So I took my truck to DeVoe Buick GMC of Naples on Wednesday with a short list of things that needed attention:
- Oil change.
- Check the brakes.
- Diagnose and, possibly, fix the shimmy that I feel at highway speeds.
I dropped the truck off at 11 am and got no phone call that afternoon. I called an hour before closing (6 pm) to find out what was going on and was told that there was “definitely a problem with the right front steering linkage” but would have to have another technician verify that in the morning. So they kept the truck overnight.
Then I realized that my softball gear was in the truck and I needed it for a 10 am game on Thursday.
So Thursday, 8 am, I am at the dealership to collect my gear. The service advisor took me back to the truck where the technician was looking at the right front tire and steering linkage. We had a brief conversation about the steering, including a recitation of the work that had been done in 2016 to get the front end aligned. His conclusion was that there was nothing wrong with the steering linkage, that the little bit of give in the linkage was normal and that all I needed was a new tire. I declined to get the tire, so they promised to do the oil change and the brake inspection and call me when the truck was ready.
No call by 2 pm, so I called DeVoe. The service advisor was “with a customer” so I left a message asking him to call me ASAP.
4 pm and still no call. I called again, asked to speak to the service manager. Got a voicemail. Left a message that if I didn’t hear from him by 4:30 I would be coming to the dealership to talk to them in person.
4:30 pm I finally get a call telling me that the truck is ready. Jett and I drive over. The service advisor tells me that the brakes are fine and that, other than the recommendation that the tire be replaced, everything else is fine too. That was after they did their “27 point inspection.” Total cost for its 28-hour stay at the dealership: $89.10.
As I start the vehicle, the “change fuel filter” message pops up on the dash. Question in my head: the “27 point inspection” didn’t include starting the engine? Annoying, but not a big deal.
On the way out of the dealership parking lot, the service advisor happens to be crossing the driveway. He looks at me coming towards him, flags me down and says – I am not making this up – “your tire is leaning.”
I didn’t know quite what he meant, so I get out, walk to where he is standing about 20 feet in front of the truck. He points at my right front tire which was, indeed, “leaning” – it had a tilt that was visible to the naked eye.
28 hours in the dealership and they couldn’t diagnose a “leaning tire” which is obviously a steering linkage problem.
Incredible.
Needless to say, I will not return there to get my “leaning tire” fixed.
Retrospective on our 2017 travel experiences
We traveled a LOT in 2017. I have documented our day-to-day experiences under the labels of “Third Trip North” (TTN), “New England Tour” (NET), “Second Trip West” (STW) and “Second Trip East” (STE). From the time we left Florida (14 Apr 2017) to the time we returned (20 Nov 2017) – 220 days – the longest we stayed in any one place was 3 weeks in Plymouth MA. We towed the RV 11,426 miles and stayed at 64 different RV parks where we spent about $11,700 in campground fees. We visited 16 states that we had never been to previously, completing our lower-48 map. We put just over 20,000 miles on the truck.
A LOT of travel.
Now, two months after completing the journey, I want to reflect on what we did. I particularly want to identify the highlights and lowlights. Fortunately, there are many more highlights than lowlights. It was a great 7 months of travel.
In chronological order, some of the more memorable highlights were:
Swans at Savannah KOA
The banks of the Mohawk
Yellowstone bison
Snake River
Sunset near Port St Joe
Lowlights: