We got up as usual at 8-ish and got organized to leave our spot in Portland about 10am. We had gone about 25 miles when our display showed a WRENCH and the message “Engine Reduced Power”. Just prior to that Ruthi had heard a sort of “slap” sound. But pulling a 5th wheel there are a lot of sounds of things flying around hitting other things. But the truck definitely slowed and cruise control no longer worked. It didn’t die totally so Ruthi was able to get it off at the next exit and we called Ford Road Side Assistance.
We were sent back to Portland to the Ford dealer/service who had so recently replaced one of the many radiators. We stopped at the RV Park and dropped the rig in our old space we had so recently vacated. Then off to the Ford dealer. We told them we were heading to Yakima, WA and needed to get out of town as soon as possible. Their response was if it’s simple – ok but it might require an order for parts.
So, the three of us sat (or in Karma’s case lay down and went to sleep) in the customer waiting room. We finally were able to get them to shut off the TV - was on CNN constantly covering the Casey Anthony returned verdicts – so we could at least sit in somewhat of a peace. Then our service rep told us that it was just a new thermostat that was covered under warranty and we’d be off soon. Well, soon for them and soon for us isn’t exactly a match.
3pm - we get the truck and rig re-connected and ready once again to head to Yakima, WA (175 miles). Off we go, tired but energized to “get out of dodge”. Interstate 84 along the Columbia River Gorge is flat and picturesque but when we cross over to WA 97 it was very hilly (mountains maybe but nothing like the Rockies). We had filled up the tank (diesel at Safeway was 3.89 with customer savings) the day before we left but with errands and this 50 miles wasted trip out of town and back, we were less than full when we took off the second time. We notice that they reset the mileage indicator so it was pretty low. With the hills up and down it was to be expected to be low calculating from 0. But then we noticed it wasn’t getting past 8.9/9.0 MPG. EGADS – we can handle the pricing of diesel at 3.99 or so with MPG at 11.5 – 12.0 when towing and 12-5 – 13.0 when around town or on the highways (not towing). But this was BAD.!
We starting watching our gas gauge, miles-to-empty status and looking for diesel stations that are big enough for our rig. We finally pick the place to have both a potty-break and fill up diesel. About 6 miles out we see signs about some detour coming up. Well, Gypsy (our GPS) didn’t know about it, so we slowed down trying to figure out what it means to us – no gas station for us, the EXIT was closed. So, on we go to our camp ground. After signing in and getting assigned our space, Boots starts the car and gets a beeping with this message “45 miles to empty”. She parks and we talk with the RV Park about the closest diesel station in Yakima, WA near us.
Ruthi is out walking the dog and sees a diesel station about a block away. Both of us are concerned that we seem to be using diesel entirely too fast. Something has to be wrong. We also did not get the message “Cleaning Exhaust Filter”; which is a very frequent staple of towing 200 miles a day between stops. Tomorrow morning we’ll again fill up and track out mileage to the Spokane, WA area (190 miles).
