Aamco xmas

Well, we got Big Blue to the nearest AAMCO after the long, slow, journey to Henderson, NV (suburb of Vegas) on the back of a UHaul truck. This was the only AAMCO in the Vegas area that would be able to look at our problem within the week, but still not before the Xmas holiday. No temper tantrums or any quantity of tears flowing was going to change that reality. We would be spending this week in the greater Vegas area – an area we both go out of our way to avoid at [almost] all costs – in a broken down van in the parking lot of a repair shop. During my nearly 10 years traveling I’ve heard of others having to spent nights in a repair shop’s parking lot, but I’ve never been graced with this situation myself, until now. It could be worse though. We were expecting to have to go back into a hotel; a cost we really didn’t care to incur again.

The shop owner and manager has accommodated us big time. Not only did they tell us to park in the rear of the shop, in covered parking, where it is a little safer feeling (and level), they put us in a spot that had access to a shore power outlet. Covered parking meant no solar, so the outlet was a life saver. We would have three nights, including Xmas eve and Xmas day, to spend before they could get the van up on the jacks to start the repairs.

By Xmas day we had already spent three days in the parking lot with all the curtains drawn, trying not to appear broken down and sleeping in a van in a parking lot. All was not lost; Kerri has a half-sister in the Vegas area. Nancy and Tom invited us over for a Xmas dinner (and shower, and laundry) which we were happy to accept. It was nice to get out of the dark interior of Big Blue and do some visiting and serious eating – Nancy cooked up one heck of a meal.

First thing Thursday morning the guys put Big Blue into the air and popped the lid on the rear differential, for only the second time in Big Blue’s life and not two weeks separating both. It didn’t take long to hear back from the mechanic. The bushings, bearings, gears, and carrier were all destroyed. Every single component that had just been replaced in Northern California has to be replaced again. Argh! Big Blue was put back together and rolled back into the parking space again. We would be spending at least another four or five nights here waiting for the parts to arrive and the work to be completed. The only plus side to this is that the AAMCO in NorCal has to pay for it this time, not us.

What an adventure…