About 30 miles from our destination Darlene said "I smell something burning". Me, who can't smell a thing... couldn't smell a thing. I checked the instruments, checked for smoke in the mirrors, checked the rear camera screen to see if the Honda was fishtailing with 4 flats, all the while trying to remember where we kept the fire extinguisher. Everything looked normal. We were on a small county road, so no shoulders and no where to pull off. I finally pulled into a right turnoff lane and stopped. I went around the back of the coach and saw a bit of smoke. Looked inside the engine compartment, a bit of a smell and a bit more smoke.....but no fire, yay!
As I was walking back to the front, I felt heat radiating from the left rear tire. I put my hand on the rim and .......... HOT!
With my trusty handheld laser thermometer in hand, I crawled under the back of the bus, pointed it at the brake drum. Hmmm, 550 degrees F. Definitely not normal. Checked the right drum, 126 degrees. I'm guessing, normal.
After some investigation I determined that the air brake on the left side wasn't disengaging. Time to introduce the second cool tool for hot brakes, my trusty Fiscars hatchet.
Pounding a few times on the brake canister push rod returned it to where it should have returned to in the first place.
We drove a few miles and stopped. The drum temp was down to 250 degrees so, looks like that worked.
Once at the park I checked again, 395 degrees so, looks like that didn't work.
There comes a time in every wannabe RV mechanic's life when it becomes more prudent to call in a pro, rather than shoulder the blame for the outcome of whatever you had planned to do next .
Enter Rick's Mobile Truck Mechanic Service. He fixed while I watched and learned....and then paid. Problem solved!
Here are the heroes of the day, sorry I didn't get a picture of the third hero, Rick the mechanic. Thank you Rick!
Brazos Bend State Park is known for 2 things, a great system of hiking trails and.....'gators. I counted 10 on a one hour bike ride. They lie right beside the trail, probably waiting for an unsuspecting shih-tzu or an overly curious hiker.
Or the guy with the camera that wants to get an "up close" shot.
Lots of turtles.
Diesel can be found for just over $2 per gallon now. That's a nice perk given the Canadian dollar is hovering just above 70 cents US. (and that's largely because oil prices tanked, which is why diesel is selling for $2 a gallon).
Coronavirus
We all knew it was coming and now it's here, but I think it has only just begun.
In the stores, you can tell where the toilet tissue and hand sanitizers used to be by the empty shelves.
We have decided to carry on as planned with our trip for now, but we are keeping a close eye on what's happening here and in Canada. We are well stocked with food (and refreshments) and we can be home within a week if things start to go really wonky.
On the positive side, the RV is a pretty good way to isolate. It's largely self sufficient and the only necessary interactions with other people is when we are buying groceries or fuel. The State Parks are all starting to let you pre-register and print your pass so you don't even need to check in.
We had a bit of an eerie experience near Houston when travelling on the Sam Houston Tollway. We went into the cash lane and stopped, expecting the attendant to tell us what we owed. Nobody in the booth. A sign in the window said to continue on and the barrier was up so off we went. This happened several times in the 20 or so miles we traveled on that highway.
So, onward we go to the east, planning on a last stop near Myrtle Beach, around the end of April, before the sprint home. At least, that's the current plan.
And then, once we're home, 14 days of self isolation to look forward to.
Can someone please bring us lobster?!
No comments:
Post a Comment