Apr 11, 2014
OUCH & OH NO!!!!!!!!
How does one live with 1% humidity? We got through the night with minimal sleep. It was just too hot and dry. The best part of Friday was our 7:00AM morning walk while it was still only 75F.
Lots of green in the desert.
Tiny fuzz ball flowers.
We could only see 4 other RV's here, very quiet for this area.
The girls loved walking and running everywhere. When it came time to pack up Caeli didn’t want to get into the RV. She wanted to stay put. We had enjoyed 4 perfect days here the end of October and I think she remembered. We had to press on as today was the appointment for the A/C repair. It was only 40 minutes down the road to Parker at ‘The Front End Shop” on Joshua Street.
We had a tiny freon leak and needed a new fan, etc.
Colin set us up outside as it was too warm to sit inside. No sense packing all 4 of us into the car, where to go with 2 dogs. Plus the tech needed us to keep turning on and off the engine to check things.
A full four hours later we had full working air conditioning. Wonderful! Then we were presented with the bill. Shock. This was our second time here for the same problem. The last fix lasted about 3 years and was over $300.00 cheaper. What happened? Turns out that the owner had to bring in a special tech to do the job as his tech was deathly ill in the hospital so he had to charge more. The tech in the hospital is the one who last time bypassed the high pressure switch as he could not get one and said it was not really needed. This tech said we needed the switch but it had to be pre ordered from Spartan and might take a week. So he also bypassed the switch but put in a relay switch which would get us by for a while. When questioned about his bill, the owner, Carlos offered to do get the high pressure switch and put it in for as at no charge the next time we would be in the area. Fair enough I guess, except that perhaps if the high pressure switch had not been bypassed in the first place we might not need to have spent over $700.00 on repairs today. So we will be back either late October or next April.
From there we went to Spanky’s RV where we picked up a few supplies like light bulbs and a new stool. Over to Super Fuel where their diesel prices seemed rather high so we only filled with propane. We only used $25.00 worth of propane since November 1st. At Safeway we refilled our 5 gallon water jug and picked up a few bottles of wine. Time to drive on to Lake Havasu. No more shopping and stops for us. Despite the heat, over 100F, we went straight to the BLM land just North of the airport. New rules, one now has to drive much further back to camp. I am curious as to the reason, does anyone know? Not an issue for us as we like to be further back and away from others. We got to where we like to be and that involves unhooking and turn the RV around. We started this about 4PM and after dumping and putting the jacks down we realized that the front end was too low so we would have to drive the tires up on our jack pads. However the front left jack, the one we have had problems with for years and always resolved the issue would not retract. Back and forth and finally with a good deal of effort on Colin’s part with the use of a shovel the jack retracted. Then he saw it. Oh no! The hydraulic fluid was leaking all over the ground. There was no way we could put the jacks down or the slides out.
We got the computer out and we did have a signal but very very weak. Colin started calling for help from his manual for HWH to various repair shops we know of in the area, all closed. He did get in touch with the repair shop in Yuma, the one that fixed the overhead air a few days ago, and he diagnosed a solenoid problem. Meanwhile I had coaxed a few telephone numbers out of the computer of mobile RV places.
No one was happy.
Only one answered and he had no parts. By now it was 6PM and the generator was running and it was still about 96F. The dogs were antsy as we were so we went for a walk.
When we arrived it was overcast which helped with the heat. We walked down this road for a short while. Caeli chased a rabbit. A few minutes later a guy drove by and advised to keep a watch out. He said he just saw a four foot rattler cross in front of our RV as he drove by. They loved this heat. He claimed it was 102F and here I was feeling cool at what I thought was 96F 😥
How ever did this tree manage to grow in the rock?
So much to see here but it would have been better for the camera with different lighting.
The sun did peak out from the clouds for a short while.
Afterwards we shoved things into corners so we could move about. Lots of wine was in order. Colin realized that his clothes were in the cupboards at the foot of the bed so they were out of reach. Well we could just go to Walmart and buy some new things I guess. Right now it seems that we will have to travel this way until we find a repair facility that deals with HWH and has parts. We have to find someone before we get home as we do need to unload the RV. We have one more place to call Saturday morning. Otherwise we will start our trek North. If anyone knows of a shop along I5 that can help us or has time to do research that would be great. We plan to be in the Modesto, CA area on Monday and head straight North from there.
Posted Saturday morning as Friday’s post when for some unknown reason I got a signal. There should be paragraphs but they don’t appear on the final. Sorry.
<< Older Posts Home Newer Posts >>
ugh, your trip home so far has just sounded absolutely hell-ish! I pray you can find the needed repairs without too much more trouble and can get to cooler climates quickly.
I think now I’m starting to understand why some snowbirds keep their rigs parked in Mexico all year (or buy casitas). Between RV repair costs, tolls, and fuel, it can sure add up…sigh.
Well, fingers crossed that you’ll soon be home sitting on your patio overlooking that magnificent lake view, and the troubles of this past week will all be behind you!
So sorry about all the repairs and when it’s been so hot.. I remember Fern having repairs done in a California shop that she recommended.. Hopefully you found a good one.. Need Eric to follow you home.. Here’s hoping the rest of trip home is more relaxing… Cheers!!
Oh, my goodness, is this Murphy’s Law??? Hope things perk up for you both and things take a turn for the MUCH better!! Drive safe…
Dolores….must be Murphy’s Law. At least I am not feeling so stressed tonight. Thanks for your continued support.
Longdog2…cooled down tonight thank goodness. 80 now feels chilly 🙂
Lynne….hellish has a good ring to it! We would never leave our RV behind in Mexico as I think the salt air would do much more damage in the long. Fuel is not too bad if you sit for several months as we do but the repair cost can be rather bothersome but on the positive side it is less than owning a boat.
Susie….yes but I think it was a different type of repair Fern had done, we need and HWH specialist re the hydraulics. i kept wishing we could just call Eric, our go to Mexican mobile tech but I doubt he would have the parts.
Wow, rough trip. Hope you get help soon and get cooled down.
Good luck with all your repair issues, does not sound like an enjoyable journey.
You are right George, it is not an enjoyable journey. Last year it was all about the engine heading south and the tires heading north. It seems that it is always something.