We were in Texas, a long way from home, when the stop engine light came on.
If you have never seen one, it does not mean “get this looked at soon.” It means shut it down now. So we did.
A Fluke We Never Saw Coming
Something flew up off the road. We never saw what it was. It chipped a piece off the radiator fan, and that piece of fan punched a hole in the radiator.
Nothing we could have planned for. Nothing we did wrong. Just one of those things.
Ron and our friend Tim got to work figuring out what happened. My job was the phone. I called Coach-Net, our roadside assistance provider.
Breaking Down on a Saturday Changes Everything
It was a Saturday. Coach-Net started calling repair shops near us and could not get anyone to answer. Most shops simply are not open on weekends.
So their plan was a two-step tow. First, get us to a “safe place” for the weekend. Then on Monday, when shops reopened, tow us to a repair facility.
Here is what I did not know until that moment. To roadside assistance, a safe place means somewhere with free overnight parking. A Walmart parking lot. A Buc-ee’s. Anywhere that allows you to stay overnight at no cost.
I understand why. Lodging is not covered, so they look for options that do not cost anything. But picture spending a weekend in a parking lot with no water, no electric, and a 40-pound dog who needs somewhere to walk.
You Can Ask to Be Towed Somewhere Better
So I asked if we could be towed to a campground instead.
My rep was open to it, but the legwork was on me. I researched campgrounds and started calling. I asked every one of them two questions:
- Can you fit a big rig being towed by a big rig tow truck?
- Do you have space for us?
That first question matters. A motorhome on the back of a heavy-duty tow truck needs a lot more room than a motorhome on its own.
I found one that could take us. My Coach-Net rep agreed, and that is where we were towed. We paid for the campground ourselves. In exchange, we had water, electric, and a place to walk Gia while we figured out what came next. [FILL IN: campground name and town, if you want to credit them]
Coach-Net Did the Heavy Lifting
I want to be fair here, because our experience with Coach-Net was good.
They made every call on our behalf, to repair shops and to tow companies. They updated me every 20 to 30 minutes on where things stood and what the next steps would be. They even called to make sure the tow truck driver showed up within the timeline he gave them.
The lesson is not that roadside assistance falls short. It is that their default plan is built around safety, not comfort. If you want more than that, you have to ask, and you have to be ready to do some of the work.
Ron Found the Parts. Then I Found the Drip.
Ron got to work sourcing parts. He found the radiator, the fan, and everything else we needed on Monday, and it all arrived Wednesday morning. Ron and Tim replaced it all right there at the campground.
We were ready to go. And as we were pulling out, I noticed something dripping in the back.
Ron and Tim took a look. The water pump had a hole in it too. Ron found one locally, the two of them fixed that, and on Wednesday night we were finally back on the road.
I will take a little credit here. I worry. I notice things. Most of the time it is nothing. This time it was not. If we had pulled out with a leaking water pump, we could have ended up broken down again somewhere with a lot fewer options than a campground with hookups.
What If Ron Could Not Have Fixed It?
Our Plan B was simple. If Ron could not get the parts, or could not make the repair, Coach-Net would have towed us to a repair facility on Monday.
Knowing that backup was there made it easier to let Ron and Tim try. We were not betting the whole trip on a parking-lot repair.
When the Decision Gets Made for You
Before we ever left, one of the couples who planned to travel with us had engine trouble of their own. Theirs happened in Georgia, and it was not a fluke fix. It was catastrophic engine failure.
They were towed to a repair facility, and the diagnosis was significant repairs. Once they heard that, they knew they could not continue. They had to cancel the trip, and their motorhome sat in the shop the entire time we were gone.
They were blessed in one way. They broke down in Georgia, and they live in Florida. They could drive the Jeep they tow behind the motorhome home.
Where You Break Down Matters
I thought about that a lot while we waited in Texas.
If our repair had turned into theirs, our situation would have looked very different. We would have had to find somewhere to leave the trailer we tow the Jeep on, drive the Jeep home to Georgia, and then fly back to Texas to pick up the motorhome once it was fixed.
That is a lot of time, money, and logistics. And it is not something most of us think through before we leave.
How We Think About Keep Going vs. Turn Back
Looking back, here is how I would break it down:
- If the problem is clear and the parts are available, the decision is yours. Ours was a known problem with a known fix. That made it worth a few days of waiting.
- If the diagnosis is major engine work, the decision is usually made for you. That is not a failure. It is just reality, and our friends made the right call.
- Know your Plan B before you need it. For us it was a Monday tow to a shop. Having it lined up made the waiting easier.
- Think through the “trip is over” scenario before you leave. Where would the motorhome stay? How would you get home? What happens to the trailer, the Jeep, and the dog?
Keeping going had a cost too. We lost a few days, and the rest of the schedule had to absorb them.
We Still Finished the Trip
We left a few days late. With a little planning and some updating to the overall plan, we still did everything on our schedule.
That is the part I want people to hear. A plan is a starting point. Ours bent pretty hard in Texas, and it still held. You can see the full route in our Badge of Honor Route Blog Post.
If you are planning your own long trip, the Adventure Together Pack includes our Trip Ready Planner and Couples Role Divide Sheet. When something breaks, it helps to already know who is calling roadside assistance and who is under the motorhome.
Have you ever broken down on the road? Tell us what happened and what you would do differently.
