April 29, 2006

April 29, 2006

Kingston, Ontario

YEAR 2 DAY 316

 

Today was sunny and mild.

This morning I realized that I left my wiring diagram for a trailer 7 way electrical connector at Van & Truck World. I phoned them to verify that they had it. I told them I would be in later to retrieve it. I went outside to work on the new truck. I started by rerouting the trailer brake controller wiring underneath the dash. The rocket scientists at Van & Truck World had routed the trailer brake controller wiring so that it interfered with the hood release cable. I removed the small "front" fender flaps that Lanoire's original owner had installed on the front side of the dually hips. When I first saw them, I thought they were a good idea, but after driving the truck for a couple of days I realized that these small "front" fender flaps mounted on the front of the dually hips rub against the tires at highway speeds. I removed and discarded them, then reinstalled the mounting screws to keep water out of the insides of the fenders. Next I removed and repositioned the fifth wheel 7 pin wiring connector that Van & Truck World had installed on the inside of the truck box on the driver's side front. I didn't like the positioning of it, so I relocated it. Then I had to lower the spare tire and replace it correctly. Van & Truck World had removed it to work under the truck, then reinstalled it incorrectly < sigh >. I installed door edge guard moulding I purchased the other day.

We had lunch. I connected the truck to the trailer, to check the functionality of the 7 pin electrical connector, and the brake controller. The fifth wheel wiring ( 7 pin ) connector seemed to work okay, except for one tail light on the trailer. I checked and replaced the bulb, and everything worked fine. I guess when Dee-Dee's tail light circuit board malfunctioned, it sent an electrical surge through the trailer tail light and blew the bulb. I tested the brake controller. To make a long story short, it didn't work. I phoned Van & Truck World, discussed it with them, and made an appointment with them for Monday morning. I'm not very pleased with their workmanship. Is it not possible to get good quality automotive service ? ! ? We were planning to leave Kingston tomorrow morning, for Ottawa. Now we're not going to be able to depart for Ottawa until Monday afternoon at the earliest !

I reloaded everything into the tool / storage chest. I reloaded the Rubbermaid tote into the truck. I tried to reattach it into position with double sided foam tape, but it didn't work because of the ridges of the new truck's bed liner. I installed the rest of the "stuff" into the truck box including the waste tote, a trailer spare tire, my "hot rocks" from Princeton, B.C., and the 5 pieces of firewood from Jasper, Alberta that have travelled all around North America. HA HA HA ! I came inside, changed clothes and washed up. We drove to Canadian Tire. We bought a new Rubbermaid tote, some mounting hardware, and some other supplies. We drove to Van & Truck World to pick up my electrical connector wiring diagram. They were closed already < sigh >. We drove to the Malley's PET VALU store, and dropped off a gift for Brian and Joyce, to express our appreciation for their hospitality.

We returned to the trailer at Rideau Acres. I began to work on installing the new Rubbermaid tote by drilling through it, the bed liner, and the floor of the truck bed, then installing large screws and washers. We took Bo for an obedience walk, and romp. Almost every day now we allow him a few minutes off leash. We can finally trust him to romp around off leash, then return when called. Good boy, Bo. It's been a long journey to get to this point.

While Joanne prepared supper, I did today's accounting. We had supper. I worked on today's journal entry while Joanne washed supper dishes. I bought a newspaper today, for the first time in many weeks. I spent the late part of the evening reading the newspaper.

DSK