Escaped

Shortly after 10 AM yesterday, they came to get the fifth wheel to move back into the service bays. They were to clean out the holding tanks and install a new valve on the gray water tank. They said the work would be completed by around 3 - 3:30 PM. So, I spent the time walking around the mall at Arrowhead in Glendale and then I went to pick up a few quarts of ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) for the hydraulic system in our rig. I was nervous about trying to operate the hydraulics with the broken "whatever" that was causing the fluid to spray everywhere.

Josie met me at the dealership when she got off work at 2:30 and we just walked around their sales lot looking at Montana's and a new fifth wheel by a two year old company - Grand Design. It is called a Solitude, and was very impressive at about $55K. The company was formed by two of the original founders of Montana, and they certainly know what to include in a rig that would be used for extended stays and/or full timing.

The work was completed on our fifth wheel at around 3:30, and we waited around another 45 minutes or so while they completed the paperwork and contacted the warranty company for payment. That was another shocker and caused me to lose it again when I was informed that I would have to pay the entire bill and be reimbursed by the them if the warranty company didn't pay them immediately. Ridiculous! They had an approval code and an agreed amount from them, so why should I have to pay anything beyond the deductible? Further, the amount that I was responsible for was $300 over the deductible which sent me through the roof again. They never informed me of work that would not be included in the covered amount. They obviously knew I was upset, so they relented on the requirement to pay the entire bill - over $850. They ripped us off but we were just happy to escape the place and get back to Lake Pleasant. I will definitely write letters to the ownership of the dealership and to the RV magazines about the business practices of this service department.

Our set up at home went smoothly as I added another quart of fluid to the hydraulics, and we are set up exactly as we were prior to our nightmare at the Orangewood RV Dealership. The new pump that I purchased will arrive a day early - today - and I will contact the mobile tech to schedule that installation. Our final game of spring training is today, and we are happy that the end is here.

Happy birthday to Patty - we love you very much!