The Valley of Death

The Valley of Death

Dear Friend,

Tonight we are just outside of Death Valley National Park in California.

We are going to hang here at a campground for a bit to get our bearings and work with the kids’ schooling.  We have found that we need to stop every few days while traveling large distances to catch our breath and recharge.

The Warrior is running great as usual.  However, several annoying “dummy lights” now glare at me from the dash where all was previously quiet.

When we purchased this motorhome, the dealer handed us a three-ring binder stuffed with more printed materials that I have ever seen in one package.  Unfortunately, what was not included in that bundle of warranty cards was the operator’s manual for a 2009 Chevy Kodiak C5500 medium duty truck with a Duramax diesel engine – aka – The Warrior.  Therefore, we have not a clue what those lights are telling us.

One light, I believe, is telling me that it’s time to change my engine oil.  However, I had the oil changed with synthetic oil in both the vehicle engine and the diesel generator just before we left.  These lights generally don’t measure the quality of the oil.  They are just on a timer and have to be reset by the mechanic after each oil change – something my friend who changed the oil for me likely did not do.

The other light, which just came on a few days ago, shows a gas pump (like at a gas station) with a symbol below it that looks like a filter or something.  I think that it’s telling me that it’s time to change the fuel filter.  Now, if this is also just on a timer, then I know that it will wait until we get to Texas in a couple of weeks.  And I have seen no loss of performance in the engine.  All of the other gauges continue to read normal and unchanged.

Of course, all of the literature on Death Valley warns you to make sure that everything is working perfectly on your vehicle before entering the Park, as many folks have died there after auto breakdowns.

That sounds exciting.

Oh well, I “think” that we are OK.  If you think otherwise, please let me know before I venture into the Valley of Death. 😉

I may miss some more posts this week, as there is apparently little or no Internet or cell coverage in Death Valley.

If you don’t hear from us again, I just want to say that I have been honored by your loyal following of this blog and it’s been great knowing ya.

😉

All the best,

Hugh