Mini Repair Update

In a previous post I referenced needing to stay in the Livingston, TX area for electrical repairs to the Mini.  The GFIC outlet had shorted out and wouldn't reset.

The hole in the bathroom where the GFCI outlet used to be.

I'm somewhat handy with my hands but I tend to draw the line at efforts to fix electrical shorts.  Also the Mini is still within the manufacturers warranty and I didn't want to risk voiding it with a "home brew" fix.  Learning from fellow Escapees that a RV repair firm named West RV and Automotive was a capable repair outfit I got on their schedule for the end of November -- always a good sign when the repair place is booked up for 10 days, it means people use them.  Be leery of the place that says "Bring it in this morning, we'll get right to it" when you call them.

Anyway, West RV took three hours finding that, through a manufacturing mistake, a wire to all the sockets on the interior walls of the Mini was pinned between an aluminum floor strut and the flooring.  It was just a matter of time until vibration from travel wore the wiring insulation off and the wires arced on the aluminum, causing the GFIC to go off and eventually cook.  If I had tried to replace the GFCI outlet the replacement would have cooked too.  So West RV pulled out the bad wiring and rerouted it so there was no longer a danger of it being rubbed against and my time in the Livingston area came to an end.

$822.20!

West RV contacted Forest River (the Mini's manufacturer) for me and convinced the Forest River customer rep to OK the entire repair as warranty work which was very cool because the rep said they usually didn't pay for diagnosis time but given the severity of the wiring flaw they would this time!  I can't recommend West RV highly enough if you're in East Texas in need of an RV repair.

I'm camping my way out to Arizona now where plans are to spend the winter.

Thanks for reading