Today was an early rise of 7am to get coffee and walk the dog in anticipation of a call from the mobile repair guy, Charles. He had promised to call the place that was to receive the part (Suspension air bag) at 7am when they opened.
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| The Part |
At 9:30 Kevin called again, left a voicemail reminding Charles of the invoice required by the extended warrantee co and also requested a call back with the status.
At 10:30, another call was placed by Kevin. The report was that the part was not in, but Charles did dispatch somebody to go to the location where the part was going to be delivered and be there to pick it up as soon as it arrived. (Overnight really means it gets there when it gets there and you pay hundreds of dollars for it to arrive when all the other parts arrive). Charles confirmed with Kevin that after they got the part it would take an hour to get to the campsite and then a half hour to one hour to install. This put the best possible completion slightly past the campground noon check out time.
At 11:30 Kevin calls again. Charles reported that the part was retrieved and they were on the way to he campsite but no ETA.
Kevin and Theresa were keeping the fellow campers as well as the campsite office informed of the progress. Jimmy and Cheryl (ones who swapped spaces with us) had also talked to the office and said they were willing to park in the parking area somewhere and be plugged in just so the refrigerator could work if that would help alleviate the overcrowding issue caused by the Smitanic's in ability to move. The park office also called the arriving campers who needed the site, to let them know of the situation and asked them not to arrive before 4:30.
At 12:15 the repair truck arrived with the same driver as yesterday (the secretary) and a young mechanic who was not completely aware of the entire situation but was sent to the job site by Charles.
Kevin briefed the Youngster on the situation and walked him thru the entire diagnosis including adding air pressure to hear the source of the leak. Kevin raised the front end with the jacks as high as they could go, so the newbie could assess what was needed. He identified the same issue as Charles and now had a better idea of the challenge ahead. He struggled for one hour just to try to get one bolt off of the existing airbag. 
Using a hammer he struggled with the second upper bolt tapping on the monkey wrench. The wrench was just not big enough to give him enough leverage and this method would risk rounding off the bolt. 
The Newbie talked to himself a bit and was frustrated that Charles had taken the Service truck with all the tools in it to a different job site. And the Newbies truck, with all his tools, didn't start this AM, so he came in the same truck that was there the previous day which did not have all the tools he needed to do the job. Kevin's premunitions again were unfolding. Theresa thought maybe the park maintenance would have something that would help, so she went up to the office to ask. The camp host summoned a ranger to site 116.
Ranger Eric pulled up and the Newbie told him what size of wrench was needed. Ranger Eric noted the size and hopped back in his truck and went to the maintenance shop for the park to see if they had anything that met the criteria. Ranger Eric returned with four different choices. The newbie tried each choice. One was close but no-cigar! Off by an eighth of an inch. Ranger Eric retrieved one more wrench from his truck but alas that had the wrong angle for the very limited space under the RV.
The Newbie explained the limitation of the wrench and Ranger Eric took one more trip the the camp maintenance toolbox to see if he could find an alternative that met the more precise criteria.
The ranger was back in 10 min with yet another wrench that hit the mark. It was now 2:30 and after an additional 40 min of struggling, the newbie was able to get the final bolt loosened and the failing air bag removed. Once removed the group was able to see clearly the damage that had been bestowed upon the air bag by interstate 40. Pictures were taken to document the carnage. Kevin picked up the bent frame of the air bag and estimated that single piece weighed more than 20 lbs. The damage done could only have been supplied by a roadside IED or a series of I-40 Potholes. 
At 3:15, the Newbie now started attaching the new part. With the proper tools the new air bag was attached. Then it took multiple tries to get the airline reattached. At 3:53 the RV was ready to test to see if the air pressure would make it over 100psi. To Kevin's, Theresa's, the campground neighbor's as well as the repair staff's delight all systems were deemed a GO. The Smitanic was cleared for departure!
The RV was carefully guided out of site 116 and into a staging zone in a nearby parking area so the Toad could be attached along with the finicky Break Buddy. This time it only took 2 tries to get the desired “Ready” message on the Break Buddy's display screen.
The original destination of the Tom Sawyer RV park was entered into Nora (gps), however with Jimmy's sage advice to opt out of that site, Theresa cancelled those reservations completely and began a search for a recommended KOA just west of Memphis in AR. Jimmy and his wife and son-in law were fun to spend time with. Jimmy was a great story teller and he even admitted that some of them might have been true. They brought great camping Karma to the day and we expect they will receive it magically in return when needed.
The route to Memphis was back on the 1-40 mine field. Kevin cringed and cursed as he tried to navigate the unavoidable construction zone explosives. Theresa lost stiches in her crochet project with each shattering impact.
Once across the Mississippi river and into Arkansas the route was a short 14 miles north on I-55. It was a welcome relief to be finally off I-40! Kevin was worn out from the 1-40 fight! He felt as though he had been 10 rounds in the boxing ring with Mohamad Ali !
The KOA had a pull-thru site that would allow the Toad to stay attached for a quick exit in the AM, that would be after enjoying breakfast at the Kamp Kafe!
The route from this point west will never return to I-40. The team hopes the worst roads are behind them. Stay tuned to see if it is smooth sailing from here on out.
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