Car Broke Down: Make it a Positive Not a Negative

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Posted May 22, 2018

April 30, 2018

Click on the photo and see my video on DTube.

We all dread car trouble, especially on a vacation trip or when out in the middle of nowhere. Being on the road so much, I've broken down several times now. Fortunately it’s nothing serious, dead batteries mostly, bad starters, and flats only so far. It's inevitable and you should do your best to erase the negative feelings and try to find the positive from the experience. Don’t let it ruin your day, it is another chance for spontaneity and well spontaneity is what makes being on the road so much fun. Here is the story of my experience and maybe some tips to give you some insight into making your breakdown not be a downer.

I had just left the Land Between the Lakes National Forest, where I'd been camping for 9 nights, on my way to parts unknown as usual. I wanted to check out the Jones-Kenny Wildlife Management Area (WMA) after having read some good information about the great hiking there. I stopped to check Google Maps after not finding any entrance roads to the WMA. Then my car wouldn’t start. I just replaced my battery a couple of weeks earlier, so the likely problem was the starter. I learned a trick from a tow truck driver that came to my rescue for a similar incident, where one should hit the starter with a wrench or a rock and that might get you one more start before it goes out completely. I crawled under my Xterra trying to find the starter to no avail. Everything is really crammed in tightly and I don’t know squat about cars. No problem, I have AAA. Well I get a call back, after my initial notification of my problem, letting me know that no AAA tow services were available until tomorrow and that I was on my own. The operator told me AAA would reimburse my bill though. Here is where smartphone technology saves the day. I’m old enough to remember having to find a pay phone or wait around for some good Samaritan to stop and when you did find a pay phone, then good luck finding a phone book. Typically you would be at the mercy of the closest auto repair shop and when in the middle of nowhere that definitely limits your choices.

I found what looked to be a reputable shop, Markham Automotive, in Princeton about 12 miles away. They got me a tow truck and it arrived about an hour later. Guess what? First thing, he crawls under my SUV and hits on the starter with a rock a few times and tells me to turn the ignition and it starts first try. At least it saved me some time and AAA thirty bucks. My bill was $51.50 instead of $81.50. Now I noticed my gas indicator was on and I had about 20 miles or so before I was out of gas. No problem, I’m told by the tow truck driver there is a gas station right by the auto repair shop. Remember; don’t turn the car off when you stop. Again, Google to the rescue helping me find a motel nearby. There are only two in the area and both are cheap and within close walking distance from the repair shop. The lady on the phone, Gerry Lynn, with her Kentucky accent, at Markham Automotive, recommended Stratton Inn practically across the street from them. I stopped there first, checked into my room, unloaded most of my gear, knowing I’d likely be there a few days at least and went to Markham Automotive. I noticed there were plenty of amenities nearby, a laundry mat, a bowling alley, a liquor store and a convenience store. Having not bowled in about 40 years, all the places came in handy except the bowling alley.

Gerry Lynn told me they would give my car a thorough analysis and get back to me probably tomorrow morning with suggestions on what needed repair. I told Gerry Lynn I was noticing some noises coming from my brakes as well and from experience knew that was a sign that my brake shoes were in need of replacement.

Stratton Inn Princeton, Kentucky

My room was fantastic and only $55 total, way better than the price would indicate, with a king size bed, a refrigerator, a microwave, a table, a desk, a flat screen TV with a thousand worthless satellite channels, a shower with a perfect and powerful stream of luxurious unlimited hot water, and breakfast and coffee provided in the lobby. The woman, with charming Indian accent, that checked me in was very friendly, even offering to have her son drive me wherever I might need to go. I didn’t accept the offer with the laundry being about a quarter of a mile walk only and I could do my laundry easily in only two trips. The laundry mat looked modern like a new establishment and was very clean.

Stratton Inn Lobby

When I got back to the motel I stopped by the lobby where I met the lady’s husband, Mr. Desai, a very charming and friendly man. He and his wife were the new managers, now for around a month, of the locally owned motel. He also offered to drive me to the laundry mat for my second trip and I accepted, since I had some very bulky items to wash, my bedding comprising of two sleeping bags and a blanket. After dropping me off get my washing started, he gave me a car tour of the town of Princeton, population around 6,000. It is a little bigger than Mayberry from the Andy Griffith show, but still warm, friendly and probably everyone knew each other in some way, maybe just by name recognition if not personally. Being in this situation reminded me of that episode where a grumpy, man, from the big city, impatient and in a hurry, breaks down in Mayberry. Eventually he warms up to the towns friendliness and charm and even regrets having to leave after receiving so much warm hospitality from Andy and Aunt Bee and the rest of the town’s folks. He was able to see another perspective on life and see how stressful his life was and left with a renewed spirit than made an important impression on what he could change in his own life for more happiness.

Princeton is right along Interstate 69, about 32 miles east of Land Between the Lakes National Forest where I camped out for the last nine nights. It has an old downtown district, with plenty of places to visit and shop with lots of local charm. Of course you will find many chains nearby being right next to the interstate highway, like Wal-Mart, McDonalds for a couple of examples. I do tend to stop at Wal-Mart to find bargains being a retiree on a budget, but being a vegan, fast food is out of the question for me. The factory farming processed foods are not ever going to be in my diet any longer. I might once in a blue moon stop at a local joint for some onion rings or French fries to satisfy a craving for some grease and carbohydrates. The town also has a three screen old renovated movie theater downtown. Downtown was within my walking distance, but I never did leave the motel premises deciding to just enjoy my down time from being outdoors pretty much all the time and for me this was a needed change of atmosphere. I took baths instead of showers, luxuriating in the feeling of soaking my muscles in hot water. One needs to take advantage of these amenities, especially when one has no choice. It was sort of a vacation from my vacation and I could catch up on my journal and channel surf the TV in that mindless fashion of the old days.

When my laundry was finished, we went back to the motel, and I found a few more items that needed washing, found in hidden places in my Xterra. Turns out they had a coin operated washer and dryer at the hotel for guests to use. They knew my bedding was too big for the normal sized washer and dryer they provided and I did my initial wash without their knowledge. While I was doing my wash, Mr. Desai, shared some lunch he made, gave me some interesting, spicy hot tea, and gave me three mangoes, some incense, and two packages containing some Indian products I was not familiar with, a type of herb flavored biscuit and some breads that were toasted. I enjoyed my conversations with Mr. Desai and learned a few things about his culture. We talked about Bollywood movies and found out we both loved the movie “3 Idiots.” If you haven’t seen this movie it is available in its entirety on You Tube.

The next morning Gerry Lynn from Markham Automotive called me to tell me they were text messaging me a link where I could review the problems they found with my SUV. Wow, was it detailed, even with photos showing even the wear on my tires. They covered it all. I was a little overwhelmed and thought of an idea of calling my mechanic I’ve used for decades back in Austin, Texas at Flamingo Automotive to review what they had sent me. So there are definitely advantages to finding a mechanic you can trust. When you are on the road and you breakdown, they can be a your advocate when using a strange mechanic that may try to take advantage of your predicament. Joe Lamping, the owner, operator, of Flamingo Automotive, gave me his opinions on what to repair and what I should expect for a price and to my surprise the price Markham quoted me was under that estimate. I was a very happy fellow indeed. What I had repaired was the starter, the front brakes and an oil change, total price $917 and my car would be ready tomorrow.

Breakfast at the hotel had some pretty good options, fresh brewed coffee or tea, bananas, apples, two types of cereals, Sunny Delight, and three kinds of tiny pastries typically purchased from Wal-Mart. I had almond milk with me, so I’d have raisin bran cereal with banana and an apple and some Sunny Delight with plenty of coffee.

After my third night at the Stratton Motel, that morning I received a phone call from Gerry Lynn letting me know my car was ready and they would send someone by to pick up my gear and me by the 11 o’clock check out time. When I arrived at Markham, I loaded my gear, paid my bill and was on my way to places unknown again. It was raining most of that morning, so it looked like hiking would be out of the question. My vacation from my travels was very peaceful and pleasant and I was confident Trip Mobile II would keep on truckin’.

Here are a few tips I learned from this breakdown.

1. Learn where your starter is located in case of malfunction you can hit on it with a rock or wrench and maybe get one more start before it finally dies on you.

2. Have a good relationship with a mechanic so when breakdowns occur on the road you have someone to consult.

3. Before you go on any long term trip have your mechanic do a thorough car look over.

4. Have AAA breakdown insurance if you do long term traveling.

5. Keep your tires inflated properly and check them regularly and look for signs of slow leaks that could mean you have something in your tire. You want to be proactive and not have a flat in the middle of nowhere. Tire wear was evident on the sides of my treads because of too low tire pressure.

6. If you have to be in a motel for a few days don’t sweat it. Relax and enjoy the down time and do something you wouldn’t normally do when camping. Check the town out, go to a movie, or call some friends.

7. Stay positive. It’s proven a positive attitude will result in more positive outcomes in general.

Peace, Love and Voluntarism

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