We spent Saturday night in Vicksburg, Mississippi at the Ameristar RV Park, just across the street from the Mississippi River and owned and operated by the Ameristar Casino and Hotel. We stayed here once before on a homeward trek. During that stay we sampled the local tamales, something for which Vicksburg is famous. This time around we passed on the tamales and instead, I barbequed some chicken. Sometime in the early afternoon a brand new Tiffin Allegro pulled in beside us. And I do mean brand new. The owners and a brother-in-law were travelling from their Texas home to their Virginia home and it was their maiden journey in the new rig. The dealership must not have provided a very thorough tutorial as they had lots of questions for me as to "what to do next?" or "what button should I push to...?". As I was preparing for departure the next morning, the husband was looking over my shoulder, paying very close attention to my every move and asking more questions. I was glad to be of some assistance.
We considered spending two nights in Vicksburg but instead stayed only one, heading back out on the road around 9:00 Sunday morning.
******
We pitched our tent Sunday and Monday nights at Gadsden, Alabama's The Cove RV Resort and Campground. I've mentioned before that many of these establishments take great liberties with the term "Resort" - and TCRVRAC was no exception. Lots of gravel, a fair amount of mud, tight turns if you're in a big rig. I mean, it was a nice enough place on a pretty little lake... but resort? Check out Indio California's Motorcoach Country Club. Now that's a resort!
******
And speaking of less than ideal accommodations...
As soon as we left Gadsden I could hear a noise coming from the engine compartment upon acceleration or while climbing. I stopped at a Pilot Service Center to get out and listen at the back of the coach as Suzanne revved the engine but whatever was causing the noise was happening only while the engine was under a load.
Unsure whether to contact a Cummins or a Freightliner garage, I first called a Cummins shop in Chattanooga. I described the sound to the service consultant, telling him I suspected it may be a belt, and he advised me that I might be better off with Freightliner, specifically Premier Truck Group, as they would have a greater variety of belts and parts. I should explain that the engine in our 2011 Winnebago Tour 42qd is made by Cummins while the chassis is manufactured by Freightliner.
We had to take a short eight mile detour, turning south on Interstate 75 instead of north, before arriving at PTG. It's a huge facility and we consider ourselves very lucky to have been so close to such a seemingly top-notch Freightliner shop. The service writers were very responsive and I had my paperwork filled out within minutes. Their RV tech was also out in the check-in area and under the engine of my coach within minutes - seeing what he could see and asking me more detailed questions about exactly what I was hearing and when. Emerging from beneath the coach he told me he'd try to fit us in this afternoon but it was more likely going to be tomorrow morning before he'd be able to get it in the garage.
"Can I boondock in your parking lot overnight?"
"We have six RV parking spaces at the bottom of the hill with electrical hookups. Go ahead down and pick a spot. They're marked".
******
So here we are in Chattanooga. Hopefully it won't be for long and it'll just be a belt that needs replacing. Fingers crossed. Our coach has a rear-facing radiator and even if it is just a bad belt, replacing it may mean having to remove the gigantic radiator to gain access. It may take a while.
I've found several pet friendly hotels in the area and when PTG is ready to tear into this thing, we may end up checking into the local Super 8.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment