A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 139 miles from Moriarty, New Mexico to Tucumcari, New Mexico. A rare night drive!
Month: December 2023
Travel from Moriarty to Tucumcari, New Mexico
We drove our coach 139 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Moriarty, New Mexico to Tucumcari, New Mexico.
A rare nighttime drive! Our coach was finished being fixed at the end of the day; we could have stayed overnight again, but we were keen to get back on schedule. So we decided to head out, even though we normally avoid driving at night. It helped that we were familiar with the route, having done it (both ways) recently, plus were familiar with the destination RV park, since we stayed there on the way to Albuquerque.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map:
On the road again, back along I-40:
Not sure what that truck on the left is hauling:
Clines Corners truck stop:
Flying C Ranch billboards:
We stopped at Flying C Ranch again:
Sunset:
Lots of swag:
DQ for dinner:
Back to our coach:
Sunset reflected in our coach, plus a sliver of moon:
Driving in dusk:
The cameras weren’t overly useful when driving in the dark:
Going past the rest area where we were stuck for a couple of days:
Arriving at the KOA:
Paladin on the passenger chair:
In our site:
West Truck Services Center
We unexpectedly stayed at West Truck Services Center in Moriarty, New Mexico, after getting towed there due to a brake getting stuck on the way from the Balloon Fiesta.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-16
- Check out: 2023-10-18
- 2 nights
Weather:
- Sunny
- High temps ranging between 76-79°F, lows around 38-42°F
- Negligible wind
Noise:
- Some Route 66 highway and freeway noise
- No train noise
Site:
- Parking lot, gravel
- Toad was disconnected as the coach was towed
- Fairly level; used air leveling
- Some trash
Utilities:
- 15 amp power from the shop
- Water provided from the shop
- No sewer
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 1-73 Mbps down, 2-17 Mbps up, 65-146 ms ping
- Verizon: 24 Mbps down, 24 Mbps up, 64 ms ping
- AT&T: 20 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 64 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster
- Truck repair
- Diner across the road
An interactive map:
We arrived after they closed, but one of the techs was still there, and provided a power cord and water hose for us, parked out front of the shop:
We walked across Route 66 to a truck center:
We had dinner at Lisa’s Grill, a diner in the truck center:
Back to our coach:
Sunrise the next day:
A tech unstuck our brake, and we moved the coach into the shop for more diagnosis:
We went back to the diner for brunch. On the wall, a history of Moriarty:
Our tow truck with another customer:
Another tow truck delivered another truck early in the morning:
Our coach getting worked on:
See the Braking: Bad blog post for a summary of the breakdown, tow, and repair.
Our stay here was as pleasant as one could expect from a repair situation. It was nice to be able to put out our slides, have power, and a diner across the road. Plus, of course, getting our coach back on the road!
Video: Braking: Bad. Our motorhome was towed!
A timelapse of our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, being towed 65 miles from Santa Rosa, New Mexico to Moriarty, New Mexico, after one of the brakes seized up. (With a badly synced picture-in-picture from our truck.)
Towed from Santa Rosa to Moriarty, New Mexico
Our coach was towed 65 miles, about 1 hour of driving, from Santa Rosa, New Mexico to Moriarty, New Mexico, to a truck service center that could fix our seized brake (see the previous post for details).
Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:
An interactive map:
The heavy-duty tow truck arrived:
Preparing:
The front tires were lifted off the ground; the best way to tow our coach, since we have independent front suspension (being on a lowboy trailer would be even better, but not feasible when the wheel wouldn’t turn):
The drive shaft was removed, so the rear wheels would freely turn:
The mudflap was held up, so wouldn’t scrape on the road:
Heading out:
We stopped on the side of the road about halfway along, as the strap holding a front tire had broken. Not ideal:
Re-secured, we started again:
Not a huge amount of clearance; our coach is 12 feet 7 inches feet high, plus lifted a foot or so:
Paladin wasn’t thrilled to be in his carrier in the truck:
Arrived at the truck repair shop:
A somewhat nerve-wracking process, getting our home towed, but done professionally, with no damage (and paid for by Coach-Net, our roadside assistance service). Stay tuned for the continuing story….
Video: Anton Chico Rest Area timelapse
A timelapse of our unplanned stay at Anton Chico Rest Area in New Mexico, when our brake got stuck.
Anton Chico Rest Area
We unexpectedly stayed a couple of nights in the Anton Chico Rest Area, west of Santa Rosa, New Mexico, when the front passenger-side brake got stuck on the way from the Balloon Fiesta.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-10-14
- Check out: 2023-10-16
- 2 nights
Weather:
- Drizzle, partly cloudy
- High temps ranging between 73-75°F, lows around 39°F
- Negligible wind, gusts up to 20 MPH
Noise:
- Loud freeway noise
- No train noise
- Loud trucks arriving, departing, idling
Site:
- Pull through, asphalt
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Very unlevel side-to-side and front-to-back, but air leveling coped well
- Rest area truck parking about 70 feet long by about 15 feet wide
- Some trash
Utilities:
- None
- We used our generator and solar each day
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 14-27 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
- Verizon: 16-26 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- AT&T: 35-104 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage bins
- Rest area
An interactive map:
Our coach in the rest area truck parking:
We used air leveling, since the site was very unlevel, and put out only the bedroom slides, so we could sleep:
This picture shows our coach level, compared to the slope of the other vehicles:
Several motorhomes, probably mostly also on their way from the Fiesta:
Trucks and coaches:
There was a taco truck, though it was closing when we explored the rest area on the first evening, and was closed the next day (Sunday):
Bathrooms:
We felt bad for taking one of the truck parking spaces, though we wouldn’t have been here by choice. Unlike this rude car parked in the truck parking; there’s plenty of car parking spaces, plus they’d be more quiet:
This was our first time sleeping in a rest area. Not something we’d want to repeat any time soon, though we actually slept surprisingly well. Perhaps still catching up from the early starts during the Fiesta.
Video: Albuquerque to Santa Rosa, New Mexico motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 100 miles from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Rosa, New Mexico.
Travel from Albuquerque to Santa Rosa, New Mexico
We drove our coach 100 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, after the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. We were on our way to Tucumcari, New Mexico, but got stuck at the Anton Chico Rest Area, eastbound on I-40, due to a seized brake (see the previous post for details).
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map:
Leaving the Balloon Fiesta:
Police horses:
Bye Fiesta!
Aggressive lane markers and trees:
Exit to I-40 east to Santa Rosa… we didn’t know we wouldn’t get quite that far:
An overpass:
Metal artwork on the hill:
Zuzax:
I-40 is a rather rough road:
A castle at McCall’s Pumpkin Patch in Moriarty, New Mexico:
Fun with maximum zoom:
Uh oh, a high temperature warning on the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS):
These can sometimes be misreads, but need to be taken seriously.
Clines Corners:
Flying C Ranch billboards:
We weren’t going to stop at Flying C Ranch, but that TPMS warning was persisting, so we thought we’d better stop and let it cool off:
Inside Flying C Ranch:
We went to the DQ inside for a snack:
An old pickup:
The TPMS had cooled off, so we continued, but it got high again, so we pulled off at the next rest area:
Even after parking, the temperature continued to rise into the danger zone, which indicated a serious issue:
That was about the maximum; after that it cooled off, dropping about 1 degree per minute.
And thus began our unexpected stay at the rest stop:
More on that tomorrow.
Braking: Bad
After leaving the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, we were scheduled to head back to Tucumcari. But about halfway there, we had a high temperature warning on our tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS):
We stopped at the next opportunity, and waited a while to let it cool down, then we continued. But it got high again, so we pulled off at the next rest area:
Even after parking, the temperature continued to rise into the danger zone, which indicated a serious issue:
So we contacted our preferred roadside assistance company, Coach-Net. We initially thought it might be a tire needing replacement, so were going to get Coach-Net to bring us a replacement (or two, since really should replace both front tires). An expensive prospect, with these large tires costing about a grand each.
But on further research we concluded it was more likely a brake issue. Coach-Net sent out a mobile truck repair tech to investigate:
He pulled off the tire, and looked at the brake. He couldn’t get the wheel to turn; he determined that the brake had seized up:
He wasn’t able to free up the brake (perhaps lacking the experience or tools). It was a Saturday, so we had to wait at the rest area for two nights until Monday before we could get towed to a truck repair shop. Finally, a heavy-duty tow truck arrived:
And lifted our front tires, which is the second-best way to tow our coach, since we have independent front suspension (the best way is to put it on a low-boy trailer, which wasn’t feasible since the wheel wouldn’t turn):
The drive shaft was removed, so the rear wheels would freely turn:
Also, the mudflap was held up, so wouldn’t scrape on the road:
We arrived safely at the truck repair shop (see a subsequent post for more details and photos of the towing adventure):
The techs at West Truck Services Center in Moriarty, New Mexico got to work. They were able to free up the stuck brake (something the first tech and tow driver couldn’t manage), so we would be able to move the coach into the shop:
They also restored the drive shaft:
In the shop, we put blocks under the hydraulic jacks on the passenger side, to lift up that side, plus a jack under the wheel frame to lift the tire off the ground:
They then were able to remove the tire:
The brake disk was rather scuffed:
The jack:
They determined that the issue was that the lower brake piston was protruding too much:
They were able to get replacement parts overnighted, and spent the next day rebuilding the brake, including smoothing out the disk:
They worked late to get us finished up, then we were able to get back on the road. (Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of them reassembling the brake.)
So we spent two nights at the rest stop waiting for a tow (due to the weekend), then two nights at the repair shop while they diagnosed and fixed the brake. Not too bad.
Stay tuned for more posts on our two unexpected stays, the towing experience, and a night drive after the repair was complete.