We were up before 8 o’clock again yesterday morning because Rob Gambol from Redlands Truck & RV Performance Center was coming to town for an Alfa rally and was going to stop by to install the PacBrake on our motorhome.
As it turned out, we could have slept in. Rob called to tell me he was running late, and he and his partner in crime didn’t arrive at our place until about noon. We were hoping that the access plate we found under our bed would allow them to get to the top of our Cummins engine to install the PacBrake. Well, they tried, but no such luck. A couple of hours of trying and head scratching later brought us to the conclusion we originally had, that the only way to get to the darn thing is to remove the steps leading up to our bedroom closet. And the only way to do that is to disassemble the whole darn motorhome!
Add to that the fact that while they could not reach things, at least they could get a look at what they were doing and Rob discovered that we don’t have an exhaust brake now, we have a Jacobs brake, better known as a Jake brake. But the darn thing sure doesn’t work as well as the Jake brake in our MCI bus conversion. Rob found evidence that part of the problem with that is because we have an exhaust leak. This is one of the problems Greg White just had to deal with in his American Eagle motorhome with the same engine. Stop jinxing me Greg!
After some discussion and a couple of phone calls back to the shop in Redlands, California, it was determined that our best bet is to take the Winnebago over there, where they have the time and the equipment to do the job right. I really was not looking forward to driving to California and back, and the cost of the trip is going to really add to the overall job, but we really want to get the upgrade done. So right now we’re in a holding pattern, trying to decide what to do and when to do it.
Our friends Ed and Alice Allard had invited us to dinner at our favorite Chinese buffet here in the area, and we were supposed to meet them there at 6 o’clock. Terry and I arrived about fifteen minutes early, and stopped to admire a beautiful red 1965 Mustang convertible in the parking lot. I’ve been lusting after an old Mustang fastback, but that ragtop sure looked pretty!
Since it was a nice evening, we decided to stand outside and wait for Ed and Alice to arrive. We waited, and then we waited some more, and finally about ten minutes after the hour we were beginning to wonder if we got the time or the date wrong. About then someone knocked on the window from the inside of the restaurant, and there was Alice! They had arrived about 5:30 PM and had been sitting inside all that time waiting for us! Boy, did I feel dumb.
But it was worth it, because we had a nice visit with Ed, Alice, and their friend Jeani Nelson, whom we met last month at our rally in Yuma. Good friends, good food, and I even managed to stick Ed with the check. It just doesn’t get better any than that! Thanks a lot, Ed and Alice!
Back home, I put the finishing touches on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal and printed out a copy for Miss Terry to proof. Once she gets that done I’ll upload the files to our printer’s web server this morning, and then we can take a deep breath and relax. But we’re not going to do any of that until after we wake up from sleeping in this morning!
Thought For The Day – I am not fat. God loved me so much he decided to supersize me.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
nick, I am needing to replace my tire pressure set up and want to know how your new set up was working
Are you going keep using the Jake Brake? Are they going to fix the exhaust leak? My jake brake works really well.
Nick,Reading about your Jake brake issues there have to be truck shops in the Phoenix area that are familiar with any Jake brake issues and could do the repair. I have a Jake brake in my DP also. There are two shops here in Yuma that could repair what you have explained, Yuma Diesel and Ramco, both of which I have used. They work on Diesel Pushers all the time.
Skip – I’m very happy with our new TireTraker system. The sensors and monitor are smaller than the PrerssurePro, it is easier to program, in addition tire pressure it also monitors tire temperature, and replacing a sensor battery is a couple of bucks instead of the $45 or $50 for a PresurePro sensor. I’m sold on it.
Tom – We will have to address the exhaust leak first, and then determine if that improve the performance of the Jake brake.
Arley – Yes, there are several good shops in Yuma and Phoenix, but we have a long established relationship with Redlands. They support our rallies as vendors, pay for the morning coffee and donuts for our Yuma rally. I’d prefer to do business with people who have gone the extra mile for us over and over again, even if it involves driving to California to do so.