Women's Forum: Overwhelmed and coping

[JustACarSoFar]

I wish I could help, RK. If I were close to you ~ would take my feisty self and camp out where the guy is.. until he coffed it up!

...a thought, maybe some like minded folks who aren't too far from you.. can do a similar or more modest intervention?..

 

[VanKitten]

One of my friends that live out his way went over to his house to speak to him.

Told him the same thing...he would pay me back, but this time told my friend (240 lbs of solid muscle) that I would get my money by Monday. My friend said he told him he would come by to collect it...since he lives so close and all.

I am so grateful to him.

Isn't it amazing what being the biggest guy in the room can do for conflict resolution?

 

[JustACarSoFar]

Ha!! yeah, the biggest guy or craziest chick, whateva works baby! Sooo happy to hear the good news!!!

 

[KiaGypsyGirl]

I am posting this here because I think that women are move susceptible to feelings of being overwhelmed.

.....Hey Kat...too far away to help but you helped me. Yes, my kids are my mechanics and I just realized that I should cross RV off my list...will get a cargo trailer instead. I think it also gave me some insight into the wisdom of belonging to more than one type of community. You have the RV community but then you could add 'campers, 'survivalists', mechanics, 'humters'...many of these ones could hook you and all of us with quality people to help. Just a thought.

 

[Txjaybird]

Told him the same thing...he would pay me back, but this time told my friend (240 lbs of solid muscle) that I would get my money by Monday.     My friend said he told him he would come by to collect it...since he lives so close and all.
 
Isn't it amazing what being the biggest guy in the room can do for conflict resolution?

 Great news.  It's funny about  preconcieved notions based on a persons size/age/race, or gender.  My best guy friend 
has slimmed down to just over 300lbs.    Other than my own home his family home is the first one I could rest ez in and feel safe eough to sleep in for many years.  When Q was little I saw him walking away with her in one hand and Rat Dawg her litter mate in the other.  All you could see were little feets stickin' out.  I wish i had a picture of that.

Jewellann

 

[Sleep]

Roaming Kat I feel your pain. When I was van shopping I was so scared of getting a lemon, that's why I drove 4 hours to get it. Hang in there and take a break when you need to. I lived in Gunnison for 18 years, BTW.

It is so comforting to have this forum and the valuable advice that is offered. Hope you get the $$$ back soon.

 

[VanKitten]

Whooooo hooooo. I got my money back!

My friend had no issues with collecting that money.
I also got the RV back from the mechanic. I stopped to gas it up...and guess what?
It would not start again!

The mechanics sent their guy (with tools) out to fix it right there...no charge

I admit I never really looked .... but the battery in the big 460 is way too small ... like you would expect to see in a compact car! That battery was put in last November by the mechanics in Jacksonville, NC. AND... the battery cables were so old the insulation on the cables were falling apart.

I have come to the conclusion that I do not speak English. It is the only possible reason I can think of why I have told 4 (four ) mechanics in 3 States over the last 11 months...replace all the rubber. Hoses, belts, gaskets, etc. that you have access to. Yet...not one of them has actually done it. I've been stranded twice because old hoses blew apart causing over heating. Was stranded because the gasket for the gas filter blew and poured gas on the ground. I was stranded because the belt shredded for the water pump. Now I was stranded because the battery cables were sooo shot they shorted out. I speak a foreign language.

 

[JustACarSoFar]

Happy for you! but sad you had to go through all that crap. Other language? yeah, female to 'mechanic' is about it.

Are you close to road ready then?

 

[Gypsy Clipper]

I started to read this thread before I added my two cents in but about four messages in I could see that you really are dealing with the same shit every single woman I know has gone through.
So instead of commenting on every horrible thing you all have experienced I will just tell you what I did in similar situations and go from there.
If you have not gotten satisfaction from someone you have paid money to first file a claim in court. Second contact your states attorney and file a claim. Maybe this individual has defrauded others and they will investigate. Next camp out at his shop until he does the work or calls the cops. If you have another friend that you can bring with you then do so. Also if you are homeless and already living in a vehicle move into the parking lot of the business that is working on your RV. Refuse to leave and if he threatens you call the police. Tell them your story and just wait until they give you a suggestion of where to go. Tell them you have no home and you are waiting on your vehicle to leave town. Trust me, they will figure a way to get you gone. No one wants a homeless woman camped out on their streets. I've gotten a lot of help using the above method. I am two years homeless and living in a van. It's left me stranded a few times and each time the kindness of others has gotten me back on the road.

 

[Gardenias]

Yay! VanKitten!
I feel happy for you!

 

[Queen]

Happy for you! I get so tired of being ignored when I explain the issue and them looking right through me. As I said to one mechanic who called me "little lady" and ignored an issue I was POINTING RIGHT AT... "I was unaware you turned wrenches with your penis, that can be the only explanation for you assuming I know nothing about the vehicle I'm driving".

 

[Almost There]

And I thought it was only me who could write a book on my experiences with mechanics over the last 50  years....  

Looks like a collaboration could be in our future.

Oh the stores we could tell! Whether it would be a comedy or a horror story is still to be determined...

Fortunately and I do mean fortunately I was blessed with a father who liked having his 'little helper' in the garage when I was a child. My mother not so much - my earliest memories are about catching hell from her for getting grease on my clothes out 'helping' Dad! It left me with some serious knowledge - well at least enough to know when I was being treated like a dummy or being taken advantage of. It has paid off in spades time and time again.

RK, IMO it would be a really valuable exercise to go over the van yourself and visually inspect everything you can possible see. If you don't know what a part actually is or whether it's supposed to look like that, take a pic, post it here and someone will be able to identify it and tell you what condition it actually is in. You'll gain much knowledge this way and more than likely lessen the chances of being stranded somewhere again and at the mercy of yet another mechanic.

IIWM I'd do it system by system - cooling system, electrical system, fuel system, suspension etc.

 

[TrainChaser]

What we need are more female mechanics, with business names like 'Katie's Engine Repair'.

 

[mert6706]

Thanks for keeping us updated. So glad you got your money back. As for the rest, so sorry youi have had all that trouble. You sure are giving the rest of us lessons on what to watch out for!

 

[VanKitten]

Well..I got the RV back from the mechanic. It didn't even get out of their driveway!
The new control module failed in less than 20 feet. I am glad it happened there!

So, I finally drove away last night about 7 pm.

The beast is running better than she has ever before. Sounds good, handles beautifully, I could not ask for better. I just hope this is the end of mechanical work for a while. I expect to put a new engine in her in the next few years...but....

So. The cabinet makers says the doors are all ready. So, next stop .. finish the cabinets.
Then I take on the wiring myself.

I know what needs doing. It is just such a pain in the rump to spend hours stripping, crimping, etc. but, I will not trust anyone who claims they can do it. Time to get the job done!

Thank you all!

 

[Queen]

Glad things are looking up, even with the hiccups, you're getting there!

 

[VanKitten]

You won't believe this! Went out to drive the van back to the place I am working on it....it would not start!
I called the mechanics. They sent a guy out to work on it right at curb side! Took him 4 hours to fix it.

It turned out to be a bad distributor. They just put a new one in yesterday!

They were great. It could have cost me another $100 to have it towed back. I admit..they have done right by me in this.

Just...with my bad luck...you all had better be glad it isn't an airborne communicable disease!

Maybe tomorrow I will actually drive it back down to the farm where I can get back to doing all the work I haven't hardly touched since the end of August when all this started. Thank goodness it is happening here on not on the road!!! Here, at least, I have a place for kitten and I to sleep and be comfortable Till the end of October. Sure hope to be gone by then!

 

[VanKitten]

Ok....so, last night I went to move the RV back to the farm to get work done....

It wouldn't start. Same symptoms as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning.

3 control modules and 2 distributors!

I am starting to think that some electrical issue somewhere is preventing these components from "playing nice " together. How can each test "good" and together fail? And fry devices.?

 

[Queen]

Electrical stuff is voodoo magic to me, it's all a freaky mystery and it seems that way to many of the people who work on vehicles too. Hope your mechanic can just point at something and say "oh, that's it" and fix it once and for all!

 

[TrainChaser]

Find out where the fuses are and check them yourself. If one is missing, it creates a drain of the battery. It would be a sneaky way for that "mechanic" that wouldn't fix it to screw things up.

I learned this when suddenly my horn started blowing and wouldn't stop. So I pulled the fuse and it stopped. The next day, the truck wouldn't start. Jumped it, and it started. The next day, it wouldn't start. Unhitched the battery and took it in. They put it on some machine and reported that it was fine, the problem wasn't the battery. Just as I was going out the door, the mechanic suddenly said, "You haven't removed any fuses, have you?"

Check it.