Day 7 - Saturday October 21, 2023

By 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning after the BEST sleep at the Alien Research Center, we were back on the road.  Unfortunately, we were still having issues with our Solis hot spot which frustrated me to no end. I just couldn’t get it to connect even though I tried resetting it numerous times.  So frustrating…but not the worst thing that would happen to us that day.  The worst thing happened a few hours later when a yellow check engine light came on. 

Right away we wondered if it was the Diesel Exhaust Fluid system (DEF) again.  We had just been climbing some steep inclines and the engine was working hard.   Although the light was on, every gauge was reading normal, both in the dashboard and through the BlueFire.  The BlueFire plugs into the engine computer and provides real time engine monitoring through an app you load on your tablet or iPad.   

At the first available spot we pulled over to let the engine cool and to check everything over.  It also gave me a chance to pull out my iPad and connect to the open WiFi at the fuel station, to see if I could fix the Solis hot spot.  Miraculously, I was able to get the Solis working again which was a relief as we would need it to help navigate us toward the closest Freightliner service center.  Turns out it wasn’t an issue with the Solis at all.  It was an issue with the iPhone not connecting to it’s WiFi.  I discovered that when I wasn’t able to connect to the open WiFi at the fuel station via the iPhone but I was with the iPad.  Very odd.  Oh well, at least that got resolved.

Rather than wait for a technician to come to us, we rolled the dice and decided to drive toward the Velocity truck center in Kingman, Arizona. Velocity seems to be the only Freightliner warranty service centers in the lower US from what we can gather.  After letting the engine cool, taking Heffay for a brief walk and having some lunch we started up the RV and got back on the road.  The yellow engine light came back on again but otherwise all systems were working fine and gauges registered in range. 

The BlueFire adaptor plugs into the RV computer.  
Through an app you can see any number of different gauges from your engine (sample pic)

Kingman wasn’t our planned route, but circumstances dictated this new direction.  Our heading was now across some more steep terrain via the notorious potholed Arizona highways.  By 3:45 we arrived at the Velocity truck center in Kingman, AZ.  Given our experience last year at the Velocity truck centre in Phoenix, we didn’t have much faith they’d be able to do anything to help us, especially on a Saturday.  All we really wanted was for them to plug into the engine and read the fault codes to tell us why the light was on.  As suspected they weren’t able to help us do that.  The earliest they could do that would be Monday, two days later.  BUT they did suggest we stop at a Love’s travel centre nearby to see if they could assist.  We had no idea they had the equipment to plug into the engine to read codes.  Sure enough we found the Love’s and they helped us out free of charge!  The code indeed had to do with the DEF system again.  Specifically a DEF tank sensor error…go figure we had JUST had the DEF header replaced when we got home from our snowbird trip last year.  SO FRUSTRATING!  That said, the technician was able to clear the code, the yellow light went off and we were able to continue on our way. 

Love’s service center, in the rear of the Love’s truck stop

We SHOULD have just ended our day in Kingman, but there were still a few hours until sunset so we decided to push on.  That turned out to be not such a great idea.  Our route took us through Wickenburg which was under heavy construction with one lane, windy roads with sharp turns and speeds of 25 mph.  

We’d pushed the drive too long, especially given the stress of the engine light being on for 1/2 the day.  We thought our day was over when we pulled into the “Horspitality RV park”.  We’d never stayed there, and were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into the park.  At first glance it appeared to be a nice park with what looked like quite a few long term residents.  We stopped at the office, but it had just closed.  I noticed a “night registration” box, but when I opened it there was nothing in it.  We’d seen two pull through spots right at the entrance so figured we’d pull in while I tried to call the office number.  Well, we didn’t get a chance to even pick up the phone before a rude man came banging on the door.  I thought “great, there’s someone we can talk to about staying the night”….yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.  He proceeded to give me a lecture about how “nobody comes in after 5pm” (hmm…wonder why they have a night registration box?) and that he’d already called his boss and his boss “wants you out”.  He then proceeded to walk away, said “thank you” and “next time make a reservation”.  I was quick to tell him he didn’t have to worry about a “next time” as we’d never consider making a reservation after that rude encounter.  Some people….sheesh! So, on we went, being sure to give them a nice loud blow of the air horn “goodbye” as we pulled out.  Jerk!  I now refer to name of that RV park with a different horse reference…you guess what that is.  Here’s a hint… 

Just as the sun set and darkness was falling, we pulled into the Hassayampa Rest Area which was just a few minutes down the road.  We’d stayed there once before on a previous trip.  It’s quite small, but can fit 3-4 RV’s pretty comfortably.  Only one other RV was there when we pulled in.  It was a quiet night and we slept well.

The next day, we’d be in Tucson for a nice seven day rest at the Tucson/Lazydays KOA.

Summary day 7 Alien Research Station - Hiko, AZ to Hassayampa Rest Area, Wickenburg, AZ

Departure Time - 8:30 a.m.

Arrival Time - 6:00 p.m.

Total distance driven -383 miles

Fuel - $200 US ($274 Cdn) 40 gal @ $4.999/g

Accommodation - $0