Tired & Belted

Leaving Ash Meadows we didn't get an early start. Instead of going east through Las Vegas and hot rodding our engines to pull steeper grades we went south to Baker CA. The plan was to cut through Mojave Preserve to I-40. But gentle headwind and uphill grade proved too much for

Grade School

Last year the old motorhome suffered a mechanical meltdown. It overheated on a long, steep pass. The engine siezed and died on the side of the road. Hard down. The fallout was a major pain between getting it towed and finding a shop to fix it. Plus a six week wait and a huge kick in the wallet. Suffice it to say that such a hard lesson motivates increased preventive measures going forward.

Since avoiding mountains altogether is not an option, the trick is