I have not had much funny or share worthy content this year, but last week finally provided some material.

Early in the week, Mom informed me that Dad was making a work related trip to the Midwest in his service truck.  I remember commenting that I hoped the service truck made the trip (Dad has always been very fond of the service truck [see his 2009 post about it here], but in over a decade of ownership it has left him stranded multiple times, limped home multiple times, and required repair for several other issues.  I have considered it to be unreliable for several years).

The next morning, Dad was enjoying day two of his trip.  The service truck had just rolled over 70,000 miles when he noticed that the weather was foggy.  Then, he realized that the only fog was around him.  He took the next exit, which thankfully had a small truck stop.  He must have made quite the entrance as he said everyone was looking at him with a “What’s wrong with you?” stare.

After investigating the situation and comparing his diagnosis with some mechanic friends over the phone; the issue was narrowed down to being one of two likely scenarios - having blown a head gasket, or a total EGR failure.  Either way, he was stranded.

I was informed of the situation a little after 9 a.m. and also that he was towing the car hauler.  (Dad was strongly considering selling the car hauler over the summer, but I talked him into keeping it as it was the best choice for transporting Chieftain [my car project].  He had replaced the floor last year, and after agreeing to keep it he put a new set of tires on it and replaced the battery.  That was just a few weeks ago.)

I offered to come pick him up (we were around 500 miles apart).  He was open to that idea, but also wanted to see if it was faster for him to fly home and then return with his semi to haul the service truck home.  After comparing options, he concluded that it was actually faster for me to drive to him than for him to fly.  Since he was in a rural area he would have had to hire transportation to get him to an airport.  Then he would have to change planes and that would still leave him with a 2+ hour drive to get home.  

Dad asked me to bring his pickup instead of my car so that we could at least bring the car hauler home.  The service truck was fully loaded and far more weight that what the car hauler could handle.  We were both very concerned about leaving it unattended, but we also knew that our options were limited.  I quickly threw together enough clothes and cosmetics for overnight, grabbed yesterday’s leftover coffee out of the fridge, rescheduled or cancelled my plans for the week, and obtained the keys to the pickup.  Next, I discovered that the pickup was nearly out of fuel…another delay.

By 10:20 a.m. I finally had the pickup fueled up, and I was on the road along with an adventurous Texas fly.  So, while I am driving as hard as I can, Dad is feeling sorry for himself.  He is stranded at a small truck stop for the entire day.  He cannot enjoy air conditioning in his truck, and has relegated himself to texting about how hot he is … interspersed with food pictures of what he is eating at the air conditioned truck stop restaurant. 



Despite the miserable day he was enduring, he did manage to put together a fairly impressive deal between slices of pie.

I received a text saying he had traded trailers.  The new one was being delivered to the truck stop and would be able to haul the service truck home, and that he had booked a hotel room for the night.  While that deal was definitely the best case scenario for the circumstances we were in, that also meant bye bye to an easily maneuverable way to transport Chieftain.  

So while I am driving, I am imagining that Dad has traded for some dilapidated piece of scrap metal he probably found privately advertised on the internet.  I am then imagining how much can go wrong in 500 miles of towing.

About halfway into the trip, I consumed the last of my coffee and finally convinced the adventurous Texas fly to become a Kansan.  I was very hungry, but wanted to get to Dad as fast as possible.

About an hour from reaching Dad, I knew I had to get food.  I saw Jimmy John’s advertised on an exit sign and decided that would be a fast choice.  Of course, that exit was definitely not designed with dual-wheeled long bed pickups in mind.  However, I did manage to get a sandwich and get back on the highway without damaging anything and only upsetting a handful of drivers.

I was very thankful to not encounter any traffic issues and arrived where Dad was before 6:30 p.m.  I even beat the trailer there!  Upon arrival I snapped a picture of the service truck and texted it to Mom with the caption: “I spy a lemon.”  When I got there I was so exhausted that I could not even park the pickup straight.  I got out and told Dad it was his turn to drive.  Dad re-parked the pickup and then we transferred his luggage.  While waiting for the trailer to arrive I asked Dad to tell me more about the trailer.  He was having trouble getting pictures to load but I could see that the description said 2021.  I was greatly relieved that the trailer he was buying was brand new!  Also, he got a very fair deal on the trailer and trade!

The business owner delivered the trailer.  He was great to deal with and we are very thankful for him.  The trailer looked great, and I was very relieved to see that the service truck could still move under it’s own power.  

Dad asked me to back up to the new trailer when it was unhitched as he moved the service truck into loading position.  I know none of you have seen me back up to a trailer; but let me assure you, I create quite the comedy show.  Normally get lined up correctly after around a dozen tries.  The business owner was guiding me on how far to back up.  When he signaled for me to stop, I hopped out thinking he was either going to ask to back it himself or try to give be guidance on trying again.  Instead he said: “You’re really good!”  I breathed a sigh of relief, said: “Thank you!” and peered into the pickup bed to find that I had lined it up right where it needed to be.  I then thought: “I hope I don’t get asked to do that again because there is no way I will ever line it up correctly twice in a row.”  

The business owner then helped us get the service truck loaded up.  Once it was on the trailer I noticed what looked like oil leaking out (Dad would later tell me this was carbon residue mixed with coolant).  With that, we thanked the business owner for helping us out of a bad situation, said good bye, and headed for the hotel.

 

So, I have made this post long enough…maybe too long.  Therefore, I will save the equally interesting trip home for another post on another day…. that is, if y’all are interested in reading about it.

Edit: Fix issues with font and photos.