As hard as it may be… pull back, observe, breathe, then execute.
This week has been incredibly difficult. I decided to help a friend in Austin with his presentation event at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. He is from Australia, and I am from Southern California. Drive to Austin in the CamperVan without A/C? Sure! The truth is I am stoked to use the van for the purpose I built it, but it is a little premature without the A/C fitted to it yet.
It started out great on Tuesday. I left the house on time and the truck was recently serviced and up to the task. I knew it would be warm on the ride, especially through Death Valley on the way to Phoenix. “Hey, at least it’s a dry heat?” I planned for an integrated trip to attempt to generate revenue and have fun. I packed the computer, mountain bike, a form of protection, and clothes for different events. With a newly installed refrigerator, this is going to be awesome.
My first meeting was planned for Pheonix but was canceled as my host came ill. I didn’t think barging into the Urgent Care was the gentle approach… so we agreed to attempt another meeting on the way back through. So I hammered it to New Mexico, where I grabbed a nap at a rest stop, got up and made fresh Brazilian roast, and made friends on the highway. So far, so good.
As I came down to Ft. Stockton on 10 Highway, it was time to refuel the truck and turn toward San Angelo to see an old friend. This is when things went from warm and a little uncomfortable to all-out challenge.
I was cruising along listening to an audiobook when I felt a loss of power. I looked to the dash and saw the “Service Engine Soon” light on, then the coolant gauge pegged. I stabbed the brakes and hit a sharp pull to the right to get off the road. As I came to a stop, there was coolant all over the left side of the vehicle. The coolant recovery tank cap was completely missing.
My first call was to Heidi to let her know that something had happened. The next call was to Ed, my friend in San Angelo – 110 miles away. On Ed’s call, the phone went dead and I had no more phone signal but could receive text-only messages within 8-10 minute spans. It was hot – real hot. I had no phone, and I noticed my Solar Charging System was not up to top voltage, which alarmed me with the refrigerator full of food.
I decided to undock the mountain bike and go on a search for the lost coolant cap. I met a really nice lady at a trucking office in McManey, TX that made a few calls for me to find a replacement – near locally. Nobody in town had a cap to sell and after 8 miles of mountain biking in the desert… I had none recovered. The only explanation I have is that when I had the truck serviced and they topped off the fluids… the cap was not secured properly. Over delayed texting, Ed and I strategized his coming 110 miles to me with a replacement cap, but only after I had a panic session about whether I had damaged the motor or not.
As I added water to the system after the truck cooled a bit, I tried to start the truck and it just spun over super easy… like a four-stroke motor when there is no compression. The thoughts that whirl through a mind when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere with limited resources, super hot, and a truck full of valuables… but not mobile. I mean, how could I leave the truck in that town unsecured with all that stuff in it? I started thinking in hyper mode as Heidi was texting me that other friends were willing to hook up a car carrier and come get me. That’s when my math brain took over… Fuel at $7.00/gallon, three thousand miles towing a trailer, plus whatever the repair would be.
Nope – let’s stick to prayer and coolant cap.
After 6 hours on the side of the road, my savior appeared in his gleaming white Suzuki, Grand Vitara. He is such a gracious soul. We added more fluids, got the truck running, and attempted to get going to his place. Immediately the Service Engine Soon light, with loss of power happened… then I saw a flash of “Water in Fuel” indicated. Again, I stabbed the brakes and pulled over. The truck stalled. We got it restarted but could hear a loping in the engine that wasn’t there before. I drained the water separator, and the truck smoothed out. So as crazy as this sounds, I have two problems that when presented together had nearly convinced me I damaged the motor. I had the overheat, but also a tank of bad fuel I had just gotten 40 miles prior. There was no apparent contamination in the oil, so I was relatively secure that the engine still had integrity.
The next day, we topped off the fuel with good fuel… put in a fuel additive, and washed the coolant off the side of the truck. We drove it around a bit and it was magic… all fixed.
Or not…
I got about halfway between San Angelo and Austin when I decided to park the truck and buy more fuel additives. The truck failed to restart. I sat for hours trying to figure it out — overheated? Bad fuel? I was recommended to a guy who was local – Jose. Jose gave me some advice after I walked to his shop. He said he was too busy to help me, but when he saw me walk away – he took pity on me. He brought his scanner and diagnosed the truck. Turns out the High-Pressure Oil Sensor was faulting… but he believed it was because the oil was the wrong oil type in the vehicle and the overheating basically liquified the oil in the engine. Since the oil won’t maintain viscosity… it won’t build enough pressure to trip the fuel injectors.
Turns out the oil is so destroyed, that it also won’t dissipate heat anymore… as evidenced by the continued overheating the rest of the way to Austin. A three-hour drive became 9.5 hours and every place I stopped for help with an oil change, said that they couldn’t squeeze me in.
So here I am in Austin for a three-day intensive training program on speaking. I am late when I planned to be early. My prized camping van is disintegrating in front of my eyes. It’s triple-digit hot outside and I am stranded without water – because I ran all my fresh water into the truck when it overheated. I am getting overwhelmed. So what does an Action Leader do?
The first was to reconfirm priorities and timing… get to the event.
I parked the truck in a safe neighborhood and took a Lyft to the event. Once traffic died down I was able to limp the camper to its camping spot.
Disconnect the Distraction
I recognized I would not be able to take real action with servicing the truck until Monday. Until then, I could use the truck as a base station to sleep in at camp, but leverage ride sharing to meet my obligations.
Reduce Stree By Buying Time
I extended the park stay by three nights. This gives me time to service the truck, use it locally to confirm repair, then plan the next step.
Communicate
Everyone in my direct circle knows the situation.
A person can only really focus on the next thing in an “Overwhelm” situation. While I could distract myself with what if this and what if that… it is far more productive to focus on the next step and keep making forward progress. The picture in this post is me at my worst in the situation. By the next morning, I was greeted with the creation of my gracious God and on my way to an extraordinary event. Being an Action Leader takes focus, drive, and a sense of sticktoitiveness. Don’t fail yourself because there are a ton of folks that benefit from your example. Push. It’s ok to get down. It’s also expected to get back up.
