RVing is Not All Sunshine and Blue Skies

One expects a little rain now and then, but for the last two months Serenity has been deluged by a perfect storm. It all started last December 9th in Durango when her auto-park brake failed to release. I took her to Puerto Vallarta for a surprisingly easy repair.

I left Vallarta to join up with the group.
 20 miles West of Ameca her oil pressure gauge was near zero.
* I stopped immediately.
* The dip stick was dry.
* I added a quart and a half of oil I had.
* The dip stick was still dry.
* She needs a tow truck
* No cell signal
* Wait for police who could call for tow truck
* I decided to move Serenity 10 yards down the road to a level spot.
* While moving, I observed that the oil pressure gauge was at 30-40 pounds of pressure
* 45 pounds is normal
* I decided to slowly drive into Ameca keeping an eagle eye on the gauge.
* Serenity made it and I stopped at first auto parts store and filled her up with oil.

I reconnected with the group. On the way to Valle de Juarez I stopped several time to replenish the lost oil
In Valle de Juarez Bob used J B Weld to stop the leak. Dec 28th.

I ordered a new oil cooler from the states to be delivered in Valle de Bravo.
* Oil cooler $400
* Shipping $260
There were three more stops before Valle de Bravo. The J B Weld was holding and I was getting very confident about Bob's repair.

* January 19th we leave Zitacuaro for Valle de Bravo.
* 10 mile from  Valle de Bravo Serenity losses power steering and brakes.
* I am stranded by the side of the road.
* I pull her engine cover and discover that the J B Weld had given way.
* Oil coating the pulleys had allowed the fan belt to come off.
* We decided that everyone should go to the campground.
* Kevin and Bob came back and helped install my spare fan belt.

* Thank you Kevin and Bob.

* Serenity made it to the campground.

The new oil cooler arrived.
* Import duty $75

Isn't it beautiful. Total $735

Kevin found a local mechanic that could install the oil cooler.

It was tight fit.

Serenity's door was blocked, so I had to exit through the window.

Cost of installing the new cooler was $93. Peace of mind priceless.
Ok, now I am feeing great. Serenity is repaired and ready to go. No more problems.

NOT

January 24 we headed for Cuernavaca. Climbing a mountain grade Serenity losses power. I come to a dead stop in the middle of the road.  Aron has a scan gauge to read the fault codes. I shows that there is problem with the throttle body. He clears the codes and Serenity runs just long enough to pull of the road.

I catch a ride with Aron down the hill to where the rest of the group is waiting. There is also a detachment of National Guard there. They call for tow truck. The tow truck will take me to a mechanics shop while the rest of the group goes to the campground.

* I am dumped in front of a small shop that is clueless about how to analyze and repair Serenity.
* I do a little research and clean the connections for the throttle body
* The next morning Serenity runs fine for 20 minutes
* Not speaking Spanish, I am nervous about taking Serenity for a test drive by myself
* I call Kevin and ask if he can come in and ride with me
* Kevin and Bob arrive
* We make it about a mile down the road before Serenity loses power agin.
* After several attempts Kevin finds a tow truck.

Choco arrives, Hooray

* If I had been alone, I would still be sitting beside the road.
* Serenity is towed to a Pemex station.
* Choco finds a mechanic that will come to us.

I am thinking. Can the mechanic find the problem. If it is the throttle body, it will take a couple of weeks to get the parts. Will Serenity ever leave Mexico. My anxiety level is through the roof.

* Mechanic Jose Noel Bautista arrives.
* Jose has a computer to read the fault codes
* We run Serenity back and forth in the Pemex parking lot until she loses power again.
* He dives under Serenity
* He thinks it is a ground problem.
* It is, the ground cables are corroded near the starter motor.
* He cleans of the cables and we go for a test drive.
* Serenity runs and runs.
* Jose did a great job.
* He spent 2 hours fixing the problem and charged me $106.
* Highly recommended  777-274-3775
* Total towing fees $479

Another shout out to Kevin and Bob for all their help

Today we drove 180 miles to Acapulco. Serenity did not miss a beat. I feel she is running better than ever. I hope this is the end  of all her problems, but I still have a knot in my stomach from that little voice asking, what is going to fail next?