Sunday night was very windy with gusts over 25 miles per hour and it continued on into Monday morning, so I delayed our departure to around 10 AM. Once underway and driving along the crappy job I had done the day before on cleaning the windshield was apparent. It was all water spotted. I dealt with it for awhile but knew it would just bother me all day so I pulled off to the side of the road. I left the motor running, climbed out and cleaned off the windshield with a damp paper towel and climbed back in. That’s much better. I put the RV in gear and it didn’t move. In fact the motor barely rose up in RPMs. When it does this it means the motor is in “limp mode” for some reason. Now what?! I don’t need this! I moved it out of gear and back in only to have the same result−no movement. I turned off the motor and sat there bewildered. I started the motor again. This time the engine revved up like normal and the vehicle moved when put into gear. Do I continue on or turn back? I started to move forward then did a quick U-turn. I made it far enough to get out of the way of oncoming traffic when the transmission quit working. I pulled off coasting into a park and ride parking lot and resigned myself to my fate. We weren’t going anywhere. It was now 11 AM and we had traveled all of eighteen miles! Always trying to see the good in something bad I reasoned to myself that best this happened here and now than out in the middle of nowhere in the Arizona desert. I called my Progressive Insurance Roadside Service.
I have used them twice before with good results−one time for a tow when the serpentine belt frayed and cut into a transmission oil line and one time for a blowout−but this time someone dropped the ball. I received a message that Speedy Towing was on its way. Soon after the towing company called to verify what they were coming to pick up. After I described the vehicle he asked if I could send a photo. I did. They thought they were coming for a Dodge Sprinter Van, not motor home. He told me they weren’t capable of towing a motor home and would notify Progressive as such. And so I waited. An hour or so later I received word that AJ’s Towing was on its way. An hour or so later an update arrived. The tow truck was going to be an hour or more later due to traffic on the bridge. The bridge? Where is this guy coming from? The “bridge” around these parts usually means one of several large spans over the San Francisco Bay. Finally he showed up in a huge big ass tow truck just as the sun slipped below the horizon. Five hours had elapsed since my original call. I asked the driver where he had come from and he pointed to the side of his truck−Galt, CA! “Yeah, 260 miles away.” Neither of us could understand why. I apologized to the guy for having to come from so far away. “Aw, don’t worry about it. I’m getting paid” he said with a smile. He was a little guy probably around my size, very nice with a great attitude. I told him I may be able to drive the RV a little to better position it for the pickup. He looked across the two lane highway and saw there was a lot more room to work with at the Union service station. “You think you could get it over there? I’ll stop traffic.” I said I would try and see what happens. I made it across with no issue. It was now full on dark. He was very professional and got the RV hooked up fairly quickly while I emptied out the refrigerator and freezer and put all that plus some personal items I would need into the car for the ex had driven out to save our butts. Poor Beans freaked out with that huge noisy tow truck and all of its bright lights flashing. I had to take her away into the far corner of the lot while Amin hooked up the motor home. We led the tow truck back to Santa Rosa where the repair shop was (same place I had the safety check performed) as it was dark, all through country roads and as Amin said “I have no idea where I am up here.” Beans rode well in the car lying on my lap, safe with Dad. At the shop there was a very sharp angled turn onto a narrow driveway leading into the lot but the guy was a real professional and pulled it off with no problems. He unhooked the RV in short order and I thanked him again as we parted ways. We finally got back to the house at 7 PM, worn out.
The shop called the next morning, Tuesday. Craig the owner said the fault codes he was hoping to see did not show up. He could replace what he thought it might be, a sensor plate, plus do a standard flush, filter and fluid change but knowing I live in the motor home and use it full time “I’d hate to send you off thinking this might be the fix only to have it act up again”. The Sprinter has a transmission designed for vans like those FedEx and UPS use. So this transmission had worked a bit with having a small house to move about. I opted for a new transmission rebuilt with up to date components and Craig would have the shop that specialized in Mercedes Benz transmissions use heavy duty parts and pieces where applicable. Like those new tires, I would have peace of mind knowing all was new and heavy duty. I asked if it would be like a couple weeks long down time. He said it would be ready by the “end of the week”. I didn’t think so; I accepted his challenge. I did ask if he thought my use of the transmission all this time for braking situations might be responsible for this failure but he said no. That was good to hear.
Wednesday afternoon Craig called. “It’s all done. I test drove it and it is ready to go.” I was stunned. I could not believe it. Forty-eight hours after the tow truck driver had dropped it off I was there at the shop to pick it up all with a brand new rebuilt heavy duty transmission in place. I drove back to the house shaking my head in disbelief all the way. Craig had told me when he dropped the pan from the transmission it had a glittering layer of metal particles. He showed me a photo on his phone. It looked like fairy dust. He said the early model of this transmission had bronze bushings at the input and output shaft housing. They were later replaced with roller ball bearings and he felt it was the remnants of one of those bronze bushings he saw.
The ex had just done a big grocery shop in anticipation of fixing more meals for me while the RV was down. I told her I’d stick around as I was in no hurry since I had already resigned myself to be at the house for at least another week. As long as she could come up with things for me to do (especially those fire prevention jobs) so I wouldn’t be bored I didn’t mind. The upcoming weekend showed a rain system rolling in and I wasn’t keen on driving in the rain and wet, plus I had those worn wipers still in place. Monday was to be the only day with no rain for a week and I set that day as our departure day, a one week set back.