To the Mechanic

I took the van to Valley Brake and Wheel in El Monte. A good friend of mine, Paul, has known them for years and said they were very relievable and reasonable. They looked at the van bumper to bumper and were not convinced about the fuel filter being the cause of our lack of power and misfiring. Since to replace the fuel filter required dropping the gas tank and probably replacing the fuel pump at the same time it would be pretty expensive a fix.

They compression tested the cylinders, replaced the wires and plugs. While they were at it I had them move the trailer light connection higher on the bumper so the trailer hitch would protect it. They fixed the rear power lock with a new actuator. (Should have done this myself in hindsight). Replaced the wiper fluid pump and changed the fluids. One of the best things, Snell's RV is just half a block down the street so I dropped off the van with Snell’s and they just took it over to Valley Brake when they were done. To have service be so simple in LA, unheard of!

Idyllwild, CA

After the conference Anja meet me in Banning, CA to head up to climb in the Idyllwild area. While I was waiting for Anja, to drive east from West LA, I went to Wal-Mart. Then we headed up to Idyllwild and slept off the Black Rock Road. Getting on the dirt black rock road we drug our rear bumper in a dip and clipped the trailer light plug. We spent two great nights in the van.

Wal-Mart storage organization

Center Consol: I looked for a something to place in the center consol (top of the dog house) to hold drinks and organize it. I was unsuccessful

Cup holders: I found a set of cup holders meant to hook on to door they work great in the back over the bed hooked on the head board space by the lights.

Bins: I found a number of bins, which will hopefully help organize the van in the future as we load it up with more and more stuff.