Traveling!

[canned o minimum]

I hope ya don't mind me askin fer the "nickle" tour ??? I LOVE wood and yer trailer has PLENTY to look at.

Happy Trails !

[goramsey]

What a trip. I wanted to have the 59' Aloha trailer wheels repacked. I got the name of a RV place in Hemet, CA. Went there and got a sort of we don't care attitude. Screw that. I called a local RV repair service and after talking to them, he suggested a guy who owns a Mobil RV repair service. I called him he came out this morning. Pulled the wheel off and found out what was needed. I then got a call from Bob's RV saying the seals for the wheels just came in. Well, I did not want to drive the trailer all the way to those guys. Talked to Rob the Mobil guy. We decided that I should drive out the Hemet and get the parts that were ordered and drive back. I did that. Finally got back to the Oak Grove campground where Rob had cleaned up both wheels. He put it back together and found that there was indeed a need for the spacer shims we had found on the wheels. Without them the wheels don't mount properly. He and I both drove to Pep Boy's in Temecula. 30 miles. Whew, getting to be a long day. We got the spacers and came back to the trailer at the campground. He had to then grind off these metal bumps on the wheel drums for the spacers to properly fit. The first guy that put the spacers on were the people that repacked the wheels. They did not take the time to see there was something wrong. They did not grind down the bumps, thereby breaking the spacers. Rob did it correctly. Mounted the wheels on and bingo finished. $ 200.00 later plus 50 bucks for parts. I think it was well worth the money, for a person to come out and do the work right at my campground. Wow, that is fantastic. A real pro. Took 5.5 hours overall.

I asked Rob how long this wheel packing will last. At least 5 years he said. Pretty cool. He used marine grease. Waterproof. Good idea.

We are all facing tough times. He used to have a thriving RV repair business with two employees and he took in $ 15,000 per month. Now he said he is lucky to make $ 2000.00 a month. Those big motorhomes are sitting. They are not selling. Gee, I wonder why?

Glad to have a small trailer. He thought it was a very cool trailer. He said that is pretty solid. Just keep up the maintenance and I am good to go.

Thought you would enjoy a good story.

Gary

[goramsey]

I almost forgot another good one. This morning I was talking to Joe, the camp host. We got to talking and I some how shut the door to the trailer and I heard a sort of click. Or, so I thought. I thought a second and said oh-oh. I forgot the door latch inside the door has a weird design. If you close the door to hard the door latch closes and locks. There is absoluty no way to get back in the trailer unless you get a pry bar to pry the door open. Joe and I pondered the situation. I said that if we took off the window in the door we could then get the lock opened and get in. Thankfully, Joe had the tools and I had a portable drill. Bingo, we unscrewed the window pulled it out with much care and got the window out. I then opened the door. I took off the inside latch and we then took the drill and drilled out the rivet that holds the latch lock in place. I don't care if I can't lock the trailer when I am inside. I do however want to lock the trailer when I take of for a hike, walk, whatever. The trailer did not have keys to the front door when I bought it. He said it kept you from doing just what happened to me. No logic it that thinking. I ordered a new door knob for the outside door with keys. Hooray!! Plus new sealer tape for the window. What an adventure!!

Gary

[mvperini]

Gary, i did the same thing when i was restoring the trailer, was almost finished with restoration and shut the door and when i tried to open the door it was locked from the inside. i found my keys and opened one of the rear compartments and of course there was no neighbor hood kids around . so i had to climb through the door and under the bed not and easy thing to do for some one 60 years old and alittle over weight . fixed the latch problem so it would not happen again

Mike

[goramsey]

Wow Mike,

That is an amazing story. I can see you crawling on your back doing this. Yes, where are those neighborhood kids when you really need them.

I thought about that. But all I could see is me getting inside there and then have a claustrophobic fit, and it then becomes my coffin. "Whoa there" I said. Let's not get crazy. I'm in my 60's as well, I decided against it.