Phoenix, Again!

Had an appointment last Friday, on my way back from Quartzsite, at Champs Family Automotive to fix the Tracker right rear axle seal, an ongoing problem not related to the I-10 accident, and diagnose and repair a vibration that occurred while stopped in Drive, also unrelated to the accident. Probably motor mounts. Fine. Bring it in early Friday, have the car back on Saturday, then take off South and East.

Except that on Saturday afternoon after the installation of new motor mounts, the vibration in the car was ten times worse than before, totally unacceptable. It was hard for this woman to say, no, that's not right, I'm bringing it back, but I did. We'd talk on Monday. Off to White Tank Mountain campground, discouraged, for the weekend to contemplate my schedule of driving to Austin.

On Monday morning, Champs gave me a deal. They wanted to keep the car until Friday. They would replace the motor mounts again at no charge, and if that didn't fix it, and it was the next possibility, the torque converter, they would only charge me for parts, not labor. Parts for a 2000 Tracker are scarce, and have to be overnighted in for timely repairs. How could I not agree. I went back to the motorhome subdued and still discouraged. If it took until Friday to do the repairs, I was going to have to haul a** to get to Austin before my friend arrives there to visit for President's Day weekend.

I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning without a toad, getting around only in the motorhome, doing other errands and stocking up. Wednesday at about 11 am, my phone rang, and it was Champs, my car was ready. You could not have wiped the smile off my face. When I got there, it was immediately obvious as I turned the engine over that the pesky vibration problem was solved. I can't believe I had been putting up with this vibration all this time.

Apparently there are frequent enough "bad" batches of motor mounts. Champs sent for a second set of motor mounts that solved the problem. I have to give a big shout out to Champs Family Automotive. They did right by me big time, and fixed everything to my satisfaction, at no additional charge. I'm happy to recommend Champs  if you need auto or RV repair in the Phoenix area. They have a lift big enough for the Lazy Daze, and have a thriving RV service and repair business, as well as automotive and diesel service.

I was relieved that I'd be able to get to the Benson USPS office for a General Delivery pickup of my motorhome registration tags. I was able to leave Phoenix Thursday morning, heading for Benson. An uneventful drive, an immediate stop at the USPS, mail retrieved, and I was back at the Escapees Saguaro Co-op RV park for Thursday night. I had a friend to visit there, and they also have the best laundry room I've ever run across. I'd be on my way early Friday morning.

Well, not. I had lots of things I wanted to do. Clubhouse shower while laundry was washing, a good cleanout of my black tank, fill up with water, check and air up the tire pressure for ten tires, and the real time consumer, make sure my toad Surge Brake cable was properly adjusted. I wasn't going to leave until I felt that it was exactly how I wanted it, neither too tight to apply the toad brakes continuously, even slightly, nor too slack to allow the cable to flip forward, get caught, and cause the problem I had before. Oh, yes, and another call to the TPMS company for tech support to be sure I had all ten tire monitors operating as expected. And, gotta get gas. All this meant that I left the RV park about 1:30 in the afternoon, facing a 200 mile drive to my destination for the night. Which drive is the subject of my next post.

But, by golly, I was going to take my time, make sure everything was operating correctly, be deliberate and careful in my hookup procedures, because I'm heading into a new phase of my travels. Terra incognita. I'm going where I've never been before, in so many ways. I'm living in a new time zone, an alternate universe. Home is now exactly and only where I am right now. And it is a good place.