Red Eagle in Kingman & No Power in Red Jeep!

[pabusnut]

Stopped for fuel in Kingman Arizona This afternoon, and after getting fuel and waiting on my wife to stretch her legs, I spotted a beautiful red Eagle parked in the back of the truckstop.  I think it was a model 10 (or had 10 caps) was pulling a cargo trailer.  Of course the battery in the camera was dead and I couldn't get a shot.  It wasn't until I was out on the I-40 again that I remembered I can take still shots with the video camera!

While I think I was still thinking about that red Eagle about 40 miles east of Kingman, after pulling what must have been about a 6 or 7 mile grade the Red Turbo Diesel Jeep Liberty started losing power, so I pull over at the top.  Of course there is a tractor trailer broken down there too.  What I didn't see when I pulled over was the service truck parked in front of the semi.  As I am diagnosing the problem, the mechanic passes by the jeep on foot toting a sign to alert people of the parked semi, which he puts about 100 yards behind the jeep.

While he still heading out to  place the sign, he said maybe I have a blown or popped boost tube.  I looked under the hood, and sure enough there was a boost tube pushed off right at the intake.  On his way back I asked the mechanic if he had a screwdriver  I could borrow.  I walked up with him and he offered two.   In about 5 minutes and three burns on my hands later, I had the rubber tube back on.  I backed up a bit and tested the Jeep and it seemed to have power.  I returned the two screwdrivers back to the mechanic wrapped  in some green, and also thanked the trucker for breaking down where I needed him to.  We loaded the family back into the jeep and after offering a prayer of thanks to God, we continued uneventfully another 120 miles to the Grand Canyon.  The jeep ran like a champ.  God Provides!

Mental note to self—replace boost tubes, and clamps upon return home!

Steve Toomey
PAbusnut (currently w/o bus at Grand Canyon)

[artvonne]

We loaded the family back into the jeep and after offering a prayer of thanks to God, we continued uneventfully another 120 miles to the Grand Canyon.  The jeep ran like a champ.  God Provides!

  Thats a neat story, thanks for sharing.

[jackhartjr]

Steve, don't forget to go out to the east a bit to Desert Tower, you will thank me later.
Also, walk a few hundred yards down the Bright Angel Trail just past the first tunnel, look up to your left on the walls and tell me what you see.
God Bless you and your wonderful family!
Jack
And to keep this bus related, Steve has a neat bus!

[boxcarOkie]

Not wanting to break up what appears to be a nice little love fest ... but .... You are traveling in the west in a motor vehicle on the highways and by-ways of America and you don't have a screwdriver?

Man, you are gonna need prayer.  

"Mental note to self—replace boost tubes, and clamps upon return home!"

You might want to rethink this one.

BCO

[belfert]

I don't carry tools in my car.  My current car is still under factory warranty for at least another few months.

I don't consider myself a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination and today's cars are so sophisticated it would be nearly impossible for me to fix any failure.  I have had only two failures of cars on the road and both required a tow.  One was a brand new diesel F-350 that arrived with summer fuel in it and it gelled up when it as -9 degrees.  The other was a Dodge Intrepid that massively overheated during a severe traffic jam.  I turned on the heat full blast and all that, but by the time I got off the road the engine sounded just sick.  The dealer agreed it needed a tow, but it was fine by the time they looked at it.  Engine ran just fine after that.

[boxcarOkie]

I don't carry tools in my car.  My current car is still under factory warranty for at least another few months.

I don't consider myself a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination and today's cars are so sophisticated it would be nearly impossible for me to fix any failure.  I have had only two failures of cars on the road and both required a tow.  One was a brand new diesel F-350 that arrived with summer fuel in it and it gelled up when it as -9 degrees.  The other was a Dodge Intrepid that massively overheated during a severe traffic jam.  I turned on the heat full blast and all that, but by the time I got off the road the engine sounded just sick.  The dealer agreed it needed a tow, but it was fine by the time they looked at it.  Engine ran just fine after that.

Not to be confrontational or argumentative .... but ... Whether or not you carry tools on a trip is a matter of personal preference I suppose.  Personally, having rode old Harleys' all over the country, driven mile after mile in RV's, trucks and Buses, it is (in my opinion) only practical to carry tools.  Regardless of what year of manufacture or what it is you are driving. 

A warranty will never stop a thief, rapist or killer, which is the extreme possibility, but why chance it? 

My family and those close to me, they mean a great deal and I treasure them.  I am not going to put them at risk of harm on some forgotten path or obscure lonely section of road for want of a simple tool such as a screwdriver.

It is just not worth it to me.

BCO

[luvrbus]

That red Eagle left my house at 6.30 this morning the 3406 E Cat was purring lol

good luck

[belfert]

I carry plenty of tools in my bus, just not in my car.  My car is rarely off the beaten path, but my bus is off the beaten path on every trip  Now, maybe I should a few tools in my car, but I just never have.  It is just me to worry about when I do go anywhere in my car.  I don't know how much I could fix on the side of the road anyhow.

I was on a trip in my youth in a Ford F-150 in the 80s.  The two adult leaders on the trip managed to rebuild the carb in the parking lot of an auto parts store when it was 35 degrees out.  You couldn't do that kind of repair on a modern car if you wanted to.

[boxcarOkie]

I carry plenty of tools in my bus, just not in my car.  My car is rarely off the beaten path, but my bus is off the beaten path on every trip  Now, maybe I should a few tools in my car, but I just never have.  It is just me to worry about when I do go anywhere in my car.  I don't know how much I could fix on the side of the road anyhow.

I was on a trip in my youth in a Ford F-150 in the 80s.  The two adult leaders on the trip managed to rebuild the carb in the parking lot of an auto parts store when it was 35 degrees out.  You couldn't do that kind of repair on a modern car if you wanted to.

You are so right.  The newer cars are not even "washable under the hood anymore."  I can understand what it is that you are saying.  I remember sitting in the parking lot of the Union Plaza in Las Vegas rebuilding the alternator on a 77 Coupe De Ville using only the tools I had out of the trunk and some new brushes that I picked up along the way.

But like you so aptly pointed out ... Those days are over.

BCO

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Since we fulltime i have all of my tools in the bus.  I do carry a few in the jeep. A couple of screw drivers, a small crescent wrench, a couple of open end/box wrenches etc. Just a couple of days ago we were up in the woods about 25 miles from the nearest town. As we were driving on some rough rocky roads i started to hear a noise coming from the back. At first i thought it sounded like my in-tank fuel pump but then after stopping and checking, i found out that the clamp on the end of the tailpipe was coming loose. Let it sit for 5 minutes to cool off while admiring the view from the top of the mountain, got out a wrench and fixed the problem.  One of the wrenches that i carry is so i can change the fan belt if it breaks,( i carry an old one as a spare) and one of the other wrenches is so i can pull either one of the drivelines if i lose a u joint. Either one of those problems would keep us from getting home if i did not have the tools with me.  There are a lot of other things that could go wrong that i would not be able to fix on site, but at least i have a couple of them covered.

[Dreamscape]

Clifford, Was that red Eagle heading to Cody?

[luvrbus]

You know what I find funny and I do laugh out loud you see these guys like at Southern Oregon Diesel in the Prevost crowd they open their bays to show their $ 20,000 Snap/On tool boxes full of every tool with air jacks and they are proud of those but they are at Davids shop having fuel filters changed along with other minor items done but they will show the tools.
I removed all the tool boxes and tools from my Doctors H-45 most of those still had the shipping straps from Snap/on hell he didn't even know how to open the boxes LOL but I got some nice boxes and tools for free, tools are great if you know how to use them.

No Paul he is headed for Coeur d' Alene Id to play golf lol this is his 1st trip out with the new engine and he is loving it after the 6V92 for years he has a little Mazda Mitia rag top in the trailer,$52,000 for that upgrade with me selling him the 6 speed Cat Cx31 auto at a bargain to rich for my blood lol  

good luck  

[Lin]

There are easily available, cheap tool kits available that take next to no space at all.  I can't see not carrying at least one of those.  Since we sometimes take the Jeep on some off-road loops, I keep a few extra things in it like a serpentine belt and hose repair kits.  As your experience shows, it's generally the little things that will sideline you.  I would not expect someone to be waiting with a screwdriver every time you need one.  Next time, the very same god that took up your slack this time may decide that you really must need to have the lesson taught more forcefully. 

[gus]

The newest thing I own is a '94 Dodge one ton.

I NEVER leave home without at least one toolbox in car, truck airplane or bus. If I don't I know for sure I will need it!

In the bus I carry four toolboxes and two more for electrical only and no small number of spare parts!

I can't count the times I've had to use them to finish a trip or get me out of a jam. This doesn't count the times I've had to get road service although I've never had to be towed.

To me this is just part of owning an old bus.

If you aren't in the least bit mechanically inclined then I suppose there is no point in carrying tools, but if you aren't, then owning an old bus is going to be expensive.

[artvonne]

  Well, even new cars have screws and bolts. While its true they have gotten incredibly complex and computerised, as well as trouble free, a 4 way screwdriver a pair of pliers can still come in handy.

  I was up in northern Mn, out in the middle of nowhere when the T-stat stuck closed. I dont care what kind of a vehicle they make, they still have T-stats. I didnt even have my small box along, but I did have a screwdriver and pliers and some other things. I was able to get the upper hose off, and while I couldnt pull the housing to get the T-stat out, I was able to mangle it open with the screwdiver.

That area still probably has no cell service, and id probably still be sitting there waiting for a tow.