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Officer Don't Stop....Just drive on....


Dollytrolley

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So……

Nice pull out of Camp at Last Chance Peak East of Death Valley Sunday morning but fairly heavy traffic up Highway 95 and all went perfect till……...26 miles North up Hyw 376 the Dollymomma keyed the mic and said…….”oh I have a problem…..the check engine light is on and the the coolant temp is climbing fast and the shoulder is too steep to pull off so she powered down and coasted to a stop with the horse trailer fairly tilted in a fairly steep ditch………she had Dolly the paint horse in the horse trailer.

I slowed the Dollytrolley down and pulled off into a less steep ditch with the toybox-bunkhouse in tow…...I jogged back about a 1/8 mile and raised the hood and saw the problem in a second…...The Cap on the spare ¾ inch heater port on the new extreme duty radiator had come off and all coolant had blown out in no time…...uhgggg

We carry 5 gallons of water in the back of the pickup so I fabed a new cap with Gorilla tape and two hose clamps and filled the radiator with water and started the engine and …...the oil pressure was normal but…...it had a steady miss and…...it was blowing a steam ring out the exhaust…...uhggg only 8,000 on a new GM crate motor and now a blown head gasket…...uhggg

No worries just call the tow service in Tonopah…….well actually not that easy …….no cell service for about 25 miles so…...no worries…..just unload Dolly out of the horse trailer and load her into the horse module in the back of the toyhauler and take her and Dollymomma back the the rodeo grounds in Tonopah and then get the tow service to get the pickup…….easy…...sorta

Load Dolly in a howling wind and crank up the Dollytrolley and off we go and pitch cam at the Rodeo grounds and then call the tow insurance hot line and…….they want the cross street…….oh ya right.

I tell the dispatcher in Philly that there are no cross streets North of Tonopah and no cell service and she can not imagine NO cell service of cross streets…..so finally she says that I MUST drive back and obtain the GPS cords and call her …...I tell her that in order I have to drive back to Tonopah to call her she almost started to cry……..

So. before I drive out to the pickup I drive into Tonopah and pull up in front of the tow service to write down the local phone number from the window……...Just a couple hundred feet up the street was a Nevada State Patrol car so I started walking up the street to the patrol car and soon the car slowly pulled up to me and I was amazed was a small lady officer that was almost the identical twin to my twin daughter Beth……… She smiled and said “sir can I help you”….I smiled and said “ well I was wondering if your electronic map was able to give me the Lat / Long cords of the 20 mile marker on Highway 376 ??…...she said “ as you can see I have tons of electronic gear here but we are unable to get any Lat / Longs except where we are sitting...sorry sir”……...I said “ no problem I will drive out and get the Lat Longs and then pull the horse trailer back with the Freightliner…..About then a speeder went by and she had to go stop the guy…..

 

I hopped in the Dollytrolley and headed out in a howling crosswind…… once I got to the pickup I parked the Dollytrolley upwind and unhitched the horse trailer and just pulled the pickup around away from the trailer and just as I stepped out of the pickup all of a sudden the lady state trooper pulled up and rolled down her window and said “ sir I thought I might come out here to check up on you in this bad weather”……. I held on to my cap and said ….”well that's nice but everything is OK right now and I'll tow the horse trailer back to Tonopah and by then the tow truck might be back to load the pickup”

She replied “ well I hope the tow guys can help you but if they cant maybe I can patrol by sometime tonight to secure your vehicle…...is there anything else I can do for you sir” ……. It was just getting dusk and the wind was howling and I paused an few moments and said….. “well officer what I am about to say may not be kosher but I am a old man so consider the source” ….she grinned and said “sir that OK let me know whats on your mind”…...I said “ well officer I have a daughter that could be your twin sister so here is what I would like you to do…… IF by chance this pickup is still here when you patrol by tonight AND if anyone is near this pickup I want you to turn on your siren and flashing lights and mash the gas pedal down and drive out of sight…….I DO NOT want you getting in harms way over this pickup…..NOT for a second…..do you understand this is you father speaking”……. She smiled and said “well thats a nice thing to say but we are very careful out here with no backup so far away so I'll be careful”……...I said I am hoping that this pickup will be gone in a couple of hours or if not I will plan to park the Freightliner next to it to secure it so you don't worry about this bunch of iron and you be careful”…… She smiled and said thanks for your concern and you also be careful…..

Two hours later the pickup was unloaded in front of the shop in Tonopah and all was well…..

Very remote out in the middle of no-where but some nice folks you meet along the way….

 

Drive on…….(Don't get in harms way over my rigs …..)

 

 

 

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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2 hours ago, Dollytrolley said:

So……

Nice pull out of Camp at Last Chance Peak East of Death Valley Sunday morning but fairly heavy traffic up Highway 95 and all went perfect till……...26 miles North up Hyw 376 the Dollymomma keyed the mic and said…….”oh I have a problem…..the check engine light is on and the the coolant temp is climbing fast and the shoulder is too steep to pull off so she powered down and coasted to a stop with the horse trailer fairly tilted in a fairly steep ditch………she had Dolly the paint horse in the horse trailer.

I slowed the Dollytrolley down and pulled off into a less steep ditch with the toybox-bunkhouse in tow…...I jogged back about a 1/8 mile and raised the hood and saw the problem in a second…...The Cap on the spare ¾ inch heater port on the new extreme duty radiator had come off and all coolant had blown out in no time…...uhgggg

We carry 5 gallons of water in the back of the pickup so I fabed a new cap with Gorilla tape and two hose clamps and filled the radiator with water and started the engine and …...the oil pressure was normal but…...it had a steady miss and…...it was blowing a steam ring out the exhaust…...uhggg only 8,000 on a new GM crate motor and now a blown head gasket…...uhggg

No worries just call the tow service in Tonopah…….well actually not that easy …….no cell service for about 25 miles so…...no worries…..just unload Dolly out of the horse trailer and load her into the horse module in the back of the toyhauler and take her and Dollymomma back the the rodeo grounds in Tonopah and then get the tow service to get the pickup…….easy…...sorta

Load Dolly in a howling wind and crank up the Dollytrolley and off we go and pitch cam at the Rodeo grounds and then call the tow insurance hot line and…….they want the cross street…….oh ya right.

I tell the dispatcher in Philly that there are no cross streets North of Tonopah and no cell service and she can not imagine NO cell service of cross streets…..so finally she says that I MUST drive back and obtain the GPS cords and call her …...I tell her that in order I have to drive back to Tonopah to call her she almost started to cry……..

So. before I drive out to the pickup I drive into Tonopah and pull up in front of the tow service to write down the local phone number from the window……...Just a couple hundred feet up the street was a Nevada State Patrol car so I started walking up the street to the patrol car and soon the car slowly pulled up to me and I was amazed was a small lady officer that was almost the identical twin to my twin daughter Beth……… She smiled and said “sir can I help you”….I smiled and said “ well I was wondering if your electronic map was able to give me the Lat / Long cords of the 20 mile marker on Highway 376 ??…...she said “ as you can see I have tons of electronic gear here but we are unable to get any Lat / Longs except where we are sitting...sorry sir”……...I said “ no problem I will drive out and get the Lat Longs and then pull the horse trailer back with the Freightliner…..About then a speeder went by and she had to go stop the guy…..

 

I hopped in the Dollytrolley and headed out in a howling crosswind…… once I got to the pickup I parked the Dollytrolley upwind and unhitched the horse trailer and just pulled the pickup around away from the trailer and just as I stepped out of the pickup all of a sudden the lady state trooper pulled up and rolled down her window and said “ sir I thought I might come out here to check up on you in this bad weather”……. I held on to my cap and said ….”well that's nice but everything is OK right now and I'll tow the horse trailer back to Tonopah and by then the tow truck might be back to load the pickup”

She replied “ well I hope the tow guys can help you but if they cant maybe I can patrol by sometime tonight to secure your vehicle…...is there anything else I can do for you sir” ……. It was just getting dusk and the wind was howling and I paused an few moments and said….. “well officer what I am about to say may not be kosher but I am a old man so consider the source” ….she grinned and said “sir that OK let me know whats on your mind”…...I said “ well officer I have a daughter that could be your twin sister so here is what I would like you to do…… IF by chance this pickup is still here when you patrol by tonight AND if anyone is near this pickup I want you to turn on your siren and flashing lights and mash the gas pedal down and drive out of sight…….I DO NOT want you getting in harms way over this pickup…..NOT for a second…..do you understand this is you father speaking”……. She smiled and said “well thats a nice thing to say but we are very careful out here with no backup so far away so I'll be careful”……...I said I am hoping that this pickup will be gone in a couple of hours or if not I will plan to park the Freightliner next to it to secure it so you don't worry about this bunch of iron and you be careful”…… She smiled and said thanks for your concern and you also be careful…..

Two hours later the pickup was unloaded in front of the shop in Tonopah and all was well…..

Very remote out in the middle of no-where but some nice folks you meet along the way….

 

Drive on…….(Don't get in harms way over my rigs …..)

 

 

 

DT,

Sorry to hear about the Trials and Tribulations.... If you need any help, give me a shout!

Also, won't do ya much good right now, but if you wind up in a situation like that in the future, give me a shout and I can get you the lat/long for any road mile marker in the country.  We're a bit better equipped than the Troopers....lol at least in that area.

John

Southern Nevada

2008 Volvo 780, D13, I-Shift

2017 Keystone Fuzion 420 Toyhauler 

2017 Can-Am Maverick X3-RS

 

ALAKAZARCACODEFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMAMNMS
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Might help someone out in the future but GoogleMaps provides coordinates and if you can remember landmarks, it's pretty easy to use. It's saved me a couple times from having to go to actual locations and instead just used the street and satellite views to figure out where I was or wanted to be, and then pulled up the coords.

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I helped out a lady about that same spot. 1995 was going through there. Someone on the CB told me threes a lady broke down about 2 miles in front of you. So I throw the flashers on, pull behind here. Get out she is scared to death. Had been sitting there 3 hours with no help. She looks about ready to start crying. I tell her if I can help her I will. If not she is welcome to ride into down in the truck. She looks about ready scream.

I found out she can't get the spare off the van she's driving. While I'm getting it down, she gets out. And this little lady cusses out loud.:wacko: She can't believe that all she had to do. Was lift that tire to get the section on the cable out of the center of the tire.

Like you she had a cell phone, but no good out there. I told her I could only pray if it were my mom in that same spot. Someone would help her out. She tried to pay me for helping her out. And almost got mad when I would not take anything for doing it.

When i got back to the yard in West Tn. I had to go to the bosses office. Was told to not even unhook the trailer. But to go to his office. I almost cried myself. That lady had called the company number on the back of my trailer. And let them know what I had done. The lady's son owned a Place in Vegas. And I got a free lunch ticket for a month out of that deal. We went through there 2 times per week. And I got a big hugg from her the first time I walked in there. 

Good people like that lady state trooper. Are getting harder to find these days. And pray we can all find someone like here when we need her.

Pete

 

 


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Hi all......shucks we are livin'n large out here in the Tonopah Rodeo grounds & petting zoo.......we have seen everything except a pink rattlesnake........

 

Pickup Update........Dollymomma really knows how to fail a head gasket........bore scoped the cylinders and all is OK ......then cut open the oil filter.....not one speck of metal or carbon  (4 oil and filter changes in the 8,000 miles on the new engine) so the bottom end is fine.......plan is to haul the pickup and horse trailer up to Franks Automotive in Fallon and then haul Dolly-the-paint-horse up to Silver Sage Stables just South of Fallon in the horse module in the bunkhouse toyhauler behind the Dollytrolley and then Dollymomma will ride out each day with a whole herd of local cowgirls while I go out to TOP GUN School and teach a few flight tricks that will ruin all of the training that the squids have had so far........

Shucks ........imagine how boring life would be if all RV trips went as .........planed.....

Now this is not a real breakdown by a long shot........ no being broke down is .......when the float plane won't crank and the wind is blowing you toward a rocky shore where a BIG Grizzly is pacing back and forth licking his chops.......that story later.....

 

Gotta go now.........several items are yet to be broken today.......cheers.....

 

Drive on..........(Breakdowns.......spice of the RV .....life)

 

 

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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I have to wonder why you don't carry some block sealer with all you have onboard?    Or for that matter a tow strap?    Traveling the roads you do and the locations you frequent being well prepared is not an option.    

 

Steve 

2005 Peterbilt 387-112 Baby Cat 9 speed U-shift

1996/2016 remod Teton Royal Atlanta

1996 Kentucky 48 single drop stacker garage project

 catdiesellogo.jpg.e96e571c41096ef39b447f78b9c2027c.jpg Pulls like a train, sounds like a plane....faster than a Cheetah sniffin cocaine.   

 

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Right on Steve .....heck how many folks travel with a complete SPARE horse hauler rig....the horse and horse operator were set up in a new camp with running water and electricity in two hours...... so have plenty chains straps but block sealer is way below my pay grade I don't do that to real engines.

 

Drive on.......(Enjoy the ride....even the repairs)

 

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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You MAY think block sealer is snake oil and look down on its use but, it can work.    There is the right way to do a repair and changing the gaskets is the right way.     That said; in the middle of nowhere a can of block sealer can get a vehicle to a location where the proper repair with no ill effects can be done.    

 

What is a "real" engine?     I am not sure you understand what block sealer does and how it works.     Its no skin off my teeth, if you want to ignore a viable fix but, it won't harm an engine.     How do I know this you ask?     I was involved in engine building for a number of years.     Every thing from small block chebby's to Merlin's and F1.    

 

Would you have rather done the repairs where YOU choose or take a chance on what you get?     I understand we can't prepare for every eventuality but, a patch can get you home more often than not.     I had one failure in a car that left me stranded I could never have predicted, a power steering pump explosion.     I had been driving for about 8 hours when the alt light came on, the PS pulley was gone as was the entire front of the casting.       That kind of failure is extreemly rare, a head gasket or other cooling system problem not so much.     Heck as long as you kept the coolant level up and didn't pressurize the system you could have likely driven it home.  

 

Steve        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005 Peterbilt 387-112 Baby Cat 9 speed U-shift

1996/2016 remod Teton Royal Atlanta

1996 Kentucky 48 single drop stacker garage project

 catdiesellogo.jpg.e96e571c41096ef39b447f78b9c2027c.jpg Pulls like a train, sounds like a plane....faster than a Cheetah sniffin cocaine.   

 

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4 hours ago, Steve from SoCal said:

You MAY think block sealer is snake oil and look down on its use but, it can work.    There is the right way to do a repair and changing the gaskets is the right way.     That said; in the middle of nowhere a can of block sealer can get a vehicle to a location where the proper repair with no ill effects can be done.    

 

What is a "real" engine?     I am not sure you understand what block sealer does and how it works.     Its no skin off my teeth, if you want to ignore a viable fix but, it won't harm an engine.     How do I know this you ask?     I was involved in engine building for a number of years.     Every thing from small block chebby's to Merlin's and F1.    

 

Would you have rather done the repairs where YOU choose or take a chance on what you get?     I understand we can't prepare for every eventuality but, a patch can get you home more often than not.     I had one failure in a car that left me stranded I could never have predicted, a power steering pump explosion.     I had been driving for about 8 hours when the alt light came on, the PS pulley was gone as was the entire front of the casting.       That kind of failure is extreemly rare, a head gasket or other cooling system problem not so much.     Heck as long as you kept the coolant level up and didn't pressurize the system you could have likely driven it home.  

 

Steve        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well before I started the engine I pulled the the plugs and let it cool some when I filled it full of water I had water in FIVE holes

and  lot of water running out of # 4 & #6 when I installed the plugs and bumped the starter it tended to hyrolock so I just towed the rig to the next turnout .........

 

Chemicals are ok at times but I prefer new gaskets and straight head & block surfaces..........with the amount of water flowing into the cylinders I have no need for chemicals in this case......

 

Like you........... this is not my first engine game.......

 

Repairing the engine is no big deal and we had a good time in spite of a little steam and water........

 

Drive on...........(Enjoy the ......game)

 

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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7 hours ago, noteven said:

I carry a barrel of Pratt&Whitney coolant at all times.

Knot.....right on.......Shucks I even snort the P & W.......without it, it just leaves ya breathless....

 

Drive on........(Stay cool.....breathe easy)

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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