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So far we replaced the exhaust manifolds on both sides ($638.93 & $509.80) the alternator ($313.78), then the ignition switch and the starter ($304.56). Total: $1,767.07
We got 2 inspections. First inspection was $122.89 and the second was $106.73. Total: $229.62
Last week our rear brakes locked up, then got so hot that it boiled the brake fluid and cracked the calipers in half, plus the shims fell off the front and had to be put back on. During all this it was also determined that the bell cranks are bad. None of the shim & bell crank issues were mentioned in prior inspections nor the fact that brakes develop rust if the vehicle is left sitting for a long time.
Shim repair came to $194.43.
Brake repair came to $1,846.01. In addition the the rear brakes, they (Goodyear in Fife, WA) cleaned up the front brakes to avoid a similar situation.
The bell cranks are $300/ea on Amazon and we need 2 of them. Labor is about 2 hours @ $136.00/hr so we're looking at another $1000 in repairs that will need to be done soon.
The only saving grace is that a couple of days before all this happened, we went to Cabelas and they gave me a credit card with a $5K limit. Since we spent all of our repair money on the manifolds, alternator and starter, and prior inspections came back with a clean bill of health, we didn't expect to have major problems this soon and we didn't have the ready cash to pay for it. I'm just glad it happened when and where it did, that we weren't stuck on the side of the road somewhere.
All tolled we've spent $4,037.13 in repairs on our coach. Considering the price of an apartment or a house along with utilities since August of 2022, we can't complain.
The goal now is to employ the system of paying off little debts first and then taking the money normally used for those and put it towards the bigger debts.
All this when we were on the precipice of being debt free, other than what we still owe on the coach ($3800). So frustrating.
