Onward toward Florida... again.

May 15 - June 1, 2016


Truck and Tracks released us Friday afternoon after they tested the coach to make sure everything worked as it should.  We planned to go through Houston the next morning, but decided upon the advice of well, everyone, to go through in the middle of the night.  So after a quick bite, we hooked up the car, faced the entrance, and after a few winks we were off at 2am in the morning...

We sailed right through Houston! No traffic, lots of light and all 65 feet of us breezed right through.  They were right, all of them...

Not the most perfect pictures 
but you get the idea...

We parked at Deisi's Lucky Capital in Breaux Bridge LA for the night, a little truck stop that has the best burgers and a casino.  It's located in just before the Calcasieu Bridge over Lake Charles and then the bridge over the Atchafalaya Swamp.  We were pretty tired by the time we got to Diesi's so we just chilled and went to bed early. 

We left Diesi's first thing Sunday morning. The Calcasieu Bridge is on I-10 over Lake Charles and has been deemed unsafe since at least 2009.

http://www.americanpress.com/Magazine-names-Calcasieu-River-bridge-one-of-most-dangerous

  

  

We took the bypass of course but someone passing us POINTED TO OUR TOAD which was smoking. SMOKING!  We pulled off I-10 right away. So 65 feet of us on a busy 2-lane did I say BUSY highway on a Sunday?

We unhooked the car and waited in the rain for the tow truck to come and take our car to the nearest Ford dealership.  

The car was towed to Hollingsworth Richard Ford http://www.hollingsworthrichardsford.com/ and were up bright and early when the workers came in Monday morning. We are self-contained so we made ourselves at home for the night, running the generator for electric and air conditioning. 

We slept very well that night.

so here we are..

 

We woke up bright and early Monday morning to workers wondering who this big bus is in their parking lot! I admit that a motor home is a bit of an anomaly sitting in a dealer parking lot.

They were gracious and willing to help us out.  Lou was our service adviser and point of contact.  At first he didn't think it was very serious and we dry camp ed in the lot around back.  When we found out it would take a lot longer, we booked a site at Lakeview RV Park in Livingston LA.

All was not roses though.  Once we parked at the RV Park, the slides wouldn't go all the way out.  So once again we called CoachNet and asked them to send someone out.  By this time, they're pretty tired of us but they were as professional and kept in touch with us the entire time.

The man who came was an RVer himself and he checked all circuits and fuses and finally determined our problem was the hydraulic fluid.  He listened carefully and finally found the tank under the front step. After he dismantled the step, he added 1 gallon of hydraulic fluid and we were good to go!

Here we are, settled in for the night 
with our rental car and coach.

That's all for now.  

Stay tuned for the diagnosis, how we coped.  

And the turn of events.

Tampa Bound At Last (or so we thought)

May 11 - 13, 2016

We pulled out of Rockport TX on May 11.  We had an appointment in Florida the following Monday for some warranty work and new window for our coach. Unfortunately we didn't make it until June 3.  So let me begin our trials and adventures.

We got about 150 miles and the coach Overheat light came on so we pulled off at the next exit. We had just gotten on I-10 and exited near Glidden TX to assess our situation.  

We parked in a large gravel lot right off the exit in front of what looked like a barn and next to an RV park.  Well the barn turned out to be a large open bar. How lucky is that!  So we called CoachNet and sat back with a cold beer, Lone Star of course, and waited for the tow truck. CoachNet kept us in the loop the entire time.

 And yes, those are bugs.

The tow truck finally arrived and hooked up the coach. It was huge!  I can't even get it all in one picture!  Everyone in the bar came out to watch - it was probably the most excitement folks had seen in these parts in a long time.  

The tow went well and the coach was finally parked in the repair lot at Truck and Tracks in Weimer TX. www.truckandtracks.com

It set us back a few days so we had a chance to get to know the area. If you love BBQ, Peter's in Elliger TX has the best!

Although it took a few days and a couple test drives, all the coach needed was a new thermostat. It was under the closet floor and the guy had to be an acrobat to get to it.  Truck and Tracks would not release us until Friday evening because they wanted to make sure everything was A-OK. We thank them for their diligence and hard work to diagnose the problem.  They are truly professional.  

So here we are all hitched up and ready to drive through Houston.   
At 3 am.

Stay tuned for more adventures as we travel to Florida!