Problems with their RV began
on June 17, 2016 in Watson Lake when the RV overheated and spit oil
out all over the tow car. But despite this, a second problem with the
RV. The real trouble began when a warning light kept saying "Stop
Engine" even though all signals said all fluids were okay.
The RV ran very sluggish, but eventually made it to the Yukon Hotel
and Campground in Teslin, Yukon. And as bad luck would have it, BOTH
tow companies Lee Duquette called that were capable of towing a 40-foot
RV, had their own tow trucks broken down.
Two days later, on Thursday, June 23, Capital Towing sent
a big tow truck to rescue the two RV Gypsies and towed the RV from Teslin
to Whitehorse. TWO different RV repair places in Whitehorse were unable
to figure out the problem.
July 6, 2016
The two RV Gypsies finally got their RV towed over 600 miles from Whitehorse, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska. The two RV Gypsies drove their toad to Fairbanks, and the tow truck followed.
It took from July 7, 2016 to August 7, 2016 for the RV to finally
be repaired at Cummins, 1921 Sanduri Ave in Fairbanks, Alaska
- that's a full month, not to mention the problem really began on June
17th in Canada. Estimated cost this time was $40,000. So the two RV
Gypsies drove off and headed towards Tok, Alaska. However, 26 miles
down the road (just past North Pole) the RV blew the front passenger
side tire. They were right by Eielson Air Force base. Signs all said,
"NO parking, NO stopping, NO photography." Yet it
took about 1-1/2 hour before two military personnel with big rifles
came by to ask why the two RV Gypsies parked their RV there. By then,
the tire repair truck was already there putting a new tire on the RV
at a cost around $800 (it was a Sunday).
About 95 miles further down the road, the two RV Gypsies took a break
in Delta Junction and Lee Duquette checked to see if everything was
okay with the RV and toad. And sad to say, the RV had an oil leak, so
Lee had to drive the RV back to Fairbanks. A part had to be ordered,
so that meant another delay leaving town. But on August 9, 2016, the
two RV Gypsies got to leave Fairbanks and head out of Alaska. Unfortunately
all of this delay meant that they did not get to some of the places
they wanted to get to while in Alaska. And they had a timeline because
family members were flying into Alaska to meet them on a certain date.
August 10, 2016, the two RV Gypsies got 26 miles out of Tok, and the
dreaded "Stop Engine" light came on. Again, work was not done
properly because a hose was against something hot and melted which caused
the coolant to leak. Lee Duquette had to get under the RV and drain
out the rest of the leak, then take a part of the hose back into town
(good thing they had a tow car). He bought a hose, coolant and clamps
and drove back to the RV. He did get it fixed, but it was a rough job
and a lot of work, plus a total of five-hours. So they drove their RV
back to Tok and parked at Sourdough Campground for the night.
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