Archive for Rv Repair Tips
I work in a car dealership and the heater stopped working last week. It was -30 outside with the wind chill factor. I was sent home 4 1/2 hours early due to the cold temperature in the building. Today, I was told not to come in at all because the heat was still not repaired. Another 8 hours out of work. I found out that the service manager told the general manager two weeks ago that the bearings were going out in the heater motor and it should be looked at. Technically, am I just out 12 1/2 hours pay or is this something that my employer should cover? My boss’ wife is an HR exec, so I’m hoping for a favorable outcome, otherwise it’s quite a chunk out of my next check.
Yep, you are right. I checked with the Dept of Labor in our state. Unfortunately, it now puts an unfair burden on me, the employee. Especially since the problem was discovered a couple of weeks ago and had a repairman been called on a timely basis, I wouldn’t be out the pay.
How to eliminate outdoor rats?
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve been having rats in our back yard for 3yrs now and it’s costing a tremendous amount of money to repair the damage they’ve done and to kill them off. My neighbor has fruit trees, so there is nothing we can do to prevent the food source as he won’t cut them down. His newest one, planted right under 4yrs ago in his backyard (which is our problem tree) is planted only 4feet away from our fence. The rats eat in his yard and take shelter in ours. We can’t eliminate their shelters as they’ve used our hot tub (3 motors have been replaced already due to chewing wires), our BBQ pit (has been replaced twice, but begging husband not to replace it again as we just noticed yesterday this new one has gone to sh$t as well) and our shed since we need it to house our lawn tools. The hot tub & BBQ pit is in our screen patio so of course constant replacing of the screen is needed…as you can see I’m just FED up! My daughter can’t go in the backyard anymore (scared of her touching something contaminated) and since I’m deathly afraid of rats I can’t go in the backyard anymore without my husband being there…and since he works away 2wks out the mouth, I’m screwed! We’ve purchased every type of trap there was. The glue traps weren’t strong enough and the wood/spring traps failed on a few rats that my husband had to shoot with a pellet gun to kill them as they couldn’t get out the patio with a trap around their neck to escape. We now have the T-Rex traps and although the pellet gun has stayed in the closet now…it seems as though the rats are to smart for these traps! We’ve only killed a hand full, but there is always poop around the trap as they just walk by it. BTW, peanut butter is our main bait used. There has been this stray cat hanging around (huge, bad a$$ cat) since my dogs have passed away and I’ve been feeding it to keep it coming back for more but of course it can’t get into my patio or in my shed. I was told to NOT repel the rats from my shed or patio as they will find their way into my home…which I just can NOT allow. What can I do to completely repel them from my yard. I am assuming the rats are crawling up my 6′ wooden fence to gain access to my yard as I don’t think they can go under it or between the boards (boards are pretty swollen tight). Is there anything that I can spray on my fence to prevent them from even entering my yard once? Obviously a “little spray bottle” of something won’t be enough! It needs to be a massive amount of liquid to cover the entire fence and possibly penetrate the wood.
Now that my big dogs are gone, poison is always left out under the shed, along side the hottub, inside the hottub and in the BBQ pit. We do have a boston terrier indoors that wouldn’t know what to do with a rat and adopting another or purchasing another wouldn’t be an option right now in our lives. Over feeding the cat isn’t something I thought about, so maybe I will cut it down half a can instead of a whole can. I do know the cat is a hunter & fighter because since the cat has been around we haven’t had any visits from our ole friend the opossum…we’ve only seen the shreds of fur left over from there meeting 
. The rat population is down (going from killing 3-5 per night to 3-5 in a week) so I am guessing that is because of the cat as well but the cat doesn’t come every night…which makes sense if something else is feeding it. I’m just at my wits end. The pest control supply stores we’ve visited of course push their products on us just to make a sale and all have different opinions
Lar – It is an orange tree and it does produce year round. We have placed pieces of the orange (the newly fallen ones) on the traps and it didn’t seem to work as well as the peanut butter. We haven’t smeared juices on the poison blocks and I think that’s a great idea! My husband described the rats to the local pest shop and we were told it was Norway rats…although I’m not sold on that. They don’t always look the same..some very long & skinny, some short & fat, some brownish, some grayish, some very dark…but of course I don’t stick around to examine their features that well. I get a glance and haul A$$.
Car Dealership fraud?
Posted by: | CommentsWe bought our 2006 Chevy Aveo back in 2008 through a first time buyer program. Origionally my wife was approved for a 2009. We got the 2009 but then after signing the paperwork and going home for a day we get a call saying that the financing fell through and we had to bring the car back. We get back to the dealership and they say we are not approved anymore for the 2009 but for a used 2006.
We look at and test drive the 2006 and are told that it has only had 1 other owner and no problems so far and they have just gotten it in. Being that we needed a car we signed the paperwork and drove home. We after 2 days we washed the car, the paint started coming off the front end so we called and we were told that it was a manufacturer defect and they were going to set up a time with us to get it repainted.
We bought the car in North Carolina. We now live in Indiana and never missed a car payment. We went into a dealership here to try and trade it in and when the sales guy prints up a carfax report stating that it has had two other previous owners and it has been in a accident and he has told us the pumper we have on the car not the original bumper. We were pissed beyond believe.
Now not only did they lie to us but with our financing we have almost paid 12k on the total 15k (after financing) we owed on the car and the salesman we talked to today said at the time we purchased our car was only worth 4k to 5k and now we are having trouble trading in our vehicle. Our paperwork clearly states that the car has never been reconstructed.
There definition of constructed on our paperwork is: A motor vehicle of a type required to be registered hereunder that has been materially altered from original construction due to removal, addition or substitution of new or used essential parts; and includes glider kits and custom assembled vehicles.
They have flat out lied to us. Our paperwork shows they have lied to us. They played the yo-yo financing game and withheld information about the car being in a accident and being repaired. Do we have a legal case? Do we have to get a lawyer and file a suit in the state we bought the car or can we do it here from Indiana.
What should I do about my car and the mechanic?
Posted by: | CommentsThis mechanic has had my car for 6 months now. I need my car very bad. I had him to install a wire motor/dash harness into my car. I have asked and asked him to give me a estimate of how much he will cahrge me and he keep sayhin he will have to get back with me. Everytime I ask him how the car is going he tells me the same thing, that it’s coming along. I have given him 300.00 dollars already. I decided Im not gonna keep giving him money if he havent fixed my car. Im thinking of going to get it towed home and get somone else to fix it. He has had my car for 6 months. Every mechanic I talk to tells me it shouldnt have even taken a month to repair that problem. What shoudl I do? Im kinda scared he go try and take me to court or something.
Car won’t shift into 1st or Reverse, Won’t even roll in Neutral?
Posted by: | CommentsA week ago I bought a beater 93′ Saturn Wagon (165,140 miles) for $400. It was running, but badly needed a tune up. I drove it home about 35 miles, changed the oil and filter, did a basic tune up. During driving the front left wheel was making a banging noise. I thought it could have been the wheel bearing, but after research, I also thought it could have been the ball joint. The motor was running well during another 30mile run, the banging was still happening and getting worse as I got home. Right as I was coming up my hill, it began to die in 3rd, I shifted to 2nd, but it didn’t go into gear and made a horrible sound. I depressed the clutch, rolled it backwards to the bottom of the hill, put into in drive and drove it up to my driveway. Today the car was refusing to roll back while in [N] with the parking brake off. (it’s on a slope) I put it in park, bounced it around a bit, THEN the transmission started leaking badly in the front left right where the banging was happening. The car starts up fine, the motor sounds good, but it wont shift into [1] or [R]
I think the clutch could have gone out, but also something is obviously wrong with the transmission. Specifically right where the drive connects to the left wheel.
I’m no mechanic, but I was hoping to learn how to repair my own car as a project when I bought this. I didn’t expect the transmission to die, but I’m hoping somebody can hint at what’s wrong before I go to a mechanic and blow a load of $$.
Anyone have a clue of what I’m lookin’ at?
Why is my refrigerator sound like it is backfiring?
Posted by: | CommentsIt makes this really, I mean REALLY, loud crack. Sometimes several at once. It started awhile ago. At first it was very minor and not too noticeable. Then it got louder and more frequent. One day I came home to both my freezer & the refrig at 50 degrees. Lost all my food. I unplugged it, the motor was hot, cleaned the fan and it has been cooling again & holding the temp. I am using a temp gauge to be sure. The crack/pop is more frequent & loud. Sometimes it sounds like a shot gun or a car backfiring. If I knew what part is at fault I could probably replace it myself. Motor, fan, compressor? What causes this and how? Really bad timing on the budget. Lots of internet info on refrig noise but it’s all humming fans, rattles, ice machine. I don’t have an ice machine and it is not a rubbing fan etc. It’s an expansion, overheating noise or something other than what people are asking- A sharp loud CRACK with crack.. pop follow ups then it’s quiet for hours. Any firm thoughts based on experience as a repair person, or had a repair for this, appreciated.
Do I have a case against Aamco Transmissions?
Posted by: | CommentsI, RJ, am the owner of a 2003 Hyundai Accent. On the evening of November 29th, 2010 I began experiencing some issues with my vehicle as it began to idle rough and the check engine light came on.
The following day, November 30th, 2010 I saw that Aamco Transmissions was advertising a deal in which they would investigate your check engine issues free. That afternoon, I took in the aforementioned vehicle to the Aamco located at 3019 W. Hillsborough Ave, Tampa FL 33614 and explained the situation to the Customer Service Manager at the Aamco – Mr. Murry Green.
After using the computer to scan the vehicle, he notified me that the computer read that there were multiple misfires in the vehicle, but could not pinpoint the situation. He then informed me that for $90 or 1 Hours labor, he could take the cover off of the motor and further investigate the situation. I agreed (without signing any paperwork) and left the vehicle in his possession for the night and my girlfriend, A, then picked me up and took me home.
Today, December 1st 2010, Mr. Green phoned me while I was at work at approximately 8:50 AM and informed me that the vehicle’s motor was in need of a major tune up and that both CV Axles (front right and front left) needed to be replaced. He informed me that the total bill would be approximately $900.
He informed me that he’d have to order special parts for the vehicle, and I naturally assumed that the order time for the parts would be a day, at the very least.
I then told him that if I decided to have the work done, I would have it done all at one time. I also informed him that money was an issue at the time, and he stated that if that was the case, Aamco had financing available for 12 months same as cash. He asked if I had good credit and I told him that last I checked I did.
He then asked for the last four digits of my social security number in order to finish up the call. I presumed that this information was used for the financing application.
Later on in that day, around 4:00 PM, Mr. Green phoned once again and informed me the vehicle was complete.
My girlfriend, A, then picked me up from work and we headed over to the Aamco in order to pick up the vehicle and arrived around 4:30 only to find out that the car had already been worked on, without my signing any documentation to authorize the work, and that the bill came to approximately $909.00
I then confronted Mr. Green asking why the work was done on the vehicle when I hadn’t agreed to it. I had every intention of picking up my vehicle on this same afternoon and taking it to a second mechanic for a second opinion.
Mr. Green wouldn’t relinquish my vehicle stating that I had authorized the work by giving him the last four digits of my social.
I didn’t agree with this as he never asked me for any form of identification, so he couldn’t know if I was even RJ, and also for the simple fact that I could have made up any combination of four digits to form as the last four of my social.
I attempted to place a phone complaint with Aamco Transmissions Headquarters but their office had already closed at the time, so I left a message.
Upon leaving the location, I noticed a poster on the wall of the establishment that was from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The poster on the wall specifically stated:
“If the repair work will cost more than $100, the repair shop must give you the option of:
Requesting a written estimate;
Being notified by the shop if the repair exceeds an amount you specify; or
Not requiring a written estimate at all.”
I was given none of these options.
I then placed a call to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, but their offices too were closed.
Mr. Murry Green is now holding my vehicle without authorization at the Aamco Transmission located at 3019 W. Hillsborough Ave Tampa FL 33614.
No, you misunderstood. He didn’t ask us if we wanted a written estimate or not. That’s the “not requiring a written estimate at all…” IF we so choose. OF COURSE we want one!
My hydraulics in my boat arent working!?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen it comes to the repair or mechanics of boats I know nothing. I am great with vehicles but marine equipment is so much different. My boat has a hydraulic lift on the motor and the steering of the motor is controlled all by hydraulics. I forgot to lock the motor in position before I left my home. On the way up there I was forced to slam on the breaks, causing the engine to jar and then leak hydraulic fluid all over the place. One person mentioned that is could be something along the lines of a safety plug in the system that pops when the pressure in the lines is too high. I need help and have to haul it over 150 miles in order to get it repaired. Please give me your opinion on what the problem could be. Thank you for all answers!!
