Not Again! 10-07-24
-----Well, it has been a while since I posted here. But, then, it has been a while since I went camping. I will find and post the story that explains what happened on May 23, 2024, when I was ready to come home for a camping trip at Guadalupe River State Park. Look for a post called : Failure to Slide.
-----Today, I am sitting in the trailer at Kerrville Schreiner Park wasting time. It is 7:36 AM. I got up at 6:30 hoping to enjoy coffee and finish the interior prep to go home. Unfortunately, when I tried to bring the slide in, absolutely nothing happened. No movement. No sound. No nothing! I called and left a message at Class A RV Repairs, and I am waiting until they open at 8:00 AM to either here from them or call them again.
-----The trailer stayed at the storage lot from May 23rd to August 20th. I don’t know why I waited to take it in to the shop. I was busy with adjusting to diabetes, going to the gym four times a week, and doing physical therapy for my shoulder twice a week. I just felt too busy to be bothered. Then, I drove out to check on the camper at the storage lot and see if I could find a fuse I had read about. Unfortunately, I forgot my keys for the trailer, and there was no way I was going back home to get them.
-----Instead, I called Class A RV Repair. They said to bring it in any day, but warned me that there was a 10-day backup in the shop. That was not a problem for me, so I took it in on August 20th and patiently waited for a call. When the call finally came, they had discovered that the switch for the slide was out. They listed some repairs to get everything going and explained that they couldn’t work on it until a part came in. In the meantime, they would clean and re-seal the roof, something that is supposed to be done a lot more frequently than actually happens with the Colby 2.0.
-----On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, I was going to call the repair shop and check on how things were going, but forgot to. Later that day, I got the call I was waiting for. Everything was fixed and I could pick the trailer up anytime for $2, 047.
-----Since our plans for celebrating Joshua’s 34th birthday weekend had fallen through, Rachel gave her blessing for me to go camping beginning on the 4th. I went on line and miraculously booked my favorite site at Kerrville Schreiner Park. Then on Friday, I drove out to Pipe Creek, picked up the trailer, and headed right to the park.
-----I had a great weekend. I hiked the trails. I visited the Nature Center. I took some photos. I did some writing. I did some reading. I worshiped the beautiful cool weather. Most importantly, I did a full scale cleaning of the Colby 2.0. It was quite dusty from sitting unused for nearly five months. Plus, the work on the slide left a few bits and pieces that needed vacuuming up.
-----So I called at 8:00 AM. They put a technician, Andrew, on the line. For the next 90 minutes he walked me through several things to try and get the slide back in. Nothing worked, so he changed tactics and tried to direct me on how to bring it in manually. That was not an easy task. For one thing, all I have are sissy tools for regular run of the mill repairs. You know… a hammer, a screw driver, and a little mini-ratchet set. I couldn’t get the manual screw to budge. I remembered a heavy duty Black and Decker adjustable ratchet tool that I used to have in the Colby T. Fortunately, I found it easily in my top drawer. I tried it, but still couldn’t get it in.
----- Andrew told me to call the park headquarters and see if they had a better tool. I hung up, but wanted to give the ratchet one more try. That’s when I discovered that you have to turn a wheel to get it to ratchet in reverse. When I did that, I was able to strong arm it and start bringing in the slide. It came in about an inch with every twist of the ratchet. Fortunately, it is only about two feet, so I had it in after about 20 minutes.
-----I finished departure prep, hooked up the trailer, and drove back to Class A RV. They are keeping it until it is working right. In fact, Andrew just called. When he hooked everything back up, the slide worked perfectly. He is going to play with it some more and make sure it is all good. He thinks that maybe it went out a tad too far, causing the problem. He is going to install something that prevents it from over-extending.
-----While I was in the office, I jokingly mentioned how I was glad I was dropping it off, because my storage lot off Talley Road is a hassle. The traffic is horrible on Culebra Road coming back towards 1604. It takes a good 30 minutes to get home from there, unless it is rush hour. Then, it takes up to an hour. They will let me park in the Class A RV Repair’s storage lot for $2 a foot per month. That’s $42 cheaper than my Talley Road. Plus, Class A RV is on the way to Kerrville Schreiner Park, Guadalupe River State Park, and South Llano River State Park. It is only 34 minutes from the house, and the traffic is not a nightmare. I am seriously considering it. They will even move the trailer to the storage lot when it is fixed.
