The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Maybe it's better that we're not heading out today!

When we woke up and got on the computers yesterday morning, I checked the status of Sherman's parts. They said "out for delivery", with a promised delivery time of "end of the day".

I went up to the security guy at the front gate and explained that I would have two packages arriving at some point today. He said he would let me know when they show up.

Well, we didn't have to wait long!  I got an email from UPS at 10:35am saying they had been delivered. Right away, I began walking up towards the front gate, and who do I see coming the other way but the security guy carrying my packages!

Yep, those are the correct parts!

I knew they would be the correct parts. I spent 20 years working with cars and ordering parts. Then, a couple of summers running the parts department at an RV dealership. The only way these were not the right parts was if they didn't send the parts that I ordered.

Totally impressed with Amazon Mexico and UPS. The UPS tracking system was updated regularly, and their email notification system worked flawlessly.

It was not cheap though. Total cost including shipping and import taxes was 3,443 pesos ($244 CAD, $185 USD). Had I been in the United States, the same parts would have cost $94 USD ($124 CAD).

But, the installation will be quite a bit cheaper than it would have been in the U.S..

And speaking of the installation, that was the next step. I walked over to Eligio's mechanic shop, less than 1 km (half a mile) away.

By this time it was around 11:00am. Eligio and Pedrito were both working on vehicles. Of course they couldn't just drop everything and come work on Sherman. And I knew they had to come and pick up the lower control arm and take it with them to fit the ball joint.

It was almost 1:00pm by the time Eligio showed up to pick up the parts. I was hoping they would be back in an hour or two, but the afternoon passed without word. I started to be worried that they had a problem fitting the ball joint because the lower control arm was pretty scraped up on the bottom, and the previous ball joint had been tack welded in. 

And then, as we were making supper at 7:15pm a car drove up outside. It was Eligio with the lower control arm all put together with a new ball joint! Only in Mexico! I didn't ask, but I assumed he had to take it to get it pressed in, and then to another guy to get it welded. He got out the light on his phone to show us what a god job they did.

He said that Pedrito would be back by 11:00am this morning to put it all back together. Hopefully the left side is easier because we're having that ball joint changed as well.

Sunset and the active Popocatépetl Volcano, taken from the water tower at the RV Park we are staying in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. Photo taken yesterday evening.

Anyhow, it looks like we won't be on the road again until tomorrow (Friday). Today is exactly two weeks from the first time we broke down, and exactly one week from the last time. Hmm. Both times it was on a Thursday. Maybe it's better that we're not heading out today!

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Nice price drop on the blue and green colors of Coleman's popular Road Trip Grill...


And in Canada...




31 comments:

  1. As a person with an older RV (knock on wood here) I take comfort that if it does break down I at least still have a place to live, even if it isn't going where I'd like it to go...

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    1. Very true, except that in most of Canada or the US, if they are working on your rig you can't stay in it, as least not when they are actually working on it, perhaps at night you can sleep in it, depending on the circumstances.

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  2. Nice that you git the right parts and they will be installed. I agree don't try out the ne ball joints on a thursday. Good luck with you travels when you get back on the road again.

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    1. Almost all the right parts! :-(

      Taking a little longer than expected, hopefully we will be back on the road soon.

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  3. Glad things are getting better. I'm sure you'll be back on the road enjoying life to the fullest again very soon.

    Safe travels.

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  4. Wowowow! I was astounded the parts made it through customs so seamlessly. That's really encouraging. Love Eligio's personal touch of dropping it off. As you said, only in México!

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    1. We can't believe how well Amazon Mexico worked, it was fantastic, a great experience.

      Eligio and Pedrito have been great. Pedrito is a little slow at working but he only has hand tools to work with, He is doing a fine job and we would rather him work slowly and get it right than work fast and do something wrong.

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  5. Things are looking up - praying that all goes well today and you are soon caravaning again!!

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    1. Yep, things are definitely looking up but it is still taking a little more time than we had hoped for to get us back on the road again. :-(

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks Elaine! I am glad that I convinced Kevin to go up there and take the picture. ;-)

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  7. Glad the parts are in. I worked at Advance Auto for six years and Moog was our best quality parts. Sure you will be on the road soon.

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    1. Kevin wanted the best, and everything he heard about Moog, is that they are the best! :-)

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  8. Just catching up, you are having qute the time:( Hope this is the last repair needed:)

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    1. It certainly hasn't been going smoothly but we are comfortable and are willing to wait to have it all done right so that it won't cause us a problem again.

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  9. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

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  10. Yep, don't hurry to head out. You'll be able to take another look at the control arm in day light to ensure all is okay. Safe travels.

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    1. Didn't need daylight to see that the part was repaired correctly. They did a great job on it. The work is progressing but it is slow.

      The volcano picture turned out great!

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  11. Glad you have the parts and Sherman will be back on the road soon. Hopefully everything else will go well until the end of your tour. Be safe and enjoy being on the road again.

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    1. Once the parts are replaced, I am sure the rest of the trip will go well, at least we think it will. :-)

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  12. I believe things/stuff happen for a reason....and that reason usually reveals itself much later on.....I’m sure when you look back at these breakdowns, you’ll realize it was a blessing in disguise. PerhapsThursdays should be rest days instead of travel days for you..heheh.

    Lovely shot of the sunset and the volcano! The days must still be hazy from the smoke?

    Good luck on the repairs and safe travels with Sherman again! Bien viaje!

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    1. We may or may not find out what that reason is but hopefully it was for a good reason. :-)

      The days are often hazy here but not from smoke but from the heat and the smog.

      Our fingers are crossed that we will be on the road later today or first thing tomorrow morning.

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  13. Wonderful volcano/sunset photo! It's Thursday in Nevada City CA and it's SNOWING AGAIN, so at least it's warm where you're stuck. :-)

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    1. Yep, it is definitely perfect weather here! :-)

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  14. Well, the back up wagon master in your group (Michel) whose truck is also in trouble, rode on to melaque, with the backup backup wagon master (myself) to Melaque yesterday. He met the guy here who has the equipment to hopefully fix his truck and I put him on the bus back to Villa Corona with it. He is going to try to fix it at 10 Am this morning and hopefully will catch up here later this afternoon. The cravn trip down was uneventful until we pulled into melaque. One of the rigs snagged a power lien and dragged it down. Spent the next 2 hours with a somewhat upset person in a house who lost his power. Dragged extension cords next door so he could keep his fridge & freezer running then tracked down the electrical company. Total bill came to 1500 pesos which was not bad. This could of all been avoided of course if Kevin had sacrificed one of the customers to the gods at one of the pyramids. Hoepefuly we will all be back to one bg happy family by Monday if Sherman gets on the the road later today.

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    1. Glad to here that things went fairly well for yesterday's drive, other than that small slip up.

      Our fingers are crossed both for Michel and Louise's truck and for the repairs on Sherman. It will be nice to be all together once again.

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