Yesterday We left Yandina Caravan Park. Expecting to be able to travel to Bundaberg in one day! Little did we know that we were On the Road Not.
EMR Mechanical Services To The Rescue
After stopping in at the Caltex and getting lunch there…they have the biggest kids meals we have ever seen, we decided to head off to the next leg of our travels. David had noticed that he was having issues with the gears – not being able to find second/third gear or even put it into one gear to the next. But we thought it would be something that we could look at once we got to where we needed to be.
Cameron Eating the kids Meal !
The Universe Had Different Ideas
As soon as we drove out of Caltex and back onto the Highway it soon became obvious that David was not going anywhere. Our Motorhome now had no gears at all. It was scary as it is so busy at that section – trucks and cars were screaming past us at 100KPH. David put on his hazard lights and as I was behind him I also put on my hazard lights. He let it roll and managed to turn it back into the petrol station – crossing over into the entrance lane that traffic heading south enter into!
There was nothing we could do….he knew that it was something to do with the gear shift but not sure what. He called one Mobile Mechanic but he was not able to come out. After talking to the Mechanic he agreed with David that it might be the gear selector had snapped off in the top of the gear box.
The conversation lead to David understanding what needed to be taken off, and then brought into the Mechanics (in Marybourgh) for welding. While David was under the Bus I was ringing around to see who could actually wield the Gear Selector back together.
Something Is Not Right
Within minutes of David being under the bus he realised that was not the issue. It was back to a guessing game, and wondering what to do. David walked back into Caltex and found another mobile mechanics from the borrowed phone book (he asked the service station if he could borrow the book).
He also got to talking with a few truckies and they all reasurred him that because it was a Bedford and that it was from the older era (gosh do we feel our age!!) that it should be very simple to repair. As long as we got a Mechanic who did their training on a Bedford Truck we would soon be back on the road.
There was one Mobile Mechanic but he would not be able to come out for at least two weeks!!!! David told him that it was our home and not something that we could just leave and walk away from. It needed to be looked at sooner. Luckily he gave Dave another name/number to try. It ended up being EMR Mechanical Services To The Rescue. He was out before we knew it, and he was under the bus having a good look to see what was going on.
He came to our Rescue ~
First as a Call Out, and then at his workshop
At first it looked like the Gear Selector had tried to engage two gears at once. The Mechanic pulled it apart and put it back together. As soon as he tried the gears again it did the same thing…..not able to find any gears but randomly pick gears. It was soon obvious that something was going on, and we needed to get the Bus into his work shop.
While David drove it back to Maryborugh – with only one gear, and hazard lights flashing, hugging the gutters of the roads (nearly taking out the signs) and letting cars/trucks pass him by – I stayed back at the Caltex trying to upload a youtube clip.
David Calls With More News
While I was getting ready to find EMR Mechanical Services (never been to Maryborough before) David called to say that it was now an over night stop. We had two choices – find somewhere to stay, or stay in the Bus in the Workshop Yard.
I was not keen to look for a hotel – whenever we say “2 adults and 4 Children” we usually get told we have to book two rooms or that we have two children too many and we can’t stay there!
The amazing Mechanic was so very kind – he let us stay parked in his yard over night. He even gave us power and water plus a key to the yard so that we were able to head to the shops to find supplies for dinner, and come back to the bus!
We Parked Our Bus Out The Back of EMR Mechanical Workshop ~
There were two other buses already parked there waiting to be worked on.
First Night On the Road
Our first night on the Road was spent listening to traffic going past. Actually I was that sleepy that I soon forgot about the traffic, and I think that I was asleep before any of my boys.
In the morning we woke to the owner of the Mechanic opening up his business, and three sleepy children busting for the toilet. We so needed our Porta-Loo (which we now have!)
EMR Mechanical Services To The Rescue ~
The guys next door was the business that could not come out for two weeks!!
When Breakfast was over it was decision time. David ended up staying with Nicholas in the Mechanics workshop while Zachery, Cameron, Kyle and I headed to Maryborough Thursday Markets. It was the best way to see more of a town that we havent been to before, as well as keep three of our boys busy.
Cameron and Kyle had a turn at the Egg and Spoon Races!
They both won as they were a draw 🙂
While we were walking around I received a phone call – our bus was fixed. It was a rubber bush that had broken – it was mostly like on its way out for some time, but decided that yesterday was the day for it to completely break!
As there were no parts around to replace the broken Rubber Bush the Mechanic modify one that he already had – it’s not going to be the long-term fix but it is the short-term fix.
It got us back on the road, and David said it is now easier to drive than ever before. Actually he reckons that it must have been going for some time as he can now find all of the gears no problems!
We meet back up at the Caltex Petrol Station and we headed up North. Within in no time we stopped at Apple Tree Creek. To a rest stop that visited with our older son when he was about 11 months old – to the park where he was pushed in a baby swing. It was when we were moving from Sydney to Queensland, and he needed to stretch his legs! Our life has now come full circle as we head back up north to travel.
For Easter We Have Stopped
Will have more about where we are, and why we have stopped soon!
SO very grateful for EMR Mechanical Services – they were amazing to let us park over night in their yard, give us power and water and to fix our bus, and were so reasonable with their bill.
Location of EMR Mechanic Service
127 Gympie Road Tinana
PH:- 4121 3422 or 0404 321 278
Have You Ever Broken Down and An Angel Came By To Help You?
Cheers
Lisa
New Life on the Road
No where near as dramatic as your story Lisa, however when our caravan tyre shredded we were able to pull into the driveway of a property to change it. Unfortunately it was still on the traffic side of the van with cars whizzing past doing over 100k’s/hr and that was scarey.
The elderly owner of the property saw us pull up in his driveway and came down to see if we needed a hand. That’s country people for you, they are always friendly and willing to lend a hand 🙂
So glad to see you are back on the road again, and I’m interested to hear where you are for Easter, and then where you are going “up north”.
Stay safe
Cheers
Jenny
Jenny Johnson recently posted..We are officially “on the road”.
Oh my gosh what a drama, and such an incredible first night out! I’ve had numerous break downs on the side of the road and Sams parents got stuck in some outback town for two weeks when their van broke down and nobody could get the parts. So glad you are on your way again, and big shout out to your knight in shining metal EMR mechanical!!!
x
lisa chiodo | renovating italy recently posted..A Dream of Italy – The Field Stones of Umbria
wow Sams Parents sound like they have had some adventures with travelling!
It was weird – our first night and we stay in a Mechanics place!! But it was so good as he got us back on the road 🙂
oh no, certainly not the first night you were planning but what a wonderful person to help you out like that. So glad they found the problem and were able to fix it fairly easy without it costing a fortune.
Jackie Stenhouse recently posted..Heart Cookie Cutters
Hi Jackie,
It was incredible how kind EMR mechanical services were to our family, and how reasonable in prices he was for fixing our Bus 🙂
Cheers
Lisa
What an adventure!
Glad to hear you were able to locate some friendly and helpful locals to help get you back on the road. You must have been so grateful for their offer to free camp in the workshop compound. It would have been almost impossible to find a motel with a vacancy at this time of year!
I noticed in the photo with your 2 boys lining up for the egg and spoon race, that there is a ‘German Sausages’ stall in the background. We had some when we were there looking around the markets and they are absolutely delicious!!! Looks like the boys had a great day out in Maryborough too.
Sharon | Caravanning Around Australia recently posted..Cheap Caravans
Hi Sharon,
It was amazing how well we did with getting our Motorhome fixed and back on the road – and staying in the Mechanics Work Yard – Perfect!
Oh I didnt even notice the German Sausages in the background 🙂
Our boys had so much fun at the Maryborough Markets – Have heaps of photos to share!
Cheers
Lisa