SLIDING OUT OF WYOMING





Time we were leaving!!


 We depart in the rain and make it back to the road, a short 140 miles to the planned nightstop
with a quick visit to Walmart for yet more liquid refreshment. Well on an operation this size the
bar takes a heavy hit! The rain continues all the way to Rawlins where it actually gets worse. 

 Brenda books us in and I drive round to our site. Enterprise completes leveling and while I go
out in the rain Brenda deploys the slides..... well one and half to be precise. Outside things are
not going well as I search in vain for the 50 amp. Back to the office through the puddles and
explain there is no 50 amp ....... lady agrees, and I'm given further instructions. Back on board
Enterprise things are not looking quite so rosey as the slides will not deploy or come in. Drive to
the new site, plug in 50 amp, dump and take on water. With our "stuck" scenario this looks like a
crawl in bedtime but we will fix it in the morning........well we now have tons of hot water..... but
the damm shower selector is stuck for the second time so its COLD only!!!

 Tuesday morning and ring the local RV man who duly arrives with jumper leads!!!! Once more I
explain I want the batteries, all 10 of them TESTED..... so he departs and comes back with a tester.
Batteries are all good so now according to Monaco it must be the hydraulic pump which is a 2 hour
replacement job that can be done in Salt Lake City and is covered under warranty. However, we
have a small problemeeee! we need to get the slides back in to get to SLC.

 Following Monaco's instructions Shadetree is sent under the bus in the mud to locate the hyd
pump and the 4 solenoids. Explain to Shadetree there are 4 solenoids with a nut on each end
and the tool to undo do them is part of the hyd reservoir filler cap. After a lot of argument and
several "crawl in and outs" he finds what we are looking for and finally they are released.
Shadetree and helper now go for lunch and say they will be back at 1 with the Boss to push the
slides in.

 Shadetree and helper return along with the Boss and we now push these giant slides back in as
far as we can. Tell Shade to tighten up the solenoid nuts and we should be on our way. The Boss
now tries his hand at long multiplication to determine costs. He tells me after 3 attempts its
$405.00 so I ask "how much for cash?"  "$400" is the reply so having saved the princely $5 I pay
him and they depart and shortly afterwards so do we.

 A double link road to get onto I80 and as we start the first left turn there is a lot of screaming
from the crew as the right giant slide moves out ........  Once more, and single handed I manage to
push the slide back in place with a lot of effort. While Brenda speaks to Monaco I slowly drive up
to Flying J to refuel. Of course as I turn towards the refuelling pits for 18 wheelers the slide comes
out again and now I'm too wide to get between the concrete bollards. Push the mother back in
again and when I get back on the bridge the bloody attendant has just finished taping off my slot
with yellow caution tape!!

 Finally we have fuel and while this is done Monaco say we need to secure the slide with 2 x 4's.
Of course I have a ton of tools onboard but no saw for carpentry! Purchase a 6 inch hacksaw and
now the hunt for 2 x 4's begins in the boondocks. Finally, taking care not to break the precious
blade the metal hacksaw cuts pieces to length and these are jammed inside the slide and outer
shell. Onward my friends to Salt Lake where we pull into Sierra RV and park in their car park.





Don't break that blade!
 


SUCCESS!!

 Wednesday morning and at 0800 we annouce our arrival and problem. Their expert on big rigs is
a mere youth but the service manager says he is "the man!"  Now with 2 lawn chairs, 2 cups of
coffee and 4 dogs we take up residence in their car park in the warm morning sunshine and watch
and listen to "the sound of freedom" as the F16's from Hill AFB take off and shatter the peace. 

 The youth goes for lunch but says he has the slides working well and the problem is electrical
probably caused by the blow out and he will check all that out when he comes back. By 1400 we
are done, the trailer is back on and we are on the road again and as this was all under warranty
there is no charge for labor?????


 A gentle cruise through Utah, another refuel at Flying J and yet another food stop at Walmart
and then using Jim's burried treasure map time to find the trials site. A quick look at Miller where
the road racing will be held and then a few miles of nothing until the 7 mile uphill run, which
degenerated into a rocky road where we were down to 8 mph for the last 4 miles. Arrival at the
site and there are all the regulars who are on the same mission, Don Kelley and faithful hound
Casey, Derek Belvoir, Ed and Evelyn, and of course the organizer and team of Jim Lipscomb.



In the Boone, Tooele

 The Starship levels, and lo, the slides deploy ...... we are here!


Tony & Brenda....... hoping for a ray of sunshine!