Maiden Voyage

[jj1457]

Maiden Voyage by Jan & Jerry

I wonder if anyone else had a little mishap on there Maiden Voyage? Titanic maybe.

At KOA in Meridian Mississippi full hook up checked everything, ( I Thought.)

Fixed windshield washers. Reposition hose and end cap cleaned of gunk.
Gunk is a technical term for crap.

TV antenna won’t go up – got it up, then had to get on roof to work it down.
must be the gear needs replacing.

Started down I 20 heading west when low water light came on. Added about a quart and a half of water and no more light. Looked under the coach to see if anything was leaking.
There wasn’t, so we drove on.

Entered Dallas Texas about 5:00 pm. its hot 81 degrees, turned on the dash air conditioner.
Rush hour. Instead of driving at 60 mph
I had to jump it up to 65 mph to stay up with the flow of traffic.
Made it through Dallas Fort Worth and headed for Abilene, TX.,
where we were going to stay for the night.

Friday 6:02pm
Driving along, fat dumb and happy when all of a sudden, buzzers went off and lights flashed on the instrument panel ENGINE HOT! ENGINE HOT! ENGINE HOT!
I pulled over to the side of the freeway turned off the air and shut off the engine.
I checked the water level and it had water in it. Nothing was leaking under the coach.
I let it sit for about 20 minutes and started the engine. Two miles down the road, the alarms sounded again, so at 6:20 called Coach Net for help.
Julie, from Coach Net said she couldn’t find anyone to work on it till
Monday. She got a hold of a wrecker Service that could tow this big thing to Freightliner in Fort Worth, back 26 miles.

The wreaker showed up and hooked onto the motorhome.

(JAN said)
Some RULE says no one can ride in a tow vehicle, so they made us ride in their truck. A SLEEPER ! No seatbelts ! How is that safer than riding in the RV ?? Besides the safety issue was the condition of the sleeper compartment. It was waaay beyond uncomfortable; it smelled nasty; and was the filthiest place I’ve ever been in my life !!! It was dark; we couldn’t see out; there was no place to put our feet. The driver kept talking on his cell phone and spitting something into a cup. After 26 grueling miles in there, I felt like I needed a good hot bath… and my little dog, too !!!
Checked into Freightliner at 10:00pm They said even though they were open 24 / 7 they didn’t have anyone to work on it till Monday.

So here we sit dry camping over the weekend. Saturday / Sunday / maybe Monday they will work on it.

I tried to take off the tow bar so that the mechanic would have easy access to the engine.
Well as things go, the receiver hitch was rusted in tight. Got out the WD-40 sprayed it real good, let it sit for a while, still won’t come out. Keep wiggling it and got it out about an inch. Sprayed more WD-40.
You know it was 81 degrees yesterday and today its 33 degrees. I bet the engine wouldn’t overheat today

Saturday 24
Went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things. Boy, I’ll never do that again in Fort Worth. The freeways are very confusing. They have u-turn lanes on the off ramp that I’ve never seen before. My GPS lady keep telling me to exit left then turn left. I did what the lady said and
I wound up going the other way on the freeway. Then she said to exit right in one mile,
Then stay left and turn left. Putting me back on the freeway, heading for Wal-mart 8 miles away. As I was driving along, I saw a Wal-Mart on the left side of the freeway.
So without being told to by my GPS lady, I got off the freeway and went shopping.

Sunday 25
Started the engine today and there is no indication that the alternator is putting out any power. I can’t tell if there is a fan belt missing or broke. I tried peaking into every door and louver, can’t see anything. Oh well the mechanic will be here tomorrow.

I was able to get the tow hitch out of the receiver. WD-40 is our friend, along with a big hammer. Now its time for a nap! Love this retirement.

Monday 26
Woke up early (4:30), my left foot was itching so bad. Must be time to hit the road.
I’ll just sit here waiting for the mechanic. You know me, Mr. Patience .
I was just thinking, maybe they raise the bed to get at the engine. I would check but Jan’s sleeping and at this hour you don’t want to wake her. I started to read the owners manual and sure enough that’s where you get at the engine. Under the bed of all places.

I removed the engine cover and sure enough the fan belt was wrapped around the fan blades and there were chunks missing from the fan blades.

The mechanic (Jarrod) said the fan and belt would need to be replaced. He checked on the parts and the belt was on hand but the fan had to come from MemphisTenn. Overnight express. He called the Good Sam Continued Service Plan (extended Warranty) to get authorization to work on the motorhome.

My Good Sam Continued Service Plan agreement number did not even come up. He gave them the last 8 # of the vin. And they said it belonged to a Susan Roach or something like that. The Good Sam people told the mechanic to have me call them.


I called them and told them the same thing that the mechanic just told them. Then they told me that they couldn’t give me authorization till my Service Agreement # was in his computer. I told him I was looking at my copy showing I purchased the warranty agreement on Jan 7, 09 , again I gave him the #. Again he told me its not in his computer. I ask how I could get it into his computer.
He said FAX it to Temp Claims # 1-727-561-9461 and it would be in the computer in about 2 hours.
I took it to the office and they faxed it for me.
Also, I was told that I would have to pay the bill and get reimbursed from the warranty company.
Well I called 3 hours later and it still wasn’t in the computer.
(So what’s new) I’ll try again.

We’ve been sitting here since Friday night at 10:00pm all day Saturday, Sunday, Monday
I don’t know about Tuesday yet - we’ll see.

The Black tank is almost full, Gray tank about 2/3 full, Propane is half full. No TV, and it’s freezing cold and rainy. This wouldn’t be so bad if there was full hook ups. Here we are with 18 wheelers all around us, horns blowing, engines revving / running. Just like a real truck stop.

Called again to see if my policy made it into the computer.
No not yet. (4 hours later)
Finally I was transferred to the lady that took care of Temp claims. She looked all over and found my fax.
She will get it posted and call me when its completed. (should I hold my breath)?
I feel better I’m now in there computer.
I call the mechanic and he’ll call the Good Sam people again and try to get authorization
to do the repairs.

Good Sam denied the claim. Said it was a road hazard, or wasn’t a road hazard something like that. Anything to get out of paying a claim. Now I wonder if they will ever pay any claim.

The people here at Freightliner say that’s why they won’t deal with warranty company’s. The warranty company say they will pay then turn around and deny the claim. Freightliner is a big company and has been burned to many times by warranty insurance company’s. So the customer has to pay up front then try to collect from the insurance company.

So a word to the wise. Is your warranty insurance really worth the cost and hassle? Remember the claims personal is there to find a way to deny your claim not the help you file it.

[bsavage]

Wow, that's a heck of a maiden voyage. So sorry to hear of the problems, we've all had our share... I do hope you get everything resolved very quickly and enjoy your journeys!

Brenda, of...

[RV Wizard]

Sorry to hear of the bad start off. Hopefuly repairs have been made and you can now enjoy the coach. Good luck and keep us posted.

[txdad]

And I thought our maiden voyage was bad! Sorry to hear about your troubles though. We bought our first trailer and took delivery on the 5th of February. We were so anxious to start camping, we decided to go to a park close. Well, we got there after dark! My wife kept asking if we needed reservations but I kept saying no. As it turned out, we were the only ones in the whole park. We had our pick of all the spots. Needless to say, we had to make some adjustments the next day and start a very long list of needed supplies. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and we enjoyed it in spite of our learning curve.

[Spudwrench]

I love those Maiden voyages,,they make life more exciting,,,LOL

[Hooligan]

jj- Wow- Nice maiden voyage... At least this part may be easy...
Now the TV antenna problem is fairly common when the antenna is not used very often. Back on the roof: Use a small amount of silicon spray lube on the gears at the base of the antenna and work the antenna up and down a little at a time and it should free up. DO NOT use WD-40, not good for the gears... The info is discussed here.
http://www.winegard.com/kbase/kb_tip...php?tip_num=48

Hope this helps and enjoy...

[Georgia Flash]

Well at least you were in Gods Country when it hit the fan! Good luck and it sounds like fun.

[Forest Grump]

I think the best warranty one can have is for a good mechanic to go over the coach and provide certain maintenance whether needed or not. For example replace all belts and hoses and tires if a few years old. Replace all fluids and check for leaks.

I also cleaned the holding tanks and hoses and sterilized the water tank.

80 degree temperature is not hot, 120 is hot. Instead of keeping up with traffic at 65 move over to the right lane and slow to a speed you are comfortable with and that is legal.

Our maiden voyage with a 15 year old coach across the Mojave in June required just a turn signal fuse, which I had with me.

Maybe an advantage of an engine in front is that it is a lot easier to check out for the average old fart. I also added a tach and vacuum gauge which the coach didn't have and discussed their use with the mechanic.

It was a funny account though.

[Jody & Jeff]

Our maiden voyage with both of our campers, first and second one, all went swell....
Eventually we all forget something - no matter how seasoned we 'think' we are!

Jody

[Forest Grump]

We had 10 hamburgers, no bus.