Goldenwingers
goldenwingers
Stuck in Las Cruces
It’s only Wednesday and already it’s been a long week! We left Van Horn, TX on Thursday and towed to Camping World in Anthony, TX for a Friday appointment to have the door side wheel bearings checked as well as the springs on the off door side (trailer was riding 3 3/4" low on the off door side). Got the wheel bearing replaced, but they suggested that we come to Las Cruces to J & J Muffler/Sun Valley Trailers to have the spring seen to and to have our axles aligned. No problem that was just 30 miles up the highway and one extra night on the road.
We pulled into Las Cruces KOA on Saturday, then on Sunday while I was outside taking a look at the trailer I found that the pin box appeared to be sinking into the nose of the trailer. Umm, that doesn’t look promising. On Monday morning I made a few calls trying to find someone who could assure me that the trailer was safe to tow. One of the calls was to Lippert as the trailer is less than two years old and the frame should still be under warranty. While I could find no one who could give me the aforementioned assurance, Dave at Lippert did authorize me to take it to J & J since there was no Landmark or Lippert dealer in Las Cruces. So mid-morning I towed it to J & J, who after a through inspection said that along with the pin box issue I also need two new axles (the old ones are bowed) and a whole new suspension system (the off side door springs have actually slightly bowed in the opposite direction and the Mor/Ryde system is crushed). They felt it was safe to tow around town, but not on the highway. The estimates to repair the suspension and the pin box (they won’t know the full extent there until the get the front cap off and the closet floor out) are currently over $6000.00.
Naturally I got back on the phone with Dave at Lippert who said that he could not authorize the repairs until it is all taken apart and he has been sent photos of the problems (we’ve already sent photos of what can be seen at this point). Now that leaves us between the proverbial rock and hard place. We understand that Dave has to see the proof. We also understand why J & J told us that they will not do warranty work, but will work for us and be paid by us (they’ve been stung in the past too many times on warranty work). In order to get the correct photos to Dave the trailer has to be torn down, and at that point it would be ridiculous not to continue the work. So I have given the go-ahead for the work to be done, to the tune of over $6000, in sincere hopes that Lippert will stand behind at least the majority of the work.
On the bright side... At least it didn’t come apart while we were rolling down the interstate. Still, here we sit in Las Cruces for the next 7 to 10 days while parts are ordered and the work is done. We were supposed to have been at our summer workamping position on May 1<SUP>st</SUP>, but will be delayed at least a week and along with the repairs costs we have additional living expenses and loss of income so our total is well above $7000 already.
Somebody please say something to make us smile!
It’s only Wednesday and already it’s been a long week! We left Van Horn, TX on Thursday and towed to Camping World in Anthony, TX for a Friday appointment to have the door side wheel bearings checked as well as the springs on the off door side (trailer was riding 3 3/4" low on the off door side). Got the wheel bearing replaced, but they suggested that we come to Las Cruces to J & J Muffler/Sun Valley Trailers to have the spring seen to and to have our axles aligned. No problem that was just 30 miles up the highway and one extra night on the road.
We pulled into Las Cruces KOA on Saturday, then on Sunday while I was outside taking a look at the trailer I found that the pin box appeared to be sinking into the nose of the trailer. Umm, that doesn’t look promising. On Monday morning I made a few calls trying to find someone who could assure me that the trailer was safe to tow. One of the calls was to Lippert as the trailer is less than two years old and the frame should still be under warranty. While I could find no one who could give me the aforementioned assurance, Dave at Lippert did authorize me to take it to J & J since there was no Landmark or Lippert dealer in Las Cruces. So mid-morning I towed it to J & J, who after a through inspection said that along with the pin box issue I also need two new axles (the old ones are bowed) and a whole new suspension system (the off side door springs have actually slightly bowed in the opposite direction and the Mor/Ryde system is crushed). They felt it was safe to tow around town, but not on the highway. The estimates to repair the suspension and the pin box (they won’t know the full extent there until the get the front cap off and the closet floor out) are currently over $6000.00.
Naturally I got back on the phone with Dave at Lippert who said that he could not authorize the repairs until it is all taken apart and he has been sent photos of the problems (we’ve already sent photos of what can be seen at this point). Now that leaves us between the proverbial rock and hard place. We understand that Dave has to see the proof. We also understand why J & J told us that they will not do warranty work, but will work for us and be paid by us (they’ve been stung in the past too many times on warranty work). In order to get the correct photos to Dave the trailer has to be torn down, and at that point it would be ridiculous not to continue the work. So I have given the go-ahead for the work to be done, to the tune of over $6000, in sincere hopes that Lippert will stand behind at least the majority of the work.
On the bright side... At least it didn’t come apart while we were rolling down the interstate. Still, here we sit in Las Cruces for the next 7 to 10 days while parts are ordered and the work is done. We were supposed to have been at our summer workamping position on May 1<SUP>st</SUP>, but will be delayed at least a week and along with the repairs costs we have additional living expenses and loss of income so our total is well above $7000 already.
Somebody please say something to make us smile!
