The first time, the message on the truck’s message display disappeared too fast to read. But after it displayed again and again, we knew what it was saying, but not what to do about it. Dave found the nearest Ram dealer and arrived as the service bay opened the next morning. The message was an ABS brake warning light. We had replaced a pump on this system a couple of years earlier. Could it have failed so soon?
The diagnosis was swift, but the solution wouldn’t be. It was the same part that had failed before. Ram had no replacement parts available. We were asked to call back in a week to see whether any were available. When we did call, we were told he parts would be in by the time we were back in Hamlin. So, the Monday after our return, Dave was up early again to get into the service queue. After several hours, the truck repair was complete, and the bill was mostly covered by our warranty.
We were ready to go again, which was a relief that our travel plans were still on track.
Leaving Hamlin on a Thursday, we were heading to a stay at a Boondocker’s Welcome location in tiny Boonville NY, a little north and east of Rome NY. Through advance discussions with the host, we were able to extend our stay from 3 to 4 days to cover the gap in our schedule between Hamlin and a reservation at Alexandria Bay in the 1000 Islands.
Moving north from Boonville, we planned to stay at a private campground near Alexandria Bay in the 1000 Islands. With a pull-through, full hook-up site, we were well-situated, but the campground’s biggest attraction was just outside. The Gal’s Place was a popular local destination for – you guessed it – ice cream. Similar to Lugia’s in Rochester, the small ice cream was plenty, and the large was ridiculous. But most importantly, the ice cream was great, making it a required stop each day.
We have 2 slides on our RV – a small one in the bedroom that contains the closet and a much larger one in the living area that contains, well the living area (table, bench seats, reclining chairs). These slides are drawn in and out by cables. Since a slide failure can be a really big deal (keeping you from moving), we researched the maintenance required to keep them in working order. However, for the cable system, there didn’t seem to be anything to do.
That’s why we were a little concerned when the larger slide started jerking on its way in. Since we couldn’t find anything in the cable mechanisms that looked problematic, we had a theory that the problem was just moisture. We had many days in a row with rain, and at least once we had to retract it in the rain. Sure enough, once it had time to dry out, the slide moved smoothly in and out.
Faith Work
Our work with the folks at Faith was focused on their Church Windows software. A required update had to be applied to multiple computers, and a new instance needed to be installed as well. With new users being added, Dave coached them through the process of adding or modifying authorizations as well. Nothing goes exactly as planned, but after a few hours, the software was in place and up to date.