Quote:
Originally Posted by Outbound
How many miles to home.
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You know..... I tend to bring these situations on to myself. The original plan was to leave on Dec 14 for 3 weeks of snowboarding. I'm not sure that ever came up in this thread but there were certainly concerns/issues/worries about winter camping and the challenges that come with it.
Settle in for a long post if you're bored.
After the December that I had, I should be beelining it for home, right? That's not how I operate. I knew that I had a choice: get home and sell the coach or battle test it. I couldn't baby it and spend every mile feeling like there was a storm cloud over my head and that I was only waiting for the next major breakdown. I need to have confidence that it will work and do the job I bought it to do.
So as soon as it was running we pointed it north. We have a reservation for new years at Fireside Resort just outside Jackson Hole. I also have a google map of RV friendly ski resorts and there was one on the way that interested me.... So we put White Pine Ski resort in Pinedale, WY in the GPS and now I'm happy to report we are slopeside, warm, well fed and I've got a makers mark in hand. I'll be on the first chair at 9am tomorrow and whenever my legs give out we will head to Jackson.
But..... About today. We made it but it wasn't smooth.
First stop was O'reilly for a clamp for the intake. They didn't have the right size (of course had one a hair too big and one a hair too small) so ultimately decided a regular hose clamp would get us moving until we could truly fix it. No such luck. Blew off as soon as I got to the first on ramp.
Next stop autozone. Found the right clamp (wasn't easy) but $5.99 later and we were moving fast again!
Blew the intake again 6 miles later. Was cursing and trying to figure out if I'd be able to spot and pick the clamp back up on the interstate if we looped around..... Imagine my surprise when it wasn't the new clamp that had given out but the old one!!? Luckily it was still there and I realized that it was never fully torqued down. Fixed on the side of the highway and no further intake issues.
Made it to laramie to stock up on groceries (liquor) and hit the self serve car wash. Rig was FILTHY after all the towing spray and needed 20m of wash bay time. Not fun in 10F weather.
Pulled into the grocery store and discovered my motorcycle rack was mangled and my two Z125s were barely even attached to the back!! I wish I had a photo but I was pretty embarrassed and needed to focus my energy elsewhere...... Must have hit a bollard leaving the carwash. It was tight and you know how the back of these things swing. One of the trays was bent in half with yellow paint down the leading edge. Luckily the bikes were still there and no real damage besides the rack. Some ratchet strap engineering and back in business. Will need to have a welder address when back home but it's solid now.
Made it to Wamsutter, WY - Loves Truck Stop - to get a propane fill. Very nice woman hooks up the tank and the fill hose starts spraying all over the place. There's a check valve in the tank to prevent anything in there from leaking out but the hose is shot and I need to have a new one made. Can't get propane until then. Tank is half full so should be OK for a few days - and lined up a repair when we get to Jackson.
Can you believe this is still the same day?
Start experiencing some high coolant temps coming west out of there. There are some relatively mellow (but long) climbs but the temp gauge isn't making any sense. It is going up to 220F and then slowly back down to 160F but doesn't have any rhyme or reason. I adjust my speed up and down and keep an eye on whether it's when om the boost or off and can't make sense of it. Mobile tech did tell me we lost some coolant during the repair and that I should top it off when I have a chance. But..... Downside of my motorcycle carrier is that I can't open the rear doors, it's a big ordeal to unload so that I can and so we declared if the low coolant light wasn't on I must have been ok. After spiking over 220F on a flat spot of road I decided I should take the time before it got real dark (and real cold) and unload the bikes and top off the coolant. It was indeed very low. Filled it correctly and temp problems were now in the rear view mirror.
So we have now traversed most of Wyoming and collected every repair merit badge possible. We are 3 miles from our destination. Haven't seen another vehicle in 75 minutes. This has to be one of the most remote ski resorts in the US (which is cool!) and the headlights cut out. Jiggling the switch makes them come on and off. Enough that we can flicker them and with the full moon and the fog lights we can avoid the deer on the road (seriously.... 3 miles and saw at least a dozen deer.)
But like I said: battle testing. Tomorrow the coach will get another repair (I like to think of them as upgrades) and then I won't have to think about headlight switches for a long time.
Before that I have a good sleep and an early chairlift to look forward to.
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