The Final Details

Finally!! Repairs are finished! It’s been so long, I had to reread where my last report left off. And it has been quite a journey of more ups and downs. But the axle finally came in and pretty well on time!!

So, the same day it came in, I went in and spoke to Robert about what I could expect from the repair schedule in the next coming days. (He is the co-owner of the company, and has become the person dealing with the insurance company and what repairs Air Del RV wanted to make to my RV. )Although he had previously stated that when the parts came in I would have priority and they would get right on it, he apparently forgot! 😵 He started to relate that the other two RVs that had been there before mine (and apparently were also dealing with partial repairs and waiting for parts) had to be finished. Bottom line, he thought by the end of NEXT week I could probably have everything done!!! I little literally said “what?!” I quietly reminded him of what had been stated to me and that I really didn’t want to stay here through another weekend. Although I appreciate it being able to be here. He then said “let me take a look at the schedule and what needs to be done”. I think he honestly did forget because they were really getting slammed with RVs coming and going. I was really disheartened when I left him because I thought of how long I had to stay yet!! 😔

But he was good to his word, and on Wednesday repairs started!! My axle was adjusted and replaced. I stayed and watched for a while but I thought I should let him be. I would not like to have somebody watching me while I’m working and I did not want to distract him. So I went to the beach. 😬

By the time I came back, they were gone for the day, but all four tires were on!! I found out they also replaced the bearings in my other tires as well. And they were bad as well. So I was glad I had that done! I have the old bearings and yeah, they were pitting and grease was getting burned in one of them, indicating it was also overheating. Not good!! Glad everything was replaced. But boy they’re expensive to replace. But I sure can give firsthand warnings to everyone not to shortcut the work on their tires and bearings and to take it to a good place!!

The next step was Brandon’s area of expertise. He does all of the additional RV repairs that are not mechanical in nature. 🙂 So before he went further, I again met with Robert to work out my preference for the back of the RV. He could not get the insurance company to agree to the Cadillac fix for the back so we were looking at the Ford approach as I had mentioned. But because the replacing of bearings and the cost of the new bearings was expensive and going to be my cost alone, we had another discussion. I explained I would like to make changes so that I could have the bearings work covered by insurance monies as much as possible. So I chose not to have the back bumper replaced. ( which is only cosmetic damage. It’s pretty solid. ) I also wanted just the basic repairs done to the back. Even if it meant just to have the corner done.

So Robert went back to work his schedules , adjustment to the back of the RV and his numbers. It was decided to just take care of the back corner and replace a small part of the wood so as to enable a secure attachment there. When everything was coming to an end, he told me the magic words! ” All you will have to pay for is the deductible!!” Yes!! 💃 ( Happy dance!!)

I tried to have him paid for me staying here, as I do have more insurance money available for those expenses, but it was a no go. They denied his request. Even after I inquired, it was still a no go. After emailing back and forth I’m still not sure why. Unless they were concerned about me being kept here longer so he could get more insurance money, Who knows? But I’m a “happy camper”. (And coincidentally that is on Air Del’s business card as well!! 😄)

So all of a sudden, after nearly a month of residing here, I was leaving Friday! I was real busy the last 3 days! Dumping tanks, filling water tank, washing the floor, putting things away and getting ready for pulling in the slides & securing my shelves for traveling. Refilling my drinking water, filling up with diesel, picking up groceries and shopping at Walmart. I even vacuumed and did whatever else needed electricity! I would be boondocking without water or electricity for the next few days. I even threw in a frozen lasagna into the microwave because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to cook it and made a new pot of coffee! I had to clean out the truck and the back of the pickup as well to allow hookup! It’s amazing how things can accumulate over a month! 🤔🙄

Friday morning I purchased two cheesecakes (and half a dozen Dunkin’ donuts just for the brother and co-owner Edward,… his favorite) for everyone. We had a nice time chit chatting and then it was time to haul the RV out and around. (I had already pulled in the slides and gotten everything else disconnected and ready .) I checked out with Robert and paid my deductible on my insurance.

Then it was time to hook up and hit the road! I knew where I was going and the route but there was a little trepidation. 😬 It was a long time since I had pulled the RV. And it did feel heavy behind the truck!! (Too much water? 🙄) But the trip went real well. I went a total of about 35 miles up the coast to camp on the beach!! ⛱️ . The day the axle was attached was the day I went out and scoped out the beaches to see where I wanted to camp first.

So here I am! Tony Amos Beach within the city limits of Ansas Pass. I just finished my first full day on the beach👍 The weather did 180° turn from sunny and warm yesterday to cloudy , foggy , misty and relatively warm today. But it’s all good!! I was in bed by 8:00 p.m. last night and probably asleep by 9:00! And I slept well! Got up at 7:00 to walk the beach, had breakfast and then took two more naps!! 😴I think I am caught up now. 😄

Let’s pray and hope that that is the end of repairs for any of my vehicles, here on out! Please !🙏🤞

Now I can turn to sharing things about Corpus Christi and the variety and kinds of beaches that are here. A much happier topic!!

Take care and I’ll get the next update out soon 👍😄