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kevin_standleeThis is a continuation about which I hinted in my post yesterday about bringing the Astro home. Our luck ran out on the Rolling Stone. As I mentioned yesterday, we started the RV in Fernley and did not turn it off, as the problem had appeared to be just getting the vehicle started in the first place. Until yesterday, once the RV started, it would run just fine. Unfortunately, that would turn out to not be the case yesterday.
After collecting the Astro, we set off for home, with Lisa leading in the minivan and me driving the RV. About five miles north of Yerrington, the RV quit running. Fortunately, there was a shoulder, albeit not as flat as I would have liked. Not all of US-95 on this route has a decent place to get off the road safely. I called to Lisa on the radio, "I've lost power" and she also pulled over.
From the symptoms, Lisa had enough additional information to make an educated guess about what went wrong. But we did not have a lot of tools, other than some emergency tools in the Astro. Lisa popped the hood and removed the "doghouse" cover inside the RV and had a look.
The engine compartment of the Rolling Stone (a 1987 Ford E-350 van) is very crowded. List removed the air filter assembly here and peered further inside. Her suspicions are now: the distributor, the coil, and the electronic control module, or (somewhat less likely, she thinks), the spark plug wires.
It's very difficult to access things her, particularly under roadside conditions without all of her tools.
After puzzling over this for a while, Lisa buttoned things back up again and suggested I try starting the RV again. For a wonder, it started right up. Plan B was now to (we hoped) make our way home. But she reminded me that if the vehicle quit again to immediately shift into neutral to preserve momentum, and to be constantly on the lookout for safe "landing" spaces.
We got about one mile further north before the RV quit again. However, I was ready for it, and coasted on an okay (and flatter than the first spot) space off the road.
Lisa concluded that she should do nothing more under these conditions. I called AAA, submitting a service ticket and specifying that this is an automatic transmission vehicle that has to be transported either on a flatbed (ideal) but in any event with its rear wheels off the ground.
Around an hour later a AAA flatbed dispatched from Yerrington arrived and began the process of getting us home.
Here's the flatbed with the operator engaging the cables to pull the RV onto the vehicle.
With the RV on board, the operator started securing it to the flatbed.
The operator secured all of the chains, I explained to where we would be going in Fernley, and we set off for home.
Lisa drove the Astro, and I rode for the approximately 45 mile drive back to Fernley up US-95A.
The adrenaline burst that had been keeping me going was starting to wear off, so I appreciate Lisa doing the driving.
When we got home, I directed the driver around to the back of the house where he started the process of dropping it off the flatbed. After doing so, he completed the AAA paperwork and headed back to his home base in Yerrington.
So now the Rolling Stone sits inoperable as we consider our next moves. Lisa tells me that she thinks that if she can get at the necessary part of the engine (which will be much easier at home in our driveway with her having access to all of her tools), she can start troubleshooting things. She's moderately optimistic about everything; she just needs time to work on it. Fortunately, we now have time, and a working minivan, so we are not stuck. When Lisa apologized for not being more successful out on the road, I assured her that she's vastly better than I would have been under the same circumstances. I can change a tire and suchlike, but I would not have had a clue about what was causing the engine issues. Her informed speculation about it being, at the root, an electrical-system issue, makes sense to me, particularly given how well the engine runs, when it runs at all.
After getting everything secured once we got home, Lisa asked me to go get us a pizza, and I was happy to oblige, driving over to collect it in the now-operating Astro.
This situation could have been much worse. It was a pleasant spring day, and was not especially hot or cold. There was no rain or other bad weather. We were able to park safely off the road. AAA was able to haul us home. I'm glad I keep my AAA membership dues paid, and that I have a AAA Plus membership, which includes up to 100 miles towing. The Astro is back with us and appears to be working well. So now it's just a case of working on the RV as our resources permit.
I, however, was worn out from the stress of yesterday, and while I slept like a rock (or should that be a rolling stone?), it was not enough, and I'm not totally steady today. An early bedtime and/or a nap are in order, time permitting.
After collecting the Astro, we set off for home, with Lisa leading in the minivan and me driving the RV. About five miles north of Yerrington, the RV quit running. Fortunately, there was a shoulder, albeit not as flat as I would have liked. Not all of US-95 on this route has a decent place to get off the road safely. I called to Lisa on the radio, "I've lost power" and she also pulled over.
From the symptoms, Lisa had enough additional information to make an educated guess about what went wrong. But we did not have a lot of tools, other than some emergency tools in the Astro. Lisa popped the hood and removed the "doghouse" cover inside the RV and had a look.
The engine compartment of the Rolling Stone (a 1987 Ford E-350 van) is very crowded. List removed the air filter assembly here and peered further inside. Her suspicions are now: the distributor, the coil, and the electronic control module, or (somewhat less likely, she thinks), the spark plug wires.
It's very difficult to access things her, particularly under roadside conditions without all of her tools.
After puzzling over this for a while, Lisa buttoned things back up again and suggested I try starting the RV again. For a wonder, it started right up. Plan B was now to (we hoped) make our way home. But she reminded me that if the vehicle quit again to immediately shift into neutral to preserve momentum, and to be constantly on the lookout for safe "landing" spaces.
We got about one mile further north before the RV quit again. However, I was ready for it, and coasted on an okay (and flatter than the first spot) space off the road.
Lisa concluded that she should do nothing more under these conditions. I called AAA, submitting a service ticket and specifying that this is an automatic transmission vehicle that has to be transported either on a flatbed (ideal) but in any event with its rear wheels off the ground.
Around an hour later a AAA flatbed dispatched from Yerrington arrived and began the process of getting us home.
Here's the flatbed with the operator engaging the cables to pull the RV onto the vehicle.
With the RV on board, the operator started securing it to the flatbed.
The operator secured all of the chains, I explained to where we would be going in Fernley, and we set off for home.
Lisa drove the Astro, and I rode for the approximately 45 mile drive back to Fernley up US-95A.
The adrenaline burst that had been keeping me going was starting to wear off, so I appreciate Lisa doing the driving.
When we got home, I directed the driver around to the back of the house where he started the process of dropping it off the flatbed. After doing so, he completed the AAA paperwork and headed back to his home base in Yerrington.
So now the Rolling Stone sits inoperable as we consider our next moves. Lisa tells me that she thinks that if she can get at the necessary part of the engine (which will be much easier at home in our driveway with her having access to all of her tools), she can start troubleshooting things. She's moderately optimistic about everything; she just needs time to work on it. Fortunately, we now have time, and a working minivan, so we are not stuck. When Lisa apologized for not being more successful out on the road, I assured her that she's vastly better than I would have been under the same circumstances. I can change a tire and suchlike, but I would not have had a clue about what was causing the engine issues. Her informed speculation about it being, at the root, an electrical-system issue, makes sense to me, particularly given how well the engine runs, when it runs at all.
After getting everything secured once we got home, Lisa asked me to go get us a pizza, and I was happy to oblige, driving over to collect it in the now-operating Astro.
This situation could have been much worse. It was a pleasant spring day, and was not especially hot or cold. There was no rain or other bad weather. We were able to park safely off the road. AAA was able to haul us home. I'm glad I keep my AAA membership dues paid, and that I have a AAA Plus membership, which includes up to 100 miles towing. The Astro is back with us and appears to be working well. So now it's just a case of working on the RV as our resources permit.
I, however, was worn out from the stress of yesterday, and while I slept like a rock (or should that be a rolling stone?), it was not enough, and I'm not totally steady today. An early bedtime and/or a nap are in order, time permitting.
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