Closure

As I start typing this, I am wondering how we are going to explain to you all where we are at with our brake rotor issue. It has turned out to be shocking? confusing? a miracle?

We are going to go with a miracle………

To refresh everyone’s memory. On July 17th we went down Salmo Hill 13% grade and had a significant incident with our brakes. Over the course of the following days we got the brakes checked to find out what happened. We were told all 4 brake rotors were warped, with the front having significant overheating. We saw the pictures of the brake rotors (called disks in Canada, Rotors in the U.S. I guess the mechanic has a U.S background???) they were the color blue, which is a clear sign of overheating. After Barb made NUMEROUS and I do mean NUMEROUS calls to Ford Canada/Ford Roadside Assistance, we had case #s logged and Ford in Trail ordered replacement parts under warranty on the recommendation of the mechanic.

We sat in Trail from July 18-Aug 24 waiting for said parts. No one could tell us when they were going to get shipped from the manufacturer in the U.S so no date on when they would arrive in Trail. After discussing this with Ford Canada/Ford Trail/Mechanic and between Barb & I (and the fact Barb’s daughter was getting married mid Sept.) we decided to make our way back to Ontario carefully to start the process all over again in Hamilton at the Ford there.

We made it back without incident. We learned how to effectively use manual shifting on large and small hills, slowing down for traffic/red lights etc. We are much better drivers today than we were on June 27th when we first started our journey. We were also proud of ourselves for having zero issues on the way home.

Sept 6th: We arrived at Ford in Hamilton. Dropped off the RV and headed back to Barb’s. We received a call from the service dept. on the 7th stating they couldn’t find anything wrong with the motorhome. I replied that was impossible. Barb & I were stunned and decided to drive over to Hamilton to speak to the mechanic ourselves. When we arrived we spoke to K who was the most senior mechanic there. Another mechanic had checked the brake rotors and told K there was no evidence of warping at all. You can imagine how we wanted to believe, but couldn’t quite believe what we were hearing. We asked if K could take a look himself, being the most senior mechanic there, to make us comfortable with what we were now hearing. We informed him of the blue coloring (we had called Trail that day to confirm what they had seen and taken pictures of) and that he should be able to see this when he took everything apart again. K said he would get it back in the bay and take a look himself.

Later that day K called us, confirming that there was nothing wrong. There was no evidence of anything that had gone wrong. We drove back to Hamilton, talked to K ourselves. I asked if the blue could have been worn off driving home from BC. Answer was no, that wouldn’t have happened. All parts look like new. (I’m still shaking my head)

So off we went with our motorhome. Parked now at the Milton Campground where myself, Winston and Safiya are living while Barb get’s to be involved in all pre wedding events and spends quality time with her family.

To conclude: We continue to believe all parties involved. Trail individuals who didn’t need our business. Bent over backwards to try and help us and eventually told us to leave for home driving carefully. In fact the Ford in Trail was taking a huge risk ordering the parts under warranty, again putting faith in the folks who were involved. The mechanic in Trail took photos of our rotors which had turned blue. We saw the photos ourselves. We believe K in Hamilton, he also took pictures, no blue/no evidence of overheating/warping. He had taken the Motorhome out on the road doing his best to overheat the brakes, and couldn’t. (I can attest to this fact as the cupboards were a mess, all clothes off their hangers in the closets)

So a miracle is what we are chalking this up to. We will be stationary for about a month or so, then head to Prince Edward County/Quebec, then down into the U.S. Stay tuned for the continued adventures of B&L