Big Blue becomes a travel trailer

Leaving our week long boondocking location in the Mojave National Preserve, we were looking forward to a short hike during the warmth of the day followed by revisiting another location that we stayed a night at in the past. We met back up with the asphalt and turned to continue further into the preserve. Kerri and Moose were play-howling together (trying to calm Moose’s excitement of getting moving, he often gets too excited in the first few minutes of travel) when a well known sound from under the van came back. My heart sank as the sound persisted, proving that I wasn’t imagining it. I just didn’t want to believe that this was happening again, but it was.

We pulled Big Blue over, right there on the side of the road and I climbed under to see oil dripping out of the rear differential. Yes, the very same differential that we had completely rebuilt only one week ago. The entire pinion gear was slopping around in the rearend housing like nothing I have ever seen before. This was clearly not installed properly last week. Browsing the service manual, I saw that I could potentially fix the problem right there by tightening one large nut. So large, unfortunately, that I did not have a socket to fit, by just a fraction of an inch damn it. With no tool to make my normal halfass fix, we were relegated to the reality of having Big Blue towed to the nearest AAMCO, 80 miles away. Worse, it was in in Las Vegas! AAMCO was the shop to perform the work last week, and their work comes with a 12 month warranty. This was going back to them. No way were we going to pay to have the work redone when they made this big of a mistake. However, all the incidentals were going to fall on us, and the quote for the tow? $1200! It was going to be cheaper to rent a UHaul truck and trailer and bring it into the shop ourselves, so we started making that arrangement.

Kerri, as usual, immediately posted our predicament on Instagram. I can’t understand why she thinks that is the most important thing to do in the heat of a breakdown, but she is who she is. I really can’t complain about it. What the heck is she going to do? Climb under the van too? Na, that’s my job. Her Instagram addiction did pay off though, with numerous followers immediately offering to help us. One couple in particular, Angela and Paul of @borntobenomadic, were not far away and on their way to Vegas anyway. They offered to bring me to UHaul so I could pickup said rental, which I am profoundly thankful for. Two hours later and I was picking up a truck and trailer. Two more hours and the sun had set and I pulled up to our breakdown location to load up the big van onto the trailer.

The first of many stressful days was complete. At least we could move the van off the side of the road and into the established campground just four more miles up the road. We stayed that night and the following day at the campground, even going for a short hike in the afternoon. Moose appreciated that. Just before dinner we decided to start the trek back to the Vegas – on a longer but safer route for hauling. It turned out to be full of stress as well. Big Blue is so heavy (about 2000 lbs over the trailer’s advertised limit… shhh), and so rear-weight-biased that the trailer wagged around like the tail on a Labrador puppy at a swim hole. It was undriveable at anything above 40 MPH and we had 150 miles to traverse, much of it on a 75 mph speed limit highway. We drove into the night, hazards blinking, and found the traffic to be extremely light. I think we only irritated a half dozen people… that’s not bad. By the end of the night we were only a few miles away from AAMCO at a casino-slash-truck stop.

Big Blue is still our home during this tow back into Vegas, we now just have to climb an extra step to get inside. We are pretty sure that we have at least a couple days and nights in a hotel in Vegas while the work is redone, and hopefully fixed for good this time. We have already accepted it and plan to make a fun week of it. At least there are places to go and things to see in Vegas, unlike our previous breakdown city. If we try hard enough, maybe we will come out the other side not remember a thing, missing a tooth, married, and tazered in the face. IN THE FACE! (It is a Hangover reference for those that might not get it)