There But For the Grace of God . . .
We used to say, or at least think, this phrase whenever we drove past an RV that was broken down alongside the road.
Happy We Bought Those Orange Cones
Our number came up last Tuesday, the 18th, in the early afternoon, when we were about 15 miles south of Ashland, WI on Highway 2.
First, the “Engine Malfunction” light came on our RV’s dash followed shortly thereafter by the red “Stop Engine” light. Very bad mojo because we were stopped dead.
We tried calling Coach-Net, our roadside assistance, to get help, but our cell phones could’t get a signal. Great.
Our Tow of Shame Trip
So I unhitched our Jeep from the RV and started driving towards Ashland, hoping to get a decent cell signal.
Sixteen miles later in downtown Ashland I was able to get a consistent three bars on my phone, and I was able to call Coach-Net. Though it took a few calls, Coach-Net was able to arrange for a tow for our RV. However, the nearest service center was in Superior, WI — over 80 miles away.
Greg to the Rescue
Our tow showed up about 7 pm. We arrived at Boyer Trucks in Superior about 9 pm. Who’s tired? We were.
Boyer Trucks in Superior, WI
Boyer stays opened until 10 pm so we were about to talk to someone about our RV. Our tow driver said it was probably something electrical, like a computer malfunction. We were hopeful.
Luckily, we found a good motel right down the road — within walking distance of Boyer. We found out later that the hotel offers discounts to folks getting service at Boyer Trucks. We caught a break.
We Got the Room with the Jacuzzi
I think it was last Thursday when we found out that our engine head gasket needed replacing. About 30 hours of labor + parts. Hint: the labor is the expensive one.
Then on Friday morning Boyer told us the the entire engine head needed to be replaced. From what we can gather, the former owner left the RV sitting for a while because rust ended up invading the engine head and corroded all the freeze plugs.
The Old Engine Head
The news was the equivalent of learning that your house needs a new roof.
C’est la vie.
So we’ve been stranded in Superior for a week. This morning we leaned that our new engine head has arrived so we might be on our way tomorrow or Thursday.
Nevertheless, we’ve made the best of our Superior stay . . .
rvSeniorMoments 
Ohhhh Noooo!
Glad to hear things are getting better and that very soon you’ll be on your way again.
Sigh.. who needs that crap?!!
Here’s to better days!
Mary H.
Yeah, a bit of bad luck but sounds like you had a good break on the motel and the early delivery of your part(s). Hope your travels will go more smoothly. My little red car, now close to 13 years old needed some TLC recently to the tune of $800+. Hate when that happens. Kath
I have the sister rig to yours… same color and all…. how many miles on yours??
This is scaring me a bit … I’ve got 64,000.
74,000. I think previous owner who had it for the first 50,000 might have left it sit for a while because there was a lot of rust on the coach in general.
However, I’m going to replace coolant every year from now on. Other than that . . . You might have your head gasket checked every year.
So sorry to hear that, be safe….
Take care(& u r) Njhz
Sorry to hear of your engine issues. I hope that you are a member of the Cummings Power Club, $15 a year, gives you a 10% discount on all parts Cummings. I had to have my Onan/Cummings gen set rebuilt last year; saved $490. I was able to join AFTER the fact, but before receiving the bill. George
Hope you’re all fixed and on the road again.