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Lake Blackshear, GA.

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:04 pm
by Blessed
had to go to Georgia from July 12th thru the 26th for work this summer... We decided to take the motorhome and toon with us and stay at the Veterans State park instead of a hotel... and I wanted my wife and children with me... so off we went... took two weeks to get everything ready... had to purchase a portable sewer tote because the campsites didn't have sewer hook ups... hitch for my wifes van... spare tire for the pontoon trailer and tie down straps for the rear of the toons... storage rack for the van, we used it to haul fire wood...

Stopped to fill up... Ouch! 75 gallon tank in the Motorhome, 42 gallon tank in the toon, 17 gallon tank in the Odyssey...
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370 miles down to Cordele GA. we go... motorhome is running great... everything is going just fine... we make it to the GA. Veterans State Park... miss the campground and drive out the back of the park... had to turn around to go back to find the campgrounds... no problem... the back exit is a four way intersection... I pulled the 37' motorhome and 31' pontoon boat and trailer out in the middle of the road to back up and turn around when the engine dies.... right in the middle of the road... I've got the whole intersection blocked in all directions... the fuel pump went out! Thankfully the folks in South Georgia are friendly and helpful!.. A young man offerd to tow me to the side of the road and out of the way...

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I was thrilled and relieved at the same time... he even offered to help fix it... I hooked the chain to the motorhome and he hooked it to his F150... I jump in, put the mh in neutral and beep the horn... he slowly moves forward until the chain tightened up... then vurrrrr.... vurrr...vurrrr... the F150 won't budge it! I was beginning to get a little nervous at that point... then he backed up a little and puts it in 4 low and it idled over to the shoulder... whew! Thank the Lord for 4 wheel drive and transfer cases with low gear!!!

We had already thrown the firewood in the ditch and hooked the toon to my wifes odyssey... so I thanked him and he offered to help with the repair... We exchanged phone numbers and he left... we found the campgrounds and a nice lake front site that I was pretty sure we could pull the mh into... we dropped the boat... and headed to town to get the kids something to eat and see about getting a fuel pump for a 99 f53...

Long story short... had a to order the fuel pump... got the phone number to a local towing company just in case... then called the young man that helped us the first time... asked him if he would be so kind to tow us to the campgrounds... he said sure.... be there in a few... we got it into the campsite and setup for the two week stay... left the house at approximately 10:30am and got the mh in the campsite at 9:30pm... man what a day... I thanked him again... and paid him for his time and fuel... what a great young man... God Bless him and God Bless America! What a wonderful Country we live in... Blessed Blessed Blessed!!!

Man... talk about stressful! It's one thing to break down... But it's another to breakdown 370 miles from home with a 37' motorhome towing a pontoon boat with your wife and three small children at 6:30pm and you have to be at work 5:30am at a place you've never been...

That was on Sunday... fuel pump came in on Tuesday.... took Saturday off to replace the fuel pump... I do all of my own automotive work... I'm an Industrial refrigeration technician... ultra low temp. Cascade, Compound systems, Scientific refrigeration and Industrial Anhydrous Ammonia... I've built engines... muscle cars from ground up... I'm not a novice when it comes to troubleshooting and or repairs... I do the research... buy the necessary tools if I don't have them already and get the job done... it took me 16 hours to remove and reinstall that 75 gallon steel casket of a fuel tank!!! Probably the single hardest jod I've ever done to a vehicle.

There is a hydraulic leveling jack welded to the frame... perfectly cented both vertically and horizontally in front of one of the tank straps... couldn't even touch the bolts with my fingertips.... Anyway it was difficult to say the least... only took about 2 minutes to replace the fuel pump... used two scissor jacks to lower and raise the tank which was 1/4 full...

My wife and children had a blast... there was a swim beach at the park.... they went almost every day...

We got the boat out twice... rode around site seeing... the lake is swamp like... even has alligators... mostly in the Northern end... we got to see one... got a picture of him... but he's in the shadow of a tree and can barely be seen...

Here's the campsite

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Re: Lake Blackshear, GA.

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:35 pm
by Blessed
Pictures of the lake... my wife says "wow, really makes you appreciate Tims Ford".
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This is the picture that has the alligator in it (below)... he's in the shadow under the trees straight ahead... I had the trolling motor stuck in the weeds and my wife snapped the picture... the only one we got to see...

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I thought the lake was pretty cool... kind of beautiful in its own way... only 40' in the deepest part... average was 10' deep... I was watching the depth finder like a hawk...Was an exhausting month for me...

Then to top it all off... my Dad decides to come down and visit the last weekend we are there... he couldn't stand being away from the grandkids for two weeks...

Anyway, he knew how much trouble it was getting down there and wanted to help get home... he offers to rent a Uhaul trailer and tow my wifes van home for us so we can all ride together in the motorhome...

Awesome! My Dad has been such a blessing to us... So it was a mess trying to rent the trailer... we ended up having to meet the district service manager to get it on Saturday morning... then it won't pull over 50 without swerving all over the place.... we balance the tire pressure and adjust tongue weight... helps a little... can run about 55... then a tire blows out... find a nail in another one... wait for uhaul roadside assistance. .. get two new tires.... still swerving... check tire pressure.... new ones are low... pump them up with a bicycle pump... helps a little... run 55-60 all the way home... another 12 hour journey... can't complain to Uhaul... it has a huge sticker on both fenders that say do not exceed 55 mph... no kidding! The trailer was a really cool design... built in ramps, built in straps, surge brakes... fold down fenders... but my guess after dealing with it was the surge brake attachment pushed the vehicle back too far and reduced the tongue weight too much causing it to wag... needed the axles moved back a few inches... My Dad is a retired professional driver... it was just another day for him... reminded him of why he decided to retire...

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Toon tried to blow away in a storm... fortunately we had it tied to a concrete picnic table. .. my wife sent this picture to me at work... heart attack! Thanks Babe! Love you too...
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Re: Lake Blackshear, GA.

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:40 pm
by Bamaman
Glad you made it back to the Winchester area. When your home lake is Tims Ford, going to another lake is just so different.

Sounds like your patience was really tested on your trip. Good thing that you passed the test.

Next time you get a job in another area, hope it's in Guntersville or Scottsboro.

It's hard to believe they didn't put the fuel pump on a frame rail--like other Fords have.

Re: Lake Blackshear, GA.

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 4:49 am
by Blessed
We've talked about planning a trip to Guntersville... that destination is definitely on the list.

Would have been nice to have the fuel pump in a location outside the tank... even dropping the tank wouldn't have been all that bad by itself... it was removing the hydraulic leveling jack that was such a pain... it's sandwiched between the frame and under storage compartments... the jack is a stand alone system... pump, controls, lines, reservoir, cylinder all in one heavy compact unit... they welded the mounting bracket over the tank strap bolts and then bolted the leveling jack to it... thankfully they cut holes in the bracket so once the jack was unbolted and removed you could get to the tank strap bolts beneath... no way to reach it with air tools... couldn't even use ratcheting wrenches... just one of those hard to reach spots... if I would have been at home it would have been better... creeper on concrete instead of drop cloth on wet gravel and sand...etc.