I know it's rare but we've had yet another MISadventure. If you remember, I made an appointment for service on the RV for today at 10am. We got up at 7am, and did all of the usual disconnections and such. It was time to retract the jacks, or so we thought. Naturally, they wouldn't register as retracted so Jim got out his handy-dandy oiling can to squirt some ATF up in the reservoir. Once again we both can't get the cap off. After fighting with it, and ATF fluid all over the place (sorry Cherry Creek State Park), we were on our way. (This isn't the MISadventure quite yet...... Read on.) We made it right on time. I checked in with the service advisor, Howard while Jim readied the Cherokee for today's adventure. The write-up process, took a half hour. I think it was due to the lame, antiquated dealership software. You would have thought that Howard needed to key in the RV paint design into his computer. My list is as follows:
Jim joins me and tells Howard that the cruise control is very important. I remind Howard this is our home and we have no place to go. It needs to be done today. On the way to the Cherokee, Jim tells me that the latch to lock the fridge/freezer broke off (it's used to keep the doors from swinging opening and breaking off during travel), but no fear, he duct taped it for now. We write down the model number of the fridge and later, we'll stop at a Camping World for a possible part purchase (if lucky). Sorry, this isn't the MISadventure either.... read on....
It's time for breakfast; Jim requests donuts, I veto with McDonalds. It's now 10:30am. Jim: We won't make it in time. They stop serving breakfast at 10:30am. Garret: Why would they do that? Who wants a burger at 10:30am? I'm sure they still serve breakfast.
Off to McDonalds we go. They stopped serving breakfast.
Garret: Sorry..... Shall I find a Dunkin' Donuts. Jim: See. Yeah.
Nope, still not the MISadventure you're hoping for. I program the GPS, we arrive at what used to be a Dunkin' Donuts. DAMN. We agree on a fast food joint across the street called "Good Times". It's kind of like a Juicy Lucys with outdoor seating only which was fine since we have the dog with us.
Jim had already planned out a beautiful scenic roadtrip the night before so we set out for the journey. Along the way we see a sign "Buffalo Bill's Grave" and venture off course to visit his grave. Pretty area with lots of overlooks. We skipped the museum since we couldn't take Dasher inside. In case you're wondering, no, Dasher did not pee on his grave.... just 15 other places. Oh, you were wondering why Buffalo Bill would be buried in Colorado, instead of Wyoming. It was his wishes per the signage at the site due to it beauty. Were you expecting a stranger explanation?
We journey on towards Estes State Park and stopped so many times along the way to photograph or take in the beauty. A lot of the route was driving through canyons. The leaves are different colors, the mountains are uhhhhhhh tall, just the overall pictures are great.
It's 2:00, no call from Howard. No cell phone service either. (Too much canyon). We decide to turn around, head back toward town, and skip Estes State Park. We've seen so much already. The GPS takes us a different route, through Boulder. Great views on the way. Even tunnels. Once in Bolder I get a signal (2:35pm), I call Howard. He says it needs shocks, road force balance front tires, brake pads are new but glazed (overheated). I'm witness to the fact that Jim does a lot of downshifting to keep the brakes cool, but what can I say? I skip the brakes and tell him to proceed with the shocks, tire balancing, and cruise diag for $800.00. Parts are in stock. What about the cruise control? Recall is done, waiting on the electrical tech to check it. They are open, and techs work until 7pm.
Here IT comes:
5:14pm, almost 3 hours from authorization, Howard calls. He was bringing the parts out to the tech (3 hours later?????) and the tech is gone. He can't get any of it done today. The electrical tech went home. He suggests that we camp out in his parking lot and the electrical tech will diag at 7am. I declined. Apparently, no one else can check the cruise control.
I'm LIVID. I tell him I'm on the way and I have no intentions of paying checkout. He calls back and says the manager lowered the checkout from $180 to $120. I told him to tell his manager that if his tech makes $25 an hour, he can use his Policy Monies to write it off. I'm not paying. I now decide in advance that I will refuse to pay and will camp out there until they call the police. Soon after they make the call, I'd then pay by credit card and then dispute the charges. When I arrive, the Service Manager is ready for me and tells me to take it. I thank him, and off we go.
SO, yet again, nothing gets done... They lost out on a probable $1000 repair bill. And for Mike who texted me asking why the service contract doesn't cover it..... It's a wearable item and excluded.
Oh, and Camping World needed more numbers off the fridge to check on the damn latch, so that will have to wait since the RV was in service (busy not getting serviced) at the time.
- Cruise control won't set.
- Possible open cruise control recall.
- Rotational squeak from front end when very hot and slow speeds. Noise stops when braking.
- Vibration throughout RV at 70mph or more.
- Steering feels loose.
*Side note: On my end cruise control is #1 but in preview it shows as #0. Who knows what it will read once published.
Labor rate $125.00 per hour. Cruise diag = $125.00; vibration diag = $125.00; brake squeak diag = $63.00Jim joins me and tells Howard that the cruise control is very important. I remind Howard this is our home and we have no place to go. It needs to be done today. On the way to the Cherokee, Jim tells me that the latch to lock the fridge/freezer broke off (it's used to keep the doors from swinging opening and breaking off during travel), but no fear, he duct taped it for now. We write down the model number of the fridge and later, we'll stop at a Camping World for a possible part purchase (if lucky). Sorry, this isn't the MISadventure either.... read on....
It's time for breakfast; Jim requests donuts, I veto with McDonalds. It's now 10:30am. Jim: We won't make it in time. They stop serving breakfast at 10:30am. Garret: Why would they do that? Who wants a burger at 10:30am? I'm sure they still serve breakfast.
Off to McDonalds we go. They stopped serving breakfast.
Garret: Sorry..... Shall I find a Dunkin' Donuts. Jim: See. Yeah.
Nope, still not the MISadventure you're hoping for. I program the GPS, we arrive at what used to be a Dunkin' Donuts. DAMN. We agree on a fast food joint across the street called "Good Times". It's kind of like a Juicy Lucys with outdoor seating only which was fine since we have the dog with us.
Jim had already planned out a beautiful scenic roadtrip the night before so we set out for the journey. Along the way we see a sign "Buffalo Bill's Grave" and venture off course to visit his grave. Pretty area with lots of overlooks. We skipped the museum since we couldn't take Dasher inside. In case you're wondering, no, Dasher did not pee on his grave.... just 15 other places. Oh, you were wondering why Buffalo Bill would be buried in Colorado, instead of Wyoming. It was his wishes per the signage at the site due to it beauty. Were you expecting a stranger explanation?We journey on towards Estes State Park and stopped so many times along the way to photograph or take in the beauty. A lot of the route was driving through canyons. The leaves are different colors, the mountains are uhhhhhhh tall, just the overall pictures are great.
It's 2:00, no call from Howard. No cell phone service either. (Too much canyon). We decide to turn around, head back toward town, and skip Estes State Park. We've seen so much already. The GPS takes us a different route, through Boulder. Great views on the way. Even tunnels. Once in Bolder I get a signal (2:35pm), I call Howard. He says it needs shocks, road force balance front tires, brake pads are new but glazed (overheated). I'm witness to the fact that Jim does a lot of downshifting to keep the brakes cool, but what can I say? I skip the brakes and tell him to proceed with the shocks, tire balancing, and cruise diag for $800.00. Parts are in stock. What about the cruise control? Recall is done, waiting on the electrical tech to check it. They are open, and techs work until 7pm.
Here IT comes:
5:14pm, almost 3 hours from authorization, Howard calls. He was bringing the parts out to the tech (3 hours later?????) and the tech is gone. He can't get any of it done today. The electrical tech went home. He suggests that we camp out in his parking lot and the electrical tech will diag at 7am. I declined. Apparently, no one else can check the cruise control.
I'm LIVID. I tell him I'm on the way and I have no intentions of paying checkout. He calls back and says the manager lowered the checkout from $180 to $120. I told him to tell his manager that if his tech makes $25 an hour, he can use his Policy Monies to write it off. I'm not paying. I now decide in advance that I will refuse to pay and will camp out there until they call the police. Soon after they make the call, I'd then pay by credit card and then dispute the charges. When I arrive, the Service Manager is ready for me and tells me to take it. I thank him, and off we go.
SO, yet again, nothing gets done... They lost out on a probable $1000 repair bill. And for Mike who texted me asking why the service contract doesn't cover it..... It's a wearable item and excluded.
Oh, and Camping World needed more numbers off the fridge to check on the damn latch, so that will have to wait since the RV was in service (busy not getting serviced) at the time.
Jim and I are thinking of a new strategy for businesses. We pay them, and they'll fix things. What do you think?
The day wasn't lost, here's some fun pictures from today.
We thought of you. We even made a U-turn to get a picture of this.
This sign was on 1 side of the road. 1st off, NO DUH. 2nd is if it's a flash flood, will I have time? 3rd is what is on the other side of the road...
A wall of very tall rocks. As pretty as they are, Jim says, "If you're going to give me a sign like that, and an escape route like this, then give me some stairs, a ladder or even some fucking rope."
Whew. I'm exhausted just reading all this! Starting at the top, I'm so glad you didn't let Dasher Prancer pee on Buffalo Bill, I think it might have been bad karma (and just think what "worse" could mean!) My grandma Taylor was friends with Buffalo Bill and apparently he was quite a nice man, no peeing necessary. Next, I stayed in Estes Park when I was a senior in HS. Our madrigal choir travelled to Colorado for a national competition and Estes Park was our base. It was mid-May and it snowed 4 inches the day after we arrived. :o) I'm glad you didn't pay the rude service people, that's who you should have had Dasher Prancer pee on. 'nuff said. Love you all bunches, Pearl
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