I Just Want an AA Man!

Oh dear! Why does everything come at once? When we arrived in Whitehorse I had a terrible noise from under the front of the truck, it sounded very serious and knowing that all my brakes had been checked only around 6 weeks ago and were passed as excellent for the front and complete new brakes at the rear, I was very worried. A guy stopped to help, turned out he was a mechanic and said it was a “solenoid jumping” ????? which worried me even more. Any way I spent a whole day trying to get the truck looked at, everyone was busy; I was finally directed to a guy who could and did help me. I had a stone in the front brakes which took a few minutes including “popping” the front wheel, we also found a loose shock absorber in the rear, easily fixed and a strap holding the grey water tank had broken this was fixed as well. My worry had all been for nothing.

The next morning, when the engine would not start, I just thought I had left something on. I have a panel above the windscreen (or windshield) which I do sometimes forget to turn off, I did not think anything off it, Les gave me tow around Wal Mart car park and we left Whitehorse.

Heading for Watson Lake (some 700k or 435miles with very little to no services) one lunch time I have a flat tyre, I could see there was a screw in the tyre. This is my worst nightmare the wheels are at the very back of the trunk/boot/or shed as Les calls my storage area also they are very, very heavy to get at them is a very heavy and dirty job. UG! The screw was very well embedded in the tyre, so as my truck had an air line we decided to blow the tyre up and see if it would hold………… yip! It did I was able to drive to the garage in Watson Lake and get the wheel fixed without getting the others from the shed! We then spent a couple of days at a campsite before heading to Stewart/Hyda which is approximately 1600k/nearly 1000 mile round trip.

Tuesday 22^nd July we set off for Stewart, I again failed to start but the young lad who repaired the tyre towed me off, Les was at a garage having a wonky starter motor changed. Again I though nothing of the failure to start I had been using electric for a couple of days and just thought a good drive would sort everything out. How wrong could I be!

On the return journey approximately 500k/330miles from Watson Lake, I start getting very warm, my left arm is receiving a very warm breeze, feeling around to try and find where the warm breeze is coming from my fingers touch the battery box under my seat (I am still driving) this is boiling hot, too hot to touch. PANIC! My friend Stephen Stewart (China Trip) once told me a battery can blow through the roof of a car, I am sat on it! At that moment we had to stop at road works, OH! By the way it is 5pm Friday night; I jumped out, up turned the seat to see smoke coming from the box! Thanks to Ian I have 2 switches to isolate the batteries, these I turned to 'off' very quickly. Les came to see what was up. **** **** was his reply when I told him. Please remember Les is only 1 rung above me on the mechanics ladder, but of course we are holding up the traffic queue/line. A couple of workers came in a truck, one guy said he would go and find the mechanic who was working on the grader, they came back to tell us the mechanic could not leave the grader but we should disconnect the alternator which was over charging, or turn everything on and go to their work depot which was 30k away, where there was a mechanic. Well neither of us could dismantle the alternator, I was too scared to turn the batteries back on (you could hear them bubbling) - I could remember too clearly Stephens words. As I was just at the top of a small rise Les gave me a nudge enabling me to jump start. Slowly we arrived at the works depot but because it was so late on Friday afternoon the mechanic had gone home, he would not be back until Monday. What to do? We parked for the night, me on a slope and went to bed! Next morning I rolled and jump started, my biggest worry being - was I doing further damage? Neither us knew, but we were miles from help, we stopped at a garage, Les rang the guy who had fixed his starter, telling him what had happened and we would be at his garage first thing Monday morning (we hoped).

With great relief we arrive in Watson Lake and back on the campsite I am very worried about the truck and the lack of help available in this country with such huge distances between anything. We spent the Sunday doing laundry, washing the vehicle, odd jobs and email.

Monday 28^th July. I am at the garage for 7.30am, because I have been able to jump start most of the time I can still use the battery when I have no slope, the batteries are nice and cold now! The garage was very good, although could not repair me as the alternator was now burnt out, because the electric had no where to go, but at least I had not been blown through the roof. I think my girls would not be pleased had I blown myself up to try and save £500. The garage guy was great and tried to help as much as he could, told me I would not do any more damage driving with batteries isolated but he could not guarantee this, which is fair enough and that I had 10 to 12 starts before the batteries went totally flat. Of course I have no lights which are mandatory during day light hours, here in Canada. I just hoped if I was stopped the fact I am an old lady and a Brit would get me through. Very worrying though. He also told us it could take anything up to 2 weeks for the part to arrive in Watson Lake, once the part arrived in Vancouver it would have to wait for a flight to Whitehorse - which he said do not go everyday, once in Whitehorse it would then have to wait for something coming down to Watson Lake! I really did not want to wait with such an uncertain arrival time.

Back at the campsite, I used the phone to ring several tourist information centres, all of which are miles and miles away, to try and find where we could have a new alternator from England sent. We needed a fair sized town which we hoped would have a garage and a UPS or similar to have the parcel delivered. This proved to be hopeless even the UPS and DHL could not help along our route there were only delivery boxes, which enable a customer to post a parcel and UPS/DHL would pick it up but no drop off’s. All of this took a couple of hours to sort out at the end of which I was very stressed and getting up set.

By the way I am in the AAA/CAA and, just for the record, the AA, but the AAA or CAA only send a tow truck to tow for 100miles free in the US the rest is to be paid for (which I understand is very expensive). I am not sure about Canada but guess it is very similar, they do not send a nice man with all his tools to try and fix the engine and if that is not possible he will arrange to take you and your vehicle home, where ever that is, or drop the vehicle off at a garage and then take you home all this is included in the price of your membership at home - the joys of living on a small island!

Back to Watson Lake in the wilderness of Canada. We decided the biggest place we would be going through was Prince George but that is some 1600k or 1000miles away from where we are, this would make a total of 2000k driving - without an alternator. We have good internet cover so Les checks out the truck garages in Prince George he found 3, one of these is a “Freightliner”, we know these from South and North America, they belong to the Mercedes Group, our experience with them in South America was excellent, I had the bearings on my truck repaired by Freightliner in Denver, Colorado so with fingerers crossed Les rang them up. They tried to get an alternator but said we would may be get one quicker from our own source, which could be then delivered to them in Prince George. This we did, our friend Wayne at Gerard Mann, Wolverhampton. UK had all I needed on its way by the time I rang the next morning, which of course is the afternoon in the UK. Les had emailed Wayne once we had found Freightliner!

TUESDAY 29^TH JULY 2008

We leave Watson Lake for the long trek down the Alaska Highway which is very beautiful and interesting; I will tell you about that later, I need to get all this off my chest! I found it very hard that first day driving without electric - no clocks or gauges. I nearly ran out of diesel at one point, I am also very worried about the vehicle. We stop at the hot springs by the Liard River, when we stop Les said he could smell burning! Then told me I had another problem the left rear wheel (I think it’s the hub the bit in the centre were all the nuts are) was so hot you could not touch it!!! I feel sick!! Another chap with a Mercedes parked at the side of me joined in the discussion; we all think I have a big problem. I am feeling too ill to go into the hot springs or eat lunch so I go back to the main road where there was a garage and hotel, telling Les I will meet him there when he has finished. I phone the garage in Vancouver where I had my new rear brakes repaired some 6 weeks ago. Hans reckons there is nothing wrong with the brakes I must have left the hand brake/emergency brake on. I cannot say I had not as with no gauges , clocks or warning lights I could have very easily, fingers crossed he is right, we was however able to give me the name of a guy at Muncho Lake who may pop the wheel and have a look - maybe blow the dust out.

By the time Les joined me the wheel was cold and I made very sure that the brake was off, by the time we got to Muncho Lake, which is very beautiful, the wheel was still cold so I decided to go further on. I now have another worry - is there a big problem with the rear wheel, every time I stop the wheel is cool, but I think warmer then the other side!!

Wednesday 30^th July 2008

It rains and I have no wipers, also I am experiencing some loss of power, I cannot explain, it does not sound like loss of fuel, just power. I go down the box to 3^rd gear and then we pick up again, I am beginning to get very stressed, 3 big lorries pass me and cover the windscreen/shield I have to stop and clean it. We get to Fort Nelson and I find a garage, again a very nice chap, I explain about the wheel but he said he was to busy to look. I am at the end of my tether. I tell him I am upset, explain about the alternator then, as I feel tears about to come, tell him in a minute I am going to just be a “girl” that the rain and the 3 lorries were just the end! He must have felt sorry for me because he came and had a look at the wheel, told me I must have left the brake on and the wheel was fine, explained a bit more on how the oil and everything worked but promised me all was well.

We sleep in Fort Nelson.

The next day head out for Fort St John, its raining pretty hard, I feel the wheel every time we stop, I still have no wipers so have to keep stopping to clean the window. I cry nearly all day and I am very frightened, why am I here? My small island mentality kicks in why am I not at home where help is so easy?

But then tell myself not be so soft, you are here because most of the time you are having a great time, so just get a grip. I spend 3 days in this state getting down and telling myself off, but of course I can only go on, I cannot just sit and cry, apart from anything else its not my way - never has been.

Saturday 2^nd August we arrive in the afternoon at Prince George going to Freightliner. I am so worried that they will not do the repair I feel sick and have a blinding head.

We speak to parts first and Curtis who Les spoke to about the part is not there but he has left instructions with everyone so they are aware that I am arriving, good start! In the service department there is a little hiccup at first, but this is a language problem, the young lady asked is the vehicle a van or a motor home, because I called it a van she said they do not repair vans but they do repair motor homes, then I told her it is a European van because that is what we call them but it could be a truck or it could be a motor home what ever she wanted to call it! at which point I think she was very confused so went and fetched the service manager. He was not fazed at all, yes we will repair your vehicle, unfazed that it did not plug into a computer, so some time next week when the part arrives I will be fixedJ

I am exhausted but relieved so relieved. I didn’t mention that my fridge is broken, we think it may just need its tubes and pipes cleaning at the back but I cannot get the thing out, the couple of places I stopped at on the way down could not fit me in for a week, but just up the hill from Freightliner is an RV repair shop I have an appointment for Wednesday next fingers crossed.

We head for Wal Mart and an early stop I am so exhausted ……………………

I will tell you all about Alaska and the Alaska Highway before I leave here I have plenty of time. Once I am sorted Les is heading for Reno and home much earlier then he planned so I will continue this adventure on my own, well sorry for the moan but I feel better now