(a.k.a. "Everybody needs an Eric")
We left today on a camping trip to southwest Iowa. I'll spare you the crazy details of who was digging on a backhoe outside the laundry room door (NOT a dalmatian!), why My Hero was reading a teleprompter, the many and varied "essentials" that still aren't on our camping checklist, and the number of times Scott re-unlocked the house to grab one more thing we had forgotten.
But at 11:25 AM we did finally leave, with Yours Truly driving Thomas who was pulling the camper with power and panache.
That all changed after we picked up Subway for lunch in Collins, MO. As we pulled back onto the highway, something was very wrong. Thomas was not accelerating properly. He was jerking. When I pressed on the gas, his speedometer went down while his tachometer went up. This was not good.
When we used the Jeep to pull our camper to Utah and back in 2022, our mechanic friend, Eric, had told us not to let the rpms go above 3,000 for any length of time. On the flat, Thomas usually runs about 1,800 rpms, even when towing the camper. Suddenly, he was doing 4,000 on the flat and that only at 55 mph. What was wrong?
I told Scott something seemed to be wrong with the transmission, but then Thomas settled down. We thought everything was OK, but a few miles later it happened again. And off and on for the next 20 miles. So much for enjoying our Subway sandwiches while tooling down the road. I suggested Scott call Eric, which he did, and Eric, who also owns an Armada that pulls a camper, said he thought we needed a "BG" transmission flush.
We pulled over, Scott and Eric talked, and as we got back on the road, Eric started calling various service departments that were on our way and might be able to do what was needed. After several places either couldn't do it at all or couldn't do it till Thursday or Friday (today is Tuesday), he found us Jim Falk Motors in Clinton, MO, which we were approaching. They told Eric they could get us in "right now." Amazing! Their people were friendly and most helpful. They had a place in a gravel lot out back where we could park the camper. Their man drove me in a golf cart to the waiting room and then went back to help Scott unhitch.
The Jim Falk guys put Thomas up on a lift, did whatever they do, and sent their receptionist out to tell us the news: They could drain his transmission fluid, but they couldn't refill it because it required a Nissan-specific adapter, which they (a Chevy dealership) didn't have. So, sadly for all involved, they couldn't help us, and we'd have to take Thomas to a Nissan dealer. They said they didn't do anything, and so did not charge us anything for their time and information. We were thankful.
We have a camping reservation at Waubonsie State Park in Iowa tonight. We're going to be there seven nights to bike the Wabash Trace Nature Nature Trail and RELAX. But Eric told us that Thomas' problem was probably that his transmission fluid is dirty and when it gets too hot it boils and that messes with his transmission functioning. If we drive him with it hot, it could damage the transmission, and we surely don't want that! He said we could drive him carefully, but if he starts having problems, we'd need to stop for 90 minutes and let him cool down.
So, it being 4:00 PM and 90 degrees out, we decided to drive six miles south (note that this pained Scott greatly) and camp tonight at Sparrowfoot Campground, a lovely Corps of Engineers facility we've used before and where Thomas can chill overnight. Then on Wednesday, we'll head out in the cool of the day at 6:00 AM, stop in St. Joseph, MO for a leisurely 90-minute "cool-down" breakfast, then continue on to Waubonsie State Park, stopping if and when Thomas again needs to cool his jets.
At 9:45 AM Thursday, we have an appointment at Edwards Nissan in Council Bluffs, IA (about an hour from our campsite) for Thomas' transmission service/flush. We will take along our bikes and a picnic lunch and can hopefully have some fun while he's in the shop. We have chosen to expect the best, and we are once again very thankful for Eric's friendship and wisdom.
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