Monday 8-29 Getting Towed & Getting the Minnie Fixed

 

Happy Campers

We had a long day of waiting. 

We woke up to the temperature in the 40s. Larry started the furnace, it was the first time it had run in years and it worked great. He only ran it until it got the chill out of the air. I made pancakes for breakfast and this also helped warm up the Minnie. 

At 8:00 Larry called Good Sam's to setup someone to tow us. It was a long process. When he called on Saturday the lady said everything was setup in the system and we just had to call on Monday and they would get the process started. Well, Larry called and had to go through the whole process. Then a representative came on the line and asked the same questions. Larry told her that we already setup a work order that had all the information. It took her a bit but she finally found it. The way they work kind of makes sense but it did take a long time. First they start calling repair places from a list of companies they have and once they find someone who is available to work on your vehicle then they start calling towing companies. While they do this they have you on hold and every 5-10 minutes they come back on the line and let you know the status. She could not find anyone on her list that would work on the Minnie. Larry suggested that she look at some companies listed on the internet in Alamosa, which was just 26 miles away. Joey's Diesel and Towing said they would work on the Minnie. Larry was happy because he had read reviews on the company and they were very positive. Now she worked on finding a towing company, I would have thought she would just have Joey tow us but I guess since he wasn't on her list she decided to find someone else. She setup Southside Salvage and Towing. This entire process took over two hours. She did an excellent job of helping us.  

While Larry was on the phone with Good Sam's a gentleman came by a couple of times to tell Larry we had to move because we were parked across the street from a fire station. The second time he came by Larry told him that he was on the phone with our towing company. He said he didn't know we were having problems and never came back. The weird thing was we were there all weekend at the same spot and no one came by. It was an old metal county building and there was never anyone there. He didn't appear to have anything to do with it, simply a guy who lived in the area and was driving around with his dog.

The gentleman from the towing company called and said he would be there within an hour. While we waited we had lunch. He showed up with a huge rig. He was glad of our location, we pulled the Minnie onto the street and he hooked us up, then he disassembled the drive shaft and taped it up. Larry didn't have to take off the motorcycle and carrier, it cleared the road about a foot. Once the Minne was hooked up to the wrecker we loaded unto the cab, it only had two seats so Larry and I had to share one. I got in first and I had to sit on the buckle of the seat belt. It wasn't too comfortable but we only had to go 26 miles. The ride was a two lane highway and the gentleman drove smoothly. He was very nice.

Getting towed by Southside Salvage and Towing

When we got to Joey's Diesel and Towing the tow truck driver went inside and told them he delivered the Minnie for them to work on, he knew the guys working there. They thanked him and he was on his way. Larry talked to Robert about what he thought was wrong. He told Robert, that he thought it was the fuel pump because the engine would stop when it got warm. Once he turned it off an waited a few minutes it would run for a few miles. New vehicles have an OBD II port that you can hookup a tester to and it will normally tell you what is wrong, our Minnie is one year too old so no OBD II port. Diagnosing it is much more difficult, based on Larry's description they also thought it was the fuel pump. He said that they would have the part in 45 minutes and then he could put us in the bay. There was a couple of trucks in front of us but they were almost finished with one of them. The part was delivered but it took a couple of hours before they got us in.  That was ok because we could stay in the Minnie and relax. When they finally got us in Larry turned off the refrigerator and we went to the waiting room, it wasn't much, just a couple of chairs at the front door.

They had to remove the fuel out of the tank, about 20 gallons. Then they had to lower the tank. It took a bit because the exhaust was welded to the bracket that held the tank in place. They replaced the pump and put the tank back in and filled it. We had gotten there about 12:30 and didn't leave until 6:30. It was a long day and hopefully the problem is solved. They said if it quit give them a call and they would come tow us back. Before leaving Larry asked them to check out a belt  squeal we have when we first start the Minnie in the morning. They believe the air conditioner compressor is causing the problem. The compressor has made noise for years and while Larry was not sure that was causing the problem it really needs to be replaced. They had to order the part and it won't be in until Wednesday. We'll come back.

We went to the Maverik convenience store to get water in the tank. Larry had read that they had a free dump and water for RVs. While there he put in a little gas. He didn't want to fill the tank just in case they had to work on the fuel pump again. 

After getting water and gas we went to Walmart, where we'll be stay the night. Once we parked the Minnie we walked to Wendy's for dinner. It has been a long time since we had been to Wendy's. We had the $5.00 order, Your chose one of three sandwiches (we chose the chicken club) then you get a 4 piece chicken nugget, small fries and a large drink. The drink wasn't good because it was too carbonated the worker said that they were waiting for the Coke Company to come and fix it. The sandwich was good. 

Dinner at Wendy's

I ended up doing 16,000 steps today, I was 9,000 shy of my goal but that's ok. I thought I wasn't even going to get 10,000 steps. This put me in 8th in my group. I'll probably will make up for the lost.

We had a very long day but the Minnie is running great.