We got up very early this morning and broke camp as soon as it was light enough to see outside. We called Wilson County Chevrolet dealer repair department when they opened and described our problem. The repair person said to bring in the truck but to leave the trailer behind. After dumping, we towed the trailer over to the marina and dropped it in the parking lot there.
Then we drove to Lebanon, about 45 minutes away on US70 N. We were very impressed with how cheerful and friendly and helpful everyone at the dealership was. We could see that the repair department was busy, but our service advisor, David, kept us informed and assured us that they would do their best to get us back on the road.
They started out by putting the truck on the rack to change the oil--our DIC (Driver Information Center) had notified us the day before that we needed to "change engine oil soon." While we were waiting, I fired up my computer and checked the Silverado maintenance records and realized that we also were due for a new fuel filter, since it had been just over 15,000 miles.
Our last service was done at a Lexus dealership in the Dallas area last April. Looking over the invoice, I noticed that they had diagnosed a leaking power steering hose to the hydroboost unit, but had not replaced it due to the truck being too heavy. We had not noticed this omission before, and they didn't mention it to us. Anyhow, we asked David to check that hose out too.
After only a few minutes, David came to tell us that they had found our problem: none of the bolts on either side of the axle had been tightened! He said we were lucky we hadn't lost an axle. You can picture how dangerous that would be, especially if it happened while we were towing.
We took them up on an offer to give us a ride to a nearby park where David and another employee regularly walk. It turned out to be a great place for a walk (or jog or bike ride), with both a loop path and an extension that ties in with other paths. We walked along the extension and came to this intriguing building, which of course we had to explore.
The website includes this note:
The Mill at Lebanon is an Adaptive Reuse Project of the Former Lebanon Woolen Mill, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Right now there's a small cafe and a children's shop in operation, with much more planned.
The park includes a fascinating playground area which was built entirely by volunteers.
When we got back to the dealership, the truck was ready. But no. Even though I had explicitly described to the service advisor the need to reinstall the dually tires so that the inner and outer valve stems were 180 degrees apart, they ended up installed with the inner valve stem inaccessible. So we had to wait over an hour for that to be fixed (the mechanic had gone to lunch). We ate our picnic lunch in the customer lounge. When I noticed the mechanic had returned and was working on the truck, I strolled around to the bay door in the back, right next to our truck. I chatted with the mechanic, only to find out that he now had installed the wheels so that both valve stems were in the same hand hole. Good thing I checked!
We ended up almost $400 poorer, but with a safe and operational truck. We headed back up to Defeated Creek Marina to pick up Venture and be on our way. We were planning to reach Jackson, TN, for an overnight stop in a parking lot before heading the next day to Maumelle. Our route along I-40 took us through Memphis, and since we left Defeated Creek at 3:00 p.m., of course we got stuck for a while in rush hour traffic and then waiting for an accident to clear.
When we arrived in Jackson, after dark of course, we tried to park at Cracker Barrel, but first I drove into the wrong driveway and had to back up to get out. Yikes! Then when we checked the RV spaces in the Cracker Barrel parking lot, they were very unlevel and all but one had cars parked in them. So we called Walmart and got permission to park behind Sam's Club just up the road a bit.
That's what we ended up doing. One other fifth wheel was there before us, and we chatted with the folks. It turned out that they are official judges for a barbecue contest. We walked around to the front of the store, where the contestants and show were all set up and most of them already cooking their barbecue for the next day's event, The Inaugural Sam's Club National BBQ Tour. Competition barbecuing is serious business (or so we were told), but the team names are creative and humorous.
Well, the rash, whatever it is, is spreading. Now I have welts on my thighs and buttocks and a couple on my arms. I can't imagine what is causing this, but I sure wish it would stop. The itching is driving me crazy.
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