Thursday, December 29, 2011

Broke down near Yuma

Your Ad Here We had some fun in Los Algodones Mexico. For $5, I got my hair cut professionally for the first time in years (I do it myself). It was a fine job but not any better than I do myself. I had my shoes shined for $5 (waste of money). I got a beer for $2.25 and some nasty fish tacos. Sandy got her hair colored for $12. That was supposed to take 45 mins but I think it took more like 2 hours. It felt like 2 hours anyway. Herman bought a $2 maraca that I am sure he could have bargained down to 50 cents.

The mexican vendors in Los Algodones are like drooling, feral dogs watching people eat steak. We're a dollar bill to them... nothing more. Their extreme pushiness was annoying at first but then it became comical. It had to or you'd SCREAM. One vendor pushes his cheap wares up in your face and you say "no thanks". Literally, 10 feet away on the same sidewalk, another vendor thrusts the same exact cheap jewelry, maracas and gum at you and again you say "no thanks". It's like a Benny Hill skit.  If you ask "how much", the price is high at first but rapidly goes down the farther you walk away. It's like that over and over and over all day long.

Americans mainly go here for cheap eye glasses, dentistry & prescription drugs. The doctors are supposedly schooled in America and the services top notch. I honestly couldn't trust my vision or my mouth to a mexican dressed in scubs yelling from the sidewalk, asking me if I need a dentist or eye glasses. It just seems very wrong to me.

This line back into the USA goes as far as you can see and then wraps around the corner and goes that far again
So, after about 4 hours of  "sir, come here. I want to talk to you", we got in line to cross the border back into the USA. The line was almost an hour long. You can walk right into Mexico without even a second look from anyone but getting back into the USA requires a long line wait and a weak grilling by a customs agent. After spending time in Mexico, I can see why they all want to come to the USA... It's a sh*thole really.

I took this pic for my mom. She loves T.C.
Evidently, you can look like Tom Cruise circa 1999 if you get your hair cut here.

Everyone raved about these fish tacos but I thought they kind of sucked. 7 hours later & I'm still burping them up.

Me having a Dos Equis in Mexio. There are worse things!




So we're broke down now. In over 10k miles of driving we have never had a problem with the View. Today we found ourselves at the "Q" casino near Yuma. We went in for 15 minutes... made sure all of our clothing was completely saturated with 2nd hand cigarette smoke and then left. I put the key in the RV and it wouldn't turn. Huh?!

Not sure exactly what's wrong but the key won't turn to start the RV. We have tried everything. Wiggling the steering wheel, the shifter, the brake pedal. Heck, I even unhooked the battery cable to hopefully reset the computer. Nothing works.

Googling the problem shows that there's an issue with the ignition control module in some of the 2007 - 2008 sprinters that cause the key to not turn. No amount of banging on it with a hammer will work.

We will call the good sam RV club tomorrow morning and get towed to a dealer who can fix the problem. Being immobile is a royal pain in the arse but I should be happy that this is the 1st issue we've had.

9 comments:

  1. Well at least you've got a place to stay for the night and I'm sure it will be an easy fix in the morning.

    Hey in Mexico did they have any of those begging dogs with cups like in Quartzsite? Thinking about that still cracks me up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry about the break down. You will be back on the road today. Mexico sounds like a place I wouldn't miss seeing. Keep smilin' son, this day will be a much better one I'm sure. Love ya, Ma And thanx for the picture of my TC.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good sam found a mobile repairman who is on his way. That's smart of good sam. Instead of paying to tow the RV to a dealer, have them fix it and you pay for repairs, they find a mobile repair man and send him to your RV and you pay him for the repairs.

    It seems that a mobile repairman wouldn't have the diagnostic tools or parts inventory that a dealer would.

    If it works... I'm all for it though!

    -Don

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those mobile repair guys can be pretty amazing. I used them several times back when the cars I drove were held together with chewing gum and duct tape and they always took care of things lickety-split.

    Plus isn't it cool that people living a mobile life do business with mobile repair men? Hmm.... someone should invent mobile dump stations too.

    I predict you'll be back on the road in no time :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Broke Down Near Yuma" sounds like a title to a good book. Looking forward to the happy ending!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maria, there actually ARE mobile dump stations!! Call them up and they will come out to you, hook up a hose to the tank drain line, and suck every bit of gray/black/brown/yellow water out of the tanks, and for a couple bucks more they will even backflush!!

    Don, what was the verdict? Hope nothing serious? Let us know...safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  7. John nothing super serious. I'll be on the road either today or Monday. Time will tell.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I buy glasses in Mexico for $85, So this time I bought them in USA same frame cost $300. Will buy next one back in Mexico. They were just as good.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I meant to say used same frame. Great frame bought in Mexico three glasses ago.

    ReplyDelete