This week we are traveling across Northern Colorado. Our route took us from North-Western Colorado up and over 10,000 feet in elevation and through stop-and-go traffic as we headed towards Denver. As we climbed the mountain, our engine and then our front tires began to overheat. Concerned about our vehicle, we pulled over on the side of the highway joining a long line of other broke down vehicles attempting to scale the mountain.
Jonathan, ever the hero of my story, took the tire off to examine the brakes. The mystery deepened as we discovered that the rotors were turning freely and we didn’t seem to have any issues with the tire, but everything was hot!
We jumped back in line and made it over the crest of the mountain and through the tunnel. The tires started again to read hot so we pulled over, this time in a much safer location and Jonathan once again took the tire off and removed the calipers to confirm that the brakes were in good condition. Again, everything seemed normal, but hot. At this point I realized that we were not going to make our check in time for our reservation in Estes Park. I called the park and let them know that we’d be at least a day late.
We got back on the road and monitored our situation until we came to a big town with a tire shop. At this point it was past dinner time on a Sunday evening. As we pulled off the highway we noticed an RV park. The on site camp host immediately came and helped us find a spot where he though our mammoth 5th wheel would fit. Feeling grateful, I went online and filled out there registration forms and booked 2 nights. We then spent the next hour attempting to get our rig into their super tight spot. It wasn’t happening. Walmart boondocking to the rescue! We never sleep particularly great in a Walmart parking lot but we were happy to at least be safe and settled for the night.
At 7 am we were in line at the tire shop. It took a bit but they agreed try and work us in mid-morning. Walmart graciously agreed to let us drop the trailer while we had our truck in the shop. The mid-morning appointment gave us a chance to go grab breakfast at the Dandelions Cafe where we enjoyed delicious breakfast sandwiches on their porch with Little Bear at our feet.
By early afternoon we had our suspected culprit. The mechanic confirmed there was no heat damage to the rotors or brakes and believes it was a combination of bumper to bumper traffic while climbing the 10,000 foot mountain. He greased the fittings around the suspension and sent us on our way at no charge!
When we first decided to go on the road full time we knew that it was a matter of “when“ not “if” we would need to make repairs. The hard days are part of the trade off for seeing this beautiful world that God created.
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