Out of hospital and into the agapanthus

 Well, I collected the motorhome on the Thursday before last and, although the cost of leak repairs was quite high, we were pleased to pay it - the motorhome has had quite a lot of the original sealant replaced, because UK sealant doesn't last here in NZ's sun.

Since I collected it, we've had it parked next to our place. And we've had Kat staying with us again and she slept in it. She did have a noisy night when we had intense thunderstorms with heaps and heaps of lightning.

We need to have a new place to store the motorhome because Parkwood management has decided that motorhomes and caravans can no longer be stored on site. We have arranged to keep it up behind Richard and Ngaere's place about 10 minutes' walk from here.

I have previously driven it up their long sloping driveway and it was fine - I just put it in T1 (Traction drive in 1st gear) and up we went, with no hassles.

Last week, because the guys were going to be mowing the lawns here, I needed to move the motorhome from beside the house. So I decided to take it to Richard and Ngaere's. As I was leaving Parkwood, it occurred to me that I could just leave it at the Plateau parking area until the run of really stink wet weather is over. But on I went, with Kat in the passenger seat. She was on adjusting in the wing mirrors so I could get the cab safely through Richard and Ngaere's gateway and then re-adjusting them so I could see the sides of the habitation area as I drove all the way through - I've tried it with the mirrors folded flat and it is bloody scary not being able to see the sides...

So through the gate successfully, and then I engaged the Traction gear and up we went.

Bugger!! Almost at the top, the ground was soft and the motorhome skidded a bit. So I stopped, reversed a wee way and tried again. Nope, not happening.

So there was nothing for it but to reverse down the drive and out the gateway.

Well, that was the plan, but it didn't go according to plan, now did it?

Somehow, I managed to go off piste and ended up over to the left of the driveway and in the agapanthus! And agapanthus leaves are full of notoriously gooey sap when broken open. And when the wheels run over them, they exude the gooey slippery stuff. And wheels don't like it and decide not to go forward or back.

So I declared defeat, went and told Richard and we considered what to do. The options tried:

• putting mats under the front wheels (it's front wheel drive) to see if I could gently drive forward - no. But one mat just got scrunched and pulled back under the wheel...
• Richard and Kat pushing me backwards - no, no movement and the Ducato has the very clever functionality that, in a skid situation, the wheels won't turn - to stop me digging myself in deeper.

At that point, Richard said he would have a go at cutting away the agapanthus leaves when the weather cleared up and I would come back on Friday, after 3 days of fine weather. Hopefully the driveway would have dried out and I'd be able to reverse away from the agapanthus leaves.

But over night, I started thinking about the likelihood of being able to drive out, even with the agapanthus cleared. So I rang Kapiti Coast Towing and asked the advice of Royce, the owner. He suggested that he would come and have a look at it with me the following day. His counsel once on site was that there were two ways to release the motorhome from its bondage: EITHER put a strop around the large tree beside the driveway and around the wheel, and then winch the motorhome off OR get a small tractor up the bank and then tow the motorhome up to the level where it was due to be living.

A day later I told Richard what I was thinking and he said he was just going out to hack away the agapanthus leaves. When I went to look at his progress, it was really clear why the motorhome had come to a halt and wouldn't be pushed back - in cutting away the leaves Richard exposed a 400mm (1'4") high and about 600mm wide (you do the maths this time) agapanthus root system ... AAARRRGGGHHH!!! 

 

There was NO way I was ever going to be able to drive over that!

So I phoned Royce. We agreed on the option of the tractor towing the motorhome up the hill.

Not too long after that, he arrived with his truck, accompanied by his worker Michael in another truck with the tractor on the back.

 

See that little rounded off rectangular section? Behind that is a fitting that an eyelet screws into.

 

That eyelet thing - it lives in a toolbox under the passenger seat - Royce knew where to find it. I would have remembered eventually ...

 

Royce was calling Michael letting him know we were ready.

 

Michael arrives with the tractor on the back of the truck

Did you know that tractors have multiple very, very low gears that are put into play when climbing slippery banks? I didn't, but I do now! If you want, I can show you video of the whole process...

 

Michael driving very close to Richard and Ngaere's motorhome having also missed the lemon tree in the left foreground...

Once Michael got up the bank - using the very very low gears, he reversed down the driveway. They attached the ends of the chain to the eyelet on the motorhome and the chassis of the tractor, then slowly, slowly up the hill.

The towing went very smoothly and they made it look easy. Michael drove the tractor and Royce steered the motorhome. Once the motorhome was in place, and Royce and Michael had loaded the tractor back on the truck, I washed the agapanthus goo and leaf bits off the motorhome, pulled the blinds up and locked it. And headed home in the car - I needed a lie down.

It was well worth the $250 that Royce charged - I thought that was incredibly reasonable: 2 trucks, a tractor and 2 men and well over a couple of hours of Royce's time over two days and an hour of Michael's, not including travelling time. A bargain!

P.S. I had a couple of viseos and more photos to add in. But Google Blogger is playing silly bloggers/buggers: it says I need to accept all cookies before I can load photos. And then accepting the cookies does nothing. SO I have just drag and dropped the photos. The ones on the post are the only ones I could load on. And videos - no chance!