws from the Ford Crown Victoria we drove down in. While this may sound bizarre, we've done this type of on-the-road quick fix solutions before. Sometimes you just gotta use what's available. Plus, the Crown Vic was none the worse for wear or safety.Once the front plates were on, it was off to the gas station. Once $100 of petrol was in the tank, it was off to the interstate. Funny thing happened, however - but looking back, it was fortunate that things panned out the way they did. For some reason, Matt's GPS absolutely hated Manchester Connecticut. No matter where we wanted to go, it would never map out the same route twice - even when starting from the same beginning location. In this case, a simple way back to the interstate turned into what seemed like an endless drive while navigating the suburbs - through neighborhoods, back streets, up and down hills - the works. Ten minutes later, we had to pull over because the right front brake caliper was hot and smoking. We attributed this to the fact that the RV had been sitting in the sellers yard for about a year. We also came to the conclusion that while on the initial test drive, the seller mentioned the RV needed an alignment. In all reality, the caliper was probably already starting to stick at that juncture.
Still feeling undaunted, the first thing we did was to try and find the necessary parts to make a hopefully quick & efficient road side repair. After visiting two different parts stores, (and calling six others), we realized that the parts would take at least 24 hours to arrive. On the upside, by this time, the caliper had cooled enough so we moved the RV to a local church about two miles away that had a large and level parking lot. Once parked, we grabbed something to eat and talked about our game plan.
We knew the RV wouldn't make it home in it's present condition. Not by a long shot. We also realized that there was a chance that the parts we ordered to the best of our knowledge at that time (and the parts store employees) may be incorrect (due to optional equipment levels) and we would be back to square one. So we decided to jack up the RV, take off the right front wheel and see if we could compress the caliper piston enough so it wouldn't press the pads against the rotor constantly thus causing it to overheat. If we were successful at that, we would use a large pair of vise grips to clamp off the brake hose going to that caliper without damaging it. Yes - that means the RV would have front brakes on the left (drivers' side) only as well as rear brakes. Not the most ideal situation, but good enough to get us home. Besides, you don't brake that much on the interstate anyways. Please hold all comments at this time...To make a long story short, that entire process worked. Even after a ten or so mile test drive, the caliper showed no signs of heating up. By this time, it was 10 o'clock at night. We were tired, hot & sweaty. It was almost mid-September, but for some reason summer decided to have one last blast while we were down there as it was still 80 degrees. The next day, it was supposed to be in the mid 90's. Since the RV was not ready to be slept in as of yet, Matt & I decided to catch a few hours of sleep at "the cheapest motel we could find". We found one about two miles away that met our budget criteria. Of course, my parents always said "you get what you pay for" - and that advise was spot on in regards to this motel. I almost forgot to mention - to add insult to injury, it was Meg & Matt's wedding anniversary - and he was in Connecticut with me. Again, hold all comments at this time, please and thank you.
We won't mention the name of the motel or the chain it was part of, and while it would barely register a one-diamond rating on the AAA scale, it did have two fairly comfy beds, a TV, A/C, and a shower for the morning. We checked into the first room we were assigned. Slight problem - there was no electricity in the
room whatsoever. We were seriously thinking, "was electric power extra"? Back down to the lobby, did some explaining, and we were assigned to a different room. Went to our new room - it had electricity! Score! But when we went to watch the evening news - nothing. We found out the TV as well as the cable had been unplugged. Sorting through a myriad of wires, we hooked things up and we achieved success. A 3rd smile came to our face when the A/C worked perfectly. We even managed to overlook the blinking balcony light, the trash service emptying the dumpster at 6am, the signs secured to the windows with duct tape, and the arm length long list of other things that just left us shaking our heads and laughing.We hit the road at approximately 8:30am in a surprisingly good mood. As some bizarre sort of a final token of affection to Manchester, Connecticut, Matt's GPS once again fought us tooth and nail in an effort to get us onto the interstate which was about a mile away. However, once on the road, we gained more confidence in our RV mile after mile and state after state. In fact, the next time we stopped was in Kennebunk, Maine for lunch. The RV was doing great, no overheating despite the hot & humid weather, the braking system was holding up just fine, and we were averaging 11 miles to the gallon. Not bad when you consider it weighs 10,000 pounds powered by a small block Chevy engine.
When we finally pulled into the yard, we were thrilled that the RV made the 280 mile shakedown run with only a caliper acting up. Matt and I also felt a rush of relief as well as exhaustion that this part of the journey was done. It took thirty-six hours instead of the nine it should have, but we had incredibly funny stories and memories to share. Even with the inconvenience and frustration, those aspects in hindsight are priceless; missed wedding anniversary dinner and all. (We later learned that Meg spent it with her family.)
As of this writing, the RV is in the process of getting cleaned up, washed, and ready for the road. The correct parts are getting ordered, manuals, diagrams, and illustrations are being gone over, and the next phase of the journey is being worked out. I'm unsure who originally quoted the saying, "nothing ever goes as originally planned". While that may be true on more than several occasions, we have to remember that we can roll with the changes, accept the challenges as learning experiences, and just do the next right thing.
Time to take a breather,
The Happy Campers,
Jill & Dave
The scariest part of cheap motels is the possibility of bedbugs - and bringing them home with you. Always check for that.
ReplyDeleteJohn Lennon said "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." Yep.