Got up this morning... hoping to hear they'd have the truck up and running this afternoon...
Yeah... well... It's not a good thing to hang too much of your hopin' on a coat rack with loose screws...
Took me 'bout two minutes talking to the 'Diesel' mechanic on the phone, where the truck had been hauled to, to realize his heart was not in fixing the truck... His first suggestion was to have it hauled on to a Dodge Dealer... That does not build my confidence to where I say; "Nah... go ahead and fix it yourself!" :)
So... then... It takes two or three phone calls with the towing service... and a lot of yakkin'... to get agreement to load the ol' rig back up... and Haul it to a Dealer's Shop, up in Richfield...
OK... the Dealer can fix its' own trucks, the rigs it sells... right? well... likely... 'cept... they can't even LOOK at it... 'till Thursday...
Which, leaves us parked in the Boondocks till then... which is ok... no excuses to not get a lot of my next story built! :) ... but... sittin' out here, in limbo... not really knowing what the tariff is gonna be on THIS repair... really puts a knot in my tail...
There is one bright spot in all of this... I get to figure out how to load/secure a 40# propane bottle on a Cruiser Motorcycle... so I can get resupplied... so we don't freeze! ;-)
So... if you're goin through Southern Utah... get goin' reallllly fast... so if you do break... you can coast over to somewhere with a repair shop!
Boondocking with a Raider and a Busted Cummins
Brian
Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
A broken down Ol' Cowboy goin' RV Boondocking ...
...and Yondering, to the beat of a different Biker Cowboy Drummer
11 comments:
Maybe there's a blogger nearby with a car or truck that can help you with the propane. Think positive, its gotta be better than breaking down on the Alaskan Highway.
OH... Lordy ... Breaking down on the Alcan!!! Here at least we don't have THE issue they do up there...
THE issue on the Alcan is... People aren't at the "Top of the Food chain!" :-)
I like Teri's idea... You poor thing - well you can scream and most likely no-one will hear - the perk to boondocking... Sending you good vibes!
Yup.. having just broke down (at least in a town of Winslow AZ) had to wait 4 days to get the parts and get someone to put them in. We feel your pain!
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Hey Brian,
Make sure to strap the propane bottle to the FRONT of the Raider so in case you happen to hit something it will soften the impact:-)
Yup.. we blew into the dust storm about Albuquerque last night. It was like BROWN FOG! Amazing! I have pics on my blog that is publishing in a few more minutes. Lots better today (Monday) as we roll further east. Trying to make Tx or OK tonight.
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Not that's it would do you any good at this point, but when you get a chance I suggest you eyeball Geno's Garage for some battle spares. It's run by the same folks who publish Turbo Diesel Register (TDR) and has many "gotta-have-its" at fair prices.
Last May my 2500 wouldn't start while I was in AZ on a road trip - had been hard starting for about a week, but this was the first time it just plain wouldn't play since I'd bought it used over 6 years and 130,000+ miles before.
Used my Escapees commercial affiliate tow service to get it hauled to a dealer. Fortunately for me, I was in a metro area, Phoenix, and not in the boonies up on The Rim where I'd been two days before!
Service advisor's first call was "Fuel Pump" and quoted me the price to replace it (no longer available through Dodge) with the "new, improved" version that goes in-tank, involves dropping the tank for installation, etc., for a little more than a mortgage payment. Ouch! Fortunately for me, about three years prior I'd read about the fuel pump change in Geno's catalog and had bought a spare from them. Same manufacturer as had supplied the original to Dodge / Cummins when the truck was built. Told the Advisor to just pull the spare from under the front passagenger seat - I'd moved it from the toolbox in the back while awaiting the tow truck. Took him by surprise, but saved me (not counting freight for hauling it around for three years) over $600 by having it.
Alas, also had two injectors failing, no tools, time, or place to do them myself. That was spendy!
While you're at it, you might eyeball the TDR website - there may well be a TDR member listed in the Member Helping Member section who would help wrestle that fuel tank - in her/his truck instead of on the front of the wind-splitter.
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Keep your chin up - at least you're in a pretty place, even if forced to be for a few extra days, rather than Wally-Dockin' in a metro area.
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Thanks for the continued great posts and for the glorious pictures.
Steven fm Monument
Lordie, I never thought about you running out of gas. Hope someone is close to you and will help with that.
Well, you said you wanted to slow down a bit. :)
One drawback to bein' in the middle of knowheres alone, no other friendly RV truck to help out. Seems Good Sam would tow your 5er somewhere's else. Good luck with that tank and hang in there.
I think for choosing a good mechanic you should never see your mechanic based on price only. You should prefer the auto mechanics based on performance and experience.
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