A passing stranger honked at me & waved back at my 5th wheel trailer as he passed me. I pulled…read moreover & saw smoke coming out of the rear axle's driver's-side bearings. The bearings were destroyed on that left-side rear wheel. I was four hours from home, returning from a camping trip, and had no idea who to call for advice. The nearest town was Crystal Falls, MI. Google gave me a few different businesses who sold bearings, and I picked Old School Repair first just because I liked the name. It turns out I could not have made a better choice. Ron listened to my problem, asked a few questions, then told me I could limp into town on three trailer tires instead of all four. Fortunately I was only a couple of miles away! As I removed the wheel I saw it was hanging on the axle instead of riding on the bearings. Driving on it further would have ruined the spindle, necessitating a new axle. I pulled into the lot at Old School Repair and saw a "Closed" sign on the door, but it was noon; I figured the shop keeper had gone for lunch. I was right. It wasn't long before he returned with his take-out food boxes in hand. We greeted, discussed some options, and I left him to his lunch while I ate out in the camper. After lunch he already had a friend visiting, just to chat. They talked barbecue recipes and a big grilling event coming up. Eventually Ron got around to my trailer. I had a positive impression of his shop. Things were clean, everything was orderly, tools were properly put away, the floor swept, no clutter. Spare parts & projects already underway were correctly shelved out of the way, but clearly available as need presented. After looking my trailer's hub & axle spindle & bearings over, he had me move it tight up against his garage door so it would be in the shade on this hot/muggy day, and be up on the garage floor's concrete apron. He had a tough time removing the old bearings' races; they seemed welded on. But he had the skills and the right tools to get them off--a dent puller for the front race, and a rotary cutting wheel for the rear one when it wouldn't move with the dent puller. His close inspection determined the spindle wasn't so badly damaged it needed to be replaced. During the afternoon more of his friends or family showed up, and other friends and customers called on the phone. Ron made time for them all, as a one-man shop in a small town must do. I didn't begrudge him the time. I have patience, had no set schedule, and even had been mentally prepared to leave my camper if he couldn't get at it for a few weeks. It was obvious he's that busy. Ron had lots to talk about with me, as he got the hub off, pulled the necessary parts out of inventory (THAT was handy!), pounded out the old bearing parts from the wheel hub, and replaced them all. I was there for five hours, but 2 1/2 hours were Ron spending time with friends & family who'd stop by to chat, and with lunch, and with a pair of former customers that had much gratitude to him for saving them on a previous auto repair adventure--they even had two bottles of wine or liquor for him, since they were that happy he was able to help them with no appointment, had the parts in stock, and could do the work. I can relate first hand to their experiences. He taught me a lot about many things as he worked on my axle & bearings. About racing, running a shop with just one person (he had just hired a second mechanic that day, who was busy moving there from Illinois), about diesel engines and additives, snowmobiles, and of course, axles & bearings & lubricating them. He only charged me labor for the 2 1/2 hours he actually worked on my trailer. Between that and the parts & materials, I drove away from a potentially disastrous event, one which could have taken weeks or even months to schedule & repair at an RV shop, and I paid $310. He got me in without an appointment, accurately diagnosed the issue, had the right parts in hand, did the work with skill and care, and saved the day for me. Ron and Old School Repair were the right tool for the job, and I count myself lucky he was there, willing to help a stranger in need. Thank you, Ron.

Had work done on my RV. Will definitely call on them for future work…read more Very easy to work with and caring owner.

The Dr's RV inspected, serviced and made improvements to my living quarters horse trailer and they…read morewere amazing. Prompt and clear communication about what needed to be done, what could wait, what they could and couldn't do, prices and options. I give them my highest recommendation!

Very informative and polite. Helped us out of a stressful situation with the workings of our RV…read morewhilst on vacation

From the owner: Here at Patriot 360 LLC, we offer various services for your RV. We also offer RV Inspections and…read moreFluid Analysis of your unit. Our goal is to get you back on the road to making memories as quickly as possible.

Super nice guy(Rich)! Fair prices and timley repairs. I was there a few weeks ago to get a new…read morealternator in my 94 Elderado. Just this past week he did breaks on my fionces DeVille. Thanks Big Rich!!

We were on vacation when our RV broke down. Tom tackled it at 6:30 am. He diagnosed it and got the…read morenew sensor replaced the next day when the part came in. Highly recommend this place and their skills and excellent customer service. They saved our vacation....thank you! :)

From the owner: UPI is an International Dealer, and a leader in the Medium and Heavy Duty truck markets of the…read moreUpper Peninsula, selling some of the best priced and longest lasting trucks on the road.

Incredible service, nicest people. Probably dealing with a hundred calls for service during this…read moreblizzard, but you wouldn't know it from their demeanor. Answering service was so friendly, and even had one of their drivers call me back to go over the situation, wasn't on my mind at the time to keep track of names, but I want to say it was either Matt or Adam - super sympathetic to the situation and went above and beyond offering help before he could get over to my mom who was stuck in a parking lot. Eventually got down there and helped my mom and the truck next to her that was stuck. Hopefully won't need to use them again, but if my vehicle or a friend/family member's vehicle is going to break down, I hope it's in Gene's Towing service area.

The towing service arrived sooner than expected and Riley was efficient and did a good job…read morereplacing the tire with our spare. He answered our questions and got us back on the road quickly. Very satisfied!