rruff
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2019
- Messages
- 1,372
- Reaction score
- 1,185
You have the spirit!
99.9% of the time if "something goes wrong" you just have a little adventure and experience something new. Being too well prepared can get boring...
Breaking Down & Being Stranded
- Thread starter VanFan
- Start date
Help Support Van Living Forum:
99.9% of the time if "something goes wrong" you just have a little adventure and experience something new. Being too well prepared can get boring...I have a e-bike so it can go a decent distance but I wouldn't try to go farther than 25 miles one way. My worry would be no cell service, I also have Starlink, so even if I don't have cell service I can contact a tow truck or whatever I need. The largest concern is enough money for when the tow truck driver twists the knife and asks $1500 for a tow!
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
- Messages
- 1,249
- Reaction score
- 212
When the van broke down, there was good cell service in our spot. We've been in the same site before with none for hours, depending on weather and time of day. The park entrance is five miles from that campground, and the host showed us where he usually has to drive to get a signal, which is another couple of miles from there.
Roadside assistance (nice to have if you can!) had "arranged" a Lyft and sent a link to my phone, so we let the tow truck go and initially declined the host's offer for a ride. Silly us.
Once at a motel, we really didn't need to go any where. Decent food was within walking distance. If the van had needed a major (2 week) repair, we would have had to come up with another plan (U-haul?).
In times past, we traveled in more remote areas with no cell signal and nothing man made besides the road in sight for miles. Realistically, our van was probably less reliable then than it is now. We just made sure we had emergency provisions on board. Starlink might be in our future for peace of mind going forward.
I don't like to prevail upon others, but the tow truck driver was very happy to be called out to the lake on such a beautiful day (actually, the last day for public access to that area), the host enjoyed some company as he drove in to town for groceries (his wife was away for medical reasons), and the mechanic who picked us up in our van at the motel relayed fond memories of traveling to Mexico and back with his young family in a similar van long ago. Silver linings...
Roadside assistance (nice to have if you can!) had "arranged" a Lyft and sent a link to my phone, so we let the tow truck go and initially declined the host's offer for a ride. Silly us.
Once at a motel, we really didn't need to go any where. Decent food was within walking distance. If the van had needed a major (2 week) repair, we would have had to come up with another plan (U-haul?).
In times past, we traveled in more remote areas with no cell signal and nothing man made besides the road in sight for miles. Realistically, our van was probably less reliable then than it is now. We just made sure we had emergency provisions on board. Starlink might be in our future for peace of mind going forward.
I don't like to prevail upon others, but the tow truck driver was very happy to be called out to the lake on such a beautiful day (actually, the last day for public access to that area), the host enjoyed some company as he drove in to town for groceries (his wife was away for medical reasons), and the mechanic who picked us up in our van at the motel relayed fond memories of traveling to Mexico and back with his young family in a similar van long ago. Silver linings...
Similar threads
