\tStrange coincidences can be\nfrightening, confusing and annoying. Back when we were heading north\nfrom San Diego in the spring of this year, we developed trouble with\nour electronic brake controller for the trailer when we arrived in\nActon. The controller then would flash alternating codes indicating\neither an overload condition was occurring or there was a short in\nthe system. Regardless of the code flashed, the brakes on our 12,000\npound trailer being towed by an 8,000 pound truck would not work, a\ncondition that can thrilling when descending a long, curvy grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tToday, when we left the Soledad TT\npark in Acton some seven months later, the same codes started coming\nup on the controller’s display. We thought we had fixed the problem\nlast April because the controller worked perfectly for the 9,500\nmiles we have driven this spring, summer and autumn. We were wrong. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe drive for today started out as\nabout a 2,000 foot climb before cresting the pass and making a 3,500\ndrop into the Riverside, CA, area. It was our preference that the\nbrakes be functioning on the downgrade. We found some wide spots next\nto the road (there were lots of them, none shady) and tried cleaning\nand securing all the controller’s wiring connections and, initially,\nwe got good results and would continue. Eventually, however, the\ncodes and lack of braking would return and we would try more fooling\naround before continuing. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWe crested the pass and the trailer\nbrakes seemed to work although I applied the brakes very rarely,\ninstead relying on careful driving, considerable butthole puckering\nand heightened attention to traffic issues happening in the distance\nin front of us. We were beginning to wonder if there was something\nabout Acton that caused the screwy controller issues because as we\ndescended they were absent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAbout four hours later, we covered the\ntwo hours worth of distance and pulled into the Thousand Trails\nWilderness Lakes facility in Menifee, CA, our scheduled destination.\nAs noted before, there is no wilderness nor any lakes in this\ncampground although there are some man-made ditches filled with\nfetid, green water. Some campers here actually fish for the mutant\nfish that live in the liquid-filled ditches even paying $12\/day for a\nfunny fishing license. We won’t be in Wilderness Lakes for long\nbecause we are too close to home and the place is completely without\nredeeming features other than full hookups. We didn’t hook up to\nanything other than power so we could make a quick escape in the\nmorning. Fortunately, since this is a TT facility, we don’t have to\npay to stay. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Strange coincidences can be frightening, confusing and annoying. Back when we were heading north from San Diego in the spring of this year, we developed trouble with our electronic brake controller for the trailer when we arrived in Acton. The … Continue reading