Well, sleeping in the RV last night behind the Ford Dealer building wasn't so bad after all. We weren't able to make the slides go out, but we made the best of it anyway. Dinner was a simple one of cold cuts and fruit, then we worked on the blog until bedtime. I usually type away furiously and Concetta proof reads and suggests things I might correct. Oftentimes my brain doesn't quite keep up with my fingers on the keyboard.
There was one weird aspect of sleeping in the car dealer lot after everyone had gone home. Every half hour or so a strange car would enter the lot, drive around the rows of new cars, then exit the same way they had come. It wasn't always the same car. Sometimes it was a red one, and sometimes it was a dark blue or black one. We just couldn't figure what they might be up to, and we don't know how late they pursued their mysterious motoring because we went to bed at nine.
When we got up this morning, we knew that R.J. had to do a big job on a pickup truck before he could pay any attention to us. So after breakfast, I went in search of a few grocery items. The folks at the dealership had already told us that there was no grocery market within walking distance of us. But wanting to see for myself, I set off in a easterly direction. Before long I came upon what looked like a drug store. Thinking that perhaps they would have a few food items, I crossed the street and entered.
Unbelievably, the "Drug Store" was actually a pretty substantial food mart with a drug store as a sideline. They had everything on my shopping list and more. Then, it was a simple ten-minute walk back to the rig. I had been prepared to be a bit glum today since we were probably going to have to spend another night in the parking lot, but my shopping success bolstered my spirits.
By the time I got back to the rig I had made a decision. I told Concetta that I was going to get out the manual one more time and study the fuse box under the hood. Surely everyone had just overlooked something, and I just needed to go fuse by fuse and check to see if they were all in their correct places. I was especially interested in finding any fuse that had to do with the computer operation of the truck. Everyone felt that it was the computer-controlled anti-theft mechanism that was preventing us from starting the truck. After going through the manual at the kitchen table, I had highlighted the three fuses that appeared to be responsible, then I popped the hood and got to work.
Immediately I discovered that of the three CPM fuses that seemed to be the likely candidates for effecting computer control, only two of them actually had fuses in the proper slots. One slot was missing its fuse. Scanning the manual, I saw that it needed a 10 amp fuse. I still had a small selection of fuses that I had purchased the previous day from Value Auto, and I quickly went and retrieved one of the proper amperage.
Once the fuse was in the slot, I put the key in the ignition and flipped it to start. Immediately the truck fired right up and ran smoothly without any hint that we had been unable to make it run most of the day on Tuesday. Flabbergasted, I shut off the engine, then turned it on again. Once again the truck started and ran fine. I left the engine running and went inside. I held my breath and pushed the button for the slide-outs, but as usual nothing happened.
Of course, now, Concetta and I had to debate whether we should leave the Ford Dealer, or go find ourselves an RV dealer who would know more about things like slide-outs. Since the truck was running, the Ford dealer would not be able to do us much good, but we didn't know if the truck would keep running once we left.
In the end, leaving got the most votes. The GPS told us that there was a Camping World just an hour away, and we decided to risk the drive and hope that the folks at the RV center would be better versed on slider problems to help us with ours.
Now I had to go tell the Ford guys that I wasn't staying after all, and that I had fixed the engine problem myself. "YOU fixed it?" R.J. said when I told him. When I explained how I had done it, he said that was exactly what he meant to do and had made that decision as he was driving home after work yesterday.
I wanted to go find Joshua, the Service Manager, and let him know, too, so R.J. led me through the warren of service-bay areas, and when we finally got to the front office, Joshua was nowhere to be seen. But when the Assistant Service Manager heard that I had fixed the truck by myself, he laughed and offered me a job if I wanted it.
It was all in good fun, of course, but everyone was impressed at what I'd done, and spent a lot of time congratulating me. I offered the Assistant Service Manager a check to put in their Christmas fund since they didn't intend to have me pay for anything, but he declined. All in all, the folks at the Kalkaska Ford Dealership are a great bunch and I liked them one and all.
So, out on the road we held our breath for awhile, but after a time it appeared that the truck was not going to pull any funny stuff. It just kept going, and before long we had relaxed and listened to the last of our book on DVD. But as I drove I decided that perhaps the coach batteries were not putting out enough voltage to make the sliders work. Perhaps I should pull in somewhere and check them.
Thus the continuing saga of our RV problems turned a new page, the one entitled "Oh Crap, the Batteries are Toast," as we discovered to our great dismay. The battery caps were loose for some reason, the batteries had lost much of their distilled water, and more money was about to fly out the window.
Hoping that I might yet salvage my sorry-looking coach batteries with an infusion of distilled water, we stopped at a local grocery store on our route south toward Camping World. There I bought a whole gallon of the vital water and filled all the cells to the top. I was pretty sure that I was wasting my time, but hey, sometimes you just have to do something.
We finally arrived at Camping World in Houghton Lake, Michigan about two o'clock. There we showed out batteries to the sales person and he recommended, since they were four years old anyway, that we not trust them. I agreed and I got out the credit card. But when I asked if someone could be persuaded to put them in, a nearby service tech told me that they were so slammed it would be a couple of weeks before that could happen. Oh, well, I thought, I put the last set in, I'll just install them myself.
Of course, once I started to install the batteries I ended up with a couple of helpers anyway. Before long we were done, and the new batteries were terrific looking and seemed to work just fine. There was only one problem, the sliders still didn't slide.
I knew from by battery installation work, that anything I did in the parking lot, right beside the service bays, would eventually garner some interest and curiosity from the service technicians. So, I threw open the hood, opened the tool locker and dragged out some tools, and set about looking at everything with a flashlight in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. Sure enough before long an absolutely charming chap named Fred Nielsen, who happened to be the service manager, came to see what I was up to. When I explained that I had just bought a new set of batteries, but my sliders still didn't work, Fred made the instant decision that he was going to help us.
Fred turned out to be our savior and guardian angel rolled into one. Not only did he immediately put a technician on the slider problem, but before long other interested techs were also lending their support. In the end there were five angels, including Fred, who simply would not stop until they figured out what was wrong.
As it turned out, what was wrong was not such a small deal. Somehow, some way, a little pink wire from the ignition switch had become compromised or broken in between the switch and a controller under entryway to the rig. There was no way in the time allotted to trace that wire and find the break, so Evan installed a jumper that pulled power from somewhere else, which meant you no longer had to have the key turned on when you activated the slides. Eventually, when we are back in Nevada, we'll have to get that fixed after we locate the break in the pink wire.
So, as my Dad used to say, "All's well that ends well." And I say, "our hats are certainly off to the guys at Camping World, Houghton Lake, Michigan." Were it not for them, I'm not really sure how we could have easily dealt with our slider issue. One thing for sure, I gained some valuable knowledge in the electrical systems of our rig. Knowledge is power, and knowledge about the various systems in your RV is going to cut down on some sleepless nights.
Tomorrow we're continuing our journey to the southwest corner of Michigan. Not sure what there is to see, but early tomorrow we'll be seeing a Laundromat. Gotta have clean sheets and clothes now and again.
So we're going to keep on keepin' on, and I hope you're thinking about hitting the two-lanes sometime in the future. And when you do, the Happy Wanderers wish you happy travels and exciting destinations.
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