Jan 17, 2012
RV Repairs!!
Many Rvers wait till they get to Mexico to get various jobs done on their RV’s from painting, to fibreglass work to reupholstering furniture. It is much more cost efficient in Mexico plus usually a great job is done.
We had a number of to do's, the first being to pry off our corroded screw that holds the spare tire on our holder on the roof. We needed to repaint the rusting structure and put a new tire cover on before re securing the bolt.
Did you know that RV's are held together by lots of caulking, a job that needs to be redone often due to the heat drying up and cracking the caulking. A tedious job.
The guy did a great job of scraping off the old stuff and reapplying around the shower skylight.
Only problem was that I was in the shower when I heard a noise above my head. I sure didn't dawdle in the shower that day.
Very meticulous worker.
We also needed to replace a spring in our sofa. Just getting that ready took a bit of effort on Colin's part, removing all that was stored underneath the sofa, unbolting & unscewing all he could plus removing the window valance.
All that space gave me the idea to renovate, but then I do love it just the way it was. Easier that way too.
The spring was not broken but the metal edge had become detached probably from use and part corrosion. A simple wire treaded it all together again. Mexicans are great at repairing anything with nothing.
Plus he made it better than new by adding a piece of wood to strengthen the area.
So how did we find this fellow. Here on the Isla there is a mechanic called Danny who is also a jack of all trades. He speaks English and has worked in the past in Canada in construction. If you need work done here on the Isla you go to Danny, if he can’t do the job he finds someone who can. The rule of thumb is that you always get a quote before getting any work done in Mexico. We didn’t! Mostly because we thought Danny himself was doing the work plus we had a series of other things to get repaired, one being our broken hose for the power washer ( hmmm – which he still has ). So after 2 1/2 hours of diligent work this fellow says that is all he is doing and that he wants to be paid, not Danny. Okay. How much Colin asks? 2000 pesos! WOW I say! That is way more than an RV tech would charge in Canada. The fellow calls Danny, we settle on 1000 pesos, then he says no he wants 1500 pesos, in the end we pay 1000 pesos ($75.00) for materials ( caulking ) and labour. At home we pay $25.00 per hour but perhaps they don’t work as fast or diligently!!! Most importantly we are happy with the work done.
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Still reading and enjoying your blog, especially today with our overnight low forecast of -37C plus windchill … Stone Island looks mighty appealing 🙂
Ena……-37C, ouchh!!! We had 30C yesterday!
longdog…..he was on the roof too, the girls were hiding!!
Kevin……a lot of the work other than the sofa, Colin could have done but we like to support the locals as best we can.
And just where was Colin and weenie watch dogs while the peeping Tomas was on the roof??
We are hoping to get a new kitchenette table made when we are in Puerto Escondido and we also want to get our sofa recovered but that may have to wait for another year. It always helps to know someone that knows someone. Glad you are happy with the work even if it was more than you were expecting.
Kevin and Ruth