What if I don’t want to lead??

This last week has been a doozy for me. I wanted to attend a training event in Austin Texas, and the host invited me which I took as a sign that I must attend. If you follow me on other channels, you may also know that I built a camper van out of a SWAT Truck. This would be the perfect trip to test it out as the first long-distance trip. Sure, I never hooked up the air conditioning, but how hot can it get if I keep moving?

I left last Tuesday at 10 AM right on time. I fueled up and head out. As I crossed Death Valley in the heat of the day I was rethinking my timing a bit. I mean, when you get to Phoenix and it’s 107 degrees and you are thankful… you know you’ve been hot. I had a meeting pre-planned for Phoenix but it was canceled due to illness and I carried through.

Lordsburg was on my radar for a stop and stretch so I did just that. If you’ve never been out Highway 10 – you haven’t missed too much, so I was taking advantage of the rest stops and making sure to stay hydrated and alert. I also decided to take a short nap here as well. My next stop was at the second rest stop in Texas. Here, I kind of set up shop and brewed some coffee. Talk about making friends. I met an old fella taking his wife to see friends in their RV, living the lap of luxury. I also met a young man and his dog sleeping in a run-down, unbranded, old silver Asian coupe of some kind. No matter. Coffee fixes things.

I noticed as I got on the road again that I was greatly ahead of schedule. I had not stopped or slept as much as I had intended in the planning, so I text my friend, Ed, in San Angelo, Texas to tell him I was running ahead of schedule. He was going to be my Thursday stop, but it looked a lot more like 5:30 PM Wednesday. Wow! To get to San Angelo, I would exit Highway 10 at Ft Stockton, and head on a 2-lane highway for about 150 miles. I refueled at the Walmart in Ft. Stockton.

About 40 miles into this ride through a desolate part of Texas, the Service Engine Soon light popped on. Then I scanned the dashboard. The coolant gauge was pegged! How!?! I had just noted it was normal a minute ago? I pulled directly over to assess the situation. I called Heidi (my wife) immediately to tell her I had an issue and would update her when I knew more. I called Ed to tell him 5:30 PM was off the table. Halfway through that call, the line went dead. That was the last voice call to happen there. Now, I was relegated to text only, and sporadic at that.

I lift the hood and the Coolant Recovery Cap is gone. Coolant is all over the front and sides of the truck. I look for the cap, but it is gone. I text Ed back and forth and he is offering to drive 110 miles my way to rescue me and maybe the truck. I can’t leave the truck in the middle of nowhere! It’s full of stuff. I decide to unload the Mountain Bike and go on a Coolant Cap Search and Rescue mission. I bicycle back to a town called McCamey. I stop at a trucking office called K&S Trucking where a lovely lady called around a few places to see if they had a cap I could buy. No Joy. The nearest parts store is 20-miles in a perpendicular direction — that’s a lot of Mountain Bike miles in the desert. Turns out they didn’t stock it anyway.

While Ed brings the cap to the truck, I use the freshwater stored in the truck to refill the cooling system. I go to start the truck to cycle the fluid and burp the system and it just spins – real fast – like there is no compression. I am panic-stricken and grieved for a short time thinking I have cracked the motor. I text Ed and say don’t bother. I start thinking about what sleeping in the desert for the night is going to look like. In my state of duress, I try it one more time… it starts, doesn’t even sound bad. I move the truck about 20 feet, further off the roadway, and turn it off.

Ed arrives and we install the cap and get the truck running. It sounds fine, but when I put it under load, the Service Engine Soon light comes on. Then I notice the Water in the Fuel light. The truck was idling oddly at this point. I turned it off, drained the water separator, and restarted the truck. Much better. So now I am trying to process how I had two very distinct failures in the same instance. Overheating, and bad fuel from the fill-up. As we drove the 110 miles to Ed’s house, the light periodically cycled but we limped it there and made the educated assumption that sitting and installing a fuel additive would help.

The next morning, I checked the coolant level – still good. Great. We took the truck to the fuel station and added more Deisel along with a water dispersion additive. I checked and made sure the oil was not turning into “Chocolate Milk” or contaminated with combining fluids. It was dark – really dark, but not contaminated.

Both Ed and I gave it a clean bill of health and hit the road to Austin on Friday. Only 3 hours left to my destination. In the small town of Llano, TX, I pulled into a parts store to buy more fuel additives for the next fill-up. The truck would not restart. After a couple of hours of patience and frustration, I was referred to a gentleman named Jose who was a former Ford Technician. I walked the 2-miles to his shop and asked for help. They were too busy, but he gave me advice and said I may be able to start the truck with Starting Fluid. When he saw me walking away, he decided to help. He said it was too hot in Texas to walk around. He brought his scanner and did a quick diagnosis on the truck. It was then that he said – “Whew – this doesn’t look like or smell like the right oil for this truck”. He also said that the only code in the system was for a high-pressure oil sensor, but that the “Weak” oil in the truck could be causing a pressure issue. We got the truck started with ether, and he advised just getting to Austin where I might be able to get help.

Newsflash. There is no help on the way to Austin. The vehicle overheated again, then again… the 3-hour journey converted into ten. Then I was tested…

As I got to Austin, I was late to the training event that I was originally half a day early for. I tried to limp the van to the event. I failed. This time, I pulled off the highway that had SoCal-like traffic in the evening and pulled to a stop in what appeared to be a nice neighborhood. I was on Hartford Road. I was also out of freshwater. I decided the ethical approach would be to ring doorbells and ask for permission to fill the coolant jugs I had.

First door – no answer, second door – no answer, third door – answered! A woman comes to the door in a lace teal bra and panties set. “Depart from me satan!!!” If I wasn’t angry at the day yet, I was right then. I stared at the ground for a moment, then made eye contact and asked for the water. She took the jugs and a moment later came back with a satin coverup and offered me a cold IPA. Boy, Satan is really pushing those buttons, huh?

I took a Lyft to the event, and back to the truck after hours. With traffic lighter, getting the truck to the campground was much easier, although I did overheat once in the park and only a quarter-mile from my assigned spot. Two hours later, I was in my spot. I parked there for two days and extended my stay by three more days to deal with the incident, even though I had to transfer spots. I used Lyft to get back and forth to the training event.

Monday, the games reignited. I took the truck to the closest shop I could find. They changed the oil and flushed the coolant – but I also noticed a low tire on the Right front. The Oil Change, Coolant Flush, and Coolant Cap came to $600.00, and the tire? Well, it was delaminating and needed to be replaced. So, the next day I went tire shopping and bought the ICP Sensor the Ford Tech in Llano said I needed if it weren’t caused by the weak oil. Since I was still getting the Service Engine Soon light, that is what I started to do. The truck didn’t lose any coolant on Tuesday running the errands so I thought – Maybe? The tires on the front of the truck were another $200.00 and the sensor was $115.00. I bought other supplies and tools for the road which came to about $90.00. This is adding up.

I thought I might change the sensor myself at the campground, but upon further inspection, realized I was in over my head with simple hand tools and a parking spot in the woods. I went back to the shop. There I waited 11 hours. When they gave me the keys to the truck, they said “Bad news sir, it looks like it is definitely a head gasket”. Then the owner’s uncle, who had been drinking – yes at the job site – offered me $4,000.00 for the truck.

We end this saga with the final drive from the shop. Having arranged a place to park with a friend of Ed’s (remember him?) I had only to limp the vehicle 20 miles to his property. I got 8 miles done. We sat together on the side of the road for 2 hours getting to know each other. Alan is a great guy and very kind. After 2 hours, a tow truck came and hooked us up to get to Alan’s place just 12 miles away. They did just that and 15 minutes later the SWAT Camper was on level ground.

Then they gave me the bill … $285.00

I am tired. It’s been a heck of a week. I haven’t cried yet and I feel like I might explode. On the positive side, people have rallied around me. I have heard from people out of the woodwork and met new friends – like Alan. But still… I am tired. What if I don’t want to lead? It’s a calling. It’s not a choice for me to make. People are depending on me. I will rally. I will show back up. I will continue to lead.

Will you join me?