Kind of a down day

We had a lazy morning but finally got around to doing a few things. Suzette did laundry while I did a few minor tasks and dumped the tanks. We then started planing for our next journey. From here we go to Spring Valley Campground in Cambridge OH. While there we will make day trips to the National Road and Zane Grey museum,Cambridge Glass Museum, Toy and Train Museum in Wheeling WV.

From Spring Valley we make a drive to Shenandoah Valley Campground in Mt Jackson VA This will only be an overnight stop. We then continue to Douthat State Park  in Virginia for our free week of camping we earned by camp hosting in 2013. Then it is off the the HRRVC International Rally in Lewisburg WV.

Why are we in Celina Ohio?

We didn't have any plans following our time at Decatur getting warranty work done. I must say that all in all Allied Recreation Group has treated us well. They have honored all issues we have had under warranty even though they did not build this coach. Yes we have had some inconvenience but it has worked out.

While we were headed to  Decatur Paul and Sharron  were headed to Elkhart to get their windshield replaced. They passed thru Decatur on their way to Elkhart and we discussed plans to get together. On their way back from Elkhart they stopped by again and said they were going to Mercer County Fairgrounds and would stay in the area for several days. We had a down day waiting for parts so we went to meet them and do a little kayaking on Grand Lake. While at the Fairgrounds we made arrangements to stay there when we were finished in Decatur.

So here we are in Celina OH seeing the various sites in this area. It is rich with history and we have been planning many day trips.

Ready to leave Decatur

Finally we are ready to leave the wonderful overnight parking for the ARG service center. Most of the items have been completed. Why leave with some items not completed you ask. Well this is a regular Cluster F... Their ability to order a correct part for a Monaco/HR is a joke. On my list I told them that the Suction hose for the sanicon has a pin hole. I showed them the white rigging tape I used to stem the flow. So they ordered the discharge hose. They ordered the incorrect low coolant sensor. I'm not sure what the work ethic is.

They say "Its always been done this way in the RV industry"

Very disappointing.

Punch List

Warranty claim for the following;

1. Several floor tiles are coming loose
   Repaired
2. HDMI cable from entertainment cabinet to Living Room TV defective
   Repaired
3. HR emblem on front has pealing paint. Noted at purchase.
   Repaired 
4. Light fixture in toilet room not mounted correctly, hangs down
   Repaired 
5. Rope light under left cabinet does not work.
   Repaired 
6. Paint on front curb slide has abrasion marks from slide installation.
   Repaired 
7. Drivers side rear cap has similar marks near air intake.
   Repaired 
8. Cooktop not set flush with counter top.
   Repaired 
9. Entry door does not seal properly
   
   
10. Bathroom window is starting to fog
    The window will be replaced next year, 2015, at Decatur facility
11. Sanicon suction hose has pin hole leak
    
    
12. Ribbed weather stripping on rear of each main slide is coming off
    Repaired 
13. Patio awning "rope" that holds awning in roller is coming out
    Repaired 
14. Zone 4 will not shut off once heat is called for. I can only get it to go off by turning off house 12V 
    
    
15. Left drive axle needs new gasket
    Repaired 
16. Low Coolant level warning did not come on with loss of coolant
    Repaired 
17. Generator slide very difficult to open/move
    Repaired 
18. Odometer was not reset when Medallion gauge was replaced. Set to 9307
    Not done because of cost and turn around time.

We're still here

We have been at the service facility for a week today. They have taken care of most of the items on the punch list and the remaining items require parts that they don't stock here.

This was a Fleetwood facility but when Allied Specialty Vehicles, ASV, took over the Monaco brands from Navistar they consolidated manufacturing and service here. However there is a big service center in Coburg OR. Manufacturing is consolidated under Allied Recreation Group, ARG. All their products, Fleetwood, American Coach, Monaco and Holiday Rambler on made on the same line by the same workers. So I think they will all be at the same quality, or lack of quality, level. I see nothing to spark brand loyalty.

Enough of a rant.

We have almost eaten at all of the restaurants in the area, so good some not so. I think our favorite is Norms Preble Garden and Richards. Good food and good prices. Pizza King is more of a joker. We still have a few to try.

When we arrived at the service facility Paul and Sharon Surhoff were here to meet us . They were on their way to Elkhart IN to have a windshield replaced and since this facility was on their way they made a stop to see us. Paul and Sharon are also Full Time RV'ers and we hadn't seen them in a little over two years. It was nice that they stopped by. We hope to see them in a few days in Celina OH.

I was going to put the punch list here but I think I will make another topic just for that.

Following is some information I posted in a Holiday Rambler forum;

Allow me to give a little update on the NEW factory service in Decatur.Pack patience.

I will  answer the OP's questions below but a few general comments.

The parking area is just that a gravel parking area with electric only spots. When you arrive during the week find a place to park but don't set up until you check in at the office, The second building from the parking area with the red awning over the door. The parking area will appear to have a lot of empty spots but many are taken and the coaches are in the shop. So check in to get an assigned spot.
The dump station is beyond the building where you check in. You can get water there also.

When they say they will get your coach at 0600 they mean 0600. Have it ready to move, they will disconnect power if needed.

Now look below for my answers to the OP's questions, I know the OP may not care since their post is almost a year old. My comments are between >> <<

HTH

Larry K
'13 Endeavor 43PKQ

---In ramblin_pushers@yahoogroups.com, wrote :

My husband will be taking our '06 Ambassador 38DPQ back to the factory
for some repair work on the curbside living room slide. There is a
problem with the rollers and damage they caused to the underside of
the slide. Our local dealer can not do the repairs and rather than
have it sit in some shop waiting for parts, we decided to make the
500+mile trip to Indiana to get it done right. In addition, he has a
laundry list of less serious items that should be addressed.

All in all, he's expecting to be at the factory for about a week. We
have several questions of people who may have done this recently.
1. Hookups. He's been told they have 50 AMP service to plug into at
the repair facitity. What about water?
 >> No water at "sites:<<
2. Lodging. He's been told by factory rep that he can probably stay
in coach overnight and they'll work on it during the day. Lodging only
if can't stay in coach.
 >> True they pick up the coach at 0600 and usually return it about 1430 BUT they may work overtime an not return your coach until much later. Check with your tech after their lunch or noon break<<
3. Food - I can fill the frig and freezer for his meals but don't
want the stuff to spoil during the day when it is "in the shop". Will
they plug in while in the shop?

>> Your coach will be plugged in while in the shop. However if they are working on the electrical I'm sure it will be unplugged and the inverter off<<

4. Idle time - there are only so many times you can take the factory
tour! Do they have a lounge, TV, reading material (other than HR
brochures).

>> factory tours are at 0900 daily arrive at 0845 and it is best to make a reservation. There are two waiting rooms at the repair facility. The nice one does not allow pets, the ugly one in the paint shop allows pets. There are some reading material available. The pet friendly "lounge" has a noisy window AC and TV and is not really very human friendly. <<

5. How realistic are the factory rep's estimate of time? They've
been supplied the list and pictures and estimate anywhere from 2 days
to 1 week.
 >> As I post this we are starting our second week. It seems that most HR/Monaco parts come from Coburg. Seems like Bounder parts are more plentiful. Maybe that says something. <<

Thanks for any information. It's been a real learning experience with
this coach and some disappointments. I certainly hope this visit will
clear up the problems.

Rayanne in PA

Short drive but early get up

We spent the nite in the Selking International lot and were up at 0500 so I could be at the service office at 0600 to get signed up for service. After about a 3 hour wait the Tech, Tracy, came to look at our coach. After adding about 4 gallons of Rotella ELC he found the loose hose clamp. Tightened and added more coolant and we let the engine run to insure there was no other leak.
The axle that was removed for towing was reinstalled and we took the coach to the service area to wash off the coolant from the rear of the coach.

Once washed off I went in to pay, sure thought there would be some charge. I was wrong since it was covered under warranty. We hooked up and headed for Decatur and the HR/Monaco and those Fleetwood brands service center. While we were driving we received a call from the Surhoff's saying they would meet us at the service facility since they were on their way to Elkhart for a windshield replacement.
We had an all to short visit since this is the first time we have seen them in 2 years.

After they left I got signed in and then found that we were in someones spot. We moved and reset up and the service writer and tech came to review the punch list. They will take the coach at 0600 on Tuesday.

We don't know how long we will be here. 

Started as a great day

We went for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then off to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum and National Automobile and Truck Museum. What great museums. Just think back in the 30's they had super chargers, power assisted brakes, front wheel drive w/vacuum shift and even uni-body construction, we even saw a Cord with turn signals. Impressive you gear haads need to put that on your list.

We headed out to Decatur so we would be ready for our 0600 service appointment on Monday. Didn't make it. Lost all coolant in the coach. Good Sam got a towing company to get us to Selking International and we will see them at 0600 and see if they can work on this thing
.

Life on the road

Off to Auburn IN

Today we had a very nice breakfast with Jim Sowle his wife Ann and Jim's brother Steve followed by a long visit. Then it was time to get on the road. Tonight we are at Fireside Resort and plan to visit the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum tomorrow.

Skipping ahead some

Ok, this will put things out of sequence somewhat but when I want to take the time I will fill in our trip thru the U.P., Alpena, and Traverse City and Empire MI.

As we were leaving the UP to visit troll land, under the bridge, the dash gauges went out. It was an intermittent outage but very annoying. It seemed to be a poor ground or power connection. I put in a call to Monaco/HR support and we continued on our way to Thunder Bay RV and Golf resort.  Monaco/HT tech returned my call and after some troubleshootig and email exchanges I was told to take the coach to Just Trucks in Traverse City to have the problem looked into. So we changed our reservations and found that the Northwest Michigan Fair Association had camping at the fair grounds for $20/night. We booked a week, all we could since the fair was starting the following week. We made an appointment with Just Trucks.

 When we were at Thunder Bay RV Golf resort we started to have problems with the transfer switch. Oh good. But the problem went away for the rest of our stay there. At our appointment at Just Trucks we were told that the part we needed, a Medallion gauge controller, would be two weeks out. Once we arrived at the fair grounds following our appointment at Just Trucks we had another event with the transfer switch. Again it went away. We had initially made arrangements to camp at Sleeping Bear National Lake-shore but upon looking at our options for a site and not having any sewer connection we decided to look elsewhere to stay. I hate to call this camping.

We found Indigo Bluffs Resort.
 Now this is not our usual mode of "camping" but since we had a number of low priced places we decided we would take a week at Indigo. Wow that is living. Our first day the transfer switch problem returned. To make a long story short the transfer switch was bad and needed to be replaced. I did some rewiring at the direction of Monaco/HR and Surge Guard so we could use shore power and had the warranty replacement sent to Just Trucks.

We returned to Traverse City, Grawn MI actually, and found that the Medallion part would not arrive for several more days. We camped at Just Trucks for a few days waiting for the parts to arrive. Finally at the 3 week mark of our first visit to Just Trucks the parts arrived and were installed. That evening we returned to the Fair campground and stayed the night and did our laundry.

The next day we headed to Lowell MI to visit our friends from Sun-N-Fun and camp in their driveway for a few days. We have had a good visit and saw a few of the sites in the area. Tomorrow we head to Auburn IN and hope to visit the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum before going to Decatur for some more warranty work on the coach.

Onward to Whitefish Point

Big Fitz went down near there.

We traveled to Newberry MI and stayed at North Country Campground. From here we planed to visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, Tahquamenon Falls, and Crisp Point Lighthouse.

After we got set up at the cg we found that there was a newmar Fulltimers chapter rally also at the campground. We did meet a few of them but didn't see much of them as we had our own agenda.

Our first outing was to the falls. We had to pay $9 to get in the state park or we could have paid $30 for an annual pass. We opted for the $9 since we didn't think we would get to more than 3 parks on this trip. I did take the stairs to the bottom of the gorge so I could take some pictures. Something like 160 steps down and 320 back. Pictures are here and I will let them speak to what we saw.

Next was off to Whitefish Point. This is a well done museum but it was very busy the day we were there. Just to crowded in the actual museum that had the artifacts of various wrecks. They really need bigger space.

The tour of the grounds was very interesting with the usual life saving station displays. You had to pay extra to tour the lighthouse but I did that. They only allowed about 8 at a time to do the climb. I don't remember the number of steps and the view wasn't that good because it was very overcast. Check out our pictures.

Next up was Crisp Point. What a drive, see the driving directions. This was really fun in the Jeep. Man you are in the woods, no cell service, not much in the way of other traffic although we did meet a couple of vehicles, on a turn of course. If you get there and want a really neat experience take the drive. Some Pictures.

A little on Marquette MI and Pictured Rocks

When is Larry going to update your blog?
We left the Superior/Duluth area and made our way to Gwinn MI which is about 30 minutes south of Marquette. We choose Gwinn as our base because the county/city Tourist Park was full hookup 50A for $20/night. But it was a Passport America also so we only paid $10/night and there were no restrictions on the number of days the discount was good for.

While there we visited Pictured Rocks and took a boat tour on July 4th and made our way through the local celebration.  Then drove to Munising Falls area and took the walk to the falls.

After returning to the coach to feed and walk Logan we went to Marquette to visit with Brian and Brenda who also winter at Sun-N-Fun and we met playing pickleball. We had a very nice visit and dinner before going to the Marina to watch fireworks from their boat. We didn't go out but had a nice time sitting on the dock and taking in the activities at the local park.

You may or may not know that Marquette is on the western edge of the eastern time zone SOOOO it isn't dark until about 10:30, well after the east coast fire works are over.

We went to several museums and tourist attractions as well as KI Sawyer AFB which is now deactivated. It was a SAC base back in the day.

One of the more interesting places was Da Yoopers Tourist Trap, better than Wall. Look at the pictures in the proceeding link.