KOFA Camping 1/9/18

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
New guy here. Hopefully, it's ok to stop by. I'm in Bouse getting my camper ready for boondocking. I want to try out my gear and maybe get some advice on how to do things better. Might make it there tomorrow but it may be Friday, mostly depends on how things go.
 
OK After spend all day getting hooked up and ready I got a late start.

I only made it as far as the north side of Parker.  Coming down the hill to the stoplight north of Parker I lost the brakes.

Fortunately there was no one at the intersection because i could not stop and slowed down but went right on thru the red light.  There was a pull off area just past the intersection and I pulled in to it.

I am still here trying to figure out what the problem is.  A van behind me said he could smell the trailer brakes all the way from Lake Havasu and he said he saw sparks.

I am not doing anything until daylight and then I will have to decide rather to continue to Quartzsite or turn around and go back to Lake Havasu.  The road to Quartzsite is mostly level and the road back north is hilly.  I am half way between both of them.  I also lost all my running lights except for the headlights and flashers.

I think the problem is partly in the brake controller but the Stacker brakes are probably toast by now.

I will sleep on it and start fresh thinking about it in the morning.  Renae is home in Lake Havasu and she can come down and run escort with her flasher on if I need her.

The joys and challenges of the RV life.
 
Sorry to hear that Bill.  You know my technical skills leaves much to be desired.  However I can certainly pickup parts if you figure out what went wrong and what you will need.  We're probably heading out about 10:00 AM tomorrow so will have some time to do some shopping if necessary.  I'll PM my phone number if you need to contact me. 

Gary
 
HueyPilotVN said:
OK After spend all day getting hooked up and ready I got a late start.

I only made it as far as the north side of Parker.  Coming down the hill to the stoplight north of Parker I lost the brakes.

Fortunately there was no one at the intersection because i could not stop and slowed down but went right on thru the red light.  There was a pull off area just past the intersection and I pulled in to it.
Click to expand...

I would have loved to take a picture of your eyes going through that red light.  :eek:  Glad you made is safely Bill.
 
I talked with Renae and she is going to come down tomorrow and follow me with flashers on to Q.

The road is better to Q, (fewer if any hills) and I can get parts in Quartzsite.

I could not even tell that I had a problem until the stop light. 

I will disconnect the plug for the trailer and drive slowly and conservatively with Renae behind me to signal and I will use the compression brake as well as the RV brakes.

I can fix whatever is wrong just as easily at Q as at home.

I will not go to KOFA just to do the safer thing with a shorter drive to Q.

I started out with the plan to provide a project workshop at Q and now I also have a project to do.

See you there.
 
You will find a good selection of auto parts in Parker. There is a NAPA and Auto Zone there.  You can camp free at the Casino or Walmart and fix your rig. It will save you taking a chance going to Quartzsite without any brakes.

If I can be of any help, let me know. I need to get supplies in Parker tomorrow. For some reason I can't call out or make calls from Bouse, but you can Text me 907-354-4743

 
Thanks.

I will see what tomorrow brings.  I will know better after seeing what kind of braking I do have.

I suspect it will take me a couple of days to inspect all six brakes and troubleshoot the brake controller and the running light issue.

I do not think Walmart or the Casino might be happy with me jacking up and pulling wheels.  At Q I can do them at my leisure over the next few weeks.

I am kind of pushing myself to get to Q as I have lots of give away stuff in the Stacker.  I do not really want to go back to Lake Havasu without making it to Q this year.
 
Wheeldog said:
New guy here. Hopefully, it's ok to stop by. I'm in Bouse getting my camper ready for boondocking. I want to try out my gear and maybe get some advice on how to do things better. Might make it there tomorrow but it may be Friday, mostly depends on how things go.
Click to expand...

Sure Roger,  come on down. Always happy to have a new face!
 
yes, happy to read of a safe outcome.  Hope it turns out not to be a huge repair problem!

Kevin
that video was really great.  thanks for sharing that!
This easterner is very jealous of those wide open spaces and true boondocking potential!

I would love to roll out a bedroll and spend the night cowboy style in someplace like that old indian cave and look at the stars!  What a great connection to history!
 
Glad everything is under control Bill. Let us know what you find with the brakes. We will miss you here at KOFA though!  BTW, Kevin asked me to tell folks that his Sprint connection is struggling here, so he cant get on line. But he is here and happy!
 
Made it to Q

I do not think anyone else is here yet at least not that I can see

Woke up to a shattered front windshield .  Not sure why

Already scheduled an install of a new one.

Now I am going to slow down and relax.  Safely here.
 
I ran for 45 minutes through wet  snow on I-40 last evening. I thought I would make it into KOFA this evening, but didn't think pulling in after dark (especially for a first timer) would be wise.  I tied up at Escapees North Ranch in Congress AZ. will top off water and propane, grab last of supplies in Wickenburg, and head on down to KOFA.
 
Good decision not to try to find us after dark, and try to get set up in the dark.  We are about 1 mile from the pavement on the NE side of the road.  We are about 10 RV's. 
 
HueyPilotVN said:
Made it to Q
I do not think anyone else is here yet at least not that I can see
Woke up to a shattered front windshield .  Not sure why
Already scheduled an install of a new one.
Now I am going to slow down and relax.  Safely here.
Click to expand...

Bill, did you ever get your new RV?
 
HueyPilotVN said:
Woke up to a shattered front windshield . 
Click to expand...


Holy smokes Bill, you?re having a couple of rough days.  :(


Your brake incident brought back a memory. I don?t have to imagine how your brake failure felt because I had something similar happen on my previous rig (40? gas with toad).  Went to apply brakes and the pedal would not depress, so no coach or toad brakes. I pushed with everything I had and nothing. Shifted underdrive trans to low along with trans and the combination slowed us to under 10. Shifted to neutral and coasted to a stop on a wide pullover which appeared fortuitously at just the right moment. The cause turned out to be a toad brake actuator misinstalled by Camping World that jammed the pedal. The following day we were slated to be on steep roads which would have led to horrific results.


Glad you?re safe.
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for a FUN time. The Jeep tour/hike and Mexican food night were totally unexpected and appreciated!!! :)
 
Well we had a great mini rally with several RV Forum members, and non members. Even though it was a "non organized" type of event, the group folded together seamlessly. After a wet start on Tuesday (I waited until Wednesday. Kevin was the brave soul to brave the storm and show up on time) the weather was great for boondocking.

Kevin has been coming here for 20+ years, and for good reason. The Kofa area is scenic, quiet, and a great place to relax and get away from the hustle of every day life.

This was our first true boondocking experience with the new all electric Bus. Everything worked smoothly as designed, and the Battery Minder Kit (BMK) I previously added from Magnum Energy for our Magnum Inverter made monitoring the battery levels simple.

It has been quite a while for me since I had been to Kofa to dry camp, but we will be back. Thanks for the invite Kev!
 
Reluctantly we pulled out of the KOFA site this morning and landed at the forum rally site closer to Quartzsite. What a great week it was making new friendships and hanging out.

Guess the timing was right as we needed to dump and get water.

Thank you Kevin for making this mini-rally known on the Forum.

Tom & Theresa

 
KOFA
Acronym for King OF Arizona gold mine.  The mine was a local landmark prior to the creation of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in 1939.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 906 (members: 31, guests: 875)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,961
Posts
1,388,259
Members
137,714
Latest member
JollyJim
Back
Top Bottom