Saturday night was the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. On my way back to the coach from the shower, I saw a really long one so I rustled up the girls and we saw a couple more but it wasn't super active. Clear night and you could see the Milky Way easily.
There is some old saying about counting chickens or being over confident...or something like that.
Anyway, we slept in a little and did a very brief tour of the park in the AM and then hit the road....
Pretty nice park we will have to visit again. The guy who bought the Birchaven told us to check out the sink, where the river disappears underground, but we didn't have time as we had even more miles to go today.....370 to NW of Atlanta. As we were still in break in on the engine, top speed of 60-65 was it, so it was going to be a haul.
We got on the road around 10:30 or way later than I wanted. The trip out of FL was pretty uneventful all the way to Tifton, GA. I hadn't filled up that morning (last stop in Kissimmee). The gauge said we still had about 1/3 of a tank left so I figured we were good as it was only 125 miles from the park (but close to 300 from Kissimmee). Anyway, as I pulled off I-75 the motor sputtered, choked and I realized we were out of gas. I tried flipping to the other tank and DOH! I was on the 'reserve' tank already. as the traffic light was red, I wanted off the road PRONTO, so I turned into a Logans Steakhouse and promptly died right there in their driveway....
Life seems good for about 30-40 minutes and then all of a sudden the fuel delivery is not steady. She's shutting off and back on for a second and off....Luckily there is an exit .5 miles and I make it up the off ramp, turn right and hey look an RV Park! I turn in and stop at the top of the hill next to the office. While running down the check list a nice guy in a golf cart rolls up and asks if we need help. I say I'm not sure but if we are stuck I'm going roll down the hill into a spot. We both laugh and off he goes. I fiddle with this and that, and he was nice to give us the code for the bathrooms. I use them and YAAAY AC in the toilet (the Pineapple has no AC while rolling right now). I do a little Internet research, and go back out to the coach. Everything seems in order so I fire it up and she runs fine. I drive up and down the road 3 times and hit the on ramp, hammer down.
We go for about another 30-40 min and just when I'm starting to feel confident....it happens again! Again I get off and make it into a gas station. I call mission control at the Co-Op and we confer. I decide since I have and extra fuel pump and it's an easy swap, I can eliminate that as a possibility. It takes 30-45 min to swap out and it is HOT and HUMID. Lucy gets a faceful of gas when I pull the pressurized line off as she was holding her thumb on the fuel filter to keep it from leaking on the ground. Get it all buttoned up and off we go. I hit a puddle and hear a metallic noise but say F it and keep going.
Well we make it through Macon ok, and heading into the Atlanta metroplex things are humming along. Right as we get to the beltway by the airport on 75 it goes to like 8 lanes wide and we are in the middle as I'm taking 75 right through downtown on a Sunday afternoon. Guess what happens? Yep it starts missing fuel and wanting to die right in the middle of it all! Somehow, I manage to keep it going to 75 north and take the first exit at Cleveland Ave and stall in the middle of the road, uphill. Luckily traffic isn't coming and I hit the starter about 4 times until it sort of catches and I barely limp into a Piggly Wiggly parking lot. Almost immediately a brother is hitting me up for cash. I'm in no mood for him and politely but firmly blow him off.
Now I know it's a waiting game for about 20-30 min and we will be okay for a little bit. Credit due to Lucy as she says maybe the computer in the FI system is overheating. It is HOT out. We wait about half an hour, prop open the engine cover to let the hot air out (and into the cab) and set off again.
We go about 10 minutes in the middle of Atlanta (by the Varsity) and I hear a clank clank on the road. I say WTH was that? as I didn't see anything in the road....We make the next 40 miles to our campground without issue.
As soon as I open the hatch to explore the planetary surface of GA, I see what made the noise. Or rather I see what's not there anymore..
Seems I left an exhaust tip in downtown Atlanta. I can only guess when I hit the puddle south of Macon, it jostled it loose...tis but a flesh wound!
Lucy and Naya, headed directly to the lake for a swim, but my good buddy James Morris was on his way over to help with the 1K oil change. I was VERY happy for his help as he brought a lifesaver with him. No not the cold beer and ice (which WAS a lifesaver ;), but a 7/8 wrench. We changed the oil without issue and found that one of the oil cooler lines was not tightened all the way and I was undercoating the frame on the passenger side. We got that taken care of and checked all the other fittings and what not and it was all good.
Mission Control checked in and agreed that it was a heat issue. A call to FI Tech confirmed that they stupidly use an internal ground, so I ran a ground from the Throttle body to the negative terminal on the battery. While I hoped it would fix the issue I was anxious as we set off the next morning....
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