Community Forums

R.Wold · 08-15-2019, 02:48 PM

Ill try to keep this short but it might be difficult. In late June, en route to ND (from Northern Ca) and points beyond, we stopped for the night at the Casper RV park, Casper Wy (nothing special but friendly, the price was right, and it had vacancies). My neighbor, a gentleman in his late 60’s driving a Dodge with a Lance on it, had the hood up and he was just kind of staring at the motor. Being one of those motorhead types that just cant resist such a sight, I walked over and asked “Just checking things over or do you have a problem?”.

Well he had a problem. The thing threw the belt and he didn't know why. And he had called around to the local dealer and a couple other shops and all said they couldn't get to it until late the following week and he was going to have to have it towed wherever he took it for repairs. This presented a problem because they were on the road on their way to BC from Texas and of course didn't relish being stranded for over a week in Casper, not to mention what all this was going to cost.

So I of course volunteered to have a look. I told my son about it (in a 5th Wheel on the other side of my coach) and went in to change into work clothes. By the time I got out there he was under the hood too trying to extract the belt. Turns out the belt on a 6.7 Cummins is kind of threaded in and around like a busy east coast interchange, but with me on the ground and my son above we got the belt off and quickly found the problem - a bad water pump.

This was around 6:00pm on a Saturday in East Casper but as luck would have it there was an O’Rileys about a half mile away that had one (1) in stock. So we loaded up in my son’s truck, headed over, the dodge owner bought the pump (and a couple gallons of coolant), we headed back to the park, and by 7:30pm he was back in service with a new belt he had been carrying around “just in case”.

He was quite thankful of course, his wife was quite relieved, and both were a little surprised at our willingness to get dirty and dig in to a strangers mechanical issues, and at the variety of tools we carry. From our perspective, this was just plain fun, interesting, and good campground entertainment, and a chance to lend a hand. He tried several times to pay us which of course we refused, and the whole mess only cost him $110 and no lost time on the road. He pulled out early the next morning but not before insisting he got our address so he could send “a thank you”. Well what could I do?

So today a package came UPS as pictured below. I was so pleased and impressed by the gesture that I had to stop my project work (in 100*+ weather) and write this story. I was glad what he sent was not extravagant, but rather a quality item that I will enjoy during the preparation of many meals on the road and he sent two of them, one for me and one for my son.

So I just wanted to share this happy story with a happy ending. Life is good in the road!

Solo_RV_Guy · 08-15-2019, 02:57 PM

Wonderful story and awesome neighbors, both of you!

JBDISCOVERY · 08-15-2019, 02:57 PM

Wow, that's great. Goes to show that people really appreciate people who go
out of their way to help.
God bless.
JimB

twogypsies · 08-15-2019, 03:08 PM

All 3 of you are great people!!! Nice to see.

traveler of california · 08-15-2019, 03:46 PM

Wonderful feel good story. You can park next to me anytime.

Nick

A32Deuce · 08-15-2019, 05:05 PM

Nice story and how I like to do things to help. Made some nice friends that way.

ThomB · 08-15-2019, 05:34 PM

That's great!

I was on the assisting end once for some help to fellow travelers. It was just helping close up a cabinet that was damaged by a exploded tire so I did what I could. It allowed them to get back on the road and out of the rest area they were in. It was a small repair but it felt good to help.

Charming · 08-16-2019, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by traveler of california

Wonderful feel good story. You can park next to me anytime.

Nick

Two thumbs up on this!

Can we have your itinerary so we can be where you and your son are heading?

Jean n Steve · 08-16-2019, 07:30 AM

That's a happy story no matter which way you look at it.
It's nice to know there are folks like you out there.
Thanks for sharing!

TheLuvShack · 08-16-2019, 07:55 AM

You and your son certainly went out of your way to help. I think most campers are typically nice people. While working on small repairs on my RV my neighbor campers have asked if I needed help. It's a nice feeling that we stick together. Safe travels!

EJW · 08-16-2019, 08:49 AM

Thank you for sharing. So very kind the 3 of you did what you did. What a great story. I am most likely the person who needs mechanical help despite helping my mechanic dad over the years (sorry, dad!).

I truly wish I could offer help like you did. Just reinforces how super cool and caring the RV community can be.

arcaguy · 08-16-2019, 09:04 AM

Usually when I've done things like this I just tell the folks to remember what I did and do the same for someone else. It makes us all better people.

However, the olive oil was a very nice gesture and I'm sure appreciated. Happy cooking.