Sunday Was NOT A Relaxing Drive

Saturday we left Lancaster for Elkhart, IN.  It was a windy, rainy day.  We thought Sunday would be an easy drive.  It was not.  We stopped about 30 minutes into our drive at a truck stop.  It looked like a really easy place to get propane.  It would have been, but a warning light came on the RV when we arrived.  We parked and tried to find out what the warning light meant.  Dad looked in the manual and Mom looked online.  Mom looked up what Dad thought it was and found something very upsetting on a forum.  It said to turn off the engine because a fire could start.  Dad didn't want to turn off the engine and Mom got scared because we were parked in the middle of tractor trailers.  Mom then called the emergency helpline for Entegra.  Dad told them the problem and we were told to continue on our trip.  There was not a repair place nearby and if we couldn't drive it in, we would need to be towed. We had 297 miles to go.  We went about 30 miles and then our engine light came on.  We stopped at the next available rest area and called the emergency line again.  Again, we were told to keep going.

Very happy to cross the border into Indiana.  We still had a long drive ahead of us though.

 We were told the only reason to stop driving was if the stop engine light came on.  We decided not to stop for lunch. Mom fixed Dad a sandwich and he ate it while driving.  We were starting to get hopeful that we would make it and then 30 miles from the campground, the DEF light starting flashing.  We figured that was a signal that we would start loosing power soon and would be stuck along the road.  We knew that eventually the DEF issue would reduce our speed to about 10 miles an hour.   Finally, we arrived at our campground. Dad decided to leave the engine running while he registered at the campground.  He thought if he turned it off, we would get the stop engine light. We finally arrived at our site.  That was a HUGE relief.

We camped here in April for the Entegra rally.  There is a ton of walking places.

After we got settled in the site. The folks left to see how far the Cummins repair place was because that is where we needed to go for repairs.  It was ten miles away.  They then drove to the body shop to see how far that was and it was 30 miles.

Dad called the tech that had been helping us on the road and let him know we made it.  He said that we should just go on to the body shop on Monday and then as long as the stop engine light was not on, we could take it to Entegra when we go for other repairs in two weeks and they would be able to fix it.

Sunday night, we packed the car with everything we needed for our hotel stay since we would not be staying in the RV while it was at the body shop.  Our big outdoor chairs were brought into the bathroom because they normally ride in the Jeep and there wasn't room for them, me and our luggage. We were all ready to go. Dad started the engine and the stop engine light came on.  Grrrr!   Dad called Entegra who talked to him for a while. They put him on a conference call with the Cummins place, but that guy was on the phone, so he wasn't available.  We waited for him to call us back, but he didn't.  Dad then just drove the Jeep there to try and get things moving along.  Well, the news was not good.  They could not get us in until November 14th!   More phone calls and more waiting. There was talk that maybe we should just drive it to Entegra.  We finally heard that a mobile tech could come out to us, but it would not be until Tuesday. It was possible that he might come Monday afternoon. We had to pay for another day of rent at the campground and change our hotel reservation.  We were hoping it could be fixed and that our body work could still be completed on time.  Lots of stress.  We had to unpack some of the things we had packed in the Jeep.

Monday night ended up being a very cold night. It was 31.  Our main furnace is broke.  We can use our heat pump as long as it is over 42 degrees. We used our fireplace, but it was still quite chilly.  Brrr!!!  Mom was wishing we were in a warm hotel room.

Tuesday morning we were hoping the tech would arrive early.  Dad called around 10 a.m. to see if there was an ETA.  We were told they would check but thought he would be there in the afternoon.  How could we be told it might be Monday afternoon and then pushed back to Tuesday afternoon?  We figured we would be spending another night in the campground and then, THE TECH ARRIVED!  Now the question was if he could actually fix it.  He said we would have ended up on the side of the road if we had driven it.  He said we would have been able to go 5-10 miles an hour.  He hooked up a computer and found a few issues.  Remember back in April when we had an engine light on?  We took it to a place in downtown St. Louis and they said our software just needed to be updated.  Dad never did like that answer. Anyway, our problem was part of that problem.  The tech kept checking things.  He said it could be the pump or a hose.  Mom hoped he had the necessary parts with him.  He drove an hour and a half to reach us. If he had to order parts or pick them up, that was more time we couldn't afford to loose.  Mom and I went for a long walk through the woods so that we were out of the way.  When we returned, it was fixed!  It was the pump!

We were already late checking out of the campsite.  Dad ran to the office to tell them we were leaving and to see if they were going to charge us. They did not answer the door, so we got ready and packed. They are not very friendly there.  They do not like to chit chat at all.

Dad called the body shop to make sure they could still do the work.  They said they could!  We packed up the Jeep again and took off.  I rode with Mom and we followed Dad in the RV.

The RV looks pretty sad without us.

 The body shop guy came out and talked to us.  He talked to me and he even guessed my weight correctly.  He must like to do that.  He just said "What are you? About 74 pounds?"  He seems like a nice guy and said he will have it ready for us by the middle of next week.  We need it by next Friday, so hopefully he is correct.

We then headed for the hotel.  Normally, I enter the Jeep from the rear, but since Buddy is on the Jeep, I had to use the passenger door.  It was super easy.  Mom said I may just start doing that from now on.  She is always worried I will get hurt jumping in and out.

Hotel, here we come.

Somehow I ended up with five toys. I was only supposed to have two. I think that was due to the unpacking and repacking.  

I rode the elevator like a pro and settled in quickly to hotel living.

We went out for Chinese food last night.  We brought it back to the room.  Mom and I took a few long walks around the place. There is a lot of green space.

It is a rainy day today, so I am mainly staying inside. I did get really scared on the elevator today, so I think I will do steps from now on.  The first room they gave us was on the first floor.  It was right next to a door to the outside and Mom was concerned that I might escape if an employee came in the room while I was alone. There are also automatic doors that would let me out.  We moved to the second floor where an escape is harder.  It is not like I try to escape, but you never know.  In some ways Mom wishes we were in the first room, but I know she would have worried about it the whole time.

We have a small kitchen in our room. The kitchen does not have an oven. Mom thought there might be a microwave/convection oven like we have in the RV.  There is a microwave, but she is not used to cooking meals with it.  She is going to go shopping later today and see what meals she can figure out. We will eat out quite a bit.  The microwave and cook top seem to cook faster than ours.

It sounds like I am going to be going with the folks on some adventures, so I will have more to say later.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Slept Good Last Night