Friday, April 13, 2012

Auxiliary fuel tank and other things

We were able to get our truck in the shop to look at the auxiliary fuel tank. When we had the truck repaired while we were in Goodyear after we dropped the fifth wheel onto the truck bed they had to remove the tank and reinstall it. Turns out when they reinstalled it the feeder hose got crimped. A new hose and problem solved, end of story right, well not entirely.

While underneath the truck they noticed that the bracket for the fifth wheel hitch was misaligned and there were some loose wires. Got all that fixed and Bob picked up the truck and noticed the backup sensors weren't working. Turns out the loose wires were now even looser to the point of being disconnected. This was fixed and Bob was on his way home, and that is the end of the story right, well not exactly again.

With a pizza in tow for supper Bob headed back to the RV park during a bad wind storm, so bad that Jo thought seriously she should stow the satellite dish. The wind was so strong that our truck bed cover got ripped off at one of the corners and started flopping around. One of the support rods bounced across the road so Bob scrambled to the other side of the road and picked it up. He rolled up the cover and limped back. After supper we discovered that the latch had broken at one corner and that the flapping in the wind had caused the cover to almost pull completely out of the end bracket. We were able to thread the cover back onto the bracket so it would roll up better.

This truly has been the truck cover from a very warm place. When we dropped the fifth wheel onto the truck bed the truck cover that we had was damaged beyond repair so a new one was needed. When Bob picked up the truck back in Goodyear after all the repairs were done he immediately noticed a different cover, it wasn't even the same brand. Since we did not want to take delivery with not all the repairs right we kept using the rental car and they kept the truck. About a week later we went to pickup the truck again and the cover was still wrong, same brand but different model. We got a low profile one because we read that they were less likely to go flying in the wind. By now were past the 30 days for the rental car allowed on our insurance but the repair place was picking up the extra days so we agreed to take the truck and turn in the rental car. When they got the next one in and installed it Bob got a rental car for the day but it still was not the right model. What came next was weeks of them getting the right model in but there was always something wrong with it; from too short to ripped cover. By now we are getting closer to when we were planning to leave. What we worked out with the Insurance company was we would get reimbursed when we put on a new cover. We could use the existing cover for trade-in or sell it on craigslist. We planned to do this in the KC area in September since we would be there for a month.

With a damaged cover though now we need a new one. The repair place that worked on the fuel tank is able to get the correct cover and with expedited shipping we will only have to spend an extra day here. The Insurance company will pay for the expedited shipping (since we could only extend our stay at our site here one day), along with the cover as well as the repairs on the fuel tank and hitch bracket and wiring. So money wise we are OK and our schedule is flexible to allow us to stay a little longer, but it was a little hectic dealing with the cover all these months and with the wind storm. The only definite plans we have this year is Bob's fishing trip in mid-June in Canada where he is meeting some friends from where he used to work, and some medical appointments back in Goodyear AZ.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

2 comments:

  1. Holy Cow - that's enough bad stuff going on for you guys. You need a break from any more hassle so you can just relax and enjoy.

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  2. Ummm...sounds kinda familiar...!Sorta! Isn't flexibility terrific?! Waiting to hear new CORRECT cover installed. Stay grounded--use tie downs!

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