Radiator Blows

Rolling west on I-80 in Wyoming.  We passed the exit for Fort Bridger.  Brad is cruising in his Rock Star Bus. The RV is pulling a utility trailer with Brad’s motorcycle and two mini bikes.  I am following behind the bus in my Jeep, pulling my motorcycle on a utility trailer.  My jeep isn’t geared for towing!  My right foot is holding that vertical pedal to the floor.  I am barely able to keep a short following distance behind the Rock Star Bus.  All of a sudden, a cloud of mist sprays from behind the RV.  It looks like Brad splashed through a large puddle of water with the RV wheels kicking the water in the air.  

Brad and I are using walkie-talkies to communicate while on the road.  Brad thinks he hit something because he heard a loud pop.  I report the cloud of mist and odd smell.  About the same time, the Rock Star Bus instrument panel lights up.  The engine begins to power down.  Brad is able to pull the massive bus to the side of the road just before the wheels stop. 

The engine overheated.  It powered off as a fail-safe self-preservation that the diesel engine is programmed to do.  We investigate the engine compartment at the rear of the bus.  We determined that the loud noise was the radiator hose blowing.  The cloud of mist was the contents of the radiator dumping on the highway.  It dumped the fluid all at once!  This whole incident happened in a matter of seconds.

We are about 100 miles from Brad’s house. He has AAA and arranges for a tow truck. Brad decided to have the RV towed to a mechanic that routinely works on his RV.  An RV of this size requires the same type of tow truck that the big rig tractor-trailers require.  The big rig tow truck arrives.  The driver announced that he was having dinner and didn’t pack all the attachments required to hook up to an RV.  We had a supervisor and two additional big rig tow trucks on site to help.  The drive shaft and part of the rear axle had to be removed to tow the RV without damaging the transmission.  It took close to four hours from the time the first tow truck arrived until the RV was ready to be pulled down the road. 

When the tow truck staff was assessing the situation, the tow truck driver told us that he had never pulled an RV.  He thinks he knows how to hook it up.  I see the wheels turning in Brad’s head.  He begins to ask questions to make sure his Rock Star Bus doesn’t sustain any additional damage from the towing process.  At one point, three operators were under the RV preparing it for hook-up to the tow truck.

Krista arrived driving Brad’s pickup truck.  Brad phoned her soon after the radiator blew.  AAA would not tow the utility trailer.  So we hooked the utility trailer with Brad’s motorcycle and minibikes on it so Krista could use Brad’s truck to tow it the on hundred miles home.  By the end of the evening, the RV was at the mechanics shop and scheduled for a diagnostic.  Brad and I pulled the string on the worst-case scenario, which would cost tens of thousands for repairs.  

Luckily, the damage was not as serious as our imaginations started to believe.  The engine was not damaged during the over heating.  The bus was up and running after being down for a few weeks with the radiator repair.  Brad had to sleep in one of my spare hammocks during a fishing trip where he had planned to have his RV. 

 

Car Henge

Have you rode across I-80 through Sydney, Nebraska?  If you did, you were bound to see the Cabela’s store just north of the highway.  Cabela’s Corporate Headquarters is about a mile down the road from the Sydney exit.  This Cabela’s store location has a campground.  There is a small area for tent camping and a larger area to accommodate RVs.  It even has a bath house!  

Brad and I set up camp at Cabela’s for two nights.  We have our “ride day” and “move day” approach to road tripping down to a science.  After setting up camp, we explored Sydney.  The first stop on our ride morning was about 40 miles north in the small town of Bridgeport, Nebraska.  We had coffee and cookies at a cozy shop called, “Call Me Cupcake”.  Imagine two biker dudes wearing leather jackets and boots walking into a small trendy cafe.  We did and no one batted an eye at us!  The staff was friendly and entertained our pondering over all the sweat treats in the display case.

After our visit with the folks at the coffee shop we continued riding north.  We found a place called Carhenge!  Yes, like England’s Stonehenge but made out of cars.  It was a replica of Stonehenge.  Lots of “car art” on display.  Interesting story about Jim Reinders, a Nebraska native and engineer, who worked in England.  When Reinders returned from England he had a family reunion and announced his plan to build Carhenge.  During construction in 1987, he placed a 1962 Cadillac to depict the heel stone.  

This was an awesome find in Nebraska.  Take the time off the main road to see it yourself!  Until then enjoy my pictures. 

A short video from Carhenge is posted on my YouTube Channel.  

www.youtube.com/@bill.lanham

Here is the link

https://youtube.com/shorts/QjMq8FHB2EY?si=JYeb80PNyyz4ZbG8