Date:         Thu, 7 Dec 2006 20:51:26 -0500
Reply-To:     Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Edward Maglott <emaglott@BUNCOMBE.MAIN.NC.US>
Subject:      Re: how to run out of gas
In-Reply-To:  <045a01c71a29$25ea93a0$580ced48@windows0545857>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

I recently ran out of gas too.  Same kind of thing, except I knew I was
low, just didn't think I was that low.  Ran out of gas about 1 mile short
of the next exit on the Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend.  Busy
traffic.  It was dusk.  Contemplated options.  I had my bike on the back
also, but it is the pedal kind.  I was going to just ride up the shoulder,
get some gas and ride back.  But I thought with the heavy traffic, that
would be pretty hazardous.  I dialed *HP like the sign told me and told the
HP dispatcher I was a stranded motorist, and where I was.  They would send
a HP car, but didn't know if they had gas or could help me.  Sat and
contemplated a few minutes more, and then a fancy tow truck pulled over
with a lot of  flashing lights on it.   I thought about the scenario in The
Trucks song, 3 AM, but I was neither wearing a dress nor smelling like
fried chicken.  (www.thetrucks.net)  Anyway, the tow truck driver comes
back to the van and offers to help.  He tells me he has a few VWs
himself.  He has no gas with him though.  He is interested in just towing
me to the next exit, "off the record," because his boss makes him charge
too much for helping people.  But I have an AT vanagon, and he says He
can't tow it from the front because it will blow up the transmission.  I
seem to remember the manual saying that 40 miles @ 40mph or less is
ok???  We brainstorm about various solutions, blah, blah, blah.  finally he
decides to tow it from the front, and just go real slow down the
shoulder.  Hooking up the van and raising the front is a little scary to
watch, but goes fine.  he tows me to the gas pump and drops me right
there.  Along the way we chat he tells a couple stories about towing down
and out people and not charging them because they need the money to get
there junky old car fixed.  He looks at his phone a few times and says he
hope his boss doesn't call.  I start to think he might have a little racket
going.  Towing folks off the record and then letting them decide if/how
much money he gets under the table.  When I ask him if I can give him some
$ for his help, he says it is up to me.  I give him $20 as a stupid tax on
myself for running out of gas.  And really that was a bargain considering
how quick I got going again after running out of gas.

Edward

At 12:57 PM 12/7/2006, Ron Komoroski wrote:
>Heading home to Virginia after a camping for 5 days during motorcycle speed
>week at Daytona Beach Fla. Bike on a trailer behind, rolling up I95 at
>night, really into a book-on-tape playing on the stereo,
>and.....sputter-sput-sput. Panicked look at the gage-OH Shit!!
>I was trying to figure a way to get some gas out of the bike gastank when
>along comes a county policeman. He was good enough to give me a ride to the
>next exit, where I paid an obscene price for a gas can, (they said they were
>closing & wouldn't be there by the time I got going to bring the can back).
>The cop then drove me back to the van, & stayed until the thundering 2.1 L
>sprang to life & I was on my way again. Moral 1, Check the gage stupid!!
>Moral 2, Sometimes there IS a cop around when you need one, (I thanked him
>profusely!)
>Ron Komoroski