[Day 4] Stranded At The Gas Station?

On day 4 of our summer 2016 trip, we left the Americamp RV Resort in Virginia and headed north up into Washington DC.

Well, that is, after getting stranded in a gas station with a dud starter motor.

This was the same starting issue that temporarily gave me trouble while sitting in a WalMart parking lot near Orlando while we were buying our little fridge. I got lucky then and it started. But, the problem was still there – obviously.

The gas station we were at was also a truck stop and while they didn’t want to get involved, they passed on the info to us for a mobile mechanic who actually used to work there. So, I called him up and he was able to ride out immediately. I was very happy that the guy was so readily available and that I didn’t have to sit there at that pump for several hours.

In the end, we basically observed that we could move the starter wires around and start the engine. This told us that it was an electrical connection issue. Likely what was happening is that as the RV jostled around while under way, the electrical would connect and disconnect randomly.

So, we got it started. Given our location in a gas station and the timing of the whole thing, I elected to simply keep the engine running and proceed up to Washington and deal with the problem there. At least we’d be plugged into a campground and not in any hurry. I paid the mobile guy $50 for his time and we headed north.

Landed at Cherry Hill RV Park, which is really the best campground in the entire area. This was our second visit to this park.