Long Time no post...

Hope you didn't think I'd left the building, been quiet and waiting on parts and waiting on parts.  I told you one of the last projects was going to be replacing the peeling chrome mirrors.  So I took a close look at them and decided the heads and the bases were atrocious, but we could get by with the arms for awhile to save a few dollars.  

One of the peeling mirror heads

And the base

I talked with Velvac, the manufacturer on the phone and they agreed.  So I ordered the heads and the bases, asked them if there was anything else they'd recommend getting at the same time, they suggested new plugs for the fasteners to match the new gleaming chrome so I ordered them as well, but we had to wait 2 weeks for them to make up one of the mirrors.  They don't make this mirror style anymore, so they had to manufacture the driver's side, the passenger they had in stock.  Jan and I removed the bad ones, and prepared to pull them apart so as to mount the new pieces, we noticed as we removed them there was a rubber gasket between the base and the coach, hmmmm, I wonder if they'll come with the new heads?

The gasket is in the foreground

The answer was no, so I had to call back and get them to send two new gaskets which held us up for a bit longer.  They did admit their mistake and sent the gaskets gratis!  They came off and apart pretty easily, and we noticed on closer inspection one of he bases was actually pretty good so we held on to that one for a spare.  The next thing I notice is one of the wire connectors will not pass through the base, and I really don't want to splice a 12 wire connector.  I look a little deeper in the instructions and they mention that if you have a Monaco coach, the manufacturer installed modular connectors that come apart and allow you to slip the connector through the base!  Wow, good job, Monaco!  So with a little prodding it slips apart and we get it all disassembled.

Disassembly

Now if you're wondering why there are so many wires, all 3 panes are adjustable, heated, turn signal embedded, and there is a small camera mounted just under each mirror.  Now that camera is mounted on another small piece of metal trim that was in horrible shape as well.  I found a part number on the camera, and crossing our fingers that the company was still in business, I googled and called, and sure enough they are still in business, but they do not make this camera any longer, but if I wanted a new one, they still had a few in stock for $650 each!!!  Wow, our cameras work just fine, so I asked if they thought there was anyway I could get just the mounting brackets?  Sure enough after a bit of checking they agreed to send me two new brackets, so that way all of the mirror assembly will be nice new shiny chrome.

The camera mount

You can see the corrosion on the bracket

So another delay.  But today both the new shiny mounts came and so did the gaskets, so we were able to get them all reassembled and mounted!

Nice new bracket

Another angle

Looking good!

So what else have we been up to?  Not that much, the park is quiet, over half the folks are gone, we've been enjoying some local restaurants without waiting in line, had a nice Easter Dinner with Ray and April, sold my bike and got another that fits me better.  A really good move as we are taking them with us when we leave.  Seems more goodbyes everyday as more friends head north.  Pretty soon it will just be us and Jack and Betty who will finally be all by themselves as they are planning to stay all summer.