We had some major repair work done at S&L Auto Repair here in Amarillo exactly two years ago. We were happy with the work and the guys who did it, so we purposely took a little bit of a detour to return here and have some more things looked at.
Since the last work was completed, we have done more than 20,000 miles of driving, some of it on very rough roads. Sherman has actually held up quite well, all things considered!
But a week or so ago he developed a brake fluid leak at the right rear. Assuming it's coming from the wheel cylinder, but we don't know for sure yet. Anyhow, he also developed an odd braking problem where the right front caliper wasn't operating properly.
There was also an odd clunking noise that I wanted them to look at.
The guys here took us in yesterday after lunch. They did some testing and took things apart to have a look. Sure enough, we are replacing the right front caliper and brake line.
But we are also replacing the right front upper control arm and ball joint.
Remember when Sherman's lower ball joint broke on that side while we were in Mexico? Well, we thought we had replaced everything that was damaged, but it turns out the upper control arm on that side is also bent. You can't really see it unless you compare it to the other side and then you can see how it's supposed to be. So the front edge of the upper control arm has been hitting against the top of the spindle. I know, this probably means nothing to most of you, but the end result is that we are changing the control arm while it's here.
They needed some parts, and they were pretty quick to receive them. But they have to plan the repairs so that we can still sleep in the motorhome in their lot overnight.
So we stayed overnight last night, and today they are doing the work on the right front. We'll stay overnight again tonight, and they will do the work on the right rear tomorrow.
Sunrise yesterday morning.
Not the most exciting scenery coming up from Memphis, TX to Amarillo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA Batteries. Take 50% off at checkout using coupon code 50C1P2WP Code works on either 16 Pack or 24 Pack.
And in Canada...
Traveling through that area is spooky...I'm always afraid I'll break down and be stuck and some weirdo would come around pretending to help. About the most interesting thing I see whenever I travel through the area are weird looking farm equipment moseying slowly on the road. The most odd one I've seen looked like an outer space creature...it was huge with skinny arms shooting up and over like an spray of water shooting up in the air.
ReplyDeleteHope Sherman feels better and repairs get done right this time. Seems they are always doing minimal repair instead of looking at the whole picture.
We never even think about that when we are traveling, unless maybe it is through a real bad part of a big city!
DeleteWe are used to seeing all the big funny looking farm equipment so we are used to that, actually some of it is pretty interesting.
His repairs were done right before! The upper control arm that was slightly bend was not the previous mechanic's fault, neither he nor Kevin noticed that is was slightly bent, plus that was over two years ago now. All the other repairs on Sherman have been good, other than the value stem breaking off a week or so ago. These mechanics definitely know their stuff. :-)
Lets just say that you are investing in Sherman's continued loyalty.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy the serenity.
It's about time.
We totally understand that to keep Sherman on the road and running properly, he needs to have regular maintenance and repairs done to him and we have no problems with that, especially since we have spent very little money on him over the last year and a half. It beats paying for repairs to an actual house and a house can't move! :-)
DeleteSounds like the title of a country song.... and some of the lyrics might be describing the mechanic shop as the most scenic spot. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it just might be a song, lol! :-)
DeleteWhat about "Stuck Inside of Amarillo with the Mobile Home Sick Blues"? Apologies to Bob Dylan ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuck_Inside_of_Mobile_with_the_Memphis_Blues_Again
DeleteLol, not quite the mobile home sick blues though! ;-)
DeleteOn the bright side you can dine at the Big Texan steak house.Home of the 72 oz steak dinner.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note our 2011 Tiffin Allegro RED is for sale here in Ontario. Yes it has a generator and yes it has 4 slides but its a great full time vehicle which we did in it for 5 years. 59000 miles, 600 watts of solar....just sayin...Sherman is looking tired but you guys aren't.
www.kijiji.ca/v-rv-motorhome/grand-bend/2011-tiffin-motorhome-for-sale/1468376515
we'll give you a break on the price because we've enjoyed reading about your adventures for so long.
And of course since you've been reading about our adventures for so long, you know that a rig like yours is not our style!
DeleteGood luck with the sale!
One can always change. ;-)
DeleteSafe travels.
You can bet there will be cheap deals on used RV's when this is all over. When times get tough, people dump RV's & boats first. That is what happened in the 2008 crash
DeleteYep, I would agree with you there Paul. It will be a buyers market. Pretty sure that the next RV we buy will be in Europe. Hoping for some bargains to come along over the next year.
DeleteI assume that is Canadian dollars, about 70,000 us?
ReplyDeleteThat would be correct!
DeleteI don't know, think doing full-time RVing sounds better all the time. No property taxes, no yard, home maintenance, replaced our furnace, A/C recently BIG$$$. Different scenery, fresh outdoors, strongly thinking that might be the way to go, at least for awhile.....
ReplyDeleteWe love full-timing! You still have certain costs when owing a motorhome but we think it is way cheaper than owning and maintaining a house, plus a motorhome has wheels so you can move to different locales all the time and still have your own bed, kitchen and bathroom with you. :-)
Delete