Bang, then Broke Down

On the road ? Broke down ? Need help fast ?
\nPost here...Maybe someone is near by or we can atleast give you advice.
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Travco Model: 1972, 270 Rear Dinette
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Bang, then Broke Down

Unread post by Murtle » Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:45 pm

Hi All,\nI've had an adventurous day dealing with my lovely Travco, which i call, "Murtle." I'm compelled to share the story as it may be relatable to others on here.\n\nI had driven about 6 blocks to get to the nearest on-ramp for the expressway to get some new glass for my bathroom window that had broken somehow (vandalism i suspect) when the vehicle made a giant BANG and then shut down. I could start it up, but it wouldn't idle or stay on without the starter engaged. \n\nI pulled to the shoulder of the highway on-ramp and then started calling AAA, friends, etc.. In the meantime, a semi truck saw that I was parked on the side of the road and decided to follow suit. After 40 minutes I walked back to see if he had any ideas, but he was only there to rest and not interested in helping. [Is this a common practice to rest on the shoulder of highway on-ramps?] :?: \n\nI decided to go fetch my car and grab a friend and maybe some tools along the way. Leaving the vehicle, i put a notice on the door window stating i had left to get help and that I would be towing the vehicle. Is this a good practice when broken down? :?: \n\nOver the past year I had used my 2000 honda civic to once pull my travco a short distance when it was necessary for street cleaning when it was between batteries. I went ahead and decided to give it a try towing the travco again. With remarkable success, all things went well. My friend and I drove the civic on the ramp and drove through to the next exit. We made note of which streets to use when getting off and identified a block with some vacant homes, in case it needed to sit overnight, etc.\n\nOnce we circled back to the on-ramp, we used a 1/2 or 5/8 inch nylon rope and doubled it for the purposes of towing. We tied the rope around the strut bars where they meet the chasis frame on the front left and right and made a nice triangle with it pointing in the direction of the towing car (the civic). On the civic there was a nice grab hook right in the middle below the bumper. We attached to this and then did a 20' practice run. We tested the rope connection and rehearsed pulling off using arm signals out the window of the car to signal the van driver(steer-er) to apply brakes. Not using the car brakes allowed us to avoid any minor collisions between the two vehicles.\n\nWithout problems we proceeded to give it a try. I drove the car in 1 and 2 gear and let the idle acceleration get the rope taught before applying constant but low rpm acceleration to the car going up a hill. Eventually the van began moving and we were off. I continued a very slow acceleration until we were doing 20 MPH on the highway to the next exit. On the offramp, I signaled my friend driving murtle and we braked with much ease. My travco, like many others, has the vacuum assisted brake boosters which work much better with engine on, but they still work to a large degree with well bled brakes. We then drove approximately 8 blocks to the site we had identified earlier and parked without problems.\n\nI had arranged to meet a mobile mechanic earlier that day so he agreed to meet us at the new location. After testing it and finagling around the problem appears to have been an issue with the mechanisms between and around the carburetor and the throttle assembly. Additionally some wires going to something around the carb had come loose. All of this was beneath the air intake pan? manifold which I didn't know simply pops off once the lid is removed.\n\nMurtle made it back home nicely and I am now grateful to have a good friend and clever mechanic nearby to fill out the means to get things addressed. Now I'm wishing I had a photograph of the civic pulling the travco :D

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Re: Bang, then Broke Down

Unread post by 77Travco » Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:46 am

Holy Moly :shock:

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