On Tue, 27 Sep 94 19:41:02 CDT DZIADECKI JOHN said:
>What I'd like to know is what could I have done had I been out in the
>middle of nowhere without a spare sump plug and a tube of epoxy. Has this
>happened to any of you? What sort of emergency repairs have you done when
>you're out on the road? What is a could repair for a novice who really
>doesn't know much about repairs?

well ... basically: nothing. if something like that happens out in Nowhere,
you are pretty much back to walking. this is why lots of us carry tubes of
expoxy, rolls of duct tape and/or baling wire, etc. around in the back all
the time. all 100 lbs of it. and tools. all 200 lbs of them. and cb radios
and ham radios and cellular phones <has anybody REALLY got one of these in
their bus??>

and spare parts. i had an ignition coil die on me in semi-Nowhere once. and
believe me, NOTHING works if the coil don't work. after that, i carried a
spare coil around for years. i really ought to get one for this bus. but
the cb radio saved the day back then. i talked to a trucker to came by, and
he stopped at the next town and called someone who came and towed me in.
i would like to get a ham 2-meter radio, but i'm too lazy to study for the
test and too cheap to buy the rig. but some sort of radio/phone should be
considered by anyone who drives outside the city limits, imho.

but there wasn't anything you could have had with you (unless you carried
all the parts and expoxy and tools to remove the sheet metal, etc. around
with you ... and live with the lack of room and lower fuel economy) ...
and nothing really that you could have known ... that would have prevented
it from happening. or prevented you from being stranded in Nowhere.

some days, the Bear eats you.

joel