Ice Hazards

February 11, 2011

North Texas weather has struck again! And despite all of our pledges to not be here, we are weathering the icy temps along with home dwellers who can't avoid it. Now I know that to our friends from the north this is pure whining on a topic about which we truly know very little. That is true and the adage "ignorance is bliss" works here.

We woke early on Tuesday, Feb 1 with our usual get-up-and-roll attitude. Going to Davy Crockett Natl. Forest! Sure it's cold, but we can do it! The slide covers were frozen: rolling up was not going to happen. Why fight with nature? So we just stayed put for a few days, let the weather pass.

The forecast for snow on Friday, our designated day of travel, prompted us to get moving on Thursday. Covers still frozen, but not too bad. Russell and a broom did the trick. We are off! But wait, Russell wanted to check the small wet spot under the engine. We're sure it's just water, but better to be safe. So he pulled forward and found diesel fuel instead. We better make a quick stop at the Cummins Diesel shop on the way.

So we spent Thursday night in the Cummins Diesel parking lot waiting for a part to replace the small fuel pump, not to be confused with the larger fuel pump that costs way more both in parts and labor. It seems the consistent freezing temps froze some gaskets. While there, we got a computer report on the engine, it passed with flying colors! "Barely broken in and lookin' good."

An exuberant Russell celebrated the great news by repairing the intake water hose and the front furnace. We had rolled up the water hose prior to the frost, but it seems there was water in the line that froze and broke the hose anyway. The furnace has had issues, no big deal, just tweak it a little. tighten wires, replace a switch. Easy! Especially for me from the inside.

Snow is just beautiful! We woke up Friday to powdery stuff, Russell and a broom back to the roof. The pump got fixed; temperatures rose enough to clear the roads (mostly); we're on our way to Davy Crockett Natl. forest by 2:00 - be there by 5! Perfect!

Clipping along, beautiful weather, life is good! What's that smell? Someone's burning brush. Why do we still smell it miles down the road? We stopped on the first available wide space on the 2-lane TX Hwy 7. Smoke coming off of the right front wheel is immediately the obvious source of the problem. The wheel cover is too hot to touch, the smell overpowering. One look from Russell, "the brakes froze up!"

Every full-timer has a story about being towed, now we will have ours; that's why we have road-side assistance insurance. A tow will be here to take us to Bryan within the hour, it's 4pm, GREAT! Around 5 the driver calls to tell us that he just can't make it. We are too big, too far out of town, it's getting late... any reason he can think of, he ain't coming! We re-call the insurance, making sure they have the name of the offending tow company. "How are you guys fixed for staying where you are tonight?" We have just topped-off the water and LP, the furnace works, we have food. All is well. And as my sister, Lynn, says, we have each other. We even had a few semi's roll by to rock us to sleep.

Russell called insurance again at 6am, all is well, we want to be in Bryan early so they can get us fixed up today, Saturday, Feb 5. We'll see Davy Crockett on another trip. There's a wrecker on its way. NO WAIT! the insurance didn't like their rate, and cancelled that one! A man in Arizona decided it was better to send a wrecker from Houston! The ETA went from 11am to 4pm - a mere 24h on the side of the road.

However, our new friend Charlie got to us about 2pm. He gave us a real education in towing a 40' RV. He also asked where we'd be staying for the weekend. The insurance company had assured us that we could stay at the repair shop. Charlie was stunned, "Only if you want to be locked in until Monday!" He knew the shop and assured us that we were not going to stay there, and in fact would be lucky if anyone was available to let us in when we arrived. I hurriedly packed a few things while our home was being hoisted.

We were repaired, new front brakes, by Tuesday noon. It seems ice was again the culprit. While driving, we got ice and slush into the wheel which caused the shoes to stick. More snow was predicted for north Texas that night. Hurry back to Waco so we can stay still for a few days.

THE GOOD NEWS:

We have a tow story!

The insurance company has apologized and is paying the hotel bill.

We were going to need new brakes soon, anyway.

We had all the things we needed to spend a night fairly comfortably on the side of the road.

We found a place to stop and didn't run off into a ditch somewhere.

We spent the weekend in Bryan/College Station, a nice place to visit.

We learned a lot!