On and Then Of the Road Again

After an eventful seven week trip home we are back in Texas for the remainder of the winter. As many know we had a tire blowout on the way to St. Louis which caused some damage to our fifth wheel. Then the black tank drain valve refused to operate and it needed replacement. After spending a very enjoyable Christmas with our families we began the process of repairing the trailer and getting new AMERICAN made tires installed. Two days before our planned getaway the gas portion of the refridgerator refused to work and unfortunately this required a trip to the dealer. Luckily they were so focused on the coming RV show that the mechanic had time to work on the rig that day. Finally everything and both of us were ready to hit the road.

The first day was long but mostly uneventful. We got to Canton, Ms. late in the day, ate dinner and hit the sack. Day two was very different. We headed out with cloudy skies and a forecast of 100% chance of storms. We stopped for fuel in Hammond,La and Diane notice a gasket that seals the main slide was sticking out about 4 feet. Since we were at a truck stop we had to immediately pull away from the pumps when done fueling; there was nowhere to stop and fix this gasket so we pulled onto the highway entry ramp (I-10). There was plenty of room to pull on the shoulder so I could get on the roof to fix the problem. While I was up on top Diane saw a large piece of metal (14" long) stuck to the fender that would have torn up one of the new tires had we pulled back on the highway and I noticed a full box of of insulating pipe wrap that had fallen off a truck. We picked up the pipe wrap (you never know when winter will return), hit the highway and felt that the RV gods were smiling on us. Not so!

As we drove along I-10 towards Lake Charles,La the storms hit. We were down to 40 mph and could barely see. This lasted until we got to our exit for the night. As we left the highway were heard a noise coming from behind so we pulled over on the shoulder to make sure all was ok. We found that two of the heavy plastic panels that protect the underside of our trailer were dragging the ground, as was all the insulation for the trailer. (Remember we had a tank valve replaced!) Since these panels cover the hydraulic lines, electrical wiring, and the holding tanks, it was important we saved them. After 30 minutes of life-threating work on the shoulder we got the panels inside the trailer and headed for the campground. The next three hours were spent determining why they came off and repairing the problem (after a trip to Lowes for insulation that we thought we could use--turns out we had to throw it all away also, as it wouldn't fit!).

Not great working conditions.

One of the panels had a few holes in it.

This was a strange group of campers around us because no one came outside to see what we were doing and offering unsolicited advice on how to do it better. Very unusual!

As a congratulations to ourselves on learning yet another RV repair skill we headed to the L'auberge Casino for buffet dinner. This was absolutely the best seafood buffet we had ever eaten. This was the first time we had seen king crab on a buffet. We truly got our moneys worth! The final stop of the evening was to try our hand in the casino. We actually won enough to pay for the buffet. Things were looking up.

Day three on the road was pretty anti-climactic after day two. We had to fix the slide gasket a couple more times but in parking lots, not on the side of the road. We finally reached Victoria,Tx about 3 pm. We spent the time until dark setting up and then headed to the office for Ice Cream Social Night. Nothing more relaxing than ice cream and card games, and the fact that we didn't have to get in the truck and drive the next day.

We will start trying to permantly fix the problems with our rolling home tomorrow or maybe just play a little golf or maybe just decompress for a few days.