Merritt - August 5-10

While waiting for the fridge parts I had 3 weeks of laundry to tackle. Ray had a few fix-it projects on the go and he managed to get the coach washed over the 6 days we were here. Also since we were plugged in with no water restrictions, I managed to get lots of inside stuff done as well. After being on the road for 2 1/2 months a good clean was in order. Ray managed to use of the hot tub at the pool here a few times too. We did not know Merritt had an aquatic center until recently even though this is the third year we have stayed here at Claybanks. :)



Freya has enjoyed getting wet in the river and the spot we have is very large and private with lots of grass to roll on. So she is pretty happy here too. Our neighbours turned out to be the same ones who were beside us at Peace Arch RV Park for the month of April in South Surrey. It's a small world!

Note to self: The satellite needs to point just to the right of the cell towers on the hill, through the willow tree in site 14. It took us several hours and having the tree pruned to be able to get service. We drive straight in to the site.

Well here it is Monday ... the guy did not show up to fix the fridge. Ray called him at 1:30 to ask if the parts came in which they did, but "Jerry" decided to go on a call towards Princeton and said he would get to us when ever. Ray told him that he implied on Friday that the parts would be in by 11:30 Monday morning and that he would see us in the afternoon to install the new fan as he knew we were leaving Merritt first thing Tuesday morning. Jerry now says if we don't like it to go find someone else then to install the parts. What a jerk. Apparently according to the people running Claybanks, this guy is know widely for this kind of behavior, in fact, she is still waiting on a service call from him since 1989! Fortunately no money has exchanged hands! Anyways we found another service guy in Merritt recommended by the managers of Claybanks, who is well aware of Jerry's business practices and hopefully he will be able to get the fan tomorrow and install it. He told me that there is no way the computer board has anything to do with the fan (which Jerry had suggested we could order in case it was not the fan motor to a tune of $236. (What do we know?) Bottom line is if this does not happen by Wednesday we will go into Kamloops to another more reputable repair place that has been in business since 1914 and get it done. We are having to buy $10 of ice daily just to keep things from going bad. Of course I did the grocery shopping at noon expecting the fridge to be repaired today in preparation for our trip tomorrow to Peter Hope Lake. Bummer!

Tuesday the other guy, Rob Kennedy, came with the new fan motor and between him and I we pulled apart the whole freezer area to access the plug for the new fan behind the back panel of the freezer. We certainly got up close and personal as he was not very flexible nor I, crawling on our hands and knees. Anyways the fan did not work ... so onto google I went and according to a video on how to fix the fan problem it appears that the computer board is shot which requires us to take the whole fridge out to access the computer board from the back of the fridge. Rob has ordered the board and should arrive tomorrow ... he is also getting a "large strong friend" to help us get the fridge out of the built in cabinet so we can access the back. Now I don't have the freezer working either so we had to borrow a cooler from the manager to keep the meat from spoiling until hopefully tomorrow's repair! As my friend Dianne would say Yeesh! We will have to live with freezer parts all over the place until tomorrow. Hopefully Rob remembers how it all goes back together! Maybe Thursday we will be able to leave for Peter Hope Lake.

After Rob, the repair guy left, our new friends Paul and Giselle from Logan Lake showed up for a visit and we all went out for lunch at the Grand Hotel. Lovely visit although the fish and chips were not the greatest that 3 of us had. Paul had the burger and said it was tasty. Now we know for next time. Paul and Giselle had planned to go up to Peter Hope Lake to visit us but on the off chance we were not there yet swung through Claybanks and found us.

Wednesday morning at 11 am, Rob showed up with the board for the fridge. He brought a friend with him to help pull the fridge out of the built in cabinet. After unhooking the water and power we were able to change out the computer board. With me helping we put the plug in components back in the freezer temporarily so we could test it. We deemed it fixed as the fan was running so we shoved it back into the cabinet, reattached the water and all the screws and cover plate and then next came the 1 1/2 hours of remembering what went where to put it all back together. What a job. Rob was a great guy and only charged us for the parts and 3 hours labour. He actually spent 6 hours on the job. The rate was reduced as I helped him every step of the way "getting up close and personal" as we both crammed ourselves into the bottom freezer with holding lights, screws, passing tools etc. What a job. I think that the board and fan probably weakened when we blew that 300 amp fuse back in June. The 2 resisters on the board that operate the fan were burnt as per the video suggested.

After all of this kerfuffle I sent Ray off to the hot tub at the pool. When he gets back I will again go grocery shopping to replace my mayo etc that has been unrefrigerated for 2 days and with only ice in the fridge for a week.

Anyways we will be off to Peter Hope tomorrow after Ray's ICBC appointment in Kamloops at 2:30 pm to show them the fiberglass damage that the tow truck drive caused to our front lower cap. I think I will head straight to Peter Hope and secure us a spot and wait for Ray to arrive sometime around 5 pm. I am looking forward to staying put for the next 3 weeks trouble-free, I hope.