Sunday, October 16, 2016

Held Captive in Klamath Falls Oregon by Ontrac…

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Well the Tuesday our new tire was due to arrive came and went. We were told it might take 3 days instead of 2 but we sure hoped for the two day delivery especially since the Fairground we were staying at technically has a 3 night maximum. Unfortunately the delivery service (Ontrac) doesn’t deliver to Klamath Falls until after 4:00 pm and by the time the shop closed at 5:30 there was still no tire so we were screwed (excuse the phase).

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The first thing on Thursday morning I called Ontrac to find out where the heck my tire was and even after 30 minutes of hold time I was told the company didn’t know where it was and would call me back. Later when they called us back they simply explained it was accidentally mis-sorted and went to a warehouse in Reno instead of to Klamath Falls. Next I was told not to worry as another truck could deliver it on Monday. MONDAY!!!! What did they just say? That was four more days for this two day delivery!

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Normally I would just go with the flow but here is the problem… remnants of tropical cyclone Songda was aiming straight for us and to stay until Monday meant we would have to endure the wrath of the cyclone with up to 70 mph wind gusts. I became a bit terse with the supervisor I asked to speak to and told her in no uncertain terms that the Monday delivery was unacceptable. I got cut off.. and after another 30 minute hold spoke with her again. Amazingly she told me she would arrange to have our tire on a truck for a Friday morning delivery.

DSCN7836Friday morning would work out perfectly since the storm was to arrive in Klamath Falls on Saturday morning and the Fairground was kind enough to let us stay given our situation. Finally things were looking up… That is until Friday morning came and went and I once again called Ontrack (insert another 30 minute hold) only to be promised that the tire would arrive by 3:00 pm or earlier if she could arrange it. This meant we had to move to another site on the other side of the Fairground because a dog agility show reserved all the spaces in the lot we were in.  Sigh…

Having little choice since we were being held hostage by Ontrac and their crappy delivery system we simply waited hoping for the best (have I mentioned how horrible their customer service is?) . Our new challenge was that after the tire would be  installed we would have to DSCN7826leave and drive after dark about 165 miles to beat the storm south. Then, the next morning ,we would have to wake up extra early and drive another 150 miles to stay ahead of the cyclone to be in an area I considered safe.

Well the tire finally showed up at 3:15 pm and was installed rather quickly so we left the facility at 4:25 pm. I really can’t thank Basin Tire enough for making our tire installation a priority thus allowing us to get on the road as quickly as possible. Unfortunately this meant we would be driving at night from Klamath on 139 to Susanville California over some mountains and down a skinny two lane road. We never drive at night but made this sacrifice and certainly after driving down that long winding steep hill into Susanville we admit we never want to do it again!!! Thanks a lot Ontrac…..sheesh!

To be continued…

NOTE: We are now in Hawthorne Nevada and glad to be here… These pictures were taken at the Link River Trail on our last nice day in Klamath Falls OR.

12 comments:

  1. Nice to finally get the tire installed and move on down the road.
    Just wondering do you still have the original tires on your coach?

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  2. Nice you escaped the wrath of the storm and arrived safely at your destination. Why does one have to get testy to get service at times. The squeaky wheel analogy is appropriate in your situation. :=)

    Safe Travels!

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  3. Oh my goodness what a horrible experience. I've never even heard of Intracoastal and bet you wish you had not either. Glad you are far away and safe.

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    1. Spell check changed Ontrac in both this and above only I caught it here. Love spell check.

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  4. Did you stay on 139 to Alturas and then switch over to 395 into Susanville? Or, 139 all the way? We had thought about leaving out of here (eventually) via Klamath Falls via 139 and then 395. Where was the road so bad?

    I hate poor service. It's a wonder businesses like that stay in business.

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    1. Yes we took 139 all the way down and 395 south of Susanville, 395 should be a better road thru Alturas...

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    2. That's what I wondered. According to the Mountain West Directory 139 thru Susanville is not advised for tractors/vehicles over 30'. Glad you made it safely.

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  5. That us so beyond frustrating. I am happy to hear you are safely in Hawthorne. We are leaving Las Vegas tomorrow cause the wind is supposed to finally die down today.

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  6. Beautiful pictures of your stay in Klamath Falls. 139 is an E-Ticket drive during the day!, I would not want to be in your situation of having to use it as an escape route at night. Glad you are safe.

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  7. Glad you made it to safer ground! We were hunkered down here on Vancouver Island but the storm never happened for us anyway. Lots of steady rain but no downpours and no wind to speak of.

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  8. Very frustrating indeed! But at least you were away from the heavy storm. We are still in WA and fortunately was not affected by the storm.

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  9. After our tire experience we can relate, glad to see it's all behind you now.

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