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| Trip Report [message #214442] |
Mon, 15 July 2013 10:48  |
stick miller
Messages: 1036
Registered: March 2010
Location: Americus, Georgia
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Trip report – July 3-11, 2013. So we headed out in the (as yet unnamed) GMC for an 8 day trip to north Georgia. The first leg of the trip took us from Americus to Atlanta to see my 3 week old grandson Owen again. We also scoped out the parking arrangements since we’ll be in the GMC for a month while we take care of Owen in September. I need to have an electrician run a line from the house to a location closer to the street where we’ll be parked.
After a nice visit to Atlanta we entered the Hell that is Atlanta traffic and inched our way toward Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta. After the monsoons we have had for the last 2 months, I hesitated to pull into the driveway at the lake house, but we found a level spot right up close to the house.
On July 5, Johnny Bridges came over and we wound up spending the whole day on my Onan 6000. Before he got there I managed to disconnect the low oil pressure switch, but in the process pulled the connector completely out of the board. In short order we had the board out and determined that it needed to go to Johnny’s shop at work in Atlanta.
After some mighty skillful soldering we decided that Chinese food was in order and headed for the buffet line. Pretty soon we were back at the coach with the board installed. It ran, then it quit. We re-removed the board and Mr. Bridges soldered every joint in the joint and a few more besides. Now it’s running good, although it has developed a rather pronounced oil leak.
Sunday afternoon, we headed north to Amicalola Falls State Park in north Georgia. As I pulled into the park I saw the warning signs: Warning! 25% Grade ahead. Well, I’ve never heard of a 25% grade but I’ve read about people going up 7 or 8% grades with difficulty. I got a running start and made it about a half mile (in the pouring rain) when the front wheels started spinning. I put it in Park, set the electrically actuated parking brake and had my DW sit in the captain’s chair with her foot on the brake. I went out and disconnected the toad.
We swapped places and she went around me in the Jetta to scope out campsites. I, confident in my ability to scale the mountain without the extra weight of the toad, put the shifter in Lo and slowly released the brake. Not only could I not go forward, I felt myself slipping backward.
With no place to turn around, I started slowly backing down the mountain. Cars approached and were waved around and finally a ranger pulled alongside and kept the traffic at bay. I backed down the entire stretch of the road covered and decided against another attempt. Long story short, the park allowed us to stay in a cabin and to park the coach right next to the mountain.
After I changed my pants, things got better.
The cabin was rather bleak and the rain never let up. We were allowed to have our 2 little dogs in a non-pet cabin because they didn’t have anything else to do with us. We stayed 2 nights and headed to Stone Mountain.
Stone Mountain Park was probably the highlight of our trip. I was glad to be back on flat land and the campground was vastly improved over the last time I was there. Since we had exhausted all other means of spending money, we opted for a deluxe lake front site with television hook ups and wi-fi. It was great and would have even been better for a family with children. Stone Mountain Park has a lot to do for families with children.
After another brief visit with my daughter Meredith and our grandson Owen - dad was at work – we headed for Americus. The Onan ran great and, since the temperatures were in the 70’s, we were relatively cool.
As I was unhooking the toad (after I kissed the ground in my front yard) I noticed a film of oil on the VW. A quick check of fluids revealed that the leak is coming from the Onan and, when running, the drip is pretty aggressive. I need to get it out to Ken’s pit to see what the problem is. Also, in looking for the leak I discovered that the sending unit for my recently-non-working speedometer is hanging loose. That’ll get fixed in the next day or so.
All in all it was an interesting trip. My little dog developed some sort of separation anxiety or claustrophobia and destroyed several of the cellular blinds. They were old and raggedy and ready for replacement anyway, but first we’ll have to figure out what’s going on with psycho dog.
Many thanks to Johnny Bridges for taking the day to work on my generator. You are a gentleman and a scholar. Also, thanks to Ken Henderson who kept me encouraged with telephone calls from the Left Coast.
Stick Miller
'78 Royale - "White Trash" - she left me for another man
'76 Eleganza - "Cousin Eddie" Sold
'84 Bluebird Wanderlodge - "Past Tents"
Americus, GA
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