On September 16, my HWH hydraulic motor/pump blew a 40-amp fuse and melted the fuse holder. Of course, the pump stopped pumping and all things hydraulic ceased operation. After replacing the fuse and holder, it all worked again, but the terminal post to the HWH motor was wiggly and jiggly...not a good sign. So, on the 18th I called Newmar for some diagnostic assistance (replace the pump, she said) and a quote for the new part (I'll have to get back to you, he said).
9/24 - Hydraulics were working, so off we go to Minneapolis for three days. Slides out, jacks down for two days, then we had to move to a different site.
9/27 - Jacks up, and uh-oh, FWS isn't coming in...the pump went 'legs up.' It's beginning to look like we may be late to the Newmar International, just over 500 miles away. Coincidentally, the Newmar parts quote arrived today...$1,964.93, plus labor. 8-10 days out. And, just 10 days to get a price!
Somewhere in there I called HWH. A lady answered the phone, but told me a tech would not be available for about a month. Thank you and good-bye.
Aha! I'll call Coach-Net and do the manual slide operation thing. Then we can be on our way and have Newmar techs fix it at the rally.
Called Coach-Net at 6pm and they said they would have someone out in about an hour and that the slide would be in before bedtime. They called back at 6:30 saying it was too late to get a mobile tech and they would take care of it first thing in the morning.
9/28 - 8:30 call from Coach-Net to say they were on the job and would get back to me. So, I called Newmar customer service with questions about how to manually move the slide in. It's easy, she said, just use the long screws that came with the coach. A little reading on my part says the floor has to be raised before that happens, so I called back. Oops, she says, that's a separate operation, just follow the owners manual. But, I have questions...click.
Coach-Net calls back. They found a tech, the only one in the Minneapolis area, but he's three hours away and says he can probably do the job. OK, send him. I keep working on raising the FWS, which has four screws that are used to raise the slide. I can only find three screws, so call Newmar again and get a different CSR. Rick says it will be faster and cheaper to just replace the pump. Then he explains that the fourth screw that I can't find involves removing the drive wheels and wheel well cover. A day and half at best, he says. (Like I can lift the frekin wheels).
Search, search, search the internet...thank you, StarLink! And I find a possibility...Stuart's Service in Elkhart, IN. I call and speak with Chuck, the owner. An incredibly helpful gentleman who lead me and my volt meter to troubleshoot the problem and verify that the motor has failed. And, yes, he has one in stock. And, yes, he will ship it overnight via UPS. And, holy crap! It's only $409, plus freight.
And now I'm still waiting for a promised call-back from Coach-Net. And my head is still spinning from Newmar's crazy mark-up and super-lousy instructions.
But mostly, I'm really grateful for a guy named Chuck at a place called Stuart's Service in Elkhart.
We'll still make it to the Newmar International, though a day late. I sure hope I run into the new president, Cody?, 'cuz I've got a thing or two I'd like to discuss with him!
-End of rant-
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