Wednesday, October 28, 2015

8 1/2 Hours

Apache Junction, AZ  High 87  Low 62

After leaving our free campground we drove through Las Vegas without even stopping and ended up in Kingman for the night. Then we headed towards Flagstaff and were greeted by this beautiful site. I have no idea what mountain it is but it’s sure pretty with all the snow on the top.

mountain snow2

At Flagstaff we headed south on I-17 towards Camp Verde. This was our neighbor’s truck in the RV park in Camp Verde. It’s a 1956 Ford Medium Duty truck on a 1959 Chassis. They pull their Montana fifth wheel with it.

56 Ford medium duty

From Camp Verde we only had about 130 miles back to AJ. A nice easy drive down the mountain. It was for about ten miles and then it came to an abrupt halt.

wheel bearingJim looked at his outside mirror and saw smoke. He immediately got us through traffic to the shoulder and went to check on it. He originally thought it was a tire but we lost the bearing on the left front tire of the Bungalow.

We contacted Coach Net, our roadside assistance about 8:20. They got out information and when they found out we were sitting on the side of the interstate, they sent out a Highway Patrol Officer to check on us and make sure we were safely off the road far enough. I thought that was really nice of them. We were parked at a terrible angle so we had to sit in the truck and only used the camper for those necessary things.

But it kind of went downhill from there. I don’t have any idea what the issue was, but it took almost five hours for the service guy to get out to us. One guy called and said it would be about an hour and a half. About that time, another guy called and said he was quite a ways from us and it would be another hour and a half before he could get to us. Their idea of an hour and a half are not the same as ours.

But he finally showed up and he and Jim crawled under the rig to see how much damage had been done to the axle. Jim saw the problem before we lost the wheel which was a majorly wonderful thing.

wheel bearing1

They determined that the axle didn’t have much damage and that only the bearings need to be replaced. Next problem – the service dude only had one bearing and we needed two. So off he went to find another bearing and we didn’t see him again for another hour and a half or so. Finally got back and we did a happy dance when we found out he was able to locate another bearing.

He replaced the bearings and 8 1/2 hours later we were able to get off the side of the road. By this time it was almost sunset and we were exhausted. We pulled into Sunset Point Rest Area for the night.

sunset point2

Thank goodness Jim is able to sleep through a lot of noise because the trucks were really noisy and I sure didn’t get much sleep.

We were up early the next morning and stopped for breakfast in Rock Springs. We felt we deserved it. Got back to the RV park about 10:30 and we were so happy to finally be home.

sisters The girls were fabulous. They knew something was wrong and didn’t bother us at all except when they desperately had to go. That was a problem for Skittlez because all the trucks going by scared her so she held it until she was desperate.

Took this picture of them at Sunset Point when they were both snuggled up together in their nest behind Jim’s chair.

We had all the bearings replaced and repacked on the Bungalow in May before we had planned on leaving AJ. Needless to say, Jim is going to take the trailer back and have a long talk with them. I’ll let you know what happens.

24 comments:

  1. Sounds so similar. Something we never want to happen again, ever.

    Glad you survived. Now it's a case of regaining your confidence in your rig. Not an easy thing to do

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a nightmare for sure! I'm glad it finally worked out and you were safe. That's the important thing. Also, glad you're off the road and won't have to deal with this again anytime soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had a similar, but not quite as long a wait when I was on my way to Ft. Pulaski Natl. Monument. It's the only time I ever had to use Good Sam Road Service and I was not happy with it! If you had the bearings replaced and repacked that recently, you seem to have a beef with whoever did that service.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry to hear that happened to you - I hate being broke down on the road.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's a tough one but at least you were safe and no major damage done.
    Now to sit back and relax at AJ.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an awful day. Thank our good Lord that He was right there with y'all the entire time. Those girls are so dang cute.

    Sunset Point Rest Area perfect name. Gorgeous sky.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to hear that you finally made it back to Apache Junction!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is a nightmare! Glad you were able to get service.

    It reminds me of a boat trailer we had back in the sixties. When you backed it into the water the heat from the friction sucked water into the bearings and they had to be changed and repacked periodically. One day my pops had them seize up and he was stuck for the better part of a day getting parts and repairing the thing on the side of the Garden State Parkway. After that we cleaned and repacked the bearings after every trip! I'm pretty sure the bearings in today's boat trailers are sealed a bit better than in those days.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank goodness you survived that with little problem other than waiting forever for someone to help you. What a horrid last day before you got back. Poor Skittllez, I feel her worry. Once Carmeh would not go while derailed with a broken tow bar, etc way south of Acapulco. She lasted 24 hours before she finally went but it was firecrackers that upset her.

    Hugs all around and if I were there, I would be indulging in some vino :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sure glad he noticed the smoke and got over as far as he could. I sure would be going back to the place that did the work too. Hate shotty work. I experienced that this past June up at Lakeside after having the truck serviced for the trip up there.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm hoping to meet you and the pups someday. I will be somewhere in AZ in November.

    ReplyDelete
  12. glad for you there wasn't more damage...

    ReplyDelete
  13. So glad you all made it through this okay. What a terrible day for you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Normally I didn't mind waiting for service but doing so at that location would have driven me nuts! Glad you survived. Glad I'm not the worker Jim is going to yell at. Does Jim yell?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Does not sound like a fun time, but glad it all ended without major issues:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow, what a nightmare! Glad it turned out okay. Phew! :c)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow, they certainly shouldn't have gone bad in five months! Sounds like somebody did a bad job.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, they certainly shouldn't have gone bad in five months! Sounds like somebody did a bad job.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi there - Glad everything got all sorted out. I guess we're never really prepared for all life deals out to us. Just glad all's well that ends well! Happy Halloween to you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. OMG! So sorry you had so much trouble. Seems like RVing comes with its own set of problems from time to time. Glad everything ended safely.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Meant to tell you, we have taken that route. I liked Kingman. The next RV park in Camp Verde looks like the PA park where we stay. Will be there again in the next week or so. It is a pretty drive down the mountains.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Glad you all arrived safely. Maybe that last service didn't pack those bearings very well. I'm sure Jim will get it squared away. Enjoy the sunshine and warm temps.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.