Doing regular inspections can save your trip As a commercial driver I am required to do a Pre Trip Inspection before I drive a vehicle. I am also required to do a Mid Trip and a Post Trip Inspections in the middle of the day and at the end. Even though it is not required to drive my motorhome, I carried this practice over to my personal vehicle and it has paid off.

When I went back to the east coast to film the DVD version of my book I noticed during a Pre trip that after a few days I noticed that I was loosing some coolant. Only a little at first, but then one day the level was way down. Cause turned out to be a broken hose clamp, which when leaked, sprayed on the exhaust manifold, which evaporated it so there was no visible leak.

We are now on our way to Alaska. I again noticed at Pre Trip Inspection that the coolant level was down, just a little. During a photo stop I did a Mid Trip Inspection and noticed a few drops of liquid on the font axle. Further inspection found another broken hose clamp, even though I had them inspected by the repair facility when the first one broke.

The moral of this story, by doing regular inspection, I saved a breakdown out in the middle of no where, and the possible loss of an engine, which can really mess up a trip.

Lorrin