Colorado 2023
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
We didn't make it to Colorado in 2022. There were too many issues between getting time off work, dealing with an aging father, and my own issues with bad knees. Thus, we are looking forward to visiting this year.
Our plans are pretty much the same as in 2021. We will leave at the beginning of September and return in mid-October.
In 2021, we learned that we feel much better and the trip is more enjoyable when we limit daily time in the truck. Thus, we plan to spend 3 nights on the road to get there. This should keep daily time on the road to 6 hours or less, including fuel stops and breaks.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
Today we leave for Colorado! There have been a couple of mishaps prior to leaving but we're finally ready to go.
On Thursday night while getting ready, I hooked up the water to fill the tank but made the mistake of hooking the water hose to the black tank clean out and ultimately flooded the trailer with black water when the black tank overflowed and the water started coming out of the toilet. It wasn't terrible but certainly gross and required a thorough cleaning of both the inside of the trailer and the storage bin.
Today, we were finally ready to go but when I tried to bring in the slides I found I had no 12 volt electrical. The first issue was that while loading things into the storage bin, I inadvertently bumped the battery disconnect switch which killed all the 12 volt power. OK, easy fix. Turn it back on. But no, still no 12 volt power. That turned out to be a burnt 30 amp fuse. I didn't have a 30 amp but put a 15 amp in and that got the 12v working again.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
On Sunday, I was able to get a mobile mechanic from On The Spot Mobile Mechanics scheduled to take a look at our transmission cooling line today. He came as scheduled at 11 am and quickly assessed that the actual hose was fine. It was a simple hose clamp that failed. So all this trouble over what, maybe a $5 part? Ugh. Whatever. At least it's really easy now.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
OK, let's try this again. We've had our "three" and should be good to go. No more issues!
We left in the late morning. No more of this traveling long hauls on holiday weekends or after hours when services are not available. We made it beyond our original attempt as evidenced but the large oil stain on the shoulder. But while pulling a subsequent grade, the engine developed a "knock". It sounded like the typical knock from a 2000 Cummins diesel but a bit louder. Or were we just paranoid after our previous fiasco? No check engine light and the truck was still pulling great, albeit with a little extra noise.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
This morning I called around and found Parry's Automotive to evaluate the truck. They checked it out and gave me the bad news. The noise is deep in the bottom of the engine and is either a rod, a connection bearing, or if I have 2 piece pistons, a bad piston. In any event, We need a complete engine rebuild.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
Well it's been a week and there's not much to report. I resumed working on Monday. Why not? No reason to burn vacation hours just sitting in an RV park. We can't really go anywhere or see anything because every second the truck engine runs is one second closer to complete failure and then we'd really be stuck and at the mercy of delivery services. If I were of normal size instead of a 6' 10" giant that's built like an overweight NFL lineman, I'd just rent a car. Well I assume there is a car rental place here somewhere. But whether there is or not is irrelevant as I just do not fit in any vehicles any more. About 3 years ago when deciding between buying a new truck or fixing the old, I went to the local automall and "tried on" trucks from Ford, Dodge, and GMC. I couldn't even get into a Ford and close the door. The Dodge had a little more room but not enough to actually drive it. The GMC models had the most room. I probably could drive them a few miles to the grocery store but there was no way I could drive them much further than that. Sometimes it's hell being 6' 10" in a 5' 10" world...
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
It's been another week of waiting...
We haven't done much. I went to Walmart one more time to restock. We did our laundry. We tried a mexican restaurant named Rolberto's. It was good and we'll probably be back at some point before we leave. We also tried The Pig BBQ and Pub. It was OK. I tried the ribs but they weren't worth the money at $34.95. We may go again as Shannon is interested in the burgers and I'd like to try both the tri-tip and brisket sandwiches.
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- Written by: Drew Tomlinson
Well it's been another week...
First some good news. The engine wasn't scheduled to arrive until Thursday, September 28th but it arrived yesterday afternoon. Thus, I took the truck in this morning and with a little luck, we'll get it back Friday afternoon.
Other than that, we haven't done much. We're both bored as hell. Monday was my "big outing". One of the various problems is that the trailer tires needed some air the day we left. They weren't extremely low but low enough they should be topped off. The problem is these tires need 125 psi which was no match for my simple tire inflator at home. I thought it should be easy enough to stop at truck stop and fill them. We first stopped in Cisco Grove but no air was to be found. Then we attempted to stop in Reno but was told that they only go to 100 psi. I'm not sure I believe that since they sell truck tires there but I was in no position to argue. We tried a truck stop in Fernley next but it was a complete zoo! It seems that was the day people were finally able to leave Burning Man. I didn't see any air and parking and asking was nearly impossible. OK, let's try the next town, Lovelock. It's a fairly small place and we didn't find air there either.
So now that we're in Winnemucca, have been here for a month, and the weather has cooled, I must get air before we leave. I set out to purchase an air compressor that will solve the current problem and allow me to fill tires at home in the future. There is a farm/ranch supply store here named Big R. It's a fairly large place with all kinds of things a rancher or farmer might need. Gates, utility trailers, giant water troughs, tools, hardware, etc. I went there but they didn't have a compressor that suited my needs. They had the small inflators like I have at home and great big compressors one would use in a shop. I need one of those 3-6 gallon pancake compressors that are typically used to power a nail gun or small spray painting jobs.
Next I tried Walmart but was unsuccessful again. They had a cheap compressor with a 3 gallon tank but it only goes up to 100 psi. The other thing they had were 7 gallon air tanks that claimed to hold 140 psi but that didn't seem feasible either as I'd likely need to fill it for every tire. But the trip wasn't a total waste as I was able to pick up some Claritin which I hope will finally reduce my allergy symptoms. I don't know what's here that's bothering me so much but I just keep sneezing and sneezing. Zyrtec works fine for me at home but doesn't seem to help here.
Also while at Walmart, I heard a new term. "Stuck in the Muc". Apparently, this is a term the locals have for the many that breakdown in Winnemucca.
Finally, we revisited Rolberto's and it was just as good as last time. So far, it's the best place we've eaten here.