New Front Shocks And Brake Pads For The Motorhome…

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 21st year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I am scheduled to depart November 28th. While here, I’ll do cleaning, routine maintenance and minor repairs to both vehicles.

 

 

Today’s Subject…New Front Shocks And Brake Pads For The Motorhome…

 

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome 30 miles to Sonora, California. Parts are hard to find for the motorhome and after several hours online, I finally figured it all out.

 

If you remember last year I took the motorhome to the same shop to have the fuel pump replaced. Good service, fair prices…reasons to return!

 

 

Here are some of the photos that I took…

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

It’s a tight fit to back part-way in…

 

 

 

Only a few inches to spare…

 

 

 

 

The work begins…

 

 

 

 

The old brake pads had only about 1/4″ left. Not bad after 10 years and 61,355 miles…

 

 

 

 

The new brake pads are almost 1″ thick…

 

 

 

 

 

The old original shocks…

 

 

 

 

Are replaced with identical new shocks…

 

 

 

Miguel Nieves, the shop owner…did the work himself. He’s a very personable and knowledgeable guy. I liked the fact that his shop is a NAPA Car Care Center and he himself is an RV owner…

 

 

 

 

His shop is only about five miles north of Sonora, California. If you need a good mechanic while in that area…I can highly recommend him to you. He’s located at 20591 N. Sunshine Road, Sonora, California. His phone number is 209-533-4770.

 

 

 

 

It’s about an a hour’s drive back to Mary’s home and the motorhome ran just fine. In six days, I’ll depart Mary’s home to head to the sunny and warmer southland next Monday. It’s starting to get chilly around here. Time for me to get out of Dodge!!!

 

 

 

 

To read all about Murphys, click this link…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphys,_California

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Yesterday was mostly sunny and 57 degrees. Forecast for today is partly sunny with a morning shower and 56 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2016

An Unusual Day…

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California.

I’m planning to  depart November 30th. I’ve finally finished all my routine maintenance and cleaning on both the Bronco and motorhome.

In mid-October, I mentioned in a blog posting about an intermittent  problem I was having with the motorhome…which I had diagnosed as the earliest signs of the fuel pump (in the gas tank) as getting ready to fail.

I ordered the parts I needed, fuel pump and filter…which ran $420.21. Through a friend I got a recommendation of a local mechanic who could do the work. I had it done yesterday. The first photo shows the parts…the fuel filter (left) and the fuel pump assembly (the big thing), the thing on the right is the float that tells how much gas is in the tank…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

Are we going to fit inside?…

 

 

Made it with a few inches to spare…

 

 

I was asked to remain in the customer waiting room..but managed to get a shot through the open door. Lowering the gas tank VERY SLOWLY. It was 3/4 full and weighed about 500 pounds…

 

 

Now it’s down where they can work on it. You can see the top of the old fuel pump assembly…the white thing with the three little dots on the top…

 

 

Here’s the old fuel pump assembly. We believe the pump (big white thing) was getting tired after ten years of hard work…

 

 

Miguel Nieves, the shop owner…did the work himself. He’s a very personable and knowledgeable guy. I liked the fact that his shop is a NAPA Car Care Center and he himself is an RV owner. Most place I would have too have waited a month before getting in. I called him last Friday and got in on Monday. Great prompt and professional service…

 

 

His shop is only about five miles north of Sonora, California. If you need a good mechanic while in that area…I can highly recommend him to you. He’s located at 20591 N. Sunshine Road, Sonora, California. His phone number is 209-533-4770.

Three hours and $300 later the work was done. In total the repair ran me $720.21…parts and labor. Something I do not need to do every day!

While under the motorhome he noticed that my left rear shock absorber is leaking and I’m getting ready to need rear brake pads. Since he was not able to find the parts locally, I’ll get these repairs done while in Yuma, Arizona.

It’s about an a hour’s drive back to Mary’s home and the motorhome ran just fine. In six days, I’ll depart Mary’s home to head to the sunny and warmer southland. It’s starting to get chilly around here. Time for me to get out of Dodge!!!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was sunny and 66 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy with rain and 53 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2015

Good Sam To The Rescue…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Conner, Washington. I’ll depart from here tomorrow.

Mary is dealing with her over-flowing to-do list plate which can only be handled by herself. The construction of Mary’s rental continues along…slowly. She now is hoping to rejoin me by early September.  😦

Good Sam Emergency Road Service to the rescue…

Yesterday at 11:30 AM, I thought I was headed to town to meet a friend for lunch. WRONG! The Bronco engine turned over…but refuse to start. I thought the problem was associated with the fuel pump I had replaced this past June 27th.

Having no choice, I called my emergency road service. The flat bed truck arrived at 1:45 PM…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

We arrived at the NAPA Car Care Center at 2:15. They started working on it at 2:40 and by 4:00 PM, I was back on the road. The problem was a faulty inertia switch connector which is associated with the fuel pump system. Got away cheap…$51.29!

The last time I used my emergency road service was back in the year 2008. My (then) motorhome developed engine problems after a long grade climb north of San Luis Obispo, California. If you read my Panama or Bust book, you will recall in 2004, I suffered a freak engine accident in the mountains of very deep south Mexico only a short time after departing Guatemala. Since parts were difficult to obtain in Mexico, I was forced to use some critical parts from my damaged engine in order to leave Mexico. I was told by my Mexican mechanic that this day would come…

 

 

Good Sam Emergency Road Service to the rescue!

 

 

Previously to that time in the year 2000, the truck had to travel 50 miles of dirt road to rescue me from Cochise Hideaway (where the famous Indian chief hid from the U.S. Calvary) in remote southeast Arizona…

 

 

 

At least yesterday, I was in civilization where the help was readily available.

Three time in 15 years, just is not that bad. Hopefully it will be many years before I need them again.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Yesterday was a cloudy and 63 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly cloudy and 73 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2015

Problems Resolved…

The motorhome is parked at Moose Club #1808 in Hesperia, California. I expect to depart the area later this morning.

Mary continues to be occupied with personal business. I am now not expecting to see her again until I arrive at her home in Murphys, California about the third week in April. It’s just the way things are and we just have to deal with it.

Yesterday morning at 7:00 AM, I looked out the dinette window ans saw several coyotes looking for some breakfast. One was chasing a big jackrabbit…the coyote never had a chance. When someone wants your butt for breakfast…you really move on out!

One wandered to only about two hundred feet from the motorhome and I got these three shots…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

I was surprised to see so many this close into civilization…

I was also surprised how big and healthy they appeared. Must be good hunting grounds…

In the last couple of blog entries I’ve discussed the stalling/hesitation problem I’ve been having with the Bronco. Two days ago I took it to a NAPA Car Care Center. After performing a fuel pressure systems check, they replaced the fuel pressure regulator…nope…problem still there. The next step was to remove the gas tank from the vehicle…

The real culprit was hiding inside…the low pressure fuel pump was not pumping at all…

Here the gas tank protective skid-plate is being put back into place…

I took it on a 25 mile test run and it ran just fine…no more stalling or hesitation. It appears my problem has been resolved!

As I travel all over these United States…it’s another problem I’ve had to deal with…how to find an honest mechanic who won’t try to take advantage of an out-of-towner. The first thing I do is to study my Bronco repair manual to try to understand the problem at hand. Then do as much research online as possible to further expand that knowledge.

Then if possible I try to find a NAPA Car Care Center. Over time I’ve found them to be proficient at their trade and honest. In addition they provide a two-year parts and labor guarantee on their work.

In my most recent situation I went to the High Desert Auto & RV Repair Center at 11420 “I” Avenue in Hesperia, California. The owner is Brett James…

He personally did the work on my Bronco along with his assistant, Chuck. Despite a bunch of other vehicles awaiting his attention…he had my problems resolved in a 24-hour period. Great service at a fair price. I highly recommend him to you if you find yourself in the Victorville, California area and in need of a good mechanic!

Here are photos from his facility…

While the repairs were being accomplished I spent an enjoyable two nights at the nearby Moose Club #1808…

Many thanks for your friendly companionship during my stay!

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Yesterday was a sunny and 72 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 75 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2015