Batteries Plus

I called Costco to tell them I suspected bad batteries and was taking them to Batteries Plus for a load test. If they failed, I was going to return them. They said there was no need to have them tested and that I had one year to return them, no questions asked!

I decided to have them tested anyway for my own piece of mind and to prove I wasn't really stupid and couldn't connect them properly. He load tested the first one, shook his head and said it was borderline at best. The second one failed completely! Two bad batteries. He said to get two new ones tomorrow and bring them in for another load test from him or from any other Batteries Plus store, no charge. Fasten your seat belts folks, this ride isn't over yet!

Stockton, CA

We got into Walmart's Auto Center for an oil change at the crack of ten this morning and wandered around the store until it was done. We hit the road, stopped for breakfast, fought the Sacramento traffic and ended up here in Stockton at 4 PM.

I am still not happy with the batteries. We ran the extra fridge off the inverter same as we did last year and the year before with no problem but the batteries refused to come up past 12.4 being charged by the Ford engine. This is too low so we started the generator and ran it for the last half hour before we parked.

I called the local Batteries Plus store to see if they could do a proper load test on the individual 6 volt batteries and they can. We will get it done either tonight or tomorrow morning. If they do not pass I will take them to the nearest Costco and demand replacements. It is not unusual to see a bad batch of batteries and probably buying lower end (Interstate) brand doesn't help. They were $89 while the top rated Trojans are $130 - $150.

Anderson, CA

Safe and sound in Anderson, CA. A non-eventful drive. Why does that surprise everyone (including me)? This is the RV friendly Walmart that has an RV bay for oil changes. I walked over when we arrived at 1 PM but they were just closing for Thanksgiving. We will park and wait till morning to get it done.

The weather is so much better here, starting to get warm. T-shirt weather. Life Is Good!

Short Delay But Voluntary This Time

We are ready to go but there is "moderate" snow in the Siskiyou today so we are waiting until tomorrow (Thursday) when it is forecast to be much better. I know the road surface is kept clear for the trucks and yes, I have driven thousands of miles in much worse conditions when I worked on the Alaska border but Norma is nervous so we will wait,

Done!

The phone rang at 10 AM telling us the dolly was done. We asked if they had a plumbing guy around who could look at the leaking drain valve on the fresh water tank that drains the tank in three or four days and they did! We drove the motorhome over and the plumbing guy and I looked at the problem. The leaking valve is located about two feet inside a very narrow passage and is impossible to get at to work on it. We decided to cut the old drain off the tank, cap it and to create a new drain line by tapping off the line to the water pump, add a valve and a drain line out the front. It will be slower to drain the tank but we do not do it often anyway.

The spindle replacement cost $320 labour plus $35 parts and the new drain $160 labour and $40 parts for a total of $605.

This is where the welder drilled a hole through the rear axle housing and welded the new spindle in place. Time and tire wear will tell how "true" he got it. I had told the welder before he started that Master Tow, the trailer manufacturer says the spindle is not replaceable. After he finished he said, "I see what they meant by "not replaceable" but anything can be done if you are determined".

A close-up of the weld,

The new drain. The line to the left goes to the water pump while the new line heading towards us is the new drain with it's shut off valve.

And finally the water draining. Just a trickle but it will work and the tank will no longer drain on it's own.

They Can Do It!

Trailer and RV Parts and Service had their axle guy take the wheel off and look at the problem. The good news is, they can fix it! He said he can think of three different ways to go about it and will think about it and come up with the best way. The spindle is $30 and they said it could take up to three hours to get it welded in "true". In any case he said it should not cost more than $400 total including repacking the bearing on the opposite wheel. A new axle, car deck, shipping and installation would be three times that. I am a happy guy!

"Well there's yer problem".

Some Good News For A Change!

 OK! The local repair place can do the job but not until Wednesday. We are taking it over so they can look at it to make sure it is do-able and we will leave it there. You never know, they might have a cancellation. I didn't ask how much as at this point it is a moot point.

Stuck Here In Medford

It was late afternoon when we got out of the tire store. We were worried about hitting the mountain range this late in the day and after being warned about the spindle damage so we decided to spend the night in the Walmart parking lot and decide that to do.

There is only one axle repair shop in Medford but about twelve over the mountains in Redding / Anderson, CA. We got an RV park here in Medford on Sunday and will call the repair place Monday morning. If they can replace the spindle we will get it done. If not they might have a suggestion. If they do not we will head to Redding and try our luck there.

At this rate it might very well be Christmas before we get warm.

Me and Joe

Meet Joe Btfspik, the Lil' Abner character who walked around with the perpetual cloud over his head. Well, on this trip I am doing a pretty good imitation of Joe.

We took the dolly into Les Schwab for tires this morning and were pleased that they had the exact pair we wanted, the same Towmasters that gave us almost seven years of good service and still had plenty of tread left. As the guy was putting the passenger side tire back on he noticed excessive play in the wheel and recommended that the alignment shop re-pack or replace the bearings. They pulled the bearing, or rather caught it when it fell off and showed me some very excessive wear on the axle spindle! They could do nothing with it but told me I might be able to get a new spindle welded on by a trailer speciality shop but other than that I needed a new axle which includes the car platform. He said to be careful because the cost of buying, shipping and replacing the axle might be almost as much as the trailer is worth which I recall as being $1800 US.

So! It being Saturday morning there is nothing open until Monday. We want to get where it is a bit warmer and everyone is convinced the damage occurred when we had the brake problems on that wheel and burned up the brake drum in Florida back in 2012 (see here).

So the bottom line is since the damage happened in 2012 and has not caused a failure after tens of thousands of miles, I feel confident to proceed to Redding or Anderson, CA where there are many trailer repair places where hopefully I will be able to get a new spindle welded on. This sounds scary but if you Google "trailer spindle replacement" it is a common repair. Whether or not it can be done on our dolly remains to be seen. The next step is to carry on carefully to Fresno, CA where there is a MasterTow dealer.

Another Delay

Is it me or is it Oregon? I got to thinking when was it we replaced the dolly tires? I checked the date code and the tires were manufactured in June, 2009! They are well past their five years and overdue for replacement! We pulled into the Les Schwab Tire store in Medford, OR for tires. When he was putting them on he showed me where one of the bearings needed work. We arranged for the alignment shop to do the work between other jobs sometime this afternoon. We want to be through the Siskiyou Pass before late afternoon so it looks like another night in Oregon. It is a good thing we travel without a schedule or reservations.

On the good news side, the batteries see to be working just fine but boondocking tonight will tell for sure.