Trip #2

Well, my boss of 10 years at Winzler & Kelly, my mentor, and dear friend, Jack Goble, died on the Tuesday after we picked up the Bus. He had battled with colon cancer for a year and died at 52 years old. He had reached the top, President and CEO, lived healthy and well but he lost at living a long life. His wife Robin is a friend of Sandi's, their 15 and 16 year old sons used to play with our kids.......making the trip up for the service in Santa Rosa on Sunday, February the 3rd was a Must Do.

Sandi and I arranged for Monday off work.

Plane tickets for the run up the weekend before were $111 each, one way.... Motel, rental car, meals out ..... we had no choice but to take the bus.

On Friday I left work at 10:30 am, unhooked the shore power and other lines, and ran up to get Sandi in Encinitas. She expected to be home at 3 or 3:30. As I warmed up the bus I stepped to the sink to wash up after unhooking. The darn water pump was not working!
I checked around, only a few interior lights worked..... no heater, no electronic lighter for the LP portion of the refrigerator, DARN! I checked around the many 110 and 12 volt fuses and breakers..... the fuses looked good, the breakers were OK...... DAMN! The bus systems, all of them, are on a separate 24 volt system, all was working there..... we will just go and camp out... the ice maker had made a full bucket, had 1 gallon frozen in a jug, that would work as an ice box..... Darn it, WE GO!

I placated Sandi with the bad news, told her it would be an adventure, and that we would heat the coach with the stove and used bottled water. She went for it and we hit the road around 4 or 4:30.

Of course we hit LA traffic, did the stop and go thing for an hour or so but made it over the Grape Vine (the Northbound is steeper, we dropped to 35 mph a couple of times) and spent the night in the TA truck stop back lot. We got an early start and were approaching Santa Nella at about 8:30 or 9. I looked down and saw that we were down to 60 lbs air pressure! It normally runs 110 to 120. It was slowly dropping, we took the Santa Nella exit and pulled into the TA truck stop and parked behind the service shop.
I looked under the hood..... wires, hoses, all kinds of things.... The right rear airbag was empty, the corner of the bumper was 4" off the ground! (no springs, all airbags on the bus) I went in and asked, they said pull it in and they would see what they could do.
2 hours later we had determined that the airbags were good, no leaks in the lines, the governor on the air pump was good, the pump must be bad. They had no parts for that, and were at the limits of their abilities.
They pumped the system full with the air hose. They called Freightliner in Fresno. Freightliner said they would help but no way could I make it 60 miles without running out of air and the emergency brakes locking up. They gave 3 names and numbers of 24 hour mobile repair outfits. Noon Saturday.......
A guy at the parts counter says "that is what I do! I do 24 hour mobile service! Not making air, the pump is bad.... I have to get a bolt, and finish fixing a turbo. I will call and locate an air pump on my cell phone on my way back to fix the turbo. It is $300 to $700 for the pump, 4 or 5 hours labor and travel at $65; you will be on the road tonight! I will call you within an hour."
He called right on time..... no pump, had to order one, will be here on Monday! DAMN!
Rent a car, do the service, come back and fix the bus, drive home Monday night? CRAP!

We hang out, Sandi take a walk and finds a Bonsai tree convention at the hotel across the street. I dig in and trouble shoot the dead 12 volt system. Eureka! I found it! A 50 amp glass automotive type fuse that looks perfect but is toast. I get a box of 30's (no one ever heard of a 50 there) and all is well! Sandi gets back, I break the news. "It is an adventure!"

4 pm. One of the guys in the shop (my new buddy Leonard) finds out why we are hanging out and says "I have a buddy, Gabe, who fixes Detroits, let me call him, he can fix anything." He calls, Gabe will go home and get a pump of an old Detroit he has and will be there in an hour and a half. 1 ½ hours later Gabe is there. The pump he brought is slightly different, will not work! "Let's fix this thing, we don't know what is really wrong yet, sometimes they have a fiber drive gear that breaks." The pump he brought has a good steel gear, it might fit this pump and this motor!
Gabe is 5'2" and built like a Sumo. I hold the light for him.
He is right, after he loosens the pump and tips it out we discover it does have a fiber drive gear, and it is broken; he turns the pump and it is declared GOOD! He pulls the pump all the way (it has two water cooling lines from the engine, 2 oil lubrication feeds from the engine, in and out air lines and a governor). The gear fits the motor, it fits the pump!
It has been dead dark since 5 minutes after he arrived, 40 degrees and blowing.
Gabe is not a quitter, we will be on the road soon!
1 hour later, I hold the light still, now for Gabe to put all his tools away. We invite him in to wash up, he gas a bear. This dude is as sweet as they come, a real pussy cat, salt of the earth. He wants $135 for 3 hours of work and travel, but says $120 as I get my wallet. I give him a $20 tip.
We hit the road and are in a slip in Windsorland at 11 (Sandi HAD to have 110 for her hair dryer).
It was just as well, in the morning she had a bath first and I ran out of water full of soap on my shower. I make some measurements, 1 foot x 2.5 foot x 2 foot makes for a 37.4 gallon water tank! I run out on the frosted ground, hook up the hose to the bib, shiver until the hot water heater catches up, and finish my shower. I will add a 200 gallon tank!

It is Sunday morning, we have the service at 2. We call Fred Brass, tell him we are in the "RV" and will swing by at 10 or so. We park across the highway at the Cricklewood restaurant lot (no way to get in and out of his driveway). We go in, visit, tell him how the "RV' has changed....... We smoked him so bad he was doubting his memory when he saw it....... Smoked him real good!

The service was great. 300 people or so, real class. Non Religious, 4 speakers, the last was my buddy Iver.... He choked us up real bad. We left at 5 and went back over to the valley, spent the night in the back lot of the TA truck stop in Santa Nella, got there after 10.
Fred had told us how to avoid LA! South on I-5, East on Hwy. 58 thru Bakersfield, South on 395 to I-15 and on down into Northeast San Diego at Escondido. It was quite a bit longer but a nice run over the Techapi pass. We were at Sandi's curb at 4.
I had no desire to back 175 feet of s turns into my KOA slot so I spent the night, parked on the curb outside the KOA in the morning, walked in to get my Suburban, and returned at lunch to park the bus.

What a dream way to travel. Sandi played super stewardess and read and napped and kicked back and just enjoyed the view. It is so easy to drive for me, smooth and steady.

We are already talking of going to San Felipe in two weeks!