M & M on the road with Thelma & Louise...

On our drive back to BC from Mexico, Meg and I decided that Jann de Van was not working out in our scheme of things so we sold her to an adorable couple who love her. After a few weeks of scouring Craigslist and other RV sites, we came across a screaming deal and picked up a Ford F250 and a 22' Lynx 5th wheel for a very reasonable sum. As tradition has it, we always name our vehicles so Thelma & Louise seemed to fit for our new truck and RV.

It just so happened that Meg's daughter and son-in-law, Erin, and Mark, were heading up to Kelowna for a physique and body building competition...a perfect destination spot for our inaugural expedition. 

Last Friday we packed up Louise with all our essentials, hooked up, jumped into Thelma and headed onto Hwy 1, pointed towards Kelowna. The Coquihalla Highway is the fastest route to the Okanagan Valley. We knew there were a few hills but nothing our powerful Thelma, our F250, couldn't handle, we were told. The Coquihalla Highway cuts though beautiful, but steep, mountain ranges between Hope and Kelowna. It was a gorgeous sunny day...we were off on a new adventure.

From time to time we noticed a shudder in the cab but deduced that it must have been due to rough spots on the road. We were quite pleased with the speed of Thelma...towing Louise, we figured, was a burden. As we progressed up the highway, onto the first of the long, long steep hills, Thelma started to falter. Meg and I both tried to put it off but it continued to get worse. It was eerily similar to the car problems that we encountered in Mexico a few years ago. Sputtering up steep hills - losing speed and momentum. At that time it was due to bad gas  - water in the tank. This time we were prepared for problems and poured a litre of methyl hydrate into the gas tank. At first we thought the methyl hydrate helped but before long we were down to 40 km per hour, being passed by transport trucks. Not only were we lumbering up the highway but our gas gauge was quickly - very quickly - hovering near the danger zone...on both tanks! ...and we were nowhere near civilization. This was the danger of taking the quick route through the mountains, in the middle of nowhere. 

Sweat started to appear on Meg's brow. We weren't looking forward to being stranded on the side of the road on the beginning of the long weekend in May. Both of us were quietly urging Thelma to keep up her pace, slow as it was, to make it over the summit and down the other side...and fortunately we succeeded... coasting down into Westbank and the Shell station. Yipee!!

We made our way to Willow Creek RV Park in the SOPA district of Kelowna. It's a really handy park, next to Gyro Park, on the lake, a welcome haven for two tired travellers. 

At some point along our way, Meg had leapt from Louise, overextending her left leg, ending up with a non-flexing limb and a major limp. A trip to WalMart for some supplies turned into an Indy speed race as Meg seized the handi-scooter, taking off like a shot through the food aisles. 

On Saturday, venturing up a not too steep hills, without Louise in tow, we started to sputter again...not a good sign. We tried to think positive thoughts but reluctantly realized that Thelma was not hitting the mark. Would we be able to make it home without incident? Sadly, we decided that instead of spending a day touring and tippling at the abundant wineries circa Kelowna, we would now have to depart early to avoid the end of the long weekend traffic on the highway.

Packing up for the trip back to the coast, we learned a few important lessons from Louise, our 5th wheel: 

• make sure the bar clicks into place when the truck backs into the RV.
• make sure that the sewage connection is securely attached to the outlet from the toilet downspout when you open the tank valve.

On the road before noon, we crossed the bridge leaving Kelowna and were barely out of sight of the lake when numerous motorists indicated that something was spewing from our truck. In a matter of seconds Meg had us perched on the narrow shoulder of the highway as we watched gray gaseous vapours billow from Thelma's engine. 45 minutes later the BCAA truck arrived. Meg and the mechanic discussed the problem, deduced the problem to a ill-fitting radiator cap, replaced lost fluids and were headed to Canadian Tire in Westbank for a new cap and more coolant. We tried to upgrade our BCAA membership to include emergency RV service - thinking that a service call may be eminent - but were unable to boost our coverage over the phone on a Sunday. 

It was after 1pm by the time we rolled back onto Hwy 97 and were looking at the route choices back to the Fraser Valley.

1. Hwy 97 through Penticton, Keremeos, Princeton to Hope - plenty of gas stations and services, fewer long steep grades though a longer route with a narrow road and many switchbacks
2. Hwy 97C - the Coquihalla to Hope - the route we took getting to Kelowna with no services for 110 km, those long, long steep inclines but wider shoulders, pullouts and a shorter driving time.

Choosing the Coquihalla, we were minutes onto it before we were in a heavy snow storm and Thelma was struggling to progress up the grade, inching along the side of the highway. 

Meg thought that we had blown the transmission. I thought it was the slushy, slippery road causing the loss of traction. Looking in my side mirror I noticed what looked like a small bow wave generating from the front rear wheel on Louise. I jumped out and walked alongside discovering that the front wheel was not rotating. This posed a big problem. How could we get the wheel off to disengage the electric brake? We couldn't jack Louise up attached to Thelma by the hitch and we couldn't disconnect the hitch fearing Louise would roll back down the hill. To add to our dilemma we could not make a network connection with our phone to call for help. After deliberating our situation for a bit, we found that  disconnecting the power cord to Louise left us without electric brakes but with 4 wheels that rotated. 

Soon we were tootling along the highway, Thelma happily trucking up and down the hills with Louise in tow into brilliant blue sky and sunshine.

The rest of the drive home to Aldergrove was uneventful. It took us over 8 hours to complete the 4 hour drive but we arrived home safe and sound. We will evaluate our vehicle issues and figure out the best solutions for our RVing future.

BTW, Erin was extremely successful at the 2010 Western Canadian BodyBuilding and Fitness Show. Her hard work and determination paid off as she defeated 85 other competitors to win her division and the overall figure event. Congrats, Erin!! You made the road trip worth it!!