Front Spring Replacement

There are things which may not get done when "Mama" says 'we are going come Hell or High Water'. That was the case when we took off for this last trip.

DH started airing up the front airbags that are part of the original airbag/spring combination which was standard on this motorhome. I guess 18 years plus takes it's toll on airbags. They would not hold air. 

We decided that it was time to replace the springs.  A phone call was made while we were on the road. Alan at Brazel's RV Performance was gracious enough to make room for us on their schedule.
Wednesday morning our technician Terry showed up at our doorstep letting us know he was ready to start work on our Diamond.
Here is a photo of the new spring -

And you can see a little difference with the old and new springs side by side here-

The new spring is thicker and stronger...besides being blue!

When Strapless is Unbecoming

We try to buy quality items when we make large purchases - which is why we bought our window awnings from Carefree of Colorado with the "Unigard" cover. Our understanding  was that it help would protect the awning from sun rot.

Many of you know that we have used the RV  for only a handful of times, so imagine our surprise  when we try to pull the large window awning out and this happpens -

What you don't see is the third piece that is about 6 inches long that  also broke off.

This happened over the 4th of July weekend so we ordered straps from Amazon. We had them delivered to us the next business day.  (Thank you Brazel's for allowing us to have them shipped to you.)

Dirty Water?

This is some of the brake fluid that we drained out before we had the lines flushed at Brazel's RV Performance Center.  

It may be a Kirkland water bottle but I promise you it definitely isn't water- although we are quite sure the reason this is the color it is was because it did have water mixed in with it.

The brake fluid is hygroscopic, which means it attracts moisture. Over time brake fluid will accumulate a certain amount of moisture; a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 20 percent of the cars they tested had brake fluid with 5-percent moisture content. A 3-percent moisture content in DOT 3 brake fluid reduces the boiling point of the fluid by more than 100 degrees...The other thing to watch out for is dirty fluid. Brake fluid can get very dirty if left unchanged year after year. I have seen some master cylinders that look as if they were filled with mud. Most likely if the fluid is really dirty looking, it is going to have a high moisture content as well, so either way it will need to be changed.* 

*Information taken from Doug McAllister of the Daily Herald

RGS-Rotten Green Switch

Some of you with the Workhorse/Chevy P30 chassis have heard of the RGS failures which can leave you stranded when they fail. The Rotten Green Switch is probably known as the pressure switch by most mechanics. 
Here is what it can look like:

You can see the green switch in the right side in the background.
Here is a photo of the parts that are being replaced:

...and here is a photo of the new parts installed:

You can read some info of what is included in the kit that was put on ours in the photo below:

Thank you Alan, Barbara and Terry at Brazel's RV Performance for some great customer service!

Meeting Up

I am excited to meet up with an old acquaintance this next week.  I first met some of this company in the summer of 2008. They have a great reputation of being meticulous about their workmanship.

DH and I are looking forward to meet up with Jon Brazel of Brazel's RV Performance again to have a few things done this next week.

Thank you to Alan for accommodating us as we pass through Washington!