About 12 months ago we decided to commit to join the 2010 Winnebago Outback Opal Safari. For months now, we have been counting down the days until our chosen departure date,.
After saying a long goodbye to our family, we departed home at 8:20am and headed to Penrith where we visited the Caravan and Camping Show. We were after another set of folding steps which we were able to acquire at the show. Next stop was a supermarket at Emu Plains where we purchased the items we had identified as being left behind (cooler bricks for our Happy Hour drink holder). Next stop was fuel at Valley Heights.
By the time we reached Katoomba we were starting to feel like lunch so we travelled on to Blackheath and an intended stop at the Mt Boyce lookout. We had never visited this lookout (we will never go back there!!) and after driving in, “He” decided that the ground was too rough and decided to turnaround and leave. In the process of turning, we caught the rear of the motor home on a dirt bank and stalled the engine when the exhaust was blocked by earth.
Bugger!!!!!
After a quick look at the situation and several attempts to drive out (which only resulted in wheel spin and the back going in deeper), we decided to call Winnebago Assist. We were informed that our membership to the scheme had expired (need to make a call on Monday as we believe we are covered until August 2011) but our details were taken with a promise to organise assistance. We became stuck at about 1:20pm.
We received a call from a tow company at Penrith who advised that they were the closest to us with a winch capable of pulling out our motor home. They quoted $242 for the job which “He” reluctantly had to accept. We were also requested to provide credit card details.
From the time we made the call to the time the tow truck arrived, we dug the rear of the motor home free and cleared all the dirt away from the exhaust.
At 3:00pm a massive tow truck arrived (“He” told the driver that “She” was driving but the truth became clear very quickly) and within a matter of minutes, a cable had been attached to the front axle and “He” drove the motor home free with a little assistance from the winch.
We made a quick inspection of the underneath of the vehicle expecting to find that the exhaust had impacted the rear bumper and caused damage. This was not the case and other than dirt on the bar that hold the spare wheel in place, there was no evidence of our misfortune. Our escape also was confirmed after leaving the lookout with the motor home performing exactly as expected and there was no evidence of damage to the steering from the recovery process. We will look back on this day as a learning experience but at the same time, we will remember that all we needed was about 10cm more of rear clearance and the problem would not have occurred. We were unlucky as we had a full fuel load and also a full load of fresh water.
We arrived at Bathurst at 4:15pm, decided not to BBQ and purchased chicken to have with a salad. We established camp at the local caravan park at 5:00pm, got a perfect television picture, watched the Tigers loose to the Roosters and then the Swan loose to the Western Bulldogs. We were both in bed by 9:30pm reflecting on what had been an amazing day.
Unfortunately “His” stress levels have not reduced. “He” will have to wait until Tuesday when a day of doing “nothing” has been planned.