Bird in a Blizzard

[Chuck Wheeler]

Kathy and I went to Nebraska over the Christmas Holidays to be with our son
and granddaughter. I really made me appreciate the Wanderlodge. Went
through two blizzards and had one furnace quit but with the other two we
were still warm. Nothing froze up with the temperature between 5 and 19
degrees. We talked to several folks on the road that were staying in motels
because their SOBs couldn't keep them comfortable in the cold. We decided
to return to warm Texas when they started talking about an ice storm. What
a surprise! We have been stuck here in Fort Worth waiting on weather to
make a run to San Diego!



A few of lessons learned:



1. Don't take a recommended "shortcut" in bad weather. In the snow we
spent time waiting for cars to pass so we could figure out where the road
was! Stay with the major highways.
2. I checked the tank heaters, the frost heaters, and the furnaces, but
I didn't really inspect the furnaces. One quit due to a fouled burner, the
other two were only in slightly better shape! (They are all clean now)
3. I didn't check the heater on the air dryer. Each morning on the
road I had to start the bus and then heat the air dryer purge valve with a
hair dryer to get the air to come up until we got back to warmer weather.
Actually the heater was OK, but there was no power to it.
4. The recirculating hot water is worth the effort. The instant hot
water in the bath sink and shower are wonderful and it saves a lot of water
when you are not hooked up.



Even with the above, our bird got us there and back safely!


- Chuck Wheeler -
82 FC 31 SB
Fort Worth, TX


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