Not A Good Day.....Pretty Bad Actually!

We knew that we were going to be going over Tehachapi Pass, elevation 4,064 feet high, on CA58 between Bakersfield and Barstow. Since the temps were going to get into the 90s, I decided that we would leave early to beat the heat. We packed up and were ready to leave bright and early Friday morning.

We got up at 5 AM and dumped our tanks and were on the road by 5:30. I didn't want to drive at night, but I thought we could break this rule this time.

We were passing through Bakersfield when the sun came up, around 7 AM. Temp was 65 degrees.

Started the uphill climb on CA58.

So far, everything had been going good.

And then everything changed.......

We had the truck heater on to keep the engine cooler. All of a sudden 'Engine Performance Reduced' popped up on my display. We lost ALL power and the truck started slowing down and it shifted all the way down to 1st gear. 10 MPH!

I put the flashers on and drove on along the right side of the road. There was no place to pull over. There was a concrete barrier separating the 4 lanes. Slowly we crept up the road. Engine and tranny heating up. I thought we wouldn't be able to continue moving al all.

Up ahead was a dirt turnout. I stopped there and let everything cool off.

When I restarted the engine, I had a check engine light and a display saying 'replace fuel filter'.

My display said 'oil filter' was at 68%, but the 'fuel filter' was 0%.

Still no power, but there was a place where we could turn around and go back down hill to Bakersfield, 22 miles away.

We found a Chevy dealer, Three Way Chevrolet, and headed there. They had us unhook the 5th wheel in a small soccer field next door, and got our truck in after a 2 hour wait.

The tech seemed to think the loss of vacuum was from a clogged fuel filter and replaced it for a $144.00 charge.

Off we go again. Temp was now 85 degrees. I did notice that the 'fuel filter' stated it was 100 % now.

At the same spot, the same thing happened again! Fuel filter shows 0% again.This time on the way back to the Chevy dealer, we had to stop because I could get the truck moving on flat ground!

Now after a 3 hour wait, we got the news that I needed 8 fuel injectors replaced! I pulled out my Extended Warranty that I bought when we got the truck. Thank goodness! It was going to be around $7,700.00. I about fell over.

Then more bad news. The warranty company was on the East coast and could not arrange a person to come look at the issue and approve the repair till at least Monday.

There was an RV park a couple of blocks away and we were able to borrow our truck to move our rig there. It is nice there, but pretty spendy. We paid for a week. We also have a rental car, paid for by the Chevy dealer.

We now had some hard decisions to make. We cancelled the reservations we had in Blythe. We were going to stay there 3 nights and visit Donna's son Scott and family. Then we cancelled reservations we had for and RPI park in Bullhead City, AZ. We were going there to visit Donna's brother Gene and his wife Cyndi. We were going to cancel the reservations for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, 5 nights, but it is to late and can not cancel.

We will find out more Monday. Maybe we can do Albuquerque. We will see.

I knew we were traveling too fast, I guess the good Lord slowed us down for a bit. We can sit and relax now for at least a week.

Making lemonade!!!!

Bakersfield RV Resort is pretty plush.

If we have to be here, this is a place we can enjoy.

Here is our site.

We are doing what has to be done. Just a little bump in the road.