Wondering about wild grapes

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Wondering why something don't feel right.

Running down the road heading west.  Everything was going just fine and then, all of sudden, something didn't feel right.  Then the severe shaking started.  Luckily I was within a few hundred yards of an exit.  Took the exit and found myself in the middle of no-where.  The only building in sight (and you can see for ever in west Texas) was a tiny little gas station with only two pumps.  I was just a little over 50 miles from Fort Stockton.  Now what do I do?  I looked underneath, checked the inside dull tires, and everything else I could think of.  Then I noticed that the rear end was almost dragging on the road!!  Something just ain't right.

My wife pulled out our Verizon hot spot portable wi-fi.  She searched the internet for some mechanic that does road service for RV's.  Found one and gave them a call.  The person who answered was a referral service and charged almost a hundred bucks to get me service.  She had a guy call me and he said he would send out a couple of mechanics, but it would take several hours to get to me.  They finally showed up and tried every trick in the book and but where I was sitting they couldn't get my unit jacked up far enough fix the problem but said they thought it was the actuator that puts air in the suspension system (air rides).  They said I had to take it somewhere they could work on it.  One mechanic rode with me and the other drove a truck behind.  We crept along and finally got to Ft. Stockton.  It was getting late so they told me that they would fix it the next day.  I stopped at the first RV park for the night and they came by the next morning and directed me to an abandoned gas station where they could work in more comfort.  Here are some pictures:



The best part of the trip so far was meeting with The Old Fatman, Barney.  He was nice enough to come and see me at Alpine.  I believe we have a lot in common.  Here is proof of his visit:

And of course I had to get my ugly mug into the picture.  I make Barney look really good!!  He is a great guy and my wife and I had a great time visiting with him, although our youngest dog had her doubts (grin).

Meeting and visiting with a great guy like Barney made my trip with all the problems worthwhile.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

11 comments:

  1. Sorry you had the problems with thew RV, but best to find them now, I reckon!

    Glad you got a chance to meet Barney, though!

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  2. I finally got internet access and checked to see how your trip west is going. Hmmm... sorry you are having so many issues. I'll be in Phoenix on Saturday, if you are there I hope we can meet up for awhile.

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  3. I can not believe you had all these issues with your new motorhome :(

    Glad you and Barney got to meet up. Here is hoping the rest of your trip goes a lot smoother.

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  4. Looks like your RV is getting quite the shake down. They never have problems sitting in the driveway, but what fun is that? Hope the rest of the trip goes well.

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  5. Now that you got the shakedown cruise out of the way, you can head for Alaska and some gold mining.I hated to hear of the problems with the RV, I'm sure all the time spent stationary was no fun, but glad to hear you got to meetup with Barney for a visit.

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  6. H.J. Yes, but it would have been better to find them somewhere where there was civilization or at home. But we survived, a lot poorer, but we survived.

    Shadowmoss, I am not going to make it to Phoenix this trip. Hope to get there sometime. I have tickets for next Saturday that I want to use.

    MsB, The motorhome was new to me but it was used when I bought it. It is a 2005 year model. And yes it was great meeting Barney. Going to stay tonight here in Alpine again and then head down to Terlingua.

    Sixbears, I think RV's will break down sitting or going down the road. They are something like a boat which is a hole in the water that you pour money into. (grin)

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  7. I really hate it, that your first trip has been nothing but problems. Hope that's all behind you now, and just enjoyment ahead.

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  8. Wow, you sure are having a lot of things go wrong. Fingers crossed that all's well from here...

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  9. I enjoy reading both your blog and the old fat man's. I think you two would make great buddies.

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  11. Trouble, I no too happy about it either.

    TFT, sure hope so. If anything else goes wrong I will have to take a train home (grin)

    Jill, I think so, too.

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