Sunday, December 2, 2012

The Road to Goshen

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm sitting in a RV spot at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds
in Goshen, Indiana.  Tomorrow morning I have my first appointment
at MorRyde Industries to have my suspension and brakes replaced.
That will be Monday and Tuesdays excitement.

I left yesterday morning at abut 0715 with no real plan for where to end my day.
I figured when I felt like stopping I would.

It was a real pretty late fall/early winter afternoon with temps in the mid 50's
and low 60's.


After traveling west on I40, in the vicinity of Mayberry I grabbed I77 North 
which would take me thru Va, West Va, and into Ohio.

Leaving the Mayberry area on I77 you immediately climb hard up onto the 
Blue Ridge Plateau and begin to cross the Appalachian Mountains.

While all the leaves are pretty much gone
there is not yet any snow up on the Blue Ridge Plateau.


I77 thru W Va is a pain to drive with a trailer.  The road goes up and down and
round and round.  It is bumpy, winding, and requires constant concentration.

The picture above is probably the longest straight stretch in the state.

Eventually I put W Va behind me and then night fell while cruising thru Ohio.

The view from the cockpit


At about 8pm I found a Walmart north of Columbus Ohio and pulled into the lot
to call it a day.

A quick cup of coffee and it was off to bed.

Today dawned windy and rainy.  I had only about 4 hrs left to drive so I 
loafed along taking my time and rolled into the fairground at noon.


It's no place to write home about.. but it is a quiet place to park and plug in so its home
for tonight.

After getting set up, I unhooked and drove up to MorRyde to see where I have to go
in the morning.  I then checked out the location of some other places that I need to
go while here.

Around 3pm I stopped at a local diner for my first thing to eat since yesterday afternoon.

Now I'm back at the coach watching some football, blogging and enjoying
the fireplace.

Tomorrow....  they cut the axles off of the rig.


Sunday, November 25, 2012

If you want a job done right...

You must drive to Indiana.

You will remember my last post mentioned that we were having some 
tire wear issues and a blown hydraulic piston that moves one of the slides.

Well...  after driving 2.5hrs to a dealer,
leaving it there for over 7 weeks,
We finally gave up and yesterday I drove back and liberated the
RV from the clutches of incompetence.

Nothing was fixed...  Nada.... Zilch.

I still need to get everything fixed, and the clock is ticking down to
our mid December departure to Arizona so I have formulated a plan B.

The Elkhart Indiana area is basically ground zero for the RV Industry & our
unit was built near there in Goshen.  The advertising literature on our RV
touts the fact that it was built by Amish Craftsmen...

The local Walmart even has a special parking shed for the Amish Buggies.

  
In addition most of the RV Industry support firms that make items 
such as Frames, Appliances, hitches, and slide rooms to name just a few,
are located in the immediate vicinity as well.

So......

Plan B is to drive up to Indiana next Saturday.

On Monday I have a 2 day appointment at MorRyde Industries where
they will cut off the suspension and install an upgraded independent suspension
with disc brakes.  My current trailer brakes are not up to the task.

Basically the type and strength of suspension and braking system
that should have been supplied in the first place.

Then on Weds, I have an 0800 appointment at Lippert Industries, the company that built
both the frame and the slide rooms.   They will fix the hydraulic piston.

While at MorRyde I will sleep in the RV at night while it's in their shop.
They have electric hookup, cable tv connection and will feed me 
breakfast and lunch....    That's service.

They have a great customer service Living Room where I can set up my
office if I don't want to work in the trailer while they are working on it.

I'm also planning on upgrading the wheels and tires to a higher load rated size
to give us a better safety margin.  So while at MorRyde I might have to make a quick
day trip to Ohio (80miles) and back to pick them up while the trailer is being worked on.

Weds afternoon hopefully all has come together enough that I will be back on the road to home.

Only 32 hrs and 1,700 miles later I should be home.

2 weeks later we head to Arizona for some wintertime desert living.