As I understand it, Craig is not new to CC but very new to Truckmounts.
Imagine trying to understand the electronics on NASA's latest space shuttle, that's pretty much how it feels when you first clap eyes on a TM and all its trillions of parts. "What do they all do??" you say to yourself, standing there gobsmacked.
So Craig has NOT "just bought some parts and paid over the odds for them". Like Derek says, Hydramaster (let's forget the recent uproar) are brilliant at their customer service.
Craig has bought peace of mind along with his repairs. We all sell this to our customers every day.
I'm sure as Craig's knowledge of his machine increases and he gets a bit more clued up as to how Truckmounts work, he won't think twice about grabbing his tool box and getting stuck in to a few minor repairs and a bit of servicing.
There's just a bit of a wall to break down first of all, after which you begin to understand how the damn thing works and lose your "fear" of it. With respect to portable operators, it's all very well scoffing at people like craig but changing a few vacs & pumps every now and then ain't exactly rocket science is it? Opening up a portable isn't exactly daunting. Now go take the cover off a water-cooled TM and tell me what all those bits do!!
It's good to have such a wealth of knowledge and support to lean on in the early years of having a TM, after which most people will learn to do more for themselves and laugh at how they were afraid of the machine when they first got it!