On Tuesday morning they come to get our trailer at eight. We meet with Jesse to go over the problems, then go shopping. We return, and they're just about ready to get working on it. I confer with Bob, the tech, who explains "the good news and the bad news." He's learned the fix for the slide and will do it this afternoon. However, several tiles need to be replaced where the floor was marred by the slide and it will take a while for the door frame to be delivered to replace the toilet closet door frame, which is cracked. We decide to make an appointment to return in March and try to collect other warrantee items in the meantime. We've discovered the tank monitor is not properly wired. More to come.
After getting set up on our site again, we drive out to Bartow to pick up our truck. As we walk into the truck shop we hear it idling, but to my untrained ears it sure sounds different. We've had three modifications made which we hope will increase safety and boost performance. First, we had what they call a "30,000 pound upgrade kit" installed. This includes adding an additional block cooler and exchanging the transmission fluid for synthetic oil. While this upgrade will not lead to recertification of the truck from 26,000 to 30,000 GCVWR, it will give us documentation showing we've done what Ford did to increase the rating. Second, we had a PowerBrake exhaust brake installed. Third, we had a PowerForce power chip installed. Finally, they installed a set of gauges to measure exhaust temperature, power boost, and transmission temperature. We hope these features will give us added power and torque as well as improved mileage. Driving home, the motor seemed quieter and more powerful, but these factors are so subjective it's hard to tell.
Today we leave Lazy Days for a couple of months. We drive south on I-75 to Port Charlotte where we will be staying for a couple of weeks. The new trailer pulls well, the truck seems smooth and powerful, but nothing on the road tests its new capacity, so there's little to say.
We arrived at Lazy Days ten days ago to get the landing gear of our Westport fifth wheel repaired. We leave with a new fifth wheel we hope will serve us a little better than the good one we already had. We believe we got a fair, but not a great deal. We've seen a masterful operation working smoothly to sell, service and deliver RVs from the most basic entry level towables to million dollar Country Coach bus conversions. Lazy Days seems relaxed and friendly, but it's friendliness sucks in customers ands makes it easy for them to get into a buying mood. Features like the Rally Park, the jitneys, the "free" meals, the parklike display areas, the accessibility of the repair bays, and the willingness of the staff to go out of their way to please customers leave a strong and lasting impression. We're pleased with our purchase and will certainly return to Lazy Days for service and perhaps to purchase again.
