We love the Stadium Truck series but they won’t be here. They are such fun to watch (they look like this)As usual for us, Friday morning is get acquainted with the layout and check out the stores. We bought our driver’s cars (old ones were getting, well old and outdated) and Allan’s annual schedule t-shirt. This is our grand stand 3B; road courses are fun!Spot FireHawk??
The practice begins
Allan = 2nd Me = 6th BOO
Dinner tonight was Tex-Mex. Service not so good, food was deliciousThe track helicopter as seen from our hotel window
Today’s drive: 5h54mWe know it will take longer, we’ll stop for breakfast & fuel but weren’t prepared for how much long. Chicago was the worst even though we took the by-pass. I felt bad for the millions of truck drivers as many of the highway were reduced number and width of lanes.
Motor City Building We left at 735a, arrived at our hotel, The Atheneum at 409p.We are certainly happy to be here. A little ironic that we initially purchased Bailey to go to races but she’s not at this one! Can’t image maneuvering Detroit’s streets in her to say noting about parking.
We leave, in Bob, for the Detroit race on Thursday. That’s going to be a long drivee. We looked for a closer place to Detroit to store Bailey but couldn’t find one.
Bizarre! Fires in both directions at about the same location. Our way was a tire that blew, the smoke is not sure what is burning. The other way, the car is burnt to a crisp! The stopped line up on that side is at least 10 miles long.
It’s kind of fitting that at a State Park and race track we are parked in a parking lot 🙂 Not camping but RACINGwhich is what we really bought Bailey for. Those clouds!
The RV park is on the left of the photo, the race track is the oval 🙂 We’ll be back for the race/
We got to sleep in a bit and pulled out at 820a, today’s trip is short compared to yesterday’s. We traveled through 3 StatesDay begins as yesterday’s ended. Rain & high winds, with a douse of fog
This guy is not having a good day!1210p: as if by magic the sun came out. First real sun we’ve seen since last Monday432p: We made it!
The view from our captain chairs
And we’re back on schedule!May 25th: No driving today!! This is the perfect start to today!
Today’s problem! Clothes washer isn’t working. Wish us luck in getting it fixed.
We’re hoping to make up time so I’m up at 5; Allan at 6. We manage to get our stuff done, pack up for travel and are on the road at 720.
We have to be in Detroit on May 30th for the Indy race. Bailey can’t come to that race so we’re leaving her at an RV park in Milwaukee, sounds crazy but we have no interest in maneuvering Detroit with Bailey.
Back to today…it poured over night we hope that trend doesn’t continue.
809a Raynesford, MT dreary not raining
919a Lewiston
932a Then the rain started
1012a The fog
Got sick of taking rain photos
1144a Then we got stuck, for too long, behind this oversized load107p Couldn’t resist just one more rain photo213p Miles City a passing pick up threw a rock, Bailey’s windshield now has 3 cracks. Two together and another we don’t know when we got. When we’re somewhere for a few days we’ll try to get a mobile glass company,
We reached our destination at 922p. Walmart Jamestown! 13 hours 644miles/1036km. We are not fans of such big days, but hey we are adaptable!
Tonight, thanks for letting us stay Walmart Jamestown, ND! It’s pouring again and the winds are so bad we opted to only take out the bedroom slide. Bailey is rocking!
Tomorrow destination may prove scary or undoable
Didn’t want to jinx it but Bailey seems to be back to her old self! We do have a new rattle coming from the front passenger side, umm whatever can that be?
May 17th: Our mechanic, Jordan, told us this morning he thought it was either a loose wire or the ECM. “DEF Control Module – This module controls the operation of the emission system. The DEF Module and Engine Control Module (ECM) are in direct communication to make sure the system is operational. ECM – The DPF system and the regeneration process is controlled by the ECM on a Cummins truck.”
Nothing else happens Friday. We have to wait for a bay to become available. The motorhome in the bay is having generator issues that are stumping Jordan.
No ECM in stock and they don’t want to order one until Jordan determines we require it. Delivery would likely be the day after they order.
May 18th & 19th: Saturday & Sunday I-State Truck is closed. We are anxious for Monday to arrive.
Even though we are so cramped, Allan still managed to prepare us delicious meals. Saturday did a Walmart run and then just sat around playing games.
May 20th: Yahoo for MONDAY!! We’re up before 6 because we know Jordan starts at 7. We want to be ready for his arrival. 8am rolls around, then 9am with no contact. We don’t want to be pains but WTF!
Allan goes to the Service to ask our rep, Jason, when will we be up?
Turns out Jordan has Mondays off, once a mechanic is assigned to a job he sees it through. What bullshit!! After much discuss, Jason says he’ll order the ECM and if it is not required they’d send it back. A little good news.
So Monday’s outing was Ryan Dam. A much nicer weather day and the dam is pretty spectacular.
Our last meal in a squished Bailey, we hope
We also hope this is the last time we have this view out the window
May 21st: Again we are ready to be dragged to the bay. Again, 8am, 9am, 10am roll by and still nothing. We check out the bay and see the motorhome is still in the air, wait, wait, wait.
139p – they finally arrive!
They are trying to figure out how to “air up”. They need that in order to release Bailey’s brakes so they can drag her. They try from the front, it’s not working. They have to crawl under, which Jordan was trying hard to avoid. And the blocks are out
2.16p Here she goes!!!
Bailey is FINALLY in a bay! Let the repair begin!
With Bailey safely inside we head to the Crystal Inn which is a 2 minute drive from I-State, we can see I-State from the hotel.
3.38p Snuggled in and hoping for the best
Weird! The hotel elevator has a swing door on it. Never saw that before.
May 22nd: Sunrise from the hotel window
The wait for an update or better yet Bailey is ready call from I-State is excruciating. As I said earlier, we can “kind” of see I-State from the lobby. We go down to the lobby every 20-30 minutes to see if we can see Bailey outside.
930am Bailey is outside!! We pack up our stuff, (something told us to bring the room key check out isn’t till noon), Bailey is gone!
Jason tells Allan, Jorden took Bailey for a test drive.
The story is…. Jordon tried to start (we know this as we heard Bailey not starting) prior to being dragged. Didn’t start. When she got into the bay, Jordon tried again and she started. He cleaned wires and for cracked fuses. Checked the voltage in & out of the ECM The error code was an issue with the out. He found a wire rubbing where it shouldn’t & repaired that. Bailey kept starting. He didn’t want to take it upon himself to suggest replacing the ECM cause what if the same issue occurred miles down the highway.
He said he had a few other things to check. Allan & I took a drive to discuss what to do. It is no fun sitting on the side of the road waiting hours for a tow then the repairs.
Allan calls our diesel repair shop in Lethbridge and recounts the story. Armando, checks the error codes Allan said we had but with not seeing the unit is reluctant to advise but suggests it may be best to replace which is what we were leaning to.
Back we go to authorize the replacement. They then said they thought it best to replace as well
Will take about two hours to replace. Off we go again, this time we end up at Appleby’s. We happen to get there at Happy Hour 🙂
517p Here she is! Super dirty and needing a good dump! We’re going to top up diesel, fill propane, dump and get the wash. Pay up, Jason was nice by discounting the bill $800ish None for us, no one trained is in
To the dump
We’re most excited about the wash; 1/2 hour from start to finish. We both thought, but didn’t voice while in the wash, “What if she doesn’t start?”
Before After
720p Finally take a deep breathe and chill time. We’re overnighting at I-State and will leave early tomorrow. Like this view better:)What a week!
Wake up to a beautiful sunriseWe leave for our next destination, Glendive, MT, at 935a. First stop fuel and top us DEF at Exxon in Chinook about 20 minutes out. WOW diesel prices…
On the road again, just so happy to be on the road again when… Bailey starts losing power, we slow more and more. We are in the dreaded “Limp Mode” We tried to make it to a safe spot but this is where we ended up. Half way in the east bound lane on a 2 lane highway.
Allan sets up our triangles, they worked for a bit but then got too windy to use them.
Allan on the phone with CoachNet , 11.10a
Vehicles whipping by = Bailey is rocking. It is a little intimidating, they are so close. CoachNet did say they will contact Montana Highway Patrol as we are stuck on an active highway. (Spoiler alert = they never did show up, the one time you want to see a cop)
What do you while waiting for a tow? King’s Crib!
We also cancelled the next 3 RV Park bookings, of course of there is no such thing as a full refund.
CoachNet is good in staying in touch while attempting to find a tow and a place to tow to. Several calls to say they haven’t found either yet.
Then good news one!! Cliff’s Towing from Shelby but he will be 4-5 hours. That makes his arrival time between 4 & 5p Bad news, they are towing us to the closest Freightliner dealer in Great Falls, I-State Truck Center. 2-1/2 hours back the way we came. CoachNet tells us they will not be able to look at Bailey till Monday.
Cliff arrives at 419p
The loading begins….
Loading complete at 448p
Off we go
We are taking the direct route and will get to I-State ahead of Cliff. We need a spot next to a light standard so we can plug in to keep the fridge going. Cliff needed to get a permit to flatbed because of Bailey’s height and weight. DOT has select routes to travel which include weigh stations.
We arrived @ 754p
The wait for Bailey begins. We wait and wait… finally she pulls in 955p
Turns out the stop at the weigh station didn’t go so well. Cliff was overweight so got a chewing out, a fine and had to buy a new permit.
The unload begins….
It goes alright until… Bailey’s nose is stuck
Cliff tries this and that, that and his. Finally he comes up with putting wood blocks under Bailey to elevate her. That worked! 1110p Bailey is off!
1134p Finally dinner time, Caesar Salad
It’s a little cramped, can’t open the slides because Bailey doesn’t start. At least we could put out the bedroom slide.
May 17th: Bailey waiting to be diagnosed & repaired
A tech hooked Bailey to his computer to see if it was an easy fix. We all know that answer; Bailey needs to get into the shop but it’s full and doesn’t sound like she’ll make it there today. He thinks it may need a ECM for the DEF system and of course they don’t have one in stock and won’t order cause it may be something else.
Our Bailey is getting older, took several thousands and leaving a day late than planed but here we are on our next adventure!
Our sunrise this morning
“On the road again” Won’t record and post our leaving song even though it brings us such joy :} Your welcome!!
Crossing at Coutts, we learned our lesson last time we crossed at Sumas, No chicken, No eggs, No Fruit, No Vegetables! We’ll be crossing with none of these… Almost there We’re here!!!
Crossing guard asked the regular meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit.. No to all. Then the weird questions “Is there anyone in the Jeep?” “Have either one of you been arrested and convicted of a (not sure what type of crime) No we haven’t “Are you sure?” he asks. Then “you must like cold winters” took us a bit to figure that out but Allan did “No we don’t that’s why we go to Mexico”. Crossed from start to end in about 15 minutes.
The signs saying caution deer proved to be true. Allan was in his glory when we encountered deer on both sides of the highway… He air horned them and they scattered. The deer here are lighter and blend in more, we were on our guard and saw several.
Our first stop, Havre, MT
Always an issue, this one… our big slide won’t open. No power, why? Allan posts to a Winnebago site and someone responds with “the slide is likely locked”. We don’t ever lock our slides and none of our fixer dudes worked on slides… but… yep that was the issue!
Our site, likely the long one yet at 150′
There are animals here.
Then spotted the gators! Stranger things may have happened LOL
The day of our first trip of the season has arrived!!
Bailey is welcoming us, think she said “It’s about time!”
Bob’s hooked up, had an issue with the driver’s side light hook up on Bob, WD40 to the rescue. A replacement cable is on order.
Leaving storage
Where to?? A whooping 16 min (11.1 km) drive to Lethbridge KOA! We call this our “shake down” trip.
Heading to our site Our site 🙂
Our view of Oldman River from the captain seats. You gotta look real hard!
Please note the changing skies.
When we booked our site on Saturday the weather was supposed to be OK. Maybe rain but wanted to have time to repair/get parts in for anything that may need it so decided we’d live with the possibility of rain,
Once we got settled in they changed to forecast to… On well, we’re here now and know it’s important to do the “shake down” after Bailey was in storage all Winter and with the recent battery replacement and the work done we think it wise to do a quick trip to make sure everything works as it should, fill our water tank, and we have all the supplies, pots, dishes, cleaning stuff, etc that we’ll need. This is the list in progress.
The generator has been serviced but it still doesn’t always start. We’ll need it for many of our locations so it has to work all the time! We have Bailey scheduled to go back to Diesel Tech when we leave here.
It gets way messy before better! The fridge is cleaner than ever!
Our welcoming committee I count 6
Liz, introduced us to “King’s Cribbage” and we’ve been addicted ever since. Our first on Bailey game. 3 games played, 2 wins to me 🙂
My “Pit Master” creating goodness!
Predicted snow has not hit yet and the winds have died down! Fire time
We called the fire when it started to rain, (better than snow) again.
How much snow will we wake up to?
May 01st: How is it May already?? We’re a little frightened to look out – this is what we see! Yahoo, the forecast was wrong again. There are a few flakes mixed in with rain hopefully none will stick till we get Bailey to Diesel Tech. We decided to leave earlier than anticipated in case the snow didn’t want to quit. We arrived at Diesel Tech at 918a. Looks like Bailey’s neighbour is a little tipsy!Fingers crossed this fix is cheaper than the last one, but pretty sure it isn’t going to be.
It was very wise of us to do this “shake down” outing as it turns out not only the generator needs help so does our water pump (that is serviced by Back Country RV). 2 things we need when “boondocking” are of course the generator & water pump,
Our next good decision was to drop off early as this is what happened next; snow did make it here.
As usual for us, Friday morning is get acquainted with the layout and check out the stores. We bought our driver’s cars (old ones were getting, well old and outdated) and Allan’s annual schedule t-shirt. 
This is our grand stand 3B; road courses are fun!
Spot FireHawk??
Allan = 2nd Me = 6th BOO
The track helicopter as seen from our hotel window 
1012a The fog
When we’re somewhere for a few days we’ll try to get a mobile glass company,
None for us, no one trained is in
We leave for our next destination, Glendive, MT, at 935a. First stop fuel and top us DEF at Exxon in Chinook about 20 minutes out. WOW diesel prices… 
What do you while waiting for a tow? King’s Crib!
We arrived @ 754p
The day of our first trip of the season has arrived!!
