Well, Happy holly days!
Since the last posting very little has developed in terms of making headway in the preparations for the trip. The only long, dragged event was taking the trailer to Camper Clinic for some repairs that I could not perform due to lot conditions and weather.
The experience that we had at Camper Clinic fits with the current state of Healthcare: Inflated service prices. So the "Clinic" part of the name should warn you on what to expect.
The experience at this authorized Airstream dealer was, for the second time, very frustrating and disappointing. Labor charges seem to be in check with other repair outlets, but part prices are around $100 more expensive than any other retailer.
But the most aggravating part of dealing with this service shop, is the inflated bills for unnecessary parts and labor. After haggling on the $30 cracked housing on the center fan, Camper Clinic insisted on replacing the housing along with a brand new $300 fan.
After this second and hopefully last experience at this place, even though we needed quite a bit of water hook-up supplies, we could not, in good conscience, spend one more cent at this place, so we drove across the street to buy our supplies elsewhere.
I would continue on more detail on how Camper Clinic estimated the repair of the known issue for the front stress crack, but at this point, I am starting to suspect that once an Airstream service center quotes a price, they link it to the trailer vin and make the inflated quote stick no matter where the owner tries to fix it. We will see, when I repair this, probably in Arizona.
After the fiasco experience in Camper Clinic, we drove the trailer back to the muddy lot, but this time we got lucky and parked in the graveled side of the lot. This was also the very first time that Vicky and I hooked and unhooked the rig, and as everybody has suggested, Vicky performed for the first time her role as hitch-guide and back-up guide. We did it surprisingly fast and well.
These videos helped me visualize what needs to happen while backing up and correcting paths.
Well, the fist test trip is coming up. We need to stock on cooking and eating utensils, sheets and blankets. The Silver Whale is anxious to hit the road!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
From the Clinic to the mud...
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2 comments:
Adolfo,
It might not be feasible at this point, and the service manager has changed since we were there, but we had a very good experience at Roger Williams Airstream in Weatherford, TX. That's a bit of a haul north for you, I know. However, they're one of the better dealers and are within striking distance.
Bobby
Thanks for the tip Bobby, I will make note of it. It may come handy when we are on our way out towards Arkansas. We are pretty much all done with repairs. The only lingering one is the stress crack, and at this point it is very, very tiny. We have decided to postpone this repair until it becomes a real issue, since at a minimum, the fix will require a new frontal panel. Camper Clinic wants to replace almost all the panels in the front, plus a plethora of unrelated parts in the A frame, like the battery box.
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