Sat - Mar 10/18

We were up at 7:30 a.m. and went to the motel's breakfast room. Complimentary breakfast was "self-served" from 6-9 a.m. I had two toasted bagels w/cream cheese and strawberry jam and an O.J. Charlotte had yogurt and coffee.

After breakfast I called "Willie's" to check on the status. Frankie advised us to remain in the motel until checkout and then come over to the shop. The repairs would take a while. They would take the reservoir off and braze the holes then reinstall it. Waiting to get a replacement part from the original chassis manufacturer would take much longer if it was even available. The manufacture no longer exists and the part may not be available. Best case scenario, if a match could be found, meant Monday would be the earliest it could be obtained.

We then returned to the room and remained until checkout at 11 a.m. when we returned to "Willie's" to check on the RV status.

Motorhomes are made on a constructed chassis that arrives from a truck manufacturer. This makes any repairs labor intensive as the "Shell" is added around the frame. Any work in the motor area is notoriously difficult to access. On the RV all the "Fluid Reservoirs" are plastic except for the power steering. It had developed a few holes in the bottom where the extension pipes (where the fluid hoses attach) where welded on. The weld may have not had the "Prep" done properly and holes eventually rusted through the steel. The only way to get at the reservoir was to remove the front wheel and come in from underneath using that opening.

I was lucky to get it repaired on a Saturday. Simon (the mechanic - green shirt) came in and stayed past his usual "quitting time" to complete the work. Once the reservoir was removed it was cleaned and the holes were brazed not welded. The most significant difference between the two is that the base metals are never melted. Since the base metals are not melted, they can typically retain most of their physical properties retaining the “integrity” of the base metals. Also, the lower heat minimizes any danger of metal distortion or warping.

Everyone involved (Frankie, Robert, Simon and Gina (Frankie's wife/in office) were super nice and helpful. Frankie even wrote out directions on how to bypass the I-95 backup. 

By 1 p.m. the RV was ready to go. By 1:30 I had the Del Sol hooked back up and we were on our way (following Frankie's directions) back to I-95. The weather was still perfect. At least that was a bonus.

Once we bypassed the bridge slow-down and got back on I-95 it was good travelling until our next fuel stop at the Flying J in Kenly, NC. These are all familiar stops that we have been using for years. This makes the travelling a little easier.

I took our usual I-295 loop around Richmond, VA and made it into the Flying J at Ruther Glen, VA by 10 p.m. This at least got us past Richmond with light traffic and we could leave in similar conditions on I-95 in the morning. We were lucky and got the last available spot for parking. This Flying J does not have a big RV parking lot. Many of the spaces are "Back In" which I can't do while "Flat Towing". We actually parked in the Wendy's right next door (all part of the same Flying J).

This is one of the few Flying J's with a "Golden Corral" restaurant. They mostly have "Denny's". Charlotte went into the store to check. The Golden Corral closed at 10:30 p.m. and it was already 10:15. No way could we eat a "Buffet" in 15 minutes. We also weren't that hungry. 

We thought the Wendy's was closed because all the chairs were up on the tables. I asked at the Flying J if the Wendy's Drive-Thru was open (so I could "Walk-Thru"). They said it was open inside until midnight. They were just cleaning. So it was next door to the Wendy's that we were parked in front of.

That ended "Day 2". We didn't make it to our usual Winchester, VA Walmart stop; but considering the time and distance lost yesterday we did quite well.