We left Page around 8:30 a.m. and headed towards Cortez, NM. Weather was good, roads were good, and traffic was light. Doesn't get much better than that. Then things went south from there. A little after noon, John noticed that the engine was overheating. We pulled over to the side of the road to let the engine idle. Engine cooled off so we pulled a few feet when it start overheating again. Not good. John got out and discovered that we had coolant running out. He looked in/under the engine compartment but couldn't see where the coolant was coming from to see if it was a hose or what.
Time to get on the phone with our Good Sam Emergency Road Service (GS ERS). Our GPS said we were 43 miles from the RV park in Cortez. Thank goodness we had cell service and 3G available so I was able to determine that there was a Ford Dealer in Cortez so we requested that the truck be towed there and our fifth wheel be towed to the RV park in in Cortez. Mario at GS ERS said that their towing range was 50 miles but that he was showing that Cortez was more like 69 miles from where we were so we were on the hook for the extra 19 miles @ $4 a mile times 2 (truck & trailer). I told him that his calculation were off and we would deal with this issue later as we had to get off the road. Nothing could be done/started until we gave him our credit card number. While waiting for Mario to get us a tow, I called the RV park to let them know our situation, that we would be late arriving, and could we find out our site number so we weren't wasting any time. We also called the Ford Dealer in Cortez to let them know our truck was coming in after hours. Angie at Sundance RV Park was very helpful as was Debra (or was it Donna?) at Keesee Ford.
GS ERS tried to find a one large truck to carry the truck and pull the fifth wheel with rather than two vehicles to get us off the road. So there we sat on the side of the road until 5:15 p.m. when a flat bed truck for the truck arrived and a pickup arrived to tow the fifth wheel. We were fed misinformation like what type of vehicle was coming, as well as their estimated arrival time. We gave GPS coordinates, mile marker information, and good details about having just turned on Highway 160 just past the intersection of Highway 64 and Highway 160 heading east to Cortez and about five miles to Four Corners to no less than two Good Sam people. Yet if we hadn't called the towing company, they would have been heading to the wrong location. Sheesh.
The later it got in the day, the more stressed I got because I didn't want to be sitting on the side of the road in the dark. Also, there was a lot of should of, could of, kind of second guessing going on which doesn't accomplish anything. So here we sat for hours, did not see one Arizona Highway Patrol officer nor did anyone stop to see if they could assist. Gave us a different perspective about seeing someone pulled off the road with blinkers on.
What a relief to see the towing people show up. It didn't take long and we were on the road and finally made it to Cortez. The truck being dropped at the Ford Dealer and us to the RV Park. We were given a pull-thru so it was easy for the tow truck driver. When I checked in at the office, I realized that the time had changed and it was now an hour later than thought. John just got us set up with water and electricity and discovered that one of our rear hydraulic levelers would not extended. This had happened a before and it was a loose wire so that is what we are hoping for but John will check it out in the morning. Too much to deal with today.
We were starving as I had only brought a few light snacks with us because we had planned on arriving in Cortez around 1 p.m. so we headed off to the diner next door.
Needless to say, this not knowing how serious a problem we may or may not have is distressing on so many levels. So here we sit until the Keesee Ford can take a look see and let us know what is going on.
