Newsletter 15

NL 15.

2nd month on the road June 1998

Hey Folks,

Well here we are again doing new things that we would never have known before we actually hit the road. And it's all great! Sure there have been some unexpected expenses, but aren't there always.

We drove from San Diego to our current SKP park, Park Sierra, the day before yesterday. Talk about learning as you go! We figured we could drive up route 5 to 99 north and be here (midway between Fresno CA. and Yosemite park on 41 north) in about five hours. <LOL> Boy were we naive!

Aside from the two hours we took going through downtown LA, we learned that we still have a cooling problem. There's a 30-mile climb up and then down some mountains as you leave L.A. that taxed our skills and stress levels to the max.

We again had to stop twice to cool the diesel down on the way up. But the real learning experience came on the way down. You have to remember that we had just negotiated L.A. traffic and were already frazzled having been on the road for five hours. The previous mountains had long level switchback stretches on the downhill side so we hadn't experienced any brake problems, and expected all downhills to be the same. <sigh> Not so! Enter “The Grapevine.”

We began a 6% grade (downhill) at the top and I determined that we would just play it safe and do the 35 mph truck lane and hit the brakes at 40 and drop to 30 then repeat. I dropped it to 2nd gear even though without an exhaust brake, the engine doesn't help slow the rig much. I had only hit the brakes about twenty times for very short periods and I got a little confident as I saw the end of the hill a mile down the road. So I pulled into the regular lane and let it go up to 65 mph and hit the brakes to slow it to 60 and planned to repeat once or twice till down. Bad error!

The second time I hit them I had only about 1/3 the braking I had in the slow lane. Risking a complete fade, I held the brakes to max and got it slowed to 30 mph and switched back to the 35 mph truck lane . . . luckily. I was cussin' myself out for not installing a PAC Brake before we left, and thankful everything seemed to be OK.

At the bottom of the hill was the Flying J truck stop we had decided to stop at, fuel, and take a break. I pulled over to the exit and the exit ramp was at least a 4% downgrade. Trying not to panic Lynn as I realized I was not slowing (From35mph!!!!) fast enough I hit the manual trailer brake button and got it stopped just past the stop sign! Luckily there was no traffic at all. I casually leaned over and told Lynn that we almost didn't stop. She said it looked pretty smooth to her!

When we stopped, we definitely smelled burning brake pads. Fortunately they didn't catch fire. Well I had planned to take the brakes down and R&R as necessary in Stockton. There's a shop there called Collins Diesel Injection that is known by RVrs all over the country for their expertise in PAC Brakes and performance injector pump calibrations that give 20% increases for much less that the "biggie" bolt-ons! In addition, he's the man for PAC Brake installation.

Now remember that PAC brakes are about 1000 bucks installed and since I had just started our business, I was actually considering bypassing that very expensive mod. Therefore, I had not made an appointment while in San Diego. I thought I'd wait and see if I really needed them.

But after the last experience, I was really regretting not appointing the week before. At least we made it and decided to proceed to the Sierra SKP park we are now in. Remember that serendipity of getting my trailer brakes to finally work, because of a SKP member in AZ? Had we not had that chance meeting, we may have had to use those runaway truck lanes with their necessary damage! It seems we learn just enough on every trip to avoid disaster and not have major expenses. (the guardian angels again . . . and my fellow SKPs who get us over the major crisis’ that would be real showstoppers without their help - don't chintz out on the 50 buck a year membership with Escapees (SKPs) that would be a serious mistake.)

Anyway we figure that we are over the hump and heading to the next SKP Park and should make it before dark. And, of course, I was wrong. It got dark as we hit Fresno and turned north on 41. No problem as it seemed to be a great six-laner and a smooth ride in. Well, the interstate turned into a two-laner 20 miles from our park. By then, I'd been driving 11 hours (on our planned 5 hour trip) and was in good shape physically as I had made sure to drink plenty of Gatorade (and was dying for "Miller time"), but was beginning to approach a pucker factor of 11 on a scale of ten!

We were climbing mountains, with 50 foot high rock walls, hairpin turns, and road "construction". Of course even at 10 PM we had a slew of four wheelers cussin' us out and hoping for a passing opportunity. By then, I was blinded by every oncoming car and the road had a "drop-off" of about twelve inches and warned of no shoulders (translation-If you went off the road, it was a 50-foot or more drop, just after the twelve inch drop yanked you into the cliff!) The climbs were so high that I could only do 30 mph with my 17,000 pound rig. I was trying to pull over to let the idiots that were stacking up behind me, pass safely instead of waiting for one of them to do it in desperation and involve us in their head-on.

We were looking for highway 416 and knew it was a left turn. Fortunately, we found a stretch with a passing lane. Boy was I glad it was dark and we couldn't see the "Birds" being flipped at us at that point. Relief short lived as we saw our turn-off was at the top of the hill and we were in the slow right lane. I flipped on the directional for a left turn and no one would let me get over to the turning lane. So I had no choice and stopped in the slow lane for a few minutes (on a 6% upgrade) till I saw a chance to get over. The diesel made it from stopped and we barely made the left turn lane before a slew of cars passed us on the right. Now remember that I have become proficient at backing and handling this rig, but as we turned left, in the dark, it seemed we were about to do a 15% vertical descent!!!!!!!!! With turns!!!!! Accck!

Well, it turned out to be only a 50-foot tight turn and immediately we saw the SKP park gates. And they were closed! As I pulled up I saw that they were hooked to a Comm system and I dialed the office number. They answered (Thank Gawd!) and told me to proceed to the office. I mounted and proceeded to the office and found all new roads and the most impressive park I'd yet seen. I got out of the truck and kissed the ground in true Air Force fashion after a severe flight.

I was now delirious with fatigue after twelve hours of the most stressful driving I'd ever done. Don, the assistant manager not only was prompt but led me to my space in his golf cart and directed me in. I was so exhausted that it took me an hour to unhitch and get the hookups set up.

So far, my biggest mistake was forgetting to take my chocks out and running over them (they are bent some, but still serviceable), but boy was I about to goof.

I was so exhausted that I couldn't find the right height to unhitch! I finally thought I had it and when I pulled off, the trailer dropped about 2 inches! No big deal but never happened before. As I eased out the truck stopped suddenly!

It seems that I had not raised the trailer enough to account for the downhill pitch of the truck (hadn't had to unhitch with the trailer level and the truck going downhill - and in the dark before.) So now I have a battle scar from the trailer hitch hitting the tailgate. My tailgate is a 5th wheel ventilated one with a cutout! I quickly adjusted, unhitched, and set up the rest of my hook-ups.

Lessons learned: I will never, ever, drive more that 5 hours in a day. If we find we are not on schedule and must stop at one of the many RV parks on the road, we'll stop. I will never risk my wife and life for a schedule. Never!

Now we are delayed here until August third, when we have an appointment to get the brakes, performance improvements, and service the trailer axles.

It's a terrible situation. <grin> We have nothing to do but go to Yosemite, enjoy the mountain air, and participate in the activities in this 300 plus space Club Park. They have an ASL (sign language class) on Friday that Lynn wants to attend. I'm invited to speak to the computer club on emerging technologies, and we are forced to tour Yosemite. What a life! <LOL>

Those of you who know me personally know I don't have any problem with handling the unexpected. I have learned a valuable lesson. Getting there is not the point. Enjoying the trip is. I bit off more than I could chew on this one. We lucked out. Nevertheless, counting on our lifetime of luck is not living. Never again. I passed up too many flowers on this one, and will never do that again. I should make myself do penance by retracing my route and doing it right, but not necessary. Learning, is indeed, a change in behavior.

I can't respond appropriately to all of you who have raved about these little newsletters. I can say that I'm overwhelmed by the positive response and encouragement to keep up the "journal" and include the news on connectivity as we develop it. I was very hesitant at first to include my newsletter group and my friends group in the same mailings. But as bad as it is to connect on the road, it was the only way. Today's mail is due to the largesse of Don and Jody, SKPs, who have allowed me to use their personal line to send and receive while I'm here. For the SKPs in the crowd, definitely include the Park Sierra on your itinerary. You'll see.

For those of you who are not "free", and feel a little bit of envy at the lifestyle, or are reading the trials wrong as obstacles, I have only one piece of advice. Join Escapees (SKPs) and live it vicariously for a year. The magazine alone is worth it. You'll find a group of people you never knew existed. However, please be advised . . . this free life is contagious, and more exciting than anything you could ever dream of. And family is only an SKP park away.

Hugs and thanksgiving