It's Only Money!!!

My wallet died an awful death and my bank account is drained dry.  Repairs on these big rigs are NOT cheap, NOT inexpensive and NOT even reasonably priced.  They are through the roof.  The thing for me however, is I try to get things done by people who know what they are doing so I don't have to worry so much.

Although I was sure my extended warranty was going to cover SOMETHING, it didn't.  In spite of Elite's expertise at GETTING things covered, they said I had no chance in H-e-q-q that the warranty company would relent.  RATS!!  I sure wish I could do some of this stuff myself!!

The Lifeline AGM's were $2,000 with an additional $300 tacked on to clean out the battery box, repaint everything and replace all the cables that were damaged.  Not being one to just take it at their word, I made them show me absolutely everything.  I was a real pain in the patootie I'm sure, but those nice guys just take it in stride.

The slide repairs, hydraulic arm replacement, roof leak repair (and check of entire roof) along with four other minor things, came to $1,100.  Yeah, add that up and you'll need oxygen like I did.

Lucky for me, only four trains went through my rig from 10:00 pm till 5:00 am.  I actually got a little sleep.  As I put the slides in, I saw the seal around one was sticking out.  WHAT??  I showed it to the guys, who grabbed a ladder, cleaned it all up and re-glued it to the slide.  I tried to pay them, but they said no.  I didn't argue!!  I'm going to buy a bottle of that Loc-Tite glue.

From Harrisburg, the drive down South of Eugene was great until the smoke hit.  That's not fog, it's thick acrid smoke from the burning fires.   Just a half mile further at my turnoff, it became really hard to breathe and only got worse as the day wore on.

Eugene Superior Tire on I-5 is the place to go if you are using the FMCA Michelin Advantage Program.  I was pretty nervous, not knowing a thing about these guys, but with Elite's recommendation, I figured to give it a shot.  NICE GUYS!!  And HANDSOME!!  Good heavens ... they must only accept applications from good looking guys.

This is a TRUCK shop.  Unlike the Quick Lube oil change places, you drive your OWN rig into the slot and walk around the shop all you like.  As you can tell by the pictures, I stayed inside with the puppies, but kept an eye on the proceedings with my mirrors.  As I suspected, they had a terrible time getting those bullets off the front wheels.

While working on mine, they completely replaced the tires on a logging truck (full of logs), a heavy haul truck, a logging truck with no load and a truck trailer combo, not to mention a one ton truck in the parking lot.  By the way, I checked the DOT code -- 3417.  That's the 34th week of 2017, so I guess they are fresh enough!!

So here's the deal.  Michelin gives FMCA corporate discounts.  You go online to FMCA, pick which tires you need from the list, then call a dealer from the authorized list and order your tires, making an appointment at the same time.  Next, you call Michelin and get your credit card authorized.  Make a note of the cost of those tires while you are on the website, because you will not see that again.

When I arrived, they double checked the credit card and I received an invoice with no dollar amount. That was rather nervous worthy.  Be sure and check your credit card account that the actual amount charged is what was on the website.  Three hours later, I gave them my card again, and they charged me $380 for installation, which included two new valve stems, balancing and disposal of the old tires.  Although I didn't think they were that bad, one guy said at least two tires had big chunks out of them and they were checking badly.

The tires were $559 each.  Yup ... add that one up too and my second heart attack was imminent.  I know you can buy cheaper tires, but I've had such good luck with the original Michelins, I didn't want to change.  What the heck ... it's only money and those new tires could mean the difference between a smooth ride or a big wreck.  Aren't they pretty???  Luckily, I've been saving up for this since I bought the beast.

Back in Florence after a heavy traffic filled two hour drive, the puppies and I relaxed in our spot while I added up the cost of this rig over the seven years I've driven her.  She's averaged $2,000 a year in repairs, including the tires, oil, filters and all that stuff.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but what else am I going to spend my money on?  On the other hand, I just put my wallet on a diet!!

I'm here for a couple more days to be sure the tires hold air ..... not really, just kidding ..... due to lack of reservations at my next stop as I head South again.  I'm going to try and get in some kite flying if the wind will cooperate.