Started out this morning... to go to the Slot Canyon 13 miles south of our camp, to check it out... got maybe 3 miles and the fuel pressure warning light I had installed last year came on... The truck was running fine... but... I did have that light put on for a reason...
... so... after sitting and thinkin' about it for a minute... I turned the truck around... and rolled, slow as I could back to camp... the light went off for a bit... then came back on and stayed on... followed by the fuel starvation the light was warning of, starting to affect the engine... damn...
No way was I gonna leave the truck and bike sitting up on that gravel road... and figuring I'd likely already ate the injector pump... I limped it back to camp... and called Good Sam ERS.
They got right on it... and had a tow on the way...
Right... Murphy ain't that easy... now is he?
Two hours later, 'bout the time the truck was supposed to get here, I got a voice mail signal... that said I had missed the call... two hours earlier ??? (The Phone had Never rung) The voice mail told me that the Towing Provider had canceled because of the "Rough Terrain" we were in?
Huh? Rough Terrain?... Their Tow Truck won't navigate the same road that Lil' Toyota Sedans are rolling by on? ... right...
So... A couple of phone calls later... they found a competent... seemingly... Tow Driver, and had him headed this way... It'll be another two hours from now... to know that This Time... they made it... we shall see...
Having a Towing Service... if you're gonna be out in remote Far Country is pretty much a Requirement. This tow won't cost us anything... beyond the price of our Emergency Road Service Membership. If we didn't have it... anybody wanna guess at the price of a tow... with the Tow Truck starting out from a hundred miles away? :o)
The real down side of this... is the repair cost. Figuring it will require another stinkin' fuel pump... at the cost of Diesel Fuel pumps...
If I'm right, it will likely pile the camels-back-breaking straw on our Alaska II Trip... time will tell... but... since the cost of fuel had the trip on weak knees... that this won't knock those weak knees out from under is a pretty pale hope.
Ah well... Montana is nice in the summer. :o) ... and for that matter... there's no shortage of empty country to feel sorry for myself all over Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho! :o)
Won't know 'till Monday... Once the mechanics go back to work... though... the driver coming sounded knowledgeable on the phone... and is bringing a few tools and parts... to do some diagnosis right here...
I'll keep my fingers crossed... but... I get the definite feeling... that Murphy was kinda cranky 'bout me tyin' his nasty lil' butt to a tree... those many miles ago...
Boondocked... and Goin' Nowhere... on the Escalante
Brian
************
***Update***
Saturday Afternoon....
So... Craig Sudweeks, of American Towing Service rolled in here, a AAA certified towing company... almost a 1/2 hour ahead of when he said it would take him... Driving a fine piece of equipment... We talked for a while, and he checked the truck out... so no easy fixes. The code it was throwing says something wrong in the computer...
... which might could cause a repair issue, where it's being hauled to... 'cause usually, computers can only be programed at a Dealership... I guess... so... we'll have to wait to see how that all shakes out Monday...
 |
| *One of the Slick Shiny Trucks of American Towing Service* |
... Craig got the Dodge loaded up on his shiny Ford car carrier... with little difficulty... other than that Ol' dually is a lil' wide in the hips...
 |
| *A Dually Juuuuuuust squeezes onto a car carrier!* |
With the storm clouds sliding in from the North and West of us... the Ol' Dodge rode off... one more time... for a bit more surgery, come the first of the week...
 |
| *Cummins on a Ford... Ya got a love it... don't you?* |
If the weather does hold ok... we'll take a roll or two on the Raider... while we wait on the repairs to get sorted out...
Another Fine Mess :) on the Boondocking Road
Brian
Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
4 comments:
If it's not one thing, then it's at least 2 others. Good Sam ERS to the rescue. I had them kinda screw up once in 14 yrs on the road. But one tow a year pays for itself. I sympathize with the high price diesel repairs, just did that on the way to TX. But you're right about nice summers in all the mentioned states. Hope it don't break the bank. Alaska isn't going any where soon.
The only time we had to use a tow was on our very FIRST day to our RV life. Leaving from Miami and broke down in St. Augustine and I cried. The tow guy was funny - trying to calm me down and I am saying over and over and over. "I don't want to go back to the in-laws house (we lived in the in-law section of the house)" the tow guy promised me we wouldn't have to as long as I would stop crying. I never wiped tears as quick as I did. Your pics brought back those memories - in which I can now laugh at.
Sorry about your truck woes CowBoy...
Hope the fix is quick and easy... and cheap.
mark
A fine house-on-wheels, a fine motorcycle, and a fine woman to ride out the storm with. I'm thinking the rest are luxury problems.
Just call me Devil's Advocate. ;)
Post a Comment