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Outlaw45 · 01-06-2011, 09:59 PM

our plan was to spend new years and our 12 anv. on the 1st in westport,wa for a few days in ole' koot. on new years day we got the coach ready to go. oh, the joys of owning a vintage coach. all packed and we are off at 10 am. should be arriving in westport around 1:30 pm. as we get into tacoma we start up a hill. engine backfires, losses power. i pull over to the side. whats the matter DW askes. hmmm, pull back engine cover, find broken belt. thats odd. the dealer put on 2 new belts and a new starter for us. had a very old new belt so put that on. had to wait for a couple of hrs to start engine and away we go. get 10 mi. engine backfires, pull off freeway and into a gas station. belt is still on. no battery power. call Good Sam to get a jump. about 4 pm tow truck comes. jumps us. volt meter doesn't move muck. getting dark, need to find a place to park for the nite. get about 1/4 mi down this rd and lite dimms real bad. pull into this big empty lot for the nite. turn on house lites and fire up the furnace. cook a great dinner. all is well. open up a bottle of the bubbly stuff for the DW and a bottle of red wine for me. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

NOW THIS PART OF TOWN IS NOT REALLY WHERE YA WANT TO BE AT BUT...

so about 10 pm, house batterys goes down. now no heat. soooo we go to bed. it's getting cold out. our sleeping bags are very warm, no prob. we get up in the morn and the coach is 24 degrees inside. we walk 2 mi. to the parts store to get new alt. and new belt and stop for breakfast. get back to coach and install alt. and belt. have to call GS for a jump start. about 3 pm tow truck comes, get started and volt meter is reading real good. getting late and need a place to stay for the nite. there is a rv park about 15 mi. down I5. we pull in get a spot. plug into shore power. getting nice an warm. make a nice dinner for our 12th anv.

find a movie on our computor on hulu. DW says, it's getting cold in here. oboy, forgot to fill up propane tank. yep, another cold nite sleeping. but remember, our bags our nice and warm. get up early next morn. another 24 degrees in the coach. fire up engine, and get things warmed up. pull out and go have breakfast then over to gas station for propane. wow, all is running good and off to westport. lol.

get down to our exit to go to the ocean, look at my volt meter and it's down. now what. pull off the road. pull back cover. my new belt is gone. put on old new belt. all is fine. something is going on. get down the road another 10 mi. and volt meter is down. find a gas station, pull in. guess what. yep that belt is gone. are we having fun yet. oh sure, just another venture. call GS for a tow to the nearest rv shop. big tow truck comes 3 hrs later. we get hooked up and have 30 mi to go to shop. get into tumwater to the shop. this is Sunday. closed. get onhooked. so do we spend the note again in the coach or find a hotel. yep, find a hotell. Best western is 2 blocks away. get a room for the nite and hot showers and food.

get up in the morning and go to shop at 8 am. tell owner what is going on. no prob. will look at it at 9. 11 am comes, owner calls. says the guy who put on the power steering belt was the wrong size so that it helped take out your alt. and the water pump is shot. ok, well fix it and get us back on the road. at 3 pm, ole' koot is ready to go. paid the bill and off to westport here we come.

yippie. all is good. these are pic's of westport where we stayed, overlooking the fishing boats.

these are leaving for back home.

well we got made the rest of the trip and no prob.
we only stayed for the nite. we were going to stay another nite but the 1st nite it started to rain like crazy and the wind came up. when we got up the next morn. and it was 68 degrees in the coach, it was still raining and the wind was getting worst so we decided to head for home. at this time of year the town is pretty much closed up. the New Year weekend, which we didn't make was full of people and the town was open. the state open clam digging for that weekend.
so we got home in good shape. yep, the owning of a vintage. you either have to like em or stay away from em. we like em and Ole' Koot did what he was suppose to do. all the problems was not his fault but to someone that calls himself a mechanic.
i know this was long and i hope ya all had fun reading it. we didn't get anybetter pic's of him but will do later. take care and see ya down the road

Outlaw

73Indian · 01-06-2011, 11:00 PM

Hey you made it home under your own power, that is good. I usually tell others to take very short trips, like around town a few times to work out some of the bugs, but at least you had a towing plan. I bet the next trip will just get better.
I seem to remember Westport this last Juneuary (very cold June) being cold, windy and wet. Parked by the beach and took hot showers before heading North.
Thanks for sharing the trip. Les

P.S. Happy anniversary...

**JohnRR** · 01-06-2011, 11:28 PM

Well you got more stories to tell about your first trip than most people do. Enjoy it.

Outlaw45 · 01-07-2011, 10:24 AM

thanks. all in all, we had a great time. when owning a rig this old you have to expect things to happen. since Ole'Koot sat for 10 yrs stuff doesn't work real well. when we bought it, i thought the odomator reading said 54,700 mi.. after we got him, i looked and it said 4,700 mi.. now this has not turned over. after talking to the teck at the dealers, he said when he went to pick it up, the kids said there dad got it new, made a trip to AZ. in it and did a little bit of camping but not much. most of the time it stayed in the barn. the owner died about 10 yrs ago and the kids decided to let it go.
so you know i have to keep an eye out to see what will fail next time. at least so far no seals have leaked from the engine. the tranny shifts very smooth. i just need to get it into the shop and see about the play in the steering. coming back from westport the wind sure made me work for awhile. so, all in all everything is good.
anybody who is reading this and is thinking about owning an old vintage, i say go for it. they are such a fun coach to have. it's only money right. have fun. see ya on the road.

Outlaw

RedneckExpress · 01-07-2011, 11:59 AM

Nothing quite like the trials and tribulations of old equipment

.

W4RLR · 01-07-2011, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

Nothing quite like the trials and tribulations of old equipment

.

My wife says the same thing, though I am not absolutely sure if she is talking about the fiver or ME.

Hammer Down · 01-07-2011, 02:04 PM

Patience being a virtue you guys are well on your way to a lifetime of RV'ing. Good luck and keep the pictures coming. Enjoyed the pictures.

Outlaw45 · 01-07-2011, 05:57 PM

yep, you have to have patience to own one of these. it is so much fun.

Outlaw

LSC9901 · 01-07-2011, 06:47 PM

When I read some of these stories it does scare me a bit. In Nov we purchased a 1984 26' Fleetwood Jamboree. It sat for at least three years so there is some work to do on it. Right now it is parked for the winter waiting for springtime to arrive so we can get into it. It'll need a good cleaning for starters. We did get it started after some coaxing. Drove it about 5 miles from the previous owners home to its winter storage spot. Our plan will be to get it running and then just take it on some short jaunts around where we live. Once we are confident that it'll withstand a longer trip we may strike out. We don't have any pictures yet but as soon as we get it home we'll start the before, during and after photos. Just want to get it past the state inspection process and then we'll dig into it. My mind races on a daily basis as to what we plan to do with it !!! As usual I have more ideas than money but I guess that's OK.

kartvines · 01-07-2011, 08:00 PM

We too have a vintage motorhome a 83 Pace Arrow, so I guess that in concluion of this story is this:

Have Palnety of time
Carry plenty of money
Carry as many spare parts as possible
Have a good tow service

blackf3504dr · 01-08-2011, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rray32539

My wife says the same thing, though I am not absolutely sure if she is talking about the fiver or ME.

I'm sure she's talking about the fiver !

One thing's for sure Outlaw, it can only get better !

Right now our '92 HR is in the driveway with a starting problem.... But at least it's home .........

Ed S · 01-08-2011, 06:13 AM

Outlaw,

Made for fun reading and enjoyed the pics. Thanks for sharing.

JayGee · 01-08-2011, 06:23 AM

I really like your attitude. Have fun.

Outlaw45 · 01-08-2011, 09:12 AM

if we weren't retired and we had a job and this happened, my attitude probably wound not have been so goood, but since we are retired, things happen and we are in no rush to be anywhere. of course we don't have any money either.lol. i guess it's all in how you you look at things.
well i am glad ya all like the story of our first trip. don't forget, we are haveing the iRV2 meet and greet in May. you can regesiter now for a spot. e-mail me at:

eagleworks@jonav.net and i will sent you the info. i think the info is on the NW group site also.

see ya on the road.
Outlaw