Another member of the broken down brigade...

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Oh oh. We are stranded in Thomaston, ME at the Sal****er Farm Campground. Transmission shift pad lost power, so cannot shift or even start the engine, since the tranny isn't signalling it is in neutral. It dropped out twice on the road here and came back on, so probably a bad connection somewhere but I can't find it.  At least it happened as we prepared to leave the campground and not on the side of the highway somewhere.

We are waiting for Coach-net to get us towed. The nearest place they could find is about 60 miles away in Auburn, ME, so we will probably be in a motel tonight.

 

[Wizard46]

Wow, sure sorry to hear that, hope everything works out ok and it's not long before ya'll get back on the road.

 

[John From Detroit]

Technically I too belong to the breakdown league, save I'm still ambulatory.. Just a leaking axle seal, estimate is aroudn 110-125 to fix it.  Appointment for July 25,  Meanwhile I'll add a bit of oil before I pull out of this park.

 

[Just Lou]

Gary, sorry to hear of your current problems.  Hopefully, it's something minor and will be repaired quickly (and cheaply).

I'm starting to think that my mechanic might be related to my veterinarian.

Every time they call to tell me that something has been fixed (cured), they report something else that is broken or needs some money poured on it.   I'm hoping to get back on the road by the end of next week myself.

 

[Seajay]

I have a ''selector switch'' that will fit a Ford trannie that I had to buy because they figured that was my problem.  I carry it as a spare so I will know that I will never need the flamin' thing.  They do not allow returns on a ''electronic part'' ..........
The problem was not the $140.oo dollar switch it was the $4000.oo rebuilt Ford transmission that had crapped out.    Hope that is not your problem........  Good luck ...

Vets won our freedoms....  Tell them thanks every chance you get .....cj..

 

[tstumpf]

it was the $4000.oo rebuilt Ford transmission that had crapped out.

r

Gary,

So hoping that's not your problem! Hope to hear you're back on the road soon, with little expense!

-Roni

 

[Icemaker]

Gary, sorry to hear of your current problems.  Hopefully, it's something minor and will be repaired quickly (and cheaply).

I'm starting to think that my mechanic might be related to my veterinarian.

Every time they call to tell me that something has been fixed (cured), they report something else that is broken or needs some money poured on it.   I'm hoping to get back on the road by the end of next week myself.

Lou, I echo your well wishes for Gary...
I also like the mechanic/veterinarian concept..
Mine just gave me a box of spare parts because he took the last the junkyard had and used what was needed to get my cruise working again..
He said the chassis is supposed to be a 93 Oshkosh/Ford for a 94 Dolphin except the cruise is a pre 92 ford truck model.. I'm not whining as it is so much nicer to be able to use cruise...it is what it is I guess.

George

 

[gwcowgill]

I believe Tom may be right about the Internet virus. I couldn't move this morning, no air pressure. Finally got road service to bypass the air dryer to get on the road late.Hope they get you straightened out......

 

[Seajay]

I have a ''selector switch'' that will fit a Ford trannie that I had to buy because they figured that was my problem.  I carry it as a spare so I will know that I will never need the flamin' thing.  They do not allow returns on a ''electronic part'' ..........
The problem was not the $140.oo dollar switch it was the $4000.oo rebuilt Ford transmission that had crapped out.    Hope that is not your problem........  Good luck ...

To cclarify my above statement.........    The tranny on our Pace Arrow (Ford) crapped out when we were coming into Denver and we had to replace it.  We ordered a new factory rebuilt tranny from Ford and the total job ran about four grand.  It took a total of ten days to complete the transaction.  The ''factory rebuild'' came with a one hundred thousand mile guarantee and or three year warantee on the transmission.  I got ''had bad'' on the labor for the replacement but I was in Denver and we camped behind the garage for ten days  waiting on the repair so you can figure 30 dollars a day for ten days that camping would have cost us had we been in a campground.  The down side was that they left out a ''twist pin'' that keeps the transmission from ''twisting'' against the bell housing and I paid 400 dollars to get that fixed when I got home. I wrote them a letter and they refunded the four hundred dollars to me for bad workmanship.  Such is life I guess.....  When you are on the road you take what you can get and SMILE REALLY BIG.......cj.....
note ... the original trans lasted about one hundred thousand miles .........cj 

Vets won our freedoms....  Tell them thanks every chance you get .....cj..

 

[SargeW]

Gary,

That sounds like what happened to me on the way to Fairbanks. Mine turned out to be the connector on the side of the trans case vibrated apart and the trans wasn't receiving any of the signals to shift gears. I pushed mine back together and zip tied the two halves together to prevent the problem from reoccurring.  I hope yours is as easy as mine was.

 

[jim and di]

Good luck with a motel in Auburn, last time there sheets were extra.
Jim

 

[Molaker]

The thermometer is pushing towards triple digits again this week here in SW Missouri.  Being stranded in Maine is not as bad as it may seem.  But, hope you are rolling again soon.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Hoping it is a connector, but I can't find anything obvious. I fiddled with the relays for the neutral sense and the TCU ignition fuse, but they all seem ok. I even found the spare relay thoughtfully included in the TCU relay box, but no joy using that either.  I suspect I have some corrosion on  one of the cables between shifter and tranny, but I'm getting to old and fat to crawl around much.

The tow operator called at 5:30 and said  the truck could be dispatched to me "soon" but they were two hours away and preferred not to tow it back at night unless I insisted. So we are staying overnight in the CG again and Coach-net is sending a different tow service first thing in the a.m.  Things could be worse - we have 50A FHU while we wait - but we are not too happy at the moment.

 

[Jeff]

Technically I too belong to the breakdown league, save I'm still ambulatory.. Just a leaking axle seal, estimate is aroudn 110-125 to fix it.  Appointment for July 25,  Meanwhile I'll add a bit of oil before I pull out of this park.

John:

The cost will go up quite a bit if you drive enough to get grease on your brake pads.

 

[Jeff]

Gary:

Cannot believe everybody's luck!

I am in Portland with my 89 year old father. Took him up to Brewer by car today for lunch with his brothers and dropped over to Bucksport and down the coast this afternoon. We went through Thomaston around 4:00PM this afternoon.

Sue is in VT with my mother and we will be back in 10 days or so and plan on coming through Ellsworth. Will call you then.

 

[Wendy]

Ditto that there are worse places to be broken down....100+ in the Salt Lake City area (109 in Ogden). Our ticket to the "broken down brigade" is a bad engine battery....nice to have all those house batteries to fall back on

Wendy
Snowville, Utah

 

[Ned]

Well, we aren't broken down but one of our new Michelin tires was losing tread before we got to Milwaukee in May.  The tire was only 3 months old with less than 1400 miles on it.  We had it replaced this morning before we left Milwaukee.  Michelin offered to pay half the price of the replacement but I've asked to have the manager, when he returns on Monday, to inspect the tire and we think we should get a warranty replacement.  When the service tech removed the wheel the first thing he said was it looked like the tread was separating.  I'll report fully when I hear from the manage next week, but this has just reinforced my dislike of Michelin tires.  I doubt I'll be putting them on the drive axle when those get replaced next year.

 

[gwcowgill]

Ned, I don't know about the newer Michelin tires but I have had a dislike for years and will not buy them and Goodyear is rapidly causing me to dislike them. I had a year old Goodyear tread separate in LA on I-12. Not a nice place to loose a tire. 6 hours later after Road Service could not get a tire and refused to tow me, I got Johnson Tire Service (a friend) from Biloxi, MS send me a used tire and got me on my way. I am considering going to a semi size 255 75R 22.5 on the coach as there is just a slight difference in diameter.  Then I can get a tire anywhere.

 

[Ned]

The only reason we did buy Michelin for the steer axle was the excellent price available through the FMCA Advantage program.

 

[geodrake]

Here is wishing you good luck, Gary!