My RV is once again being held captive, this time by the custodians of the hyper-engineered Mercedes brand in Grapevine, TX.
Around noon on Tuesday, 9/27 my service ambassador Juan informed me that the service manager recommended that I return to El Paso with my RV and have the mechanic who inflicted grievous electrical harm upon my vehicle correct the damage. The logic of this escaped me for a while as Juan detailed the damage to the wiring harness and other components. I finally grasped it by imagining a continuum of skills ranging from shade tree mechanic/Eric to highly trained, computer integrated technician/Tyler, the former being the one who worked on my over-engineered RV and the latter the sincere young man struggling to unravel the havoc wreaked on the wiring systems of the engine. Eric kludged together solutions that almost worked. Mercedes performs restorations of injured vehicles back to their computerized, pristine original states. The service manager was concerned that during the course of this particular restoration, they would uncover even further damage and the insurance company would finally bail, leaving me and Mercedes holding what is currently a bag well into five figures. Eddie, the claims adjuster who contracted with Kevin at Camping World, who subbed it out to Eric, assures me that Progressive’s obligation to me is to deliver the RV to me as it was the minute before the crash.
So I finally got the logic employed by the service manager and earnestly assured her that a) Progressive would send a rep out to earnestly assure her that they would pay for everything and that b) none of us would hold Mercedes to the original estimate as long as they walked us through the unravelling story. I am ready to set fire to the RV (just kidding all you legal types!) and have abandoned patience and moved next door to resignation. Que sera, sera.
The good news is that I have every confidence that the folks at Mercedes will do a great job. I informed the service manager that I would be fine with aspects of the repair that might not be up to the pristine Mercedes standard, but that would nonetheless be safe and not set off computerized alarms on my instrument panel. The bad news is they have to order the wiring harness from the mothership in Germany, and that it might be back-ordered and could take months, though it might be mere days, not even God can say for sure.
Meanwhile, I am going to the NC beach with dear friends and then may throw myself on the mercy of friends and family as I have already done, or find a monastery to reside in, or backpack through some other continent. You sense my indecision. I have instructed Eddie from Progressive and Juan from Mercedes to never again refer to me as patient. I am resigned, adrift, almost free of hopes and expectations.
I now regard the frivolity of Monday night with Amber and Lindsay as the pivot point between two periods of purgatory. As I hope is apparent, I have not lost my sense of humor, and I acknowledge the incredible privileges I enjoy in the affection of friends and family and the means to live sort of independently, which is a kind of contradictory and accurate statement.
I will post further developments intermittently as they develop and congeal into actuality.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Drama
Drama
I checked out of my home for the previous 5 months or so, the Value Place Inn in Las Cruces, NM, on Wednesday, 9/21. I didn’t get into the RV that night because the Very Special Mercedes oil and power steering fluid were not available. Some frantic car rental and missed calls almost had me traveling to Albuquerque until the necessary fluids were procured locally. Once applied the next morning, with the engine finally running, Eric the mechanic discovered it would not go into gear. More excitement developed until tha Very Special transmission fluid and separate VS dipstick were procured, locally. Once the engine was running, and the RV moving, Eric discovered on Friday the VS brake vacuum valve was not working and that the closest replacement parts were at a Mercedes dealership in Grapevine, TX near Fort Worth/Dallas and they could not overnight it until Monday arriving on Tuesday.
While several people, not least the folks responsible for the repair, have commented on my patience during this process, that came to a definitive end. I bought a plane ticket to DFW one hour before the flight Saturday morning after hearing from Eric that the parts were definitely there and waiting for me. An indication of my distraction may be that I left my Swiss Army knife and box cutter in my shoulder bag. TSA were not alarmed and the airline held them for my return at the baggage office. I got on the flight to DFW, cabbed it the 5 mile round trip to the Mercedes dealer and got the parts, and upon my return to El Paso, Eric successfully installed the parts.
I drove away from El Paso at 6pm Saturday. There was something going on with the transmission or throttle, so I had to use the manual option to shift up and down the gears until blessedly reaching cruising speeds of 60-65 mph on the flats. I stayed overnight in Van Horn, TX a block away from a busy RR track, but fell back asleep immediately all three times after the trains blew past. Nevertheless, I was very happy to be on the road.
I cannot adequately describe how thrilling it is to navigate via Google maps on my phone while shifting the gears and reading the road signs amidst the road construction at the most convoluted highway interchanges I have encountered in nearly 50 years of driving.
The damaged plastic skylight cover was discovered too late in the process to be replaced, so a sheet of plastic was taped over the large hole in the ceiling just before I left El Paso. The plastic blew away about halfway to Dallas/Fort Worth. Although there was intermittent rain, it didn’t really come through until I stopped at a very pleasant RV park near Grapevine, TX that night. With the vehicle still, the soaking rainstorm required some improvisation and the interior mostly stayed dry.
I showed up at the very fancy Mercedes dealership again Monday morning at 6:45 and they very graciously agreed to address the transmission/throttle issue, along with some minor glitches. They discovered that the VS temperature sensor was missing, who knows why, and replaced that. That reduced the warning signals on the engine computer analysis from over 20 to about 4. The mechanics there seem very knowledgeable and competent and are, as of this writing, diagnosing issues with the VS wiring harness in hopes of isolating the throttle issue, as the transmission seems to be working fine.
I stayed overnight Monday in a nearby motel, and went for entertainment to a complex called the Main Event, with bowling, pool, video games, laser tag and beer. Fate or karma very generously landed me in a bowling lane next to Amber and Lindsay, two Texans who graciously welcomed me with the first round. These exuberant, generous, attractive women included me in their fun and we talked and bowled, drank and played pool for a couple of hours. I bought a round for them too and we could not have gotten along better. Imagine my feelings. They drove off in Amber’s very loud Camaro around 11 after allowing a posse of Canadian firefighters in town for a convention to admire their car.
It is now Tuesday morning and I await word from Mercedes. Soon I’ll walk over there and pretend to be patient.
Hoping for a nice, calm, dry ride to NC to commence shortly…
I checked out of my home for the previous 5 months or so, the Value Place Inn in Las Cruces, NM, on Wednesday, 9/21. I didn’t get into the RV that night because the Very Special Mercedes oil and power steering fluid were not available. Some frantic car rental and missed calls almost had me traveling to Albuquerque until the necessary fluids were procured locally. Once applied the next morning, with the engine finally running, Eric the mechanic discovered it would not go into gear. More excitement developed until tha Very Special transmission fluid and separate VS dipstick were procured, locally. Once the engine was running, and the RV moving, Eric discovered on Friday the VS brake vacuum valve was not working and that the closest replacement parts were at a Mercedes dealership in Grapevine, TX near Fort Worth/Dallas and they could not overnight it until Monday arriving on Tuesday.
While several people, not least the folks responsible for the repair, have commented on my patience during this process, that came to a definitive end. I bought a plane ticket to DFW one hour before the flight Saturday morning after hearing from Eric that the parts were definitely there and waiting for me. An indication of my distraction may be that I left my Swiss Army knife and box cutter in my shoulder bag. TSA were not alarmed and the airline held them for my return at the baggage office. I got on the flight to DFW, cabbed it the 5 mile round trip to the Mercedes dealer and got the parts, and upon my return to El Paso, Eric successfully installed the parts.
I drove away from El Paso at 6pm Saturday. There was something going on with the transmission or throttle, so I had to use the manual option to shift up and down the gears until blessedly reaching cruising speeds of 60-65 mph on the flats. I stayed overnight in Van Horn, TX a block away from a busy RR track, but fell back asleep immediately all three times after the trains blew past. Nevertheless, I was very happy to be on the road.
I cannot adequately describe how thrilling it is to navigate via Google maps on my phone while shifting the gears and reading the road signs amidst the road construction at the most convoluted highway interchanges I have encountered in nearly 50 years of driving.
The damaged plastic skylight cover was discovered too late in the process to be replaced, so a sheet of plastic was taped over the large hole in the ceiling just before I left El Paso. The plastic blew away about halfway to Dallas/Fort Worth. Although there was intermittent rain, it didn’t really come through until I stopped at a very pleasant RV park near Grapevine, TX that night. With the vehicle still, the soaking rainstorm required some improvisation and the interior mostly stayed dry.
I showed up at the very fancy Mercedes dealership again Monday morning at 6:45 and they very graciously agreed to address the transmission/throttle issue, along with some minor glitches. They discovered that the VS temperature sensor was missing, who knows why, and replaced that. That reduced the warning signals on the engine computer analysis from over 20 to about 4. The mechanics there seem very knowledgeable and competent and are, as of this writing, diagnosing issues with the VS wiring harness in hopes of isolating the throttle issue, as the transmission seems to be working fine.
I stayed overnight Monday in a nearby motel, and went for entertainment to a complex called the Main Event, with bowling, pool, video games, laser tag and beer. Fate or karma very generously landed me in a bowling lane next to Amber and Lindsay, two Texans who graciously welcomed me with the first round. These exuberant, generous, attractive women included me in their fun and we talked and bowled, drank and played pool for a couple of hours. I bought a round for them too and we could not have gotten along better. Imagine my feelings. They drove off in Amber’s very loud Camaro around 11 after allowing a posse of Canadian firefighters in town for a convention to admire their car.
It is now Tuesday morning and I await word from Mercedes. Soon I’ll walk over there and pretend to be patient.
Hoping for a nice, calm, dry ride to NC to commence shortly…
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Starting and stopping roaming
Over Thanksgiving weekend 2015 I clearly felt that Ann and I had become so different that I had to leave. We’d been in Chadron, NE for five years and I no longer wanted to stay there, especially over winter. So I separated my affairs from Ann’s, wrapped up my activities there, said my goodbyes, researched living in and purchasing smaller RV’s and on December 13 drove away in this:
You can get a tour via this video: https://youtu.be/HQY4eaKwnWQ
I drove south through Colorado and New Mexico, seeing some folks and stocking up. I’d packed all the “stuff” that had significant value to me into the RV, brought along my two bicycles on a rack and just filled in the blanks as far as supplies went.
On December 18th, 120 miles east of El Paso on my way to Austin at 8pm, I blacked out and crashed into the median cable barrier on I-10. The cables and posts chewed up the lower driver’s side and crunched the left front corner. The RV now looked like this:
The compartment over the cab has a ding, you’ll notice. Months later, I learned that this:
the top part of a median stanchion weighing 10 -20 lbs had punched a hole through the over-the-cab compartment about 3 feet above my head. So, lucky to be alive and amazingly uninjured in my single-vehicle accident.
I spent 4 days in Van Horn, TX waiting for the insurance appraiser to do his thing. Less than 3,000 people live there, with 3 profitable towing services in town. I’m not the only one who has crashed nearby on the really flat, really boring stretch of interstate in West Texas.
Eddie, the very nice appraiser from Progressive, thought it might be fixable but wanted it towed to El Paso to do a more thorough appraisal. I hitched a ride with the tow truck and stayed there for a couple of days, but it became apparent no definitive word would come till after New Year’s, so I went to Cabo San Lucas on 12/23 to spend the holidays. I swam, sailed and scubaed and had a generally good time.
I also learned that the RV would not be totaled (a relatively speedy, if sad, outcome) but would undergo $33K or so of repairs that would take around 4 months (actually 10). Long story short, they had to tear out the damage, discover more damage, replace part of the frame, order parts (some of which had to be fabricated), send back the wrong parts and order the correct ones, fix and install and paint and like that.
I went to California and stayed with cousins Lynn Kraft, Lorrie and Kurt Ross, and Bill and Rosa Woodrum, who were gracious and loving and invited me back! At the end of January, I went to a 5 day sesshin (Zen Buddhist silent meditation retreat) at Green Gulch Farm in Marin County, just above San Francisco. Afterwards I tooled around the San Francisco area, seeing Richard Mullinax and Perry Pike, and dharma buddies Pete Coyote and Tim Kroll. It was really great to re-connect with such supportive friends.
Charles Van Wagner and Janet Mittman, and Ginger and Derek Long, invited me to stay at their houses during February and I took the chance to visit friends and family in the Carolinas. You know who you are, and how much it meant to me to visit with you.
At the end of February, I attended a short conference on Mindfulness and Youth in San Diego, CA. I had thought to explore this as a vocation and am still considering it, but one important thing I learned is that I really wanted to give this RV road wanderer thing a try before doing anything else.
Cousins Lynn and Bill came through again and I stayed with them through most of March. Who could ask for more gracious family? One of the highlights was re-connecting with 2nd cousins (cousin cousins!) Kelly and Glenn Woodrum and their families. Kelly and Bill
and I touristed around the Channel Islands one day –
And Glenn and family hosted a really heart-warming family dinner. Glenn, I am not posting the wonderful picture I have of you here, thereby enabling the possibility of seeing y’all again.
Bill and Rosa took me out to Palm Springs
We hiked Agua Caliente Indian Canyons, rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up into the surrounding mountains and took some refreshment in town.
I set out in December to spend time on my own and had managed to spend more time with family and friends in two months than I have in the last decade. Feeling the need to be on my own, and entertaining the vain hope that by showing up and looking pitiful I could speed up work on the RV, I went to El Paso.
I stayed in a couple of AirBNB’s in El Paso then moved to a motel room with an efficiency kitchen in Las Cruces, NM. I moved there because I connected with a Zen Sangha and two wonderful teachers, Daiho and Shukke - . I’ve learned a lot from them and from the Sangha and am very, very grateful to have received such a heartfelt welcome _/\_ . (to the left is a little symbol Shukke uses sometimes signifying palms together, a traditional greeting)
I’ve hiked some, biked some, done some yoga and tai chi and swimming, heard some really good music, volunteered a bit at a really good soup kitchen and built and sold some meditation benches. Lots of reading and streaming too. Still, the waiting on repairs has been difficult at times and I would not have been able to do it without the support of friends and family near and far. Thank you.
It seems very likely I will be able to drive away in my RV, looking and running as it did when I first got it, on or about September 20. I’m going to see friends and family in NC, and will see Ann for the first time since I left as we both go to the beach with our friends. Ann and I have been talking weekly and are both in a time of transition with no firm resolution to our relationship, which is uncomfortable and necessary for, and accepted by, us both.
I’ve learned a bit more about how I sometimes keep people at a distance, and the fears associated with this usually dysfunctional practice. I hope that if you wish to contact me, that you reach out by phone or text (919-475-3312), email – jparton1234@gmail.com , or by following and commenting on this blog. I will post more frequent and shorter entries.
Oh, I got my old person ID card - Medicare - as I turn 65 on September 15.
Thanks for tuning in...
You can get a tour via this video: https://youtu.be/HQY4eaKwnWQ
I drove south through Colorado and New Mexico, seeing some folks and stocking up. I’d packed all the “stuff” that had significant value to me into the RV, brought along my two bicycles on a rack and just filled in the blanks as far as supplies went.
On December 18th, 120 miles east of El Paso on my way to Austin at 8pm, I blacked out and crashed into the median cable barrier on I-10. The cables and posts chewed up the lower driver’s side and crunched the left front corner. The RV now looked like this:
The compartment over the cab has a ding, you’ll notice. Months later, I learned that this:
the top part of a median stanchion weighing 10 -20 lbs had punched a hole through the over-the-cab compartment about 3 feet above my head. So, lucky to be alive and amazingly uninjured in my single-vehicle accident.
I spent 4 days in Van Horn, TX waiting for the insurance appraiser to do his thing. Less than 3,000 people live there, with 3 profitable towing services in town. I’m not the only one who has crashed nearby on the really flat, really boring stretch of interstate in West Texas.
Eddie, the very nice appraiser from Progressive, thought it might be fixable but wanted it towed to El Paso to do a more thorough appraisal. I hitched a ride with the tow truck and stayed there for a couple of days, but it became apparent no definitive word would come till after New Year’s, so I went to Cabo San Lucas on 12/23 to spend the holidays. I swam, sailed and scubaed and had a generally good time.
I also learned that the RV would not be totaled (a relatively speedy, if sad, outcome) but would undergo $33K or so of repairs that would take around 4 months (actually 10). Long story short, they had to tear out the damage, discover more damage, replace part of the frame, order parts (some of which had to be fabricated), send back the wrong parts and order the correct ones, fix and install and paint and like that.
I went to California and stayed with cousins Lynn Kraft, Lorrie and Kurt Ross, and Bill and Rosa Woodrum, who were gracious and loving and invited me back! At the end of January, I went to a 5 day sesshin (Zen Buddhist silent meditation retreat) at Green Gulch Farm in Marin County, just above San Francisco. Afterwards I tooled around the San Francisco area, seeing Richard Mullinax and Perry Pike, and dharma buddies Pete Coyote and Tim Kroll. It was really great to re-connect with such supportive friends.
Charles Van Wagner and Janet Mittman, and Ginger and Derek Long, invited me to stay at their houses during February and I took the chance to visit friends and family in the Carolinas. You know who you are, and how much it meant to me to visit with you.
At the end of February, I attended a short conference on Mindfulness and Youth in San Diego, CA. I had thought to explore this as a vocation and am still considering it, but one important thing I learned is that I really wanted to give this RV road wanderer thing a try before doing anything else.
Cousins Lynn and Bill came through again and I stayed with them through most of March. Who could ask for more gracious family? One of the highlights was re-connecting with 2nd cousins (cousin cousins!) Kelly and Glenn Woodrum and their families. Kelly and Bill
and I touristed around the Channel Islands one day –
And Glenn and family hosted a really heart-warming family dinner. Glenn, I am not posting the wonderful picture I have of you here, thereby enabling the possibility of seeing y’all again.
Bill and Rosa took me out to Palm Springs
We hiked Agua Caliente Indian Canyons, rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up into the surrounding mountains and took some refreshment in town.
I set out in December to spend time on my own and had managed to spend more time with family and friends in two months than I have in the last decade. Feeling the need to be on my own, and entertaining the vain hope that by showing up and looking pitiful I could speed up work on the RV, I went to El Paso.
I stayed in a couple of AirBNB’s in El Paso then moved to a motel room with an efficiency kitchen in Las Cruces, NM. I moved there because I connected with a Zen Sangha and two wonderful teachers, Daiho and Shukke - . I’ve learned a lot from them and from the Sangha and am very, very grateful to have received such a heartfelt welcome _/\_ . (to the left is a little symbol Shukke uses sometimes signifying palms together, a traditional greeting)
I’ve hiked some, biked some, done some yoga and tai chi and swimming, heard some really good music, volunteered a bit at a really good soup kitchen and built and sold some meditation benches. Lots of reading and streaming too. Still, the waiting on repairs has been difficult at times and I would not have been able to do it without the support of friends and family near and far. Thank you.
It seems very likely I will be able to drive away in my RV, looking and running as it did when I first got it, on or about September 20. I’m going to see friends and family in NC, and will see Ann for the first time since I left as we both go to the beach with our friends. Ann and I have been talking weekly and are both in a time of transition with no firm resolution to our relationship, which is uncomfortable and necessary for, and accepted by, us both.
I’ve learned a bit more about how I sometimes keep people at a distance, and the fears associated with this usually dysfunctional practice. I hope that if you wish to contact me, that you reach out by phone or text (919-475-3312), email – jparton1234@gmail.com , or by following and commenting on this blog. I will post more frequent and shorter entries.
Oh, I got my old person ID card - Medicare - as I turn 65 on September 15.
Thanks for tuning in...
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