Broken Down in N. California..north of Eureka

The RV campground we were towed to is called the Golden Bear RV Campground in Klamath, CA. Linda and her husband Denny (I think that's his name) were very helpful camp hosts..good people for sure. THe campground is right on the river and very quiet. If you like to fish and relax, this is your beautiful spot. We left the keys with Linda and she found us a ride from one of their regulars who took us (gf and two dogs) to Eureka some 60 miles away (thanks again Patrick). A shout out to Leon's Automotive in Eureka for their honest work. Hindsight says we should have called someone for a roadside evaluation, but we had no cell signal and the rv was only a foot off the busy 101 on a winding curve..not safe. The weekend played against us too as everyone was closed. I had to be back Monday for a delayed freight shipment of equipment and Monday was the last day before them sending freight back. It all worked out and happy as heck with our 1999 Sprite with that beast of a V10 engine. Looking back, it's possible she went into neutral with foot to the floor and thus the high revs and then hit the brakes since headed into a downhill curve. What ever happened it's done without damage to engine or trans. It's all just a bump in the road that went from lemons to lemonade.

camperdave wrote:
I think all these roadside programs use the same towing companies anyway, I doubt one service is really much better than another. I've got RV towing coverage through the AMA (American Motorcyclist Assn) but haven't needed to use it yet. My expectation is that they will get me out of harms way and into the nearest town. The rest is probably up to me...

Sounds like you were in a pretty remote area, sometimes it just takes a while to get it taken care of, and navigate the phone run-arounds. Good work getting it done!

I remember my sister accidentally threw the family car into reverse on the freeway (this was in 1986 or so, in a mid 70's Dodge wagon). It just went into neutral, no damage. Sometimes technology improvements are not so much lol.

A man was broken down on the side of the road, we watched from our picnic area as he waited for a tire to be changed. A service showed up, a man in a van with a jack and 4 way lug wrench showed up but could not remove the lug nuts, away he drove.

Hours later another pick up showed up, unmarked as well. The tire was being changed. we passed by and spoke to the man as he was near the access road we were using to get on our way out of the park. This man waited 4.5 hours. He said this service was one that was offered from the dealership, at no extra cost, for as long as he owned the car. The truck drove 30 miles to get there.

This is in a populated S California town where there are AAA and other service trucks everywhere. Service to my home in no less than 30 minutes.

I say this because I would hope that before you sign these warranties you ask questions relating to what,who,where will provide service. Get a list of tow companies affiliated with them and check out their availability before you make your travels. They don't have a list? Keep your money in your pocket then.

Be safe and prepared and wear clean underwear, my mom used to say that.

I think all these roadside programs use the same towing companies anyway, I doubt one service is really much better than another. I've got RV towing coverage through the AMA (American Motorcyclist Assn) but haven't needed to use it yet. My expectation is that they will get me out of harms way and into the nearest town. The rest is probably up to me...

Sounds like you were in a pretty remote area, sometimes it just takes a while to get it taken care of, and navigate the phone run-arounds. Good work getting it done!

I remember my sister accidentally threw the family car into reverse on the freeway (this was in 1986 or so, in a mid 70's Dodge wagon). It just went into neutral, no damage. Sometimes technology improvements are not so much lol.

This may be something to consider when purchasing extended warranties, who and where can I get service when needed. Towing also, sounds good as you are signing contracts and handing over payments.

My first thought would be to get to a safe place, like a campground, then call a mobile mechanic to have a look. To the original poster I ask, were there any mobile units available, did you call any. Just curious. I would think a campground would accommodate a disabled unit even if on the sidelines to allow for a diagnosis to be done.

I carry a code scanner with me, it can give you a general idea and they are basically just a plug in unit then get the code description off the internet.

Very pleased you are on the road again.

Like to see threads that have a happy ending. :C

Good deal Jim, glad to hear that and tnx for the update. I hear you re GS .
Many people are happy using coach-net for rv help, research that. They cover you in any vehicle that you travel in.

Yep, everyone likes a happy ending. Glad you got it fixed and that it was actually a minor problem. Thanks for updating.

Happy Trails!

Dale

I like the happy ending.

Great to hear you are back on the road with minimal repair :)

carringb wrote:
Unfortunately your '99 may have been built on a ''98 chassis, which would mean it has an E4OD transmission which had a conventional valve-body, so over-revving on a manual downshift is possible (not so with the 4r100 which came out in '99.

Even the regular valve body transmissions of old had a mechanical governor to prevent downshift that would over-rev the engine.

Update: RV is fine!! What happened is that a PCV hose came off and likely due to the high revs of hitting the low gear or maybe just coincidence. We got towed after a 4 hour wait with Good Sam's premium service. We had to deal with multiple reps from GS who kept giving us shops who could not handle a RV. Finally got it to a shop in Eureka (3 days after they towed us to RV park) and they quickly found the hose issue. Without the hose connected, it would not run unless it was revved to guessing 3-4,000rpm. It appears no damage done to engine or trans. I don't think we will stick with Good Sam as they were just too frustrating to deal with and them obviously trying to cut corners.