Awake 5:02am Temp 33 Partly sunny Overnight @ Newell factory, OK
(3)years ago today, we arrived here @ the Newell Motorcoach facility via
plane & bus to get checked out & pick up our 2001 motorhome...an
experience like no other. Now, after selling our home in Alaska, we are
full time gypsies roaming the lower 48 states & loving this lifestyle.
We are here to get some items taken care of that were not completely fixed
during the warranty period. Newell's policy is to work on the item until
it is repaired right. Plus, it's time for our 2-3 yr service & preventive
maintenance check.
@ 6:32am, our doorbell rings & Kyle is ready to drive our coach into the
service center. Kathy rides along with Kyle to bay #17. They have 22 bays
for doing service work on the coaches & that includes the 4 enclosed
painting bays.
The tech guys get right with it. The biggest item: A recall on 6 of our
Millennium aluminum rims out of 8 by the manufacturer, Hutchinson Wheel
Corp. The inside duals are Alcoa wheels, not Millennium & need not be
changed. So this 54,000 lb machine is jacked up, tires with rims removed &
taken to a local vendor where the tires will be remounted onto new rims.
Earlier this yr, Newell had seen 4 occasions of hairline cracks developing
in the Hutchinson Millennium wheels, so to avoid any catastrophic
failures, the manufacturer is exchanging the 6 Millenium wheels with new
Alcoa wheels on each of 120 of the Newell motorhomes effected...ours
included.
Kathy & I do the usual self tour of the Newell manufacturing plant. Every
time we are here, we see the marvelous improvements on the assembly line
& our mouths drool. I've been told, that the average Newell owner will
have at least 4 different Newell motorhomes during his/her lifetime. I can
easily understand that.
Later we talk with Sam(head man in sales who sold us our coach) about how
to go about cashing an Insurance check from State Farm in Alaska for more
cash. He makes a phone call to his friend Mike @ a local bank & gives us
directions on how to find Mike. After our lunch, we find Mike @ a downtown
Miami bank who fixes us up with 26 50 dollar bills & some change.
6:45 Dinner: Italian chicken stir fry(asparagus, broccoli & red peppers)
with brown rice & fresh spinach salad.
Mid evening: Rigged 2 phones together so we could call Alaska & both talk
at the same time to Melissa, Kevin & Katrina from the customer lounge. My
setup failed, then the window of opportunity closed because of our
grandson's bath & bed time schedule...so we gave up on the idea for
tonight.
Very little TV tonight... but some late evening reading in bed.
High temp outside the service bldg=55 Lights out: 11:15pm
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