Winslow, AZ
We're all settled in for the night here at a Flying J in Winslow, Arizona.
It was a loooong day! We definitely did a PDD day.
**For those who do not know...PDD stands for Paul Dahl Disorder**
He writes the blog R Sanity RV Adventures.
Paul tends to drive long distances to get where he wants to be.
We left Bakersfield at 6:30 this morning, and pulled in here at 6:30 pm.
12 hours and 545 miles! Yikes!
Of course we had a couple fuel stops..
and we had an 'oops' moment.
I hate to even blog about it, but true confessions time..
We normally won't let the fuel gauge get past 1/2 before we start looking for a truck stop.
Around 11:30 we were getting hungry, and looked up a fuel stop on our GPS.
It was a 76 station and it did have food there as well.
No problem, it was within our range, and it would be perfect.
We got off the exit, and drove into the 'stop' and there was diesel alright,
but no way we could pull under the canopy. There were tons of 18 wheelers around,
but apparently just to eat, not fill up!
So...we got back onto I-40, knowing there would be another truck stop soon.
There was another fuel stop approximately 85 miles away, and certainly had enough to get there.
What the GPS didn't tell us was that there were enough grades to suck up our fuel mileage!
Our low fuel light came on and we still had 36 miles to go.
We started to panic, and see our life flash before our eyes.
We're out in the middle of nowhere, and were wondering how long it could be
before the Good Sam's roadside service could bring us diesel.
But!
I had a bright idea..
we pulled off the highway onto an off-ramp that was within 7 miles of the fuel stop.
George unhooked the trailer, and went to the fuel stop to fill up.
We weren't sure how much fuel we really had left, but we knew that pulling Harvey,
we would not make another 7 miles.
I stayed behind in the trailer, to watch out for what I don't know :-)
Not much I could do about it if someone came up to it!
It all worked, and I told George no matter what we will not let it go below 1/2.
Sometimes these things are out of our control!
Tomorrow we will have another tough day,
but we'll be staying at
at the top of Raton Pass, New Mexico.
That will be the last stop before Golden, CO
where I get to see my son, Austin!
You have to watch out for that PDD!! It's contagious and can spread!! ;-) Cedar Rail is a really neat park, would like to go back there again sometime.
ReplyDeleteJim and Linda
I'm sorry you had to suffer through a bout of PDD. It's an affliction that attacks many RVers from time to time and there is no cure. Well, actually it can be cured with a stix-n-brix, but we don't want to go there... :cP
ReplyDeleteI also try to fill up around 1/2 tank, I think that's smart. Plus that gives me leeway with the ability to use my generator, which won't run if the RV fuel tank gets below 1/4. Just in cast I'm stuck somewhere on a hot day with a flat tire waiting for the Good Sam road service to show up. I want to be cool and watch TV. :c)
Great idea for solving the problem!! Not an oops moment in my book since you didn't run out if gas. No chance of PDD for me. I've never even driven 200 miles in one day. 170 today is a long day for me.
ReplyDeleteThat was too close for comfort! I probably would have been having a panic attack :) We, too, start looking for truck stops by the 1/2 mark. It also doesn't seem so bad on the wallet when you put in a half tank :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a smart idea! We need to have somewhere between a quarter and a half tank of gasoline in the tank or the generator won't run, so we try to make sure the tank has that much before stopping for the night. 545 miles is a whopping long way to go in a day! I'd be worn to a frazzle!
ReplyDeleteI have said the worst part fulltiming is filling up with the rig on. But good idea dropping the rig. We should do that at those stations with limited access, it really don't take much time to rehook.
ReplyDeleteSafe travels.
We had a similar incident once. We were getting low -- real low -- on diesel and exited into town to fuel up. When we arrived at the gas station, Mike realized he couldn't fit. Now what? We desperately needed diesel and couldn't keep driving around town looking for it. So I stayed with the rig while Mike took the car to find the nearest gas station he could fit into. Since then he's done MUCH better at planning out his fuel stops.
ReplyDeleteWe almost had that happen coming out of New Brunswick. We had one gallon left. I thought sure we were going to have to call for help. It's a sick feeling, for sure.
ReplyDeleteWe don't go over 180 miles in a travel day. We don't want to get burnt out like Bill and Nancy. lol
I had to laugh and then read your story to my husband. We had a very similar incident only it was from Clayton to Raton. We too had to drop the trailer. My husband and son-in-law drove to Raton and came back to get the rest of us. I do feel for you. Not a good feeling. Now we do stop for gas more often and carry a 5 gallon can - just in case! (We do a lot of boondocking and use it for the generator too!)
ReplyDelete