In my last post, I mentioned the appointment at Rocky Mountain Cummins in Avondale. I knew it would be a long day, so we made arrangements for Donna to go to my daughter, Jamie’s, house with Ozark on Wednesday afternoon and spend the night there so they wouldn’t have to spend Thursday at the shop with me.

I called Rocky Mountain Cummins on Wednesday to confirm the appointment. They had the parts and asked me if I could be at the shop by 6am so they could get an early start. I decided to head over there Wednesday afternoon once Jamie picked up Donna and Ozark. I planned to spend the night in their lot – they have 50-amp RV electrical service pedestals at the east end of the lot.

Traffic on I-10 eastbound was light and I set up in their lot by 5pm. I did a minimal set up – just hooked up the power cable and extended one bedroom slide. This would make it quick and easy to get packed up again in the morning. I passed the time by sitting in a folding chair outside with a couple of cold ones and played with my Yaesu FT3D handheld transceiver.

I was able to hit the South Mountain East Valley Repeater Group repeater and make contact with some knowledgeable ham operators. I learned more about using the digital modes and how to use “rooms” with the Yaesu Wires-X function.

I was up early and at the head of the service line at 6am. The mechanic had the coach in the shop and started working at 6:30am. I wasn’t able to find anyone to let me into the customer waiting lounge until 7am or so. I had the place to myself and read a book. They aren’t very good communicators there – I didn’t hear from anyone all morning.

At 11:30am, I went outside and got the attention of a woman in the shop. They’re very strict about keeping people out of the shop – employees only. I asked her to give me a progress report. She checked with the mechanic and told me all was going well. He would go to lunch soon and thought he would have the job buttoned up around 2pm.

I walked a few blocks down the street to Subway for lunch, then returned to the customer waiting lounge. A little after 2pm, I went down to the shop area again and he was parking the coach out front. Around 2:30pm, they had the paperwork done.

When I reviewed the invoice, I had some questions. When I first brought the coach in, I told them I had a fuel leak and it appeared to be coming from the lift pump. The mechanic checked it out and visually confirmed the lift pump was leaking. Then he did something they call a Guardian Inspection. I never asked for this – it turned out to be an upcharge – they charged me $360 for diagnosis. Really? He made a visual inspection of the lift pump – that was all I asked for.

Then I saw a few other puzzling charges on the bill. There’s a $50 “Electronic tooling fee.” I asked about that – the lift pump replacement is strictly a mechanical repair – no electronic tooling or programming is required. The only answer Jerry, the service writer, had was, “It was on the estimate.” I said estimates are just that – an estimate. It doesn’t give carte blanche to bill for work not performed. Then there was a $75.36 hazardous waste fee. That’s a pretty specific number – I asked what hazardous waste was generated that cost that much. He didn’t have an answer. Then there was the shop supplies fee of $120.57 – another specific amount. I understand shop supply surcharges to cover things like solvents, aerosols or sealants that may have been used, but a $20 charge would more than cover that at a tidy profit. I was being ripped off.

They wouldn’t budge on these phony upcharges. I paid the bill, but I’m going to file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General Consumer Protection Division.

While I was out, I topped off our fuel tank at the Pilot/Flying J Travel Center in Avondale, then came back to our site at Leaf Verde RV Park in Buckeye. I was set up again by 4pm. I skipped pickleball on Friday. I was feeling a little run down after spending Wednesday night at the noisy Cummins lot and dealing with the repairs on Thursday. Plus, it was hot – all week we had highs in the 90s with overnight lows around 70 degrees.

I should mention the air traffic around here. Luke Air Force Base is located in Glendale, near here. It’s the home of the 56th Fighter Wing, the largest fighter wing in the world. It is also the primary flight training site for active duty fighter pilots. We see and hear F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Force aircraft flying overhead most days. These are the most advanced fighters the military has.

They’re noisy, but I enjoy watching them fly. You have to scan the sky well ahead of the noise to see them as these speedy planes cover a lot of space before the sound reaches us.

On Saturday, I hit the pickleball courts with Donna at 8:30am. It was the first time I’ve played since June! I was a bit rusty, but held my own. The wind kicked up making play difficult – it takes a lot of the skill and finesse out of the game. We played for two hours.

The wind continue to increase throughout the day as a cold front moved in. It remained gusty overnight and all day Sunday. We didn’t go to the courts on Sunday. This morning wasn’t very windy – the wind had died down after a couple of raindrops fell overnight. It was cold – around 50 degrees as we headed to the courts. We warmed up quickly playing pickleball in the sun.

The forecast calls for highs in the low 60s today and around 70 degrees for the rest of the week. We’ll move out of here on Saturday and head to the east side – Mesa.

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