We arrived in Canada, Toronto, on 26 June, and spent a couple of nights in Niagara Falls, so awesome. We then flew to Halifax, to pick up Shaun but also to spend a few days with Jim, Mark’s uncle, and his wife Anne near Dartmouth, Halifax. As expected, the ship carrying Shaun arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia late on 1/7, also Canada Day. The next day we went to the Border agency to get customs sorted, after a short delay this was done. Next step, go to the port to get Shaun released. Unfortunately, the two computer systems did not seem to be talking to each other, so despite having the paperwork, they would not let us take him, as they needed the computer to complete the process, frustrating, but okay, we will come back tomorrow.

The next day, Wednesday, yes, the release process was completed, so we excitedly went over to pick him up. Mark started the engine, left it running to let it warm up and air up the brakes. Then disaster struck, we both heard a loud bang, the air dryer had gone pop. This meant we could not drive him. We rang around looking for a mobile mechanic, who could attend that day. Eventually we found one and they duly arrived, two young guys turned up, looked and told us the air dryer needed replacing! Of course, there was the difficulty of getting this part in Canada, there aren’t really any Mercedes Benz trucks in Canada. Mark got a part number from the MBNI guys in Northern Ireland and found a part in Texas, which after much sorting got shipped that day (Independence Day in USA the next day)! Great, will get the part on Friday and be on our way?!

The part duly arrived on Friday, and eventually the guys turned up to fit it mid-afternoon. Time went on, and we didn’t hear the sweet sound of the air brakes getting filled, the part had the right number but just didn’t look quite right or fit! Back to the drawing board, whilst Shaun was stuck in the port. The next day, Mark spent many hours talking to MBNI, the part number was not correct. They can get the part, but not all of it until Tuesday, then we can Fed Ex it over! That’s another week of delay and not being able to explore with Shaun!

We decided to do a few days of exploring around Nova Scotia, by car (thanks to Anne and Jim). This was interesting and we still got to see places we had planned to go with Shaun.

Thursday 11/7 – We decided to get Shaun moved to a proper garage, in the hope this would make working on it easier! Mark joined Good Sam, the American equivalent of the British AA, motor rescue service, but for recreational vehicles! Good move, we have 2 years membership for less than half of what it would cost to pay for Shaun to move ourselves. Even this process wasn’t easy. Despite being told Shaun was 12 tonnes, they sent a small recovery truck that was only for light vehicles. So, back on the phone and finally, Ruggles, a local Halifax towing company turned up and did a great job of taking Shaun to Burnside Truck & Trailer in Dartmouth.  Shaun was finally on the road; all be it behind a tow truck. Very strange to be driving behind it!

Friday 12/7 the parts arrived from Northern Ireland. Mark took them to the garage, but they didn’t get working on it till the afternoon and ran out of time to finish it. Ok, we thought we will be on the road by Monday!

Monday 15/7, this was a low ebb! The part didn’t work. Despite help from Willie, in Northern Ireland (who is a great mechanic) the part didn’t work. Is the part faulty? Is it the spring brakes? No one seemed to know. What we knew was we were extremely frustrated, having to order and wait for more parts. The spring brake was very hard to find, and after many hours of research and phone calls, found some in Germany but could only be shipped to us via a truck parts company in North Wales! Possibly another two week delay. 

Another road trip, with the car, and using a hostel and hotels. We went around Cape Breton, particularly the Cabot trail, a lovely part of the world, definitely glad we got to see it, having planned to go with Shaun, but it has been ticked off the list now.

Wednesday 24/7, finally some good news, the part has arrived in the UK, earlier than anticipated so will be in Halifax on Monday 29/7, Julie’s birthday! And yes, it worked and on 29/7 at 10 pm, Mark drove Shaun to where we were staying!

So, the final round up of what was wrong with Shaun.  The loud bang we heard at the port was the air dryer failing.  However, we’d also blown a line from the back of the tyre inflation system.  Additionally, when Ruggles turned up to tow Shaun, they noticed the bolt on the spring brake that is used to manually disengage the parking brake had failed.  So, we’d a few things to fix.  Additionally, it also turned out the spring brake that was fitted back in May to help Shaun pass it’s MOT was incorrect – that’s a whole other story for another day.  But, with the help from MBNI, Truck Parts North Wales, Ruggles Towing and Burnside Truck & Trailer – Shaun was back on the road and boy did that feel good! A special thank you to Jim and Anne for their hospitality and allowing us to stay, and their emotional support (with the help of their lovely dogs). It was also nice that we got to know Kevin, Mark’s cousin as we were able to spend time with him too.

Finally we can start to travel in Shaun in Canada, see the next episode to see how we get on…………