Not to compete with well-known movie titles (did ANYONE get this gag? Let us know!), this post is about the healing of our rig after the traumatic trip up Interstate 5 through LA. From a previous post, we chronicled the massive abuse that the hyper-bad roads of California have inflicted on the undercarriage of our home. And what we did to arrange a repair when that abuse turned to a potentially fatal break.
One of three broken cross members, two were gone!
We are happy to report the repair is complete! And also happy to give a big plug to the two businesses that made it happen. Our first call for help went out to Coast RV of Agoura Hills (www.coastrvcenter.com) who recommended Brent Eckhart Mobile Welding (www.brentsmobilewelding.com/) as a solution.
- Brent Eckhart Mobile Welding to the rescue
Brent took his time to understand the problem, and the outcome was very impressive. After an initial inspection Brent suggested a repair that seemed very logical. Straighten out the frame that had become badly tweaked, construct a VERY strong truss that would prevent the tweak in the future, fix a few other things he had seen in his inspection, and DONE! It all sound so simple until you see him at work. His original estimate was about $1,600. He came in “under the wire” at $1,100, and the work looked first rate. He arrived on time (7:30AM on the DOT!) and got the job done within his estimated time. We couldn’t be happier.
- You don’t need to ask Brent “Where’s the beef?”
- The Brooklyn Bridge is probably jealous of this truss work
Not only did he fix the obvious problem, he suggested an addition that fixed another problem we weren’t entirely aware of. Our bedroom is in the back of the rig, and the queen-size bed slides out about 40” to give us room to move around. The slide-out was always “sticky”, frequently requiring one of us to push on the outside to get it to close properly. This was because the rear frame, which sticks out behind the main axles about 12 feet, was a little twisted. Brent suggested welding in two massive 3” box tubes to straighten the rear end of our chassis, and this has cured our slide-out stickiness. It slides like melted butter now.
- Wertle won’t be shaking any tailfeathers anymore
To say the least, we are extremely relieved. Thanks much to Coast RV of Agoura Hills CA, and to Brent Eckhart Mobile Welding of Simi Valley CA for their support. We will now depart Walnut RV in Northridge CA with the goal of a week of relaxation in Glacier National Park with the total confidence of a trailer that will stay behind us the way it was intended!
And, as reminded by our friend (and blog visitor) Dan Stordahl, here’s Tippy!
MUDDSCAPE 