43 - July 10, Back in Palmer, AK, for Extensive Bumper Repair

While we were in Palmer a week ago, before heading to Seward, Adam noticed a huge issue with our bumper. It was basically being torn off of the RV by the weight of our spare tires.

That white part is the bumper. It's bolted onto the frame of the RV. You can see the gap where it's being "ripped" right off. The bolts are staying attached to the frame but the part of the bumper where the bolts attach is being torn off.

While we were in Palmer, just after discovering this, we happened to pass a welding and machine shop on the road. We stopped in and Gary Feaster, the owner, had a look. He said he could definitely repair it, but not til the week AFTER the 4th. So Adam took the spare tires off and we carried them inside the RV while we were traveling down to Seward. Kind of a pain, they take up a lot of room.

So we arrived back to Palmer and after a night in a Fred Meyers parking lot (Alaskan version of Walmart), we showed up at 7 am for the repair.

Marik, the resident aluminum welder, got to work removing the bumper with a little help from Adam.

With the bumper off, you can see that the part the hitch is attached to has elongated and stretched a bit. They also beefed up that part too.

You can really see here where that piece is being torn off. The weight of the 2 spare tires, bouncing around on the not-so-great roads into Alaska really took it's toll