On the road breakdown stories..
I'd be interested in reading your on the road breakdown stories and how you got back on the road. I'll share two. I have been RV-ing on and off since 1987. I guess we have been very lucky to have...
Forum Discussion
I have a 1997 Xplorer 230XL, one of the best Class B's of it's time! I bought it in 2000 with 18,000 miles on it and now have 193,000.
As an avid spring turkey hunter I spent many years with it driving to OK, WY an Sd to hunt in early April. On one trip I was 20 miles east of Indianapolis just after dark when it just quit. I was barely able to steer it to the side just past an overpass. I called AAA and they said they'ld have someone out in an hour. The semi's flying by me swayed the rv quite a bit and scared me. I called AAA several more times to explain the nature of my position. Finally a flatbed tow arrived and got me up and on it, the first time on a flatbed. That made me nervous. As I only had free towing for a few miles, I was going to have him drop me off at a service station at the next exit, but the driver said he had to drive back to the city anyway and towed me to the eastside where a Dodge dealer was located. He dropped me off in front of the closed service bay doors and I spent the night there. They got to it right away and they had to drop the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump.
The next time was driving east on 90 across SD. I stopped at a rest area 44 miles west of Chamberlin. When I came back to my RV I saw fluid pouring out under the engine. It was coolant. I called AAA again and a flatbed came from Chamberlin and dropped the RV off at a Dodge dealer just as they were closing. They let me plug into their electric for overnight. They fixed it the next day with quite a bit of needed work. The one good thing was their labor rates were quite a bit less than my local shops outside of Detroit. I had to play an extra $140 or so for the long tow. That had me upgrade to AAA's RV Plus coverage for 100 free miles of towing which I have not needed since.
The last time was snowbirding in FL. I was driving back to the campground when the RV temp gauge shot all the way up. I pulled into a parking lot and checked it out. I had lost all my coolant. I added a gallon of water after it cooled and it came right out as well. As it was late in the day I got towed back to my campsite. The next morning they came and towed me to their small shop. One of the radiator extension lines to the water heater had burst. They ended up disconnecting them and I was good to go without the water heater exchange. I replaced those lines when I got home.
As an avid spring turkey hunter I spent many years with it driving to OK, WY an Sd to hunt in early April. On one trip I was 20 miles east of Indianapolis just after dark when it just quit. I was barely able to steer it to the side just past an overpass. I called AAA and they said they'ld have someone out in an hour. The semi's flying by me swayed the rv quite a bit and scared me. I called AAA several more times to explain the nature of my position. Finally a flatbed tow arrived and got me up and on it, the first time on a flatbed. That made me nervous. As I only had free towing for a few miles, I was going to have him drop me off at a service station at the next exit, but the driver said he had to drive back to the city anyway and towed me to the eastside where a Dodge dealer was located. He dropped me off in front of the closed service bay doors and I spent the night there. They got to it right away and they had to drop the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump.
The next time was driving east on 90 across SD. I stopped at a rest area 44 miles west of Chamberlin. When I came back to my RV I saw fluid pouring out under the engine. It was coolant. I called AAA again and a flatbed came from Chamberlin and dropped the RV off at a Dodge dealer just as they were closing. They let me plug into their electric for overnight. They fixed it the next day with quite a bit of needed work. The one good thing was their labor rates were quite a bit less than my local shops outside of Detroit. I had to play an extra $140 or so for the long tow. That had me upgrade to AAA's RV Plus coverage for 100 free miles of towing which I have not needed since.
The last time was snowbirding in FL. I was driving back to the campground when the RV temp gauge shot all the way up. I pulled into a parking lot and checked it out. I had lost all my coolant. I added a gallon of water after it cooled and it came right out as well. As it was late in the day I got towed back to my campsite. The next morning they came and towed me to their small shop. One of the radiator extension lines to the water heater had burst. They ended up disconnecting them and I was good to go without the water heater exchange. I replaced those lines when I got home.
