When Disaster Strikes....

 An innocent morning after a very quiet night in a State Park almost ended in disaster.

We had been up early to make it all the way to Buffalo, NY. Heading up the I-70, which here in Ohio was of excellent quality, we had stopped for a short and early lunch break at a truck-stop. Getting right back onto I-70 I was accelerating the rig to travel speed, when a terrible scream was heard. And it was NOT coming from another car, but from our transmission.

Yes, and at the same time RPM was revving up without any acceleration. Clearly a transmission issue!

And that's when our ordeal through the rest of the day began. We had made it off of the I-70 onto a lesser highway and parked on the shoulder of the road. The area was full of huge ware houses.

We called several transmission places in the area (thanks Google) but none wanted anything to do with this. So finally I had to call Coachnet, our trusted roadside assistance service. It was them who found a towing company and a Chevy dealership in Columbus which could have time next week (!!!) to look at the problem. One other dealership, I spoke to myself, had a 2 months waiting time (!!!!)

When the tow truck arrived he took the van to the city. Meanwhile, Bea and I waited in the trailer. Police came also inquiring why we were parked in that spot. 

After 2.5hrs. the tow truck was back to pick up the trailer. Meanwhile we had figured out a State Park some 26 miles away in the opposite direction close to Springfield, OH.

One of the challenges of the day turned out to get Dixie into the tow truck. Way to high for her to jump or try to climb. So we lifted her 105pounds of live weight through the truck door. I think that scared her, but there was no other way. Later, after we arrived at the campground we had to lift her out again. But she did OK this time and was obviously enjoying the thick green grass outside.

That's where the tow truck dropped us of. It is very, *correction* no extremely remote and the question how we ever would get back to Columbus for the pickup of our trailer stood between us. 

I was just connecting the power cable to the trailer when I heard a woman's voice from the other side. And it wasn't Bea, as she had taken Dixie for a walk. Peeking around, I saw a black pickup truck and a woman looking somewhat bewildered. 

This person was Kathy and she had thought the tow truck driver had left the trailer without closing the trailer door. After telling her about why we had came with a tow truck she immediately offered her help for both getting things like groceries or driving us to the city to pick up our van again. WOW....we were just stunned about so much helpfulness. 

Fixing the tranny may take anything from 4 - 10 work days, depending on a possible repair or complete replacement. I already tend to prefer a complete replacement, maybe with a rebuilt transmission. But we will let you have an update on this "adventure".

Before you go away: Kudos and praise to "Shark Tooth" towing Service. Super nice and cautious driver and operator!

Kudos also to Coachnet.com! I am convinced it is the very best roadside assistance service there is available. Great timely follow-up, great service making tons of necessary phone calls on behalf of their clients and no discussions about when it comes to get you to safe and fitting locations. We have used Coachnet already twice on this trip and both times they did not disappoint.