Our last couple of drives in the RV left us hopeful that our engine issues were manageable. After replacing the water pump in Omaha, we hoped all of our uncertainties would go away. The drive to Kansas City brought all of the uncertainty back.
Kansas City Barbecue
Our friends from rvbbqtrail.com, who we met while camping in Louisiana, gave us some good suggestions for bbq while visiting Kansas City. For our first night in town, we had reservations at Q39. At one point we wondered if we’d even make the reservation because we were stuck on the side of the road waiting for the Bounder to cool down. This happened a couple of times during the drive and made for a really long day. We eventually made it though and really enjoyed Q39.
Bounder Update
Things were starting to get desperate at this point. The Bounder showed signs again of a head gasket leak and even hydro-locked again. I knew enough by now to get it cranked again by reversing the crankshaft. Our new theory was that the previous mechanic had drained out all of the Blue Devil sealant while replacing the water pump. We hoped that if we treated it again with Blue Devil, our issues would be solved now that we had fixed the leaky water pump. I also replaced the thermostat while doing this. After the Blue Devil this time, she seemed to run well, so we were hopeful again.
More Kansas City BBQ
After a cold rainy day in the RV, we decided to order in more bbq. Our friends at the lodge recommended Jack Stack, and we really enjoyed it. For our last night in Kansas City, we went to BB’s Lawnside BBQ. It turned out to be our favorite spot, and I can imagine it would be even better going in non-covid times.
Kansas City Elks Lodge #26
We really lucked out by staying at Kansas City Elks Lodge #26. This lodge has a lot of history. In fact, it’s one of the oldest lodges in the country, and it is the home lodge of former President Harry S. Truman. Everyone we met couldn’t have been any nicer. We even were invited to watch the Chiefs play at someone’s house. Through all of our issues with the RV people welcomed us in, offered to help and even bought us drinks at the bar. This is definitely one of the friendliest lodges we visited.
With only 12 hours left to get to South Carolina, we left Kansas City feeling hopeful that we would be home soon, but we ran into trouble soon after…