The bus

 

The bus has been in time-out for months.  Last fall, while we were still on our Colorado trip, the right rear slide made a loud “clank” as I was extending it, so I stopped.  I pushed the switch the other direction and the slide retracted, so I just left it closed after that.  It’s our smallest slide and doesn’t make much difference whether it’s open or closed, so we finished the year with three slide-outs instead of four.  In January, we dropped the bus off at the repair shop we like in Pipe Creek outside of San Antonio (and Bandera).  They took the slide all the way out, got the parts they needed and put it back together.

 

We didn’t need the bus back yet, so we sent it over to a Caterpillar engine repair facility in San Antonio to see if they could figure out that lingering engine shudder problem we’ve had since the rebuild in 2011.  The shudder is subtle, but it’s there.  I always feel it when I drive, so the motorhome never feels completely right.  We’ve taken it to several shops, but no-one has been able to figure it out.  Usually when we take it in for repairs, we’re living in it and have to move out for a limited time while they work on it.  We’re always anxious to get it back.  We figured this time we’d stay in the house at Sandpipers and leave the motorhome at the shop as long as necessary for them to find the problem and fix it.

 

Holt Cat in San Antonio couldn’t get at it right away, but when they did get to it, it didn’t take them very long.  They test-drove the bus and felt the problem.  It seemed like drive-train to them so they focused their attention on drive line and ride height issues.  The drive shaft angles were close but not quite right.  Most of the air suspension ride-height adjustments were good.  One was subtly off.  Even though the bus drove perfectly straight and smooth, they discovered that the rear axle was off line.  They took it to an alignment shop for us, made the other suspension and drive-line adjustments as necessary, test drove it, and declared it fixed!

 

This is encouraging.  They felt the problem before they worked on it.  They found an issue to fix (something no-one else had found).  They drove it again and the problem was gone.  As long as the problem they fixed was the same problem I was feeling, it could really be fixed!

 

It makes perfect sense.  No-one has been able to discern any problem with the engine.  They kept trying to fix where the problem wasn’t.  The old engine didn’t go quietly when it blew.  It went with a bang.  It could easily have knocked the rear end out of whack.

 

The bus has been ready for weeks but we haven’t been.  We think we feel good enough to go get it and drive it home now.  Tomorrow will be a travel day; drive the Jeep to San Antonio, get the motorhome, and park it for the night.  Drive home the next day.  That’s plan A.