We arrived at Van Axle shortly before our 8:30 appointment and unhitched. They used their own truck to maneuver the trailer into one of the bays...
After all of the paperwork was done, we headed out to Load-It Industries, the maker of our boat loading system, to have it checked out. The motor keeps cutting out and is very labored when loading the boat. During Steve's recent hunting trip while sitting around the campfire they all heard a clicking sound coming from the truck. Steve had left the boat loader lines all the way out...it somehow started running all by itself and was fully wound in stalling the motor. The owner, Glen, has always been awesome to deal with. He removed the control box and found a small amount of water inside. He has learned over time that even though the box is gasketed, he has had a few complaints so the manufacturer has recommended mounting the box right side up. After unsuccessfully blowing out the moisture to clear the fault he replaced the board for free...even though it was out of warranty. Thanks Glen!
While we were there we received a phone call from Kevin at Van Axle...not good news. He said that the centre hanger on our MOR/ryde suspension was bent inward with the frame. It would take a couple of days to repair...with an estimated cost of $2800! Sheesh! I guess our trip to Alaska was tougher on our trailer than we expected.
Okay, this is our home...what are we going to do now that we won't have it for a couple of days? I sent our son, Chris, a text to see if he would mind having company for a couple of days. He was able to take time off work so we made arrangements for him to come out to Fort Langley to pick us up. He lives in Burnaby and there just wouldn't be anywhere to park our truck.
After we were finished at Load-It Industries, we headed back to Van Axle where we managed to open the bedroom slider (not a lot of room where they had parked the trailer between other vehicles) and pack some clothes and toiletries. Of course, today is Thursday so Steve asked if they worked on Saturdays and Kevin said no...okay...that means our home likely won't be ready until Monday. Kevin said they would try their best to get it fixed for us as soon as possible.
Once back at the park, I spoke to Shannon in the office and explained our situation. Since we were expecting to leave Monday, she tentatively extended our stay for a couple of nights. Steve parked the truck in our site and we unloaded the stuff we'd need to take with us. Chris arrived shortly after...and we headed off into the big city!
Chris lives just at the base of Burnaby Mountain, so he took us up to the lookout. He had taken me up there when I had been visiting him a couple of weeks ago, but Steve hadn't been for years...as a matter of fact, Steve has never been to Chris's place. Although it is the end of the season, the rose garden is beautiful...
It has been very foggy in the lower mainland lately...this is the view west towards downtown Vancouver, it's still in the fog with only the tops of some high-rise buildings peaking through...
View southwest towards downtown Burnaby...
Totem Pole "Forest"...
Steve and I opted out of an evening out with Chris and Angela...we were pooped after a number of early mornings. So after a short visit with Angela, she and Chris were off to meet friends at one of their favourite pubs....Steve and I had an early night and didn't even hear Chris come home.
Friday morning was a very...very lazy morning! Chris had taken the day off so the three of us just hung out chatting over morning coffee. I cooked us all a big bacon and egg breakfast and finally we headed out for a little sightseeing...it was noon by this time.
Chris took us over to North Vancouver...we stopped at Cates Park and got out for a few pictures. The fog is lifting over here...
A film crew is building a barge...hmmm...wonder what movie/TV series is being filmed?
After a stroll around the park, we continued east towards the community of Deep Cove, small waterfront community. Again, we parked and got out for a walk...
This is a panoramic shot using my new phone...(as usual, click to enlarge)
The main street...all sorts of shops, cafes and restaurants...
We were going to stop for a beer there but decided to drive to West Vancouver to a popular spot at Park Royal. The area is being re-developed into village style shopping area...very nice...
We're going to the Village Taphouse for a beer and appy...(thick fog here!)
On our way to the Village, we noticed that traffic was backed up heading back across the bridge to Burnaby...the highway we have to take to get back. Apparently there had been an accident on the bridge...so Chris was monitoring the traffic situation using his cell. Well, the traffic back-up got worse and worse! A number of incidents had really backed up traffic and being Friday afternoon didn't help. So we had our beer and appies...and then decided to have more beer. I told Chris that I would drive, so he and Steve had another beer...and another...and another.
We ended up staying and having dinner there as well...why not?...we had a choice of leaving and sitting in backed up traffic for hours or sitting in a nice pub....no brainer, right? :)
It was 6:30 when we decided to head out and battle the traffic home...it appeared to be moving better. It still took us an hour to get back to Chris's place...should have been a 25 minute drive.
We were having our usual lazy morning start on Saturday...just enjoying spending time with Chris...when our phone rang shortly after 11:00. It was Kevin at Van Axle...our trailer was ready. Wow, what a surprise...he had said that they don't work Saturdays but I guess they do have a small crew on. We were getting ready to go out for a walk...instead, I jumped in the shower. We gathered all of our belongings and Chris drove us out to Fort Langley.
It was about 1:30 when we arrived at Van Axle. They had adjusted the camber and alignment after making all the necessary repairs. They also welded in a support brace between both centre hangers for added strength. So the roads to and from Alaska cost us another $2600 (at least it was less than the original estimate)…oh well…it is what it is. This repair also seemed to take care of our squeaky floor!
Back at the RV park, we got all set up again, then I walked into town to pick up a few groceries...we were hungry and there wasn't anything to eat in the trailer! We chilled for the rest of the afternoon and then got ready to go out for dinner.
We are going into Coquitlam to meet Steve's cousins. It would be the second time for me but Steve hadn't seen them and wanted to get together before we headed south. From left to right...Cam (Glenna's son), Cheryl, Steve, me, Glenna, Rob, Bev, Chris, Angela and Nicole (Cheryl's daughter). It was great time and so good seeing everyone.
Wow that was a busy couple days!! Glad the repairs were done quickly on both the truck and 5th wheel. Sorry about the cost, but oh that trip to Alaska sure was worth it!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your fifth wheel. I am surprised it was still together after seeing some of those roads. How nice to have it repaired so quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lucky break to have your son near by and available to come get you. Sounds like a gem of a child!
Thanks guys! I'm just glad that we decided to have it checked out before we started our trek south. No regrets making the trip to Alaska, it was awesome...the repair cost, well..."it is what it is" has become our favourite saying since starting this wonderful lifestyle!
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