Diy breakdown repairs

[Watch_Cowspiracy]

For those of you who do most of your own repairs, what would you do if you breakdown on the side of the road? Since getting towed to a mechanic means you'll have to spend oodles on labor, where else can you go to do the work yourself? I have a hard time imagining a tow truck driver being willing to drop you off in the middle of BLM land.

 

[highdesertranger]

the last time I asked the tow truck driver to drop me off somewhere that I could work on my vehicle. he took me to the tow yard and let me stay there. they were great even let me use a tow truck to straighten my frame. I got all the parts I needed from their junk yard. Capitol Towing, Whitehorse, Yukon territories.

 

[bullfrog]

Since I do all my own maintence I fortunately don't break down that often while traveling. Most auto parts places will let you do minor repairs on their lot if you are buying parts there and ask. Junk yards were great in small towns. Most of those are gone now. I belong to several clubs that members are more than willing to help out traveling club members. I have followed members driving junk Suzuki Samurias to events in Moab Utah from all over the country. One last year pulled of the interstate on a access road with a blown motor and within minutes he had arranged to buy another motor 150 miles futher down the road. A few minutes after that another club member going to the same event made enough room on his flat bed trailer to haul him and his car to another members garage where the motor had been delivered. With social net works and cell phone internet it is amazing how things have changed. Places to work are out there all you have to do is ask.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

My water pump blew up on a steep grade in British Columbia. I called CAA and the driver took us to Castlegar which was the nearest big town where we'd be able to get parts and dropped us off in the parking lot of Canadian Tire. No one said anything about me working on my truck and I was careful not to make a mess.

 

[Jeffrey Lee]

^^bullfrog^^ makes an excellent suggestion: social media groups dedicated to your vehicle of choice. Online discussion forums (like CRVL, but more model-specific), Facebook groups, Instagram, etc.. These can all be a great means to reach out for help from members who may have knowledge/experience with your vehicle model, spare parts, special tools, perhaps even a place to park/camp while you get back on the road.

I drive a 1983 Vanagon Westfalia, and though I've never needed such help, the old-VW community is very much like a supportive family. In addition to the online groups mentioned above, there is a smartphone app called VanAlert, where members sign up to provide roadside assistance and other amenities for travelers in need of mechanical help:
VanAlert app for VW Vanagons

It's a good idea to search for and join these groups well before you actually need help; to save time in setting up an account, to learn the 'vibe' of the group, and to bank up some group 'karma' by advising others.

 

[Jeffrey Lee]

Most auto parts places will let you do minor repairs on their lot if you are buying parts there and ask.

One can always ask, but I've found that more and more parts stores now post signs prohibiting working on vehicles in their parking lots. I suppose as a result of too many shirtless punks parking their broken cars in the front stall for days at a time, strewing tools and empty energy drink cans all over, dumping their oil on the pavement ...

 

[Seminole Wind]

on more than one occasion i have purchased parts from an auto parts store that had the "no working on you car" signs up. i asked if they minded if i installed them over in the corner of the lot. they said sure. once, replacing a starter, one of the clerks came out and chatted with me. even handed me some tools. i had bought a couple wrenches to do the job. as i finished and was putting my stuff away and cleaning up, the clerk said he had to head back in, and as he turned to walk back he reminded my of the 30 day return policy. i said thanks, wiped off the wrenches put them back in the package went inside and got my money back.

often the signs are up so that if they want someone gone it is easier. the signs probably provide a little CYA as far as liability as well. but there seams to be a lot of discretion.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah it's not the part stores putting the signs up it's city hall. highdesertranger

 

[Seminole Wind]

same can be said for the loss of many a walmart for overnighting....

sad but true

 

[BeachRVer]

What kind of rig do you have and kind of problems do you think your going to run into?

This could have a big impact on the answer.

 

[Sepudo]

Forum for your specific vehicle is a valuable tool.

Regarding signs, both working on vehicles and sleeping in parking lots...

There's a difference between signs and enforcement

I've never seen a problem disobeying signs

 

[Doubleone]

I suppose it depends on what breaks, the Diy'rs skill level, and availability of tools and parts.  For example, I'd do an engine or trans at home, but I couldn't do that on the road.  I rarely break down, but last July I had an AC compressor seize during a road trip. The AC clutch started slipping 3 days from home and it had a light rattle.  It's a common way they go and I knew what it was so we just turned off the AC and drove with the windows down.  The next day I bought a replacement compressor to keep on-board just in case it got worse in some small town without parts store.  I was hoping to milk it another couple of days to deal with it after getting to my destination but the AC pulley seized when I stopped for gas in Lake Okiboji, Iowa.  The engine uses a serpentine belt that drives everything I was dead in the water...  I carry hand tools so I just crawled under and changed out the compressor right there in the gas station parking lot and we got back on the road in about two hours.  No one said anything negative, and several folks even stopped by to check up on us and ask if we needed help or a ride to the parts store.  The next day I rented an evac and gauge set, and charged the system while waiting for our clothes at the laundromat.

 

[bullfrog]

On some vehicles you can just run a shorter belt and not go around the compressor, I have done that when no compressor was available and someone had a shorter spare belt that would fit.

 

[Plant]

 they were great even let me use a tow truck to straighten my frame. 

Straightening your frame in the Yukon, what did you do hit a moose?

 

[highdesertranger]

no I was making a left turn and someone that was in a gig hurry tried to pass me and T-boned my truck right in the driver side door. there bumper went right under my cab and hit the frame. what was a little comical was I had a G.I. canteen mounted on the inside of the door. the canteen got smashed and blew up, soaking left side of my body. at first I thought I was bleeding. when I figured out I wasn't then I thought it was gas from my fuel tank. finally dawned of me that it was water from the canteen. needless to say I was relieved. highdesertranger

 

[Plant]

That didn't sound fun but better a frame and a good canteen than you!

 

[Firebuild]

For those of you who do most of your own repairs, what would you do if you breakdown on the side of the road? Since getting towed to a mechanic means you'll have to spend oodles on labor, where else can you go to do the work yourself? I have a hard time imagining a tow truck driver being willing to drop you off in the middle of BLM land.

My experience has been you can't request an odd drop off when you book the tow but when the driver comes they'll usually take you wherever you want. I have been towed to a Walmart parking lot and also to the far, dark corner of a hospital parking lot where the local tow guy said people work on cars all the time.

 

[Dianama]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]In my younger days, one of my hobbies was car maintenance. I have rebuilt engines, gearboxes, rewired, etc. But today's cars are very complex and cannot be properly maintained without expensive, specialised equipment.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Considering the legislation now in place which requires electrical installations in property to be carried out, or at least certified safe and correctly done, by certificated electricians, my reasoning goes along the following lines.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Anyone doing their own DIY electrical wiring at home does indeed, if not competent, put their own and their family's life at risk. But the legislation prevents an ex-electrician from doing this without retaking expensive courses and examinations.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Yet someone can carry out DIY work on his car, competent or not, and then go out onto the roads and put innumerable people at risk. Unless some similar legislation is brought into force, and soon, aren't there real threats of safety problems when today's complex cars in the used car market move down to the "running on a shoe-string" level?[/font]

 

[flying kurbmaster]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]In my younger days, one of my hobbies was car maintenance. I have rebuilt engines, gearboxes, rewired, etc. But today's cars are very complex and cannot be properly maintained without expensive, specialised equipment.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Considering the legislation now in place which requires electrical installations in property to be carried out, or at least certified safe and correctly done, by certificated electricians, my reasoning goes along the following lines.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Anyone doing their own DIY electrical wiring at home does indeed, if not competent, put their own and their family's life at risk. But the legislation prevents an ex-electrician from doing this without retaking expensive courses and examinations.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Yet someone can carry out DIY work on his car, competent or not, and then go out onto the roads and put innumerable people at risk. Unless some similar legislation is brought into force, and soon, aren't there real threats of safety problems when today's complex cars in the used car market move down to the "running on a shoe-string" level?[/font]

They should lighten up on the rules and allow an old electrician or anyone for that matter to do their own repairs if they choose to, that had been the way for many years as well as all these new rules on construction sites that only save those that dumb down the human race. I doubt any of this new overproctective legislation reduces accidents on job sites, lower the number of houses that burn down because of electrical fires Or endanger any fewer people from those that do their own work on their cars. People make mistakes no matter how trained they are or how many certificates they hang on their walls,  Of course the squeaky wheels always get the grease so my guess you will get your wish, I am sure there are people in repair shops all over the country lobbying for this to happen, not for altruistic reason but rather for control of all things related to the industry in order to make larger profits.