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The Motor Home Deal
By Cliff Popkey
customers, my friend stated that his boss just told him that he didn’t need to charge me and to tell me to have nice vacation. I was shocked by his generosity the man didn’t know me from Adam but I wasn’t about to complain we hardly had enough to make the trip let alone make unforeseen repairs.
Arriving at the turn in to
my neighborhood, I was annoyed to see the traffic had picked up considerably
and I had to wait for several minutes before I could complete the turn. As a
hole in the traffic approached I gave the engine gas and it promptly died as if
I had flooded it. I gave it several tries but it failed to start, it would only
crank and then sputter before dying once again. After several more tries it
wouldn’t crank any more the batteries had run down and I was forced to walk the
mile to the house. At home I got the car, jumper cables and the wife and we
proceeded to jump the motor home which took the jump easily enough and we
finally were able to pack up and get on the road.
Now I was very concerned that the home had stopped at the turn in but it started just fine each and every time I tried it in the driveway after the jump so I figured I had so how managed to flood the carburetor and it was nothing to worry about.
Our route took us south halfway thru Ohio on I-75 and then east across the Buckeye state on US Route 2 to I-77 and south to our destination. We had stopped twice with no trouble by the time we reached Crestline, Ohio and it was while we were waiting for a traffic light to change, in the center of town, on the main through fare that the motor home stalled again.
Traffic instantly began backing up in all directions as Route 2 is a main truck route thru Ohio. I tried everything I could think off to get motor home running again. Finally I had the family stand on the curb because I was afraid that the motor home would get hit by the traffic squeezing by us and gave the engine and batteries a few minutes of rest, hoping that the time would allow the fuel evaporate and the batteries to charge.
After trying to start it again and failing a man walked up and offered to help. He said he knew a bit about engines and he might be able to get it going again if that was ok with me for him to try. I of course said please, get the beast started.
He made several adjustments and sprayed my start fluid in the carberator and turned the key and had no better luck than I had. It cranked and coughed but wouldn’t start. At this time the local police finally arrived to direct traffic. As the police officer approached he over to him and spoke with him for a minute before he came back over to me.
”Danny’s going to call Clint to come pull you out of the intersection into the parking lot over to the right. My names Louis and you are?” He asked.
I told him my name and my wife’s and our girl’s names and he explained that he owned the local auto parts store. He thought he knew what it would take to get this beast running again but when Clint got here he’d be a better judge and they’d do all they could to get us on the road again as soon as possible.
Clint arrived in a few minutes and he towed the home into the parking lot with his tow truck and he went to work trying to determine what the problem was. After several minutes he asked if we had just bought the coach and when I said we had, he just shook his head like it was shame or something. He then talked with Louis for a minute and went back to his truck and started to get out some tools.
Louis walked over and asked if I would be comfortable with his wife and family staying with his wife, while he and I took a short drive to get some things for Clint so he could get us back on the road. I asked the wife and she was comfortable with the idea so I went with Louis to his store.
Louis filled two grocery bags with all sorts of spray cleaners, oils, and gaskets and several small wiry things I had no idea what they were. As we headed for the door I asked how much I owed him and his reply startled me. He said I owed him nothing.
I was shocked again to say the least. I was used to dealing with people that no matter what, they didn’t do anything unless they got something out of it and yet twice in one day I’d been given free help by strangers. They had incurred expenses helping me and yet they didn’t want me to pay them back. I asked Louis again how much I owed him and he said it again, nothing.
I pressed him and said it wasn’t right for him to pay for my problems and I should at least pay for the stuff he was taking for Clint. He smiled said that no I didn’t and it was ok, it was how he was raised, to help his fellow man. He also quickly added that he remembered what it was like to a young family man and how he had to struggle to keep food on the table and then he sort of insulted me, though I don’t think he meant it that way and said that he would bet that I had less than eight hundred dollars on me and that we’d struggling to get home if the motor home couldn’t be fixed.
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Now I was very concerned that the home had stopped at the turn in but it started just fine each and every time I tried it in the driveway after the jump so I figured I had so how managed to flood the carburetor and it was nothing to worry about.
Our route took us south halfway thru Ohio on I-75 and then east across the Buckeye state on US Route 2 to I-77 and south to our destination. We had stopped twice with no trouble by the time we reached Crestline, Ohio and it was while we were waiting for a traffic light to change, in the center of town, on the main through fare that the motor home stalled again.
Traffic instantly began backing up in all directions as Route 2 is a main truck route thru Ohio. I tried everything I could think off to get motor home running again. Finally I had the family stand on the curb because I was afraid that the motor home would get hit by the traffic squeezing by us and gave the engine and batteries a few minutes of rest, hoping that the time would allow the fuel evaporate and the batteries to charge.
After trying to start it again and failing a man walked up and offered to help. He said he knew a bit about engines and he might be able to get it going again if that was ok with me for him to try. I of course said please, get the beast started.
He made several adjustments and sprayed my start fluid in the carberator and turned the key and had no better luck than I had. It cranked and coughed but wouldn’t start. At this time the local police finally arrived to direct traffic. As the police officer approached he over to him and spoke with him for a minute before he came back over to me.
”Danny’s going to call Clint to come pull you out of the intersection into the parking lot over to the right. My names Louis and you are?” He asked.
I told him my name and my wife’s and our girl’s names and he explained that he owned the local auto parts store. He thought he knew what it would take to get this beast running again but when Clint got here he’d be a better judge and they’d do all they could to get us on the road again as soon as possible.
Clint arrived in a few minutes and he towed the home into the parking lot with his tow truck and he went to work trying to determine what the problem was. After several minutes he asked if we had just bought the coach and when I said we had, he just shook his head like it was shame or something. He then talked with Louis for a minute and went back to his truck and started to get out some tools.
Louis walked over and asked if I would be comfortable with his wife and family staying with his wife, while he and I took a short drive to get some things for Clint so he could get us back on the road. I asked the wife and she was comfortable with the idea so I went with Louis to his store.
Louis filled two grocery bags with all sorts of spray cleaners, oils, and gaskets and several small wiry things I had no idea what they were. As we headed for the door I asked how much I owed him and his reply startled me. He said I owed him nothing.
I was shocked again to say the least. I was used to dealing with people that no matter what, they didn’t do anything unless they got something out of it and yet twice in one day I’d been given free help by strangers. They had incurred expenses helping me and yet they didn’t want me to pay them back. I asked Louis again how much I owed him and he said it again, nothing.
I pressed him and said it wasn’t right for him to pay for my problems and I should at least pay for the stuff he was taking for Clint. He smiled said that no I didn’t and it was ok, it was how he was raised, to help his fellow man. He also quickly added that he remembered what it was like to a young family man and how he had to struggle to keep food on the table and then he sort of insulted me, though I don’t think he meant it that way and said that he would bet that I had less than eight hundred dollars on me and that we’d struggling to get home if the motor home couldn’t be fixed.
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