091020 - California North Coast

October 20, 2009
Sleepy Hollow RVP
Willits, California

We spent as much time as we could on the Pacific coast to enjoy the scenery and weather. A week at Kamp Klamath on the Klamath River was pleasant and fun. Not many campers was good for Danny because I could leave him off leash and let him run and explore the area. He managed to stay out of trouble most of the time although when he doesn’t respond to my calling or the whistle I get nervous and worried.

The next week we spent in the Emerald Forest, which was really the Redwoods National Park. It was really beautiful among these old giant trees, except when it rained. I haven’t been able to train Danny to wipe his feet when it’s muddy outside or not to shake himself dry when we walk in the rain.

We drive with a bit of anxiety, because although our radiator problem was fixed, the engine tends to overheat when we hit an inclined road. By downshifting and slowing down, we keep the needle out of the red zone and fortunately we have not hit any grade that has been too steep or too long. At least we aren’t leaking anymore.

Sleepy Hollow RVP is not as picturesque as you might want to imagine, but it’s just an overnight stop at a good rate. No cable or WIFI and our phone signal is zero so it will be early to bed and early to rise.

090930 - Crescent City, California

September 30, 2009
Crescent City, California

Crescent city is a small. Sleepy town just south of the California-Oregon boarder and other then stopping to shop at a Wal-Mart, we had no intention of spending any time there.

As we left the town heading south, about 4-1/2 miles later, the engine started losing power on an inclined road and I spotted the temperature gauge in the red zone. I didn’t see any smoke or steam, but just ahead was a cutout in the road so I pulled off for an inspection.

Once the hood was open, the problem was obvious but unusual. The coolant reservoir (overflow tank) had sprung a leak and loosing radiator coolant fast and hot. With a large crack in the front of the plastic case and I suspect another on the bottom, I guessed that the radiator was running dry and not safe to drive.

I knew immediately that I was going to need a tow truck. Fortunately, I have a good insurance policy that includes RV towing so that was not my first concern,

As I have mentioned frequently in the past, the coastline is not the best area for Sprint cell phone reception and I feared the worst. Calling for a tow would be the challenge.
Inside the beast I had a NO SIGNAL display. Outside, I walked a little north then a little south of the Beast, and to my surprise, a signal appeared … weak but useful. I quickly made my call, giving out my location and status and the roadside assistance operator told me she would locate a tow service and send them out. Right after that, my phone lost the signal. In my years of being disabled, I have learned to be patient and positive and this was a good opportunity to display these qualities. About an hour later (about 4 PM), a big yellow tow truck appeared.
He took us to George’s RV repair in Crescent City, but as we approached, George was standing outside waving us off like a bad landing on an aircraft carrier. He had 2 mechanics sick and would not be about to schedule any repairs. Mike, our tow driver rerouted us to Marty’s Repair shop just as he was closing up. Marty was not very optimistic about fitting me into his schedule either but he said he would do what he could.
With the Beast parked along side the shop, Danny and I walked around and then settled in for the night.

The next day, Brad inspected the engine and radiator, ran some tests and found another leaky hose. After 3 hours, the leaky hose and reservoir container were replaced and we were road-worthy again.

It was now getting late in the afternoon and I decided to go back to Wal-Mart and boondock for the night and travel tomorrow.

I decided to do a little more shopping while I was there (they have electric shopping scooters) and when I came back to the Beast I noticed something dripping on the ground. From the hose connection on the reservoir container, there was a slow but steady dripping ( 3 drops a minute). Quick calculations told me that would be 180/hour and in 10 hours 1,800 drops. It was too late to go back to Marty’s so we settled in for the night again. The next morning, the once full container was almost empty.

Fortunately, Brad made a quick adjustment to the clamp and the dripping stopped.

Just another “topes” in the road of life.

P.S. In Mexico, topes is a speed bump