2 days ago I took The camper to a reputable garage for a clutch repair. Unbeknown to me it was slipping & on the way out. So thankful to the friend who pointed it out, because although it was only moderate, there were other issues that needed attending to.
 |
| Lucy Moore Park |
It has its own slave! Who knew! Wish I had one sometimes 😂 it’s kept in a special slave cylinder, much like a genie I suppose. Wonder what that slave does all day? Lays around eating grapes I suspect. Anyway, said slave cylinder needed replacing as it was leaking... the mind boggles at such a thought. So I thought I’d better agree to that
 |
| Tidal river |
There were issues with getting the parts up from the South Island of New Zealand, where I live in the North Island. And because I live in the camper, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. The company very kindly said I could stay in it, out the back of the workshop overnight, in their locked fortress. High fence with barbed wire. Have to wonder what’s happened there in the past eh. It’s not as if a truck gearbox is an easy thing to pop in the back of your car 😂
 |
| Stunning sunset |
So I stayed a night. The first & last of that kind of camping, in a commercial area. That’s when I discovered there are elves getting the jobs ready for the next day, who start at ridiculous o’clock 2-3am, moving heavy bins around & dropping them on the ground. It must be a new game 🤔
So the next day I was tired & wondering what to do with myself, as Steamin Along went up in the air, to air out her undercarriage no doubt.
 |
| Geese at Lucy Moore Park |
The company very kindly let me use one of their utes to go out in, so I went exploring with Miss Lexi, in the local area. There wasn’t much fuel left in it, so I didn’t take it very far, but did drive up the top of Warkworth for a look, & to forage for wild food, away from polluted areas.
It was a long but fun day. That night I decided to sleep in the town, down by the river where I knew there was camper parking.
Another poor decision! There was a driveway where large articulated trucks went in at 3am. Noise plus! Apparently it’s the back of a supermarket. Must check for those in future. So many learning curves.
 |
| Lunch at Spot X Cafe |
Day 2.
Back to the garage & local cafe to check on progress & eat, as I was locked out by a safety sign on my step, while two guys worked to do the work underneath. My truck is such a baby compared with the other trucks there, that do the serious work on the roads. I thought it would be fun to drive one of those, until I saw the long trailers they have to back. To give perspective of the size of the workshops, a logging truck complete with logs & a trailer of logs, fitted in the truck bays over the pit no problem.
 |
| Miss Lexi swimming |
I was feeling a little frustrated by now, & has to make the best of it, so I rescheduled an appointment, again, & went to buy groceries for the ensuing long weekend. I managed to quickly unpack them while my lovely mechanic was on his break.
Then I just had to sit & wait, walk Miss Lexi to look at more weeds & generally fill in time until the parts arrived & the job was done. That happened fairly fast once the part arrived & the next job was to visit the auto electrician next door.
 |
Gearbox & exhaust
|
I had approached them the day before, wanting assurance that my battery setup was ok, & my newly installed diesel heater was safe. I had noticed the sides of the fuel tank for it, were being sucked in, & it was very noisy when operating. (Not normal)
The mechanic put in a breather for it, & the auto electrician checked it over. He tightened up a bolt & ran it on 30oC for about 15 mins. Thankfully I had the door open, as it’s getting pretty warm here now. No charge! Gotta love that 🥰
 |
A huge rock oyster shell
|
All checked out & good to go & the bill paid for the clutch & other things they did for me, to get it road worthy. I needed a wine after seeing the cost, but had the money set aside, so I was thankful. I use a budgeting tool on sorted so that I don’t have to worry when maintenance costs happen. I put my tax refund in there to start my residual funds off this year. 😉 It has a calculator that adjusts as I go, so I can fit the costs into my budget & adjust them where I need to.
 |
| Camera Shop at Sandspit Holiday Park |
I pulled out & headed to my favourite spot on Snells Beach, after stopping at the Kowhai Park dump station to empty water & fill with water. A kind lady who was waiting to use the station, held my hose in the fresh water tank while I held the tap in, as the water flows back out if I don’t hold the hose up. It’s one of the pesky automatic taps that slowly turns itself off after so many seconds. Not ideal if you’re trying to fill & empty water at the same time. I was pretty tired & headed to the beach to park up, & arrived to find a lady helping me back into place.
 |
| Evening view |
That really frustrated me, as I’m set up to back by myself & am actually pretty good at it now 😉 Also a lady previous to her, from another time, had decided where I should park & which direction I should face my van. People can be pretty rude sometimes, when they have their own agenda eh. So I was a bit tetchy with her. Next minute, flat tyre! Complete with hissing sound 😱
 |
Lucy Moore Park
|
Thankfully said lady & her sister in law had gone walking, leaving me with their two husbands to change the tyre. No mean feat on truck! It’s has 5 stud wheels I noticed. Someone had asked about that a few days before. I am incredibly thankful to them, as that saved me an insurance callout.
 |
| Pharmacy at Sandspit Holiday Park |
It took about half an hour to do, as the spare wheel is stored under the truck, & is accessed from a hole in the rear locker. Fun fun! Not really. The parts that needed to turn to release the wheel were stuck fast. Thankfully the guy who had originally helped me during lockdown level 3, had told me to buy some CRC lubricant & release stuff in a spray can.
 |
| Over the pit |
The girl stepped up & suggested we try it in the various parts & voila! She’s useful for something! 😂 The job was done & the guys proceeded to pump up the spare with a 12v pump. They got the pressure to 50psi & had to stop, as the pump had gotten quite hot. They asked me what voltage my truck was, & thankfully I knew it was 24v 😂
 |
| Up on jacks |
So today I need to go visit the tyre place to get the flat one some air in the bottom (kiwi joke) But it’s raining lightly & I don’t want to lose my parking spot. Whether to risk that, or the tyre going flat on me 🤔 Also my passenger is now the flat tyre 😂
 |
Clutch plate
|
Comments
Post a Comment