About 9:30, the tow truck shows up with a second repair vehicle “to help the driver get hooked up”. They didn’t know if they could get hooked up because we couldn’t start the engine to build up air pressure and raise it up. The tow driver was tall and the service truck guy was short and fat. “Why can’t you start the engine?” I was asked. “Because the fuel line has a hole in it and is leaking” I replied. “Lemmesee” “OK” So I took “Mutt” inside to show him the burned fuel lines while “Jeff” stayed outside and went under the rig. There was a lot of “aayup” and “aayaah’s” in typical Maine drawl while they looked and poked around. After a short mechanical conference, “Mutt” (who turned out to be the owner of the towing service), asked me why we just didn’t change out the two fuel lines right here instead of towing it into Bangor and have Freightliner do the same thing. That was my original preference when I first diagnosed the problem so that was fine by me. However, being skeptical, I asked them if they could do it. I received a very strong “Sure” from “Mutt”. “Jeff”, however, asked for some dikes (cutting pliers) to cut the plastic ties holding the fuel lines in place so he could better ascertain the complexity of the job. It turned out that the lower hose ends were in an almost-inaccessible place. The job was do-able, but not a piece of cake. “Mutt’s” off the cuff estimate was “about $300”. We gave them the green light.
After a couple hours of work, and a few second thoughts on my part, “Jeff” had removed both hoses and “Mutt” was on the way to get two new hoses made up. While “Jeff” was under the rig, he found out what caused the whole problem. The muffler is held up by a bracket that is part rubber so it is only semi-rigid and can move. The rubber either burned through or just broke and the muffler dropped. When it dropped, the exhaust pipe that runs directly above the two fuel lines (great engineering Freightliner!) also dropped and was now directly touching the lines. This burned through the one line almost completely and the other about half-way. When I was putting insulation on the exhaust pipe, I was moving it around and it hit the fuel lines a couple of times. This was just enough to break through one of the lines all the way and start the fuel leak. If this had happened on the road (and it was only a matter of time…a very SHORT time), we would have been in real trouble. It very easily could have caught fire and that would have been a total bye-bye.
Anyway, “Mutt” soon returned with two new fuel lines and they were installed in short order. “Jeff” then fashioned up a new muffler bracket and I added two safety straps from metal plumbers tape as a safety backup. We then fired up the engine and it ran perfectly…no leaks, no hiccups, no nothing! The total bill was $420 and change. (The original estimate didn’t include the muffler work or the cost of the two hoses). We paid it gladly and then found out that the $53 road call fee and a $20 mileage fee would be reimbursed by our insurance company. That’s like getting a half-price hot fudge sundae and finding out it had four scoops of ice cream instead of two. We were thrilled! The only thing left to do now is to fix the jacks. As of Thursday morning, the parts still haven’t arrived.
Friday morning - There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that the shuttle valve is here. Not “here” here, but “there” here…as in, the mechanic has it in Bangor. The bad news is that two of his employees called in sick today and he is really backed up. I impressed on him that we leave on Sunday for a 56-day tour. He said he would get back to me.
At 4:15, I called the shop and they said a mechanic was on his way and, sure enough, at 4:30 he showed up. By 5:00, he had the new valve installed and…and…and…IT WORKED! We are 100% back in service again. I had been inspecting rigs all day and was a sweaty mess. A long hot shower and a four-finger drink did wonders for me! We met with all the guests at 7:30 for a tractor-pulled hayride and ice cream social courtesy of the KOA RV park. I will sleep well tonight.
All our “chickens” are now in the park. We have a total of 21 rigs going on this trip but one, my trainee assistant Tailgunner, is dropping out after 10 days or so. He showed up yesterday so I had already inspected most of the rigs. So far, my primary job has been to inspect all the rigs for mechanical readiness and to check for any defects and/or problems.
Rig inspection
Claudia has been going around to all the rigs with Terry (the wife-Wagonmaster) and greeting all the people, getting all their paperwork in order and getting them indoctrinated as to what’s going to be going on during the trip. Claudia is all done and I have just one rig left to inspect so today will be an easy day. We are planning to go to the New Balance shoe factory later for a tour and a new pair of tennis shoes. It’s going to feel good to ease off a little! We have been busting our butts the past few days. Every time I do this, I realize I’m not 16 anymore.
Tomorrow is the Orientation Meeting where we all get together and tell them the “rules”, how the trip is going to be run and what to expect. Tomorrow evening is the Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant. We take off Monday morning to cross the Canadian Border and head for Ste-Foy, Quebec for three days and then on to Gaspé. I double-checked the muffler bracket yesterday and it looks good, so, hopefully, we won’t have any more problems. Cross your fingers! The next installment of blog will be from Canada. Y’all stay safe!
BTW, if you click on any of the pictures I send along, they will jump to a separate window and enlarge…and I don’t want any nasty comments about the picture in this session!
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