060911-Homeward Bound
060911-Homeward Bound
Monday, September 04, 2006
We thought we’d get a jump on the holiday weekend and leave today. Boy was that a bad idea on so many levels.
We had been hammered with monsoon lightning and thunder storms and the promise of them continuing till Wednesday made us decide to leave. The morning was clear of rain clouds and not too hot. We broke camp and hit the road, and for a little while the traffic was mild. So far, so good. AS we headed south on is-17, we realized we were gaining altitude and went from about 2,000 to 4,000 ft quickly. We chugged a little and let the fast traffic go by, and then we hit the downward grade. We really picked up speed and found ourselves shifting into lower gears and riding the brake to keep from excessive speeds. The speed limit in Arizona is 75 but we like to stay about 65 or less.
As we started to level off, about 40 miles from Phoenix, the traffic started to get a little thicker, and that’s when we noticed that our brakes were not working very well. We were loosing pressure and the pedal was to the floor.
With a little pumping, we regained some control but lost it quickly again. Fearing the worst, we crawled slowly to the next exit (to much the displeasure of those behind us I’m sure), and settled off road to ponder our predicament.
Nothing seemed to be dripping from anyplace, but I couldn’t find the master cylinder to determine its level. Being a major holiday, I was sure that calling for road assistance would be a pain, and with the traffic, a tow truck getting to us could be forever (and no service would be available till tomorrow anyway). We decided to reposition the Beast on a flatter portion of the off road area and boondock till tomorrow.
The exit we used was not a very popular one, with little excuse for anyone to use it except for locals. We just settled in, watched some TV, and did some reading. The next morning, we arose, without having been bothered any part of the night, and as we started to move the RV, I noticed that the brakes were functional and seemed to be adequate. A little circular driving reassured me that they were usable, so we took a chance, got back on the highway and aimed for a Chevrolet dealership about 6 miles away. we arrived without mishap, but a great deal of anxiety. Thinking back to the recent steep grade we barreled down and the thought of loosing our brakes then – becoming a run-a-way vehicle sent shivers thru me.
At the dealership, they checked out the braking system and found nothing wrong, but did claim that my wheels and fitting were loose and suggested tightening and repacking. 5 hours and $500 dollars later, we were on our way again. Still not sure that the fluke incident with the brakes won’t happen again.
Spent a night at a Flying J truck stop in Blythe and then onto Palm Springs, but the weather was so hot with no sign of shade to hide in, we decided the trip was over and headed for home.
All in all, it was a great trip. Almost 10,000 miles, almost 6 months, and almost 1,200 gallons of gas.
Got to see a lot of old and new friends and lots of interesting places and people. After parking the Beast on the street, Peter jumped out and hosed down the first tree he came to. I waited till we got in the house.
Monday, September 04, 2006
We thought we’d get a jump on the holiday weekend and leave today. Boy was that a bad idea on so many levels.
We had been hammered with monsoon lightning and thunder storms and the promise of them continuing till Wednesday made us decide to leave. The morning was clear of rain clouds and not too hot. We broke camp and hit the road, and for a little while the traffic was mild. So far, so good. AS we headed south on is-17, we realized we were gaining altitude and went from about 2,000 to 4,000 ft quickly. We chugged a little and let the fast traffic go by, and then we hit the downward grade. We really picked up speed and found ourselves shifting into lower gears and riding the brake to keep from excessive speeds. The speed limit in Arizona is 75 but we like to stay about 65 or less.
As we started to level off, about 40 miles from Phoenix, the traffic started to get a little thicker, and that’s when we noticed that our brakes were not working very well. We were loosing pressure and the pedal was to the floor.
With a little pumping, we regained some control but lost it quickly again. Fearing the worst, we crawled slowly to the next exit (to much the displeasure of those behind us I’m sure), and settled off road to ponder our predicament.
Nothing seemed to be dripping from anyplace, but I couldn’t find the master cylinder to determine its level. Being a major holiday, I was sure that calling for road assistance would be a pain, and with the traffic, a tow truck getting to us could be forever (and no service would be available till tomorrow anyway). We decided to reposition the Beast on a flatter portion of the off road area and boondock till tomorrow.
The exit we used was not a very popular one, with little excuse for anyone to use it except for locals. We just settled in, watched some TV, and did some reading. The next morning, we arose, without having been bothered any part of the night, and as we started to move the RV, I noticed that the brakes were functional and seemed to be adequate. A little circular driving reassured me that they were usable, so we took a chance, got back on the highway and aimed for a Chevrolet dealership about 6 miles away. we arrived without mishap, but a great deal of anxiety. Thinking back to the recent steep grade we barreled down and the thought of loosing our brakes then – becoming a run-a-way vehicle sent shivers thru me.
At the dealership, they checked out the braking system and found nothing wrong, but did claim that my wheels and fitting were loose and suggested tightening and repacking. 5 hours and $500 dollars later, we were on our way again. Still not sure that the fluke incident with the brakes won’t happen again.
Spent a night at a Flying J truck stop in Blythe and then onto Palm Springs, but the weather was so hot with no sign of shade to hide in, we decided the trip was over and headed for home.
All in all, it was a great trip. Almost 10,000 miles, almost 6 months, and almost 1,200 gallons of gas.
Got to see a lot of old and new friends and lots of interesting places and people. After parking the Beast on the street, Peter jumped out and hosed down the first tree he came to. I waited till we got in the house.
posted by The Highway Guys @ 1:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home