It all seemed so good, the stars aligned, seemingly, as the rig hummed down I35 to Dallas in the fast lane. Right on, then not so right on. The truck started shuddering and the engine light flashed. Huh, move over to the slow lane and exit the highway, shuddering.
That's exactly what I did, ending up at a sketchy Red Oak Motel 6 on the side of the road, and guess what? Once parked, the recalcitrant rig refused to start. No kidding. Right there on the outskirts of the Metrosprawl. Sure, it tried to start but failed, insisting on showing a red battery light icon.
Huh, good way to start Thanksgiving, LSP, I thought grimly to myself whilst phoning Texas Farm Bureau for "roadside assistance." This turned up in the end and roadside guy checked the battery. It was bad. He charged it and tried to start the vehicle. No joy. "I reckon it's a fuel pump issue," he offered, just "his opinion."
What a total disaster. What to do? Stay at the Motel 6 for Thanksgiving? Nasty, take my word for it. But no, Roadside Savior said, "Hey, where you heading?" I told him, and he said, "We're going there too, leave this truck here and climb in." Which is exactly what we did, dog and all.
Next step? Enjoy Thanksgiving at Ma LSP's setup on Dallas, get the wretched rig towed back to the Compound and sort that beast out. So, utter, total disaster met salvation, I made it to the RV. There's a moral, perhaps several, in this, if you care to draw it.
Ride On,
LSP
17 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving, Parson. If it was running along with a dying battery it probably spit out all kinds of trouble codes from the computer. Leaving the battery disconnected for several hours should help reset the system enough to get it started. I hope....
Happy Thanksgiving, LSP! Thanksgiving, the ultimate AMERICAN holiday! I am working this morning but will be off by noon to head home for a delicious meal with the Mrs.
At the risk of repeating myself, nay, the certainty of such a foul deed, the following was posted up here just about three years ago, and now slightly modified to fit a different equipment failure:
For Whom the Truck Does Not Crank
(certainly not) by John Donne
No truck battery is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each battery is a piece of the truck,
A part of the DMV registration records.
If a truck be washed away by the flooded low-water crossing,
Texas is the less.
As well as if a one-ton bro-dozer were.
As well as if a Kenworth of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each truck battery's failure diminishes me,
For I am involved in truck ownership.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the truck does not crank,
It does not crank for thee.
Crusty Old TV Tech here. Happy Thanksgiving LSP! Hope you gave that Farm Bureau driver an appropriate blessing. Very nice act of kindness there.
Modern vehicles...Scotty's quote from Star Trek 4 comes to mind: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain"
Happy Thanksgiving.
"Entertaining angels unawares" is always a blessing.
Adversity met and overcome. Happy Thanksgiving.
Adapt, overcome, triumph!
Glad y'all made it to dinner. And the truck is fixable...
And with thy spirit, drjim! The malfeasant's been towed to a local Ford dealership. Let's see what they say. Lord have mercy.
Hope it was fun, Infidel!
What beautiful poetry, Wild.
I may, possibly, trade this rig in for a better variant. Maybe a 2nd hand Raptor? I understand LL has one...
Tech, it's computer codes up the wazoo. Huh. And right on, the roadside guy was a right gent.
And with thy spirit, WSF. All seems to have worked out well, still waiting on the damage estimate tho. Oh well.
Thanks, Ed, and with thy spirit. Hope you had a great day!
One word, LL.
YES.
NFO, it was a challenge. You'll be glad to know I didn't suffer a sense of humor failure or have to stay in that, ahem, sketchy, Motel 6.
Cheers.
Post a Comment