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It took four months, four repair shops, and over a thousand miles, but Lance is back on the road under his own power and performing like the champ he is.  If the Lance Repair Saga had gone on any longer, I would have needed to compose an epic poem to do the story justice.  But it didn’t, so you’ll have to be content with this final update.

Let’s Back Up!

If you’re first hearing about Lance’s engine replacement, you’ll first want to go back and start at the beginning.

Part 1: Man Down! Lance is in the Shop!

Part 2: Lance Soap Opera Continues!

Part 3: OMG It’s Happening!

For those of you in the know, let’s continue on.

Oh sure.  NOW we’re all smiles…

So let’s pick up where we left off.  Myron and the crew at Hilltop Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Richmond received all the parts and got to work installing a new engine in Lance.  They completed the job on Friday, April 12th, as Stef and I were hosting our group at Winnebago Outdoor’s Sea Otter Adventure.  At that time, Lance had a shiny new engine, and was ready to roll.  Hilltop Dodge is only about two hours away from the Laguna Seca raceway where Sea Otter takes place.

So this should tell you how excited I was:  I bailed out of the big bike ride on Saturday, borrowed a car, and drove up to Hilltop to pick up Lance.  Myron and his crew had Lance washed and ready to go when I got there.

 

This is Myron. If you are anywhere near the Bay Area, and need service on your ProMaster, seek this guy out. It’s worth it.

I got the keys to Lance and a stack of paperwork listing out everything they did.  While the engine replacement was carried out under warranty, there were  some additional charges I had to pay.  These charges were because of all the add-ons and accessories that have been installed on Lance over the years.  Many of these had to be removed and reinstalled, or at least checked out, before the job could be considered complete.  That seemed reasonable.  So in the final analysis, though I wasn’t happy it took four months, I was happy with this outcome.

But Lance wasn’t done yet.  From Hilltop, I drove him over to Gordon’s shop, Edge Motorworks, in Dublin, California for re-fitment of the second alternator and other associated accessories.  Gordon himself had been in Southern California (making other ProMaster house calls, as it turned out), but he high-tailed it back to Dublin to meet up with Lance and me.  We got Lance tucked in, and then I Ubered back to the borrowed car at Hilltop and drove back to Sea Otter in time for dinner.  (Lots of driving, and if you know anything about Bay Area traffic, you know this was no small feat.)

A few of the Winnebago Group from Sea Otter. Some of them even raced this year!

After Sea Otter, Stef and I headed to Pinnacles National Park with Parky, while Lance spent time at Edge.  When we were done at Pinnacles, we headed back to Dublin to pick up Lance.

An actual hiking trail at Pinnacles National Park. Yep. It’s that awesome.

While at Edge, Lance got some more upgrades – namely to his second alternator.  Thanks to Adam Nations at Nations Starter and Alternator, there was a new, upgraded alternator installed – as well as a replacement wiring harness, belt, and other various and sundry parts just to be on the safe side.  This new alternator, by the way, is awesome.  It’s charging Lance’s battery at a rate of over 100 amps at a stuck-in-traffic idle.  It’s also considerably quieter than the last alternator.  Can’t complain about that!

Lance also had his E-Guard reinstalled at Edge.  Gordon had removed it before taking the vehicle to Dodge dealers for service.  (smart)  Before leaving Edge, we ran Lance’s engine… a lot… to make sure the cooling system was performing, the heater was working, the thermostat was opening, the engine and alternator were working to expectation, and that there were no belt-meets-hose issues.  With all those checks passed, it was time to head out from Edge.

Here with Gordon and Lance. Gordon is covered in coolant and oil… his two favorite things. 😉

And from there, we had our own Fit RV mini-caravan home to Utah.  The first few miles heading away from Edge were a bit nervous, but after a few hours of nothing happening, we settled in for the cruise.  I will say that Stef and I ACTUALLY FOUGHT over who got to drive Lance home.  Stef was even willing to take Lance + trailer (and she hates it when we tow the trailer).  I’d like to report that I won this argument, but I think you all know better than that.  🙂

Family portrait: Lance and his younger brother, Parky, with their friend George.

And so now we’re home, and we’ve got this badass scene in our side driveway.  With two different Lithium battery systems in these rigs, I’m trying to think up some kind of experiment.  Or maybe I’ll just fire up both systems, hire a band, and see how long we can rock out on battery power.  Whatever I do, I’m sure I’ll be typing the word “Watt” lots of times.

Thanks for your patience and well-wishes through this ordeal.  We’ll see you on the road!