Post by windborn on Feb 21, 2017 14:12:28 GMT -8
I have a lot to catch up on in my build thread (my camper is livable now!). But first I wanted to share what my drive was like from MA to TX since I had some things happen that taught me valuable lessons. And I thought I'd take a page from mobiltec's book and "make mistakes so you don't have to."
To set the story up, I already had to leave a day late because a few blizzards came through and messed up my departure plans. Getting through the northeast wasn't very fun in the cold, especially in the mountains of PA where snow squalls kept coming through. But things seemed to be going well. Then, on my third day, 45 minutes into my drive outside of Columbus, OH, I heard a pop in my engine and I knew I had blown a spark plug. God bless my iPhone which helped me find a shop 20mi away who just happened to be the nicest group of guys and had me out of there in less than 2 hours.
I was feeling really confident that I could do just about anything once I got back on the road. But after only another 2 hours of driving, I looked back and noticed the trailer was tilting. I thought, "crap, I gotta find a place to pull over and see what's up." But I didn't have time: my tire blew and I had to pull over onto a tiny shoulder next to a big concrete wall. And now here come the mistakes that I'm sure a few of you may find helpful to read about but most will shake your head at:
1. I didn't have a spare! I know, I know. I've slapped myself on the wrist a billion times. It somehow slipped my mental to-do list to get one. I guess I was confident in my "new" tires. Though I found out at the tire shop that they were likely just older and unused.
2. I didn't realize AAA doesn't cover trailers unless you get AAA for RVs. And it takes 7 days for that sign-up to go through. Why I didn't think to check that? Who knows.
3. I didn't know that not every tow truck can take a camper. AAA did send someone, but when he found me on the side of the busy highway an hour later he told me he couldn't help. I then spent an hour talking to almost every tow company in Cincinnati to find someone who could. I could have theoretically left my camper on the side of the road while I went to buy a new tire but the narrow spot I needed to leave it left me really nervous, and when I came back with the tire I would have needed to call a cop to shut down a lane of traffic during rush hour. Paying to get towed sucked, but I felt a whole lot safer doing it.
In the end I was able to get two new tires that night and pull into a WalMart to sleep. I made it the rest of the way to Texas with no problems. But man, am I going to be a little more prepared on the way home in May
To set the story up, I already had to leave a day late because a few blizzards came through and messed up my departure plans. Getting through the northeast wasn't very fun in the cold, especially in the mountains of PA where snow squalls kept coming through. But things seemed to be going well. Then, on my third day, 45 minutes into my drive outside of Columbus, OH, I heard a pop in my engine and I knew I had blown a spark plug. God bless my iPhone which helped me find a shop 20mi away who just happened to be the nicest group of guys and had me out of there in less than 2 hours.
I was feeling really confident that I could do just about anything once I got back on the road. But after only another 2 hours of driving, I looked back and noticed the trailer was tilting. I thought, "crap, I gotta find a place to pull over and see what's up." But I didn't have time: my tire blew and I had to pull over onto a tiny shoulder next to a big concrete wall. And now here come the mistakes that I'm sure a few of you may find helpful to read about but most will shake your head at:
1. I didn't have a spare! I know, I know. I've slapped myself on the wrist a billion times. It somehow slipped my mental to-do list to get one. I guess I was confident in my "new" tires. Though I found out at the tire shop that they were likely just older and unused.
2. I didn't realize AAA doesn't cover trailers unless you get AAA for RVs. And it takes 7 days for that sign-up to go through. Why I didn't think to check that? Who knows.
3. I didn't know that not every tow truck can take a camper. AAA did send someone, but when he found me on the side of the busy highway an hour later he told me he couldn't help. I then spent an hour talking to almost every tow company in Cincinnati to find someone who could. I could have theoretically left my camper on the side of the road while I went to buy a new tire but the narrow spot I needed to leave it left me really nervous, and when I came back with the tire I would have needed to call a cop to shut down a lane of traffic during rush hour. Paying to get towed sucked, but I felt a whole lot safer doing it.
In the end I was able to get two new tires that night and pull into a WalMart to sleep. I made it the rest of the way to Texas with no problems. But man, am I going to be a little more prepared on the way home in May
