Day 31–Twenty-Nine Palms Resort, Twenty–nine Palms , California–Visit to Repair Shop

on Thursday, January 29, 2015

When driving here yesterday, the MH engine made a similar loud noise like that on day one of our travels,  but not as loud and not as  long, then it stopped. We were on Route 62 about 70 miles from our destination so Ron slowed down and babied the MH for the remainder of the trip. There was no more noise and the MH appeared to be running fine.

This morning Ron was distracted and seemed to be upset about something. Finally he told me that when he was backing into our site the “check engine light “ came on. Now he is concerned that the noise may represent something more of a problem.

We did at lot of research and found a garage not to far from here. (I  had already packed a lunch  because we thought were going to Joshua Tree National Park.)  We stopped at the garage directly across the street from the park entrance.

The owner/mechanic listened to Ron’s description of the sound/check engine light issue and he told us to bring the MH in at 1 pm. The place was hopping and they were really busy but were more then willing to fit us in.

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We canned the idea of going to the park, went back to the MH and got it  back to travel mode. We had to let the CG know that we would be leaving for a little while and not to give our space away.

Back at the garage Ron was filling our paperwork when the mechanic came in (only 3 minutes later) and told Ron he found the problem  - the serpentine belt had  lost ¾ of its width and wound around the  fan clutch. He then informed us that if the entire belt  had broken loose we would have lost our brakes, steering and a  few other things that sounded ominous.  He had his wife call around and they quickly found a replacement belt for us. We waited in the MH while the belt was replaced. They also ran a diagnostic test for us but found that everything else was OK.  Thank goodness!

 

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Ugly Mess!!!!!

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The people here are really great and had us fixed and back to the  CG by 3:15 pm. at a cost of only $195.00. We were relieved that it was not a more serious mechanical problem and that we could now continue the remainder of  our trip. Thank You Bailey’s for the great service.

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I made sure I posted a positive review for them on YELP. They certainly deserve it. We have been fortunate over the years while traveling to find people more then willing to put themselves out and help you when needed. Everyone seems to understand that the MH is our home on the road and will take that extra step to get you back on the road.

Back at the CG Jewel decided she would make a dirt bed for herself. So glad I haven’t given her another  bath yet.

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Ron put an old towel down so she wouldn’t lay in the  dirt but that didn’t work!

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Now that the MH is repaired we breathed a collective sigh of relief and decided to take a short ride. The town is peppered with small parks with murals and sculptures.

 

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In the desert we ran into a really  tiny church with art work in the yard.

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This is a very artsy community evident by all of the sculptures and the murals painted on the sides of buildings.

We decided to spend another night and are hoping for at least a clear day tomorrow. The jet stream is causing unusual weather patterns across the country and we are not being left out. I have a funny feeling we will be dealing with rain as we  explore Joshua Tree National Park.

 

 

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