Connections

Two months ago today we were fuming in Salt Lake City, recovering from our far from satisfactory experience with Blaine Jensen RV. In a related post, we warned our friends to avoid the place like the plague. Here's an excerpt from our write-up about the experience.

The service tech told us the news was bad. Repairs were needed that would require more than one day, and maybe several. The bill was certain to be at least $1500. Maybe more. And, that's if they could get the parts they needed. Worse yet, he reported, the heat pump manufacturer said it would not honor its two-year warranty on this 19-month old unit.

Wanna' hear the rest of that story?

Yesterday we took the moose about 40 miles south of Kansas City to A-Z Mobile RV in Paola, Kansas. They have a new, three-bay facility there that gives them the space to take care of really big jobs like servicing basement heat pumps. We came across three states to this place for one simple reason: We trust them.

Bullwinkle was backed into a bay immediately after our arrival and the techs went to work. Paul and I headed off for a late breakfast and put together a plan to keep ourselves busy for the next couple of days. About an hour later, A-Z gave us a buzz to let us know they had wrapped up the job.

Say what?

We rushed back to the shop and joined two techs sitting in the moose. As we stepped inside we couldn't miss the rush of icy cold air coming from the ceiling. Our heat pump was working!

What was the problem?

Was it a failed compressor? Or, a refrigerant leak? A blown control board, perhaps?

Nope.

It was a loose connection.

The techs explained that the first thing they do when they see a problem like this is tighten all connections and then test. With freshly tightened connections, our heat pump was firing on both compressors. It heated and then cooled like a champ.

Quite understandably, our heat pump manufacturer doesn't cover loose connections under warranty. So, this fix was on our dime.

And, how much did it cost?

Did we have to spend $1500, as the crooks in Salt Lake City suggested? Or, some other four-figure amount? Was it half that? Or, double?

No, the cost to restore normal heating and cooling to our rolling home was a whopping $85, plus tax.

(We're so kidding about the "whopping" part.)

Of course, we're delighted to have a functioning heat pump. And, we're thrilled that it cost so little to make it so. But, we're more irritated than ever with the dishonest dealership we dealt with two months ago. We're trying really hard not to dwell on that.

With the moose back in tip-top shape before noon, we found ourselves with a new dilemma. We had planned to spend at least a couple of days waiting on service. Suddenly, we were free to move about the country. With no particular place to go, we didn't know what to do! So, we did what many RVers would do.

We went to Walmart!

It had been awhile since we'd stocked up on provisions. So, we were in need. As we traversed the aisles and filled our cart, we hatched a plan to spend a few days at a COE campground about an hour away. Standing amongst the canned goods, I gave the park a call and was assured there was plenty of space for us. A couple of hours later we were all set up in a level, shady, satellite-friendly spot with a lovely lake view. Because we could, we turned on the air conditioner and watched the temperature plummet five degrees in less than an hour.

All is right with our world!