A core of our project is about being “Free” – and although we are striving for independence and self-sufficiency, we recognize community building and cooperation are obvious essentials that align with our principles.
So while we have not yet mastered the intricacies of diesel engine repair — it’s time we give a big shout out to those who have helped us greatly in ALFie’s maintenance.
This weekend we were about to head out on a day trip when a fluorescent liquid surprise stopped us short.
First, a bit of panic – we couldn’t afford more repairs right now.
Second – we thought our previous mechanic (nevergotoAGDiesel) had addressed the problem Kristina identified months ago.
Third – it was really cold and rainy and we had to take the dogs somewhere since some realtors were coming over.
Nevertheless, we sucked it up, cleaned up the coolant leak and left in the car for our errands.
Later, I headed over to our local Schucks O’Reilly Auto and talked with Kyle – who knew a good thing or nine about our situation. He recommended what to do and diagnosed what the problem likely was without trying to sell us anything we didn’t need.
Which in turn, guarantees we’ll be giving them our business again in the future.
Thank you Kyle!
And just yesterday we had Bob and the fine crew at Steve’s Automotive in Northwest Portland (right next to Everyday Music) diagnose, treat (and charges us waaaay less than a previous mechanic – nevergotoAGDiesel) in just a couple of hours.
We are very relieved to have the bus FINALLY in perfect working order and an unnecessary heater has been bypassed so now we have some new options for ALFie’s floor plan – every little square inch helps!
So thanks to everyone helping out – we’ll have some more good updates coming out soon!
David & Kristina
Free Range Quest 
Hi Guys!
Love reading about the bus. Reminds me of when Dave and I saw Furthur in the swamp. The only thing I might do different is paint it camouflage. What type of camo? I can’t decide.
Dan
We definitely have to paint it, there are a lot of campgrounds that won’t allow bus conversions if they are still painted like a bus (but apparently lavender with maroon stripes and a mural of elephants roaming toward a desert oasis amid ominous, rolling thunder clouds is totally acceptable)… Thanks for reading, Dan! -Kristina
I’m so glad you found a good mechanic!
I know, I can’t believe how long I allowed those other people to molest our poor ALFie with their outrageous hourly rate and inability to diagnose… I kinda had no choice since they did a bunch of work without our permission. This is so great though, the ineffective floor heater is gone and now we have a lot more space to work with — every little bit helps. We’ll be takin’ ALFie out on another test drive tomorrow with the pups while the Realtors are doing showings, woohoo!