Saturday, July 31, 2021

Day 49 - Back on the Road!

We woke up this morning in yet another hotel as we wait with fingers and toes crossed to hear the latest on the RV repair.  We were able to sleep in a bit as there was no need to rush to Coffman’s and sit in the waiting room drinking more Folgers coffee.  Besides, we were looking forward to the continental breakfast advertised.  As we walked to the lobby we saw that the chairs in the dining area were curiously still on the tables.  “Will there be a continental breakfast?” I inquire.  “Yes, with limited selection due to COVID.” Is the reply.  At that moment the employee reaches behind the front desk and hands me a box of Frosted Flakes and a small carton of milk. Yep that is a limited selection.  

When we arrived at Coffmans, the RV was still sitting comfortably in its bay it had become all to familiar with.  The current advice from the GM consultants was to run some cleaner through the valves and injectors.  While sitting in the waiting room, again, another victim of vehicle repair hell joined

us in purgatory.  His name was Iman and he is a truck driver who immigrated from Iran.  He was a very nice guy who used to live in Aurora and warned us to get out of town quickly. “When I moved from Iran I was excited to come to America and when I came to Aurora I thought that this is no better than Iran!”  By the way, he has since moved and loves America.

The minutes turned to hours and soon it was 3:30 pm.  We had seen the RV leave the bay for multiple test drives.  Finally, Jeff comes in like a doctor providing a patient diagnosis.  Well, its running “better” he said.  Bottomline is they could not 100% identify the problem but at this point the check engine light is not flashing and the misfires are minimal.  They put cleaner in the fuel tank and suggested a couple tanks of premium gas.  Hmmmm, a week in the shop and that’s the solution?

Though I am not happy there is no smoking gun, ultimately, Coffman’s was very fair with us.  I did pay $1600 for a fuel pump I probably didn’t need, but they spent hours working on the RV and ultimately didn’t charge us as they recognized they didn’t completely “solve” the issue.  Jeff and I shook hands and we were back on the road. 

We drove 180 miles east to Syracuse IN where we left off with Kyle and Casey. For a biking trip sure feels like I’m doing a hell of a lot of driving.  The pucker factor was very high and I focused on the check engine light like Zuri focuses on a bone.  Fortunately no check engine light and the RV ran well.  We found a nice little spot in an old Shopko parking lot that will be perfect for tonight.

Tomorrow I am back on the road!  I can not wait.  It seems like forever since we were back in the riding “routine.”  My how I miss the routine!  I plan to get up early and put in a lot of miles to get back on schedule.  Not sure what “a lot” is but I will be pedaling east and that’s all that matters!


Until then....

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