Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Bumps in the Road

Just when you think you have it all planned out...

This weekend we're doing "A Ride With Bob" at the Spencer Theater near Ruidoso, NM.

The perfect time to get the Baby Bus back on the road. Yes? Yes!

So, we gave our rolling home-away-from-home an upgrade. We installed a seat for Willow, which meant taking out some of the counter space and moving our teeny tiny little fridge.

We got that done in time.

The we took the old girl in for her
90,000 mile check up. And we got her back with two whole days to spare! Yay us! We were so proactive and responsible thought of everything! We would be launching the Baby bus back on the roads, complete with our new baby!







Not. So. Fast.

Dave decided, just for a lark, that he would review the 5 page report that the mechanic gave us after the check up. Not that they had told us there was anything wrong. He just was curious.

And he became curiouser and curiouser when he read, on page 3.5 that our serpentine belt had tiny cracks in it.

That just sounded...bad.

Especially since he would be driving from Austin to El Paso to pick us up, which meant that he would spending the majority of the day in the desert.

I think it goes without saying that you do not want to break down in the desert. Ever.

And so he called the mechanic to see if he should be worried, or if small cracks in the serpentine belt are, you know, okay.

We didn't know. We're musicians, not mechanics.

"Yeah, you need to replace that part. When those belts start to crack, it's not good."

What?!??

Okay mechanic. This is not the first time you have screwed us. Remember that last time when we asked you to install glow plugs and you did and then we broke down 100 miles from anywhere because you installed one wrong. Do you?!? Oh you don't? Well, that doesn't surprise me, as you also forgot to mention that we needed a new crucial part after we brought our vehichle in for a check up! Dude, you checked and then did not pass your information along. Why are you so lame?







Yes, we are looking for a new mechanic. Sprinter mechanics in the Austin area, hit me up!

Anyway, we ended up opting for the minivan, which is fine, I guess. I mean, I do love the idea that Dave will most likely not get stranded in the desert.

But I had my hopes set on the upgraded Baby Bus.

Sometimes you do everything right, and your plans still get thwarted.

But what's the use in crying over cracked belts? We're here, in Ruidoso, with our two kids. We're moving forward despite the thwarting.

The adventure continues.





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2 comments:

jBear said...

Its a belt for goodness sake. Not a major overhaul. If it breaks, you put on a new one - pretty simple and usually a 30 minute fix... (depending on the car) Buy one at the parts store for the year and model of your bus and take it with you. Even if you have to have someone put it on for you - at least you will have it and won't get soaked for one out on the road. Any mechanic can do the job. Back when i was in a band, I drove an old hippie VW bus and I can't tell you how many times i was stuck out on the road in the middle of the night with the engine half disassembled and a flashlite. I always had a good sized toolbox and a small parts store in the back of the bus... just in case. ;-)

You can do it - but do find a new mechanic, sounds like that one has your number!

EMQ said...

Jbear,

This is Dave

Yes it's a belt but it's also a Sprinter. No one works on these things. They are afraid. When we put in the radio the cruise control stopped because the computer freaked. And the dealer took two days to get the belt. The dealer!! Believe me, I would try to do more maintenance myself if I wasn't so afraid of blowing up the planet by doing so.