After our evening program in Shaunavon we decided to drive to Climax where there was a campground which would be closer to our morning program the next day. As we turned off the main highway and into Climax we slowed down to see where the campground was. The van shuddered a couple of times as we were idling and then stopped completely. Jeff and I both knew immediately what was wrong, as this has happened before. Our fuel gauge for the front fuel tank doesn't work and sometimes we run out. This normally isn't a problem as we have a second fuel tank and just have to flip the switch over to the other tank as we feel the van shudder. This time however, both Jeff and I were pretty tired and didn't clue in to what was happening fast enough. We flipped the switch over to the second tank and tried to start the van again. A couple of minutes later we still hadn't gotten it started and were starting to get worried. We were stopped in the middle of the main street in town and there was no one around to help. Also, by this time we had run the batteries down trying to start the van. Fortunately, a really nice guy drove by at the other end of town; he saw us and came to our rescue. He tried to boost us with no success, so instead he got out a rope and towed our van and trailer to the campground which was just around the corner.
In the morning Jeff woke up early to start fixing things. I woke up shortly after to try to help. Running a diesel engine out of fuel is a bit worse than a gas engine- Jeff had to remove the fuel filter and manually fill it with diesel fuel. We had left the battery charger on all night, so he then tried to start it, but nothing happened. It turns out we had burnt out our starter the night before, trying to get it going. We called our morning school and the principal came to pick me and the animals up to go do the show while Jeff stayed to get our van fixed. The Climax Garage was very helpful- Roger towed us over and checked a few things to confirm our diagnosis. We were worried that they would not have a replacement part, and that we would need to stay in Climax for a few days while they got it. Amazingly, at the same time, the only guy in town who has the same engine as us happened to come in with a spare starter motor to get it rebuilt. Even though there are three different possible starters for a 1987 Ford van, it was an exact match! What are the odds of that? Roger took our starter off and tested it, and somehow between both he was able to get us repaired and back on the road within a couple of hours. Even better, he only charged us $75- Climax sure is a friendly place! By the time I had finished the show, Jeff came to pick me up and we headed to val Marie for our next program. We are really thankful to the wonderful people in Climax, Saskatchewan who helped us out!
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