March 31st – Happy Valley/Goose Bay, Newfoundland
Apr 4th, 2018 by rallyadmin
We’re finally on the Trans Labrador. Just up the hill from the ferry landing there’s a “Welcome to Quebec” monument. We stop for the obligatory photo of Getty standing on the roof of Rabbit 2.0 parked in front of the monument. On the road again.
In just a few kilometers we enter into Labrador again. We have just traveled in 3 time zones in lest than 4 hours. Blanc Sablon is on the Eastern Daylight time, 4 hours from Universal Time. (UTC used to be known as Greenwich Mean Time.) Labrador is on Atlantic Daylight time, 3 hours from Universal Time. The island of Newfoundland is on Weird Daylight time, 3½ hours from Universal Time. I don’t know why either.
A few more kilometers up the road, we stop again for another “Getty on the roof of Rabbit 2.0” photo. This one is in front of the “Welcome to Labrador” monument. Again, we’re back on the road.
The road is paved but seriously pot-holed. This part of the road was terrible during the summer trip here. It’s seems worse now with areas of snow, ice and slush. And soon the pavement ends and the surface turns to frozen, pot-holed gravel with the odd large puddle of water.
This goes on for kilometers. At times, there’ll be a few hundred meters of smooth road but they end and we’re back to the potholes. And it’s started snowing. Not much but it’s there. Just to remind us that we’re far north now and it’s still winter here.
We pass Red Bay and the gate that closes the road when there’s a serious storm. The gate is open and we move on. For hours. And Hours.
There’s nothing to see and the light snow has reduced the visibility so that it’s just a gray day of driving on a bad gravel road. Ugh.
Until we come up on a large something in the middle of the road. We stop. The road debris appears to be the back window and aluminum frame from a pickup truck cap. Definitely not something you’d want to hit in bad weather or the dark. We haul it off the road and continue on.
We should be in Goose Bay easily before sunset. Until the truck stops. Immediately after crossing a bridge and traversing a large puddle. A “Reduced Power” message on the truck dash. “No Power” is the correct message. We coast to a stop and try to restart the truck. No joy.
The truck had a MIL code. I get out the OBD scanner and plug it in. The scanner returns a P0087 code. We don’t know what the code means but it does mean that the truck computer has shutdown the truck. Lovely location.
Jeremiah uses his InReach to send a text to his wife asking to check the code. A few minutes later she comes back with a definition that says “Low Fuel Rail Pressure”. That’s not good. It could be anything in the fuel system from a sensor to bad fuel to a clogged fuel filter to a dead fuel pump.
We check the truck manuals but they only point us to fuses and the emergency fuel cutoff that get tripped when the truck had a collision. The bad news is that all the fuses are fine and the emergency fuel cutoff isn’t tripped. And the truck won’t start. We’re going to beed a tow to Goose Bay which is about 170 kilometers up the road.
Since we don’t have any cell coverage, Jeremiah uses the InReach to text his wife and have her locate a tow service for us. It’s Easter Saturday and no one is answering their phones. We suggest that she contact the RCMP and notify them of our situation and to ask them for a tow service in Goose Bay. She finds one and finally works works out the tow for us.
The truck stopped at about 4:30. The Tow truck departed Goose Bay at 7:00 and arrives at 8:30. It’s gotten much colder and very windy. Not a good night to be stuck overnight on the road. We’ve all piled into Rabbit 2.0 and try to stay warm.
We can’t do this all night. Rabbit 2.0 will run out of fuel. But the tow truck arrives and loads the truck quickly. In less than 20 minutes we’re on our way.
I’m riding in the cab of the tow truck and the driver, Dennis, calls the owner of the company on the truck sat phone and tells him that he’s got the truck and he’s on the way back to Goose Bay. He also says that he’s following Rabbit 2.0 so “we might take longer to get Back.” Getty hasn’t heard this but obviously, Dennis doesn’t know Getty and Rabbit 2.0. Occasionally, Rabbit 2.0 leaves the tow truck.
The rough road and the swirling snow close us up again and we finally get to Goose Bay. There’s no Ford Dealer in Goose Bay but the company that brought us in can do the repairs. Hopefully.
We unload the truck. Getty heads off to find gas for Rabbit 2.0. I unload some of what I’ll need for the hotel. I’m really cold and climb back into the tow truck cab to wait for getty’s return.
Getty drives into the lot and we load my gear into Rabbit 2.0 and then thank Dennis and his wife. And ask if there’s any chance that someone can work on the truck tomorrow. Not likely on Easter Sunday.
To the hotel. The delay in Getty’s return was caused by stopping to get hotel rooms before the hotel desks closed for the night. They’ve booked rooms in a hotel just a few blocks away. In the room. The boys are heading out to find some food before all of the restaurants are closed. I pass and take a hot shower to warm up.
They return 20 minutes later with pizza. Pretty good pizza, actually. I’m better after shower and food really helps. It’s now 1:30 and time to call it a day.
Maybe we learn something tomorrow but we get ready to take up residence in Goose Bay, Labrador. Who’s idea was this trip anyway?
Obi-wan