Late today, uncharacteristically, Sheba began insistently barking. I finally went outside to see what was causing all the commotion.
Over in the corner of the yard was a young bunny, munching on grass, calmly ignoring both dogs who were barking their heads off at it from the deck. Sunny didn’t see the bunny. He was just barking because Sheba was barking, so he figured he should, too.
Once I came outside, though, Sheba got brave, tore off the deck and chased the bunny into the woods. What a dog! 😀
I have almost everything packed in the Casita except the refrigerator foods. Tomorrow I’ll wash the trailer, and we plan to leave for Mississippi Saturday.
Ron will take the truck back to the Chevy dealer again tomorrow to see if they can fix the electrical problems with the 7 pin plug. After they worked on it last time, the running lights burned very brightly for about an hour, then they all blew. The bulbs were completely blackened. Now the new bulbs don’t work at all. Also, it’s not charging the trailer battery when we tow. But the brake lights and turn signals work.
Sure hope they can get it right this time!
Tinycamper's Blog 
Elizabeth in NC
/ June 6, 2012I hope that dealership shop will fix your problem!! We have given up on the Dodge dealership here for nearly everything!! Any thing we can possibly get fixed elsewhere we do. They have ripped us off repeatedly. The best shop is a little grungy hole-in-the-wall place run by some “good ole boys” as hubby calls them. Have worked this family business (2 brothers and 2 son) for many years…honest, charge half as much and will tell you if they cannot fix something and where to go to get it fixed!!
People who rook us get 1 chance only…they do not realize hubby used to work on cars years ago and knows more than the average bear!! We feel so sorry for the ones who have no idea how much they are getting ripped off. We are certainly NOT against shops…my dad always had a car repair, hubby’s dad always worked on cars on the side of his regular job, my brother has his own car repair!! Our families NEVER advertised…my brother works in his little shop beside his house and if you don’t know his name, you cannot find him. My family never had much lack of work…they were/are known for their honesty and often have worked for poor folk for free!! Too bad we live a continent away now…now we have to face what everyone else does. There are GOOD people…finding them is the difficulty!!
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tinycamper
/ June 6, 2012Hi, Elizabeth,
We have been taking it to the dealership because it was under warranty, but now the warranty has expired and we can’t find a good mechanic. There used to be one about 10 miles from here. It was, like the one you mentioned, a grungy little hole in the wall run by two cousins. They could fix anything, at very reasonable prices. And they would tell you if something needed to be fixed or not. And they would give you a heads up on approximately how many miles you had before this or that would need to be replaced. They were truly worth their weight in gold. They didn’t advertise either, but it would take you days to get an appointment because everyone trusted them with their vehicles.
There is one more gem in the area. He mainly works on big fleet trucks, but he also will do other work if he decides he likes you. 🙂
When the frame on our Aliner bent, we took it to him. I gave him the name and phone number of an engineer on the Aliner board who had devised a way to straighten the frame. This guy called the engineer, discussed exactly how to do it with him, then he welded a big D ring onto the sides of his mechanic’s pit so he could hook the Aliner frame to it and pull it back into true. Then he welded both sides of the Aliner frame…. a beautiful, permanent fix.
The beauty of his character is that, as competent as he is, he is not a know it all and will listen and learn. He also doesn’t advertise and is backed up for weeks.
Ron just called. The Chevy dealership didn’t fix the problem. In fact they told Ron that the tow vehicle charge line is not SUPPOSED to charge the trailer battery. So I asked Ron if he would run by the fleet repair place and see if they could work in time to take a look at it.
Elizabeth, about getting ripped off…. I literally get sick to my stomach and get diarrhea when I have to deal with auto salesmen. We have been ripped off by them so badly. They are so slick… and so fast talking. There’s really no defense against them if you don’t know how to keep from being bulldozed. I don’t, in spite of doing months of research and printing out things off the net about what vehicles with certain options should cost.
If we ever buy another vehicle, I am planning to go to Carmax and get a used one. They have a reputation for honest prices, treating customers fairly, and paying a decent price for trade-ins.
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Kathy N.
/ June 6, 2012I’m very discouraged reading this, as we’re getting some ridiculous charges for our vans, which ARE older, but it seems excessive to have to pay $900 to get the car alarm to STOP going off for no reason (4 times in a row recently, early in the morning). Apparently the car alarm system is not a separate unit (naturally) and is connected to 18 other things (slight exaggeration) and can’t be isolated and can’t be ‘removed’ or ‘turned off’ permanently. It’s no secret that the more complicated they make things with the computer-driven fancy stuff, the more it costs to get it fixed. But I don’t understand how the small shops can deal with all the computerized stuff today. Hope you get your lights fixed in time for your next adventure!
Also glad the bunny got away! 🙂 Poor thing didn’t know there is a ‘black bear’ in the vicinity!
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tinycamper
/ June 6, 2012Kathy, that is one thing I noticed with the electrical system in our truck. We’ve had odd problems here and there since we got it. A couple of times the air conditioning wouldn’t work, the service indicators were off.. and it was all some kind of interconnected electrical — or maybe electronic — problem.
Anyway they finally did get those issues fixed under warranty. I wonder if the electrical problems in the tow charge line are somehow related. But then all of that is Greek to me.
It also blows me away that the small shops with the good ole boy mechanics are the ones who can fix everything. I wish my mother had talked me into marrying a mechanic! 😀
The little bunny didn’t seem too smart — to sit out there continuing to munch away with two dogs barking at it. Hope it gets lucky and lives a long, happy life! 🙂
Sheba looks so much like a little black bear that sometimes I call her She-Bear instead of Sheba!
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Jo
/ June 7, 2012What do they mean the trailer battery doesn’t get charged by running it off the truck? I have always been told the battery charges while being towed. I give up or maybe they should close up. I hope this other guy can fix your problem. Sounds like it wasn’t done right the first time and now you have electrical problems which can be a real problem to fix. One shorted out wire somewhere is all it takes. Good Luck!
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