At Home on the Road

By: rlogan1155

Dec 15 2013

Tags: border crossing, break downs, power steering pump, RVing, snow birds, tow trucks, travel, truck stops, winter Texans

Category: RV Living - Full Time Experiences

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When I started this blog I said I would tell all; the good, the bad and the ugly. Mostly I’ve kept it positive and only posted the good, but now I have to do the ugly.

I posted in October about our power steering pump going on us right out front of our fifth wheel and needing a tow to get it fixed. One week later that steering pump was making funny noises, so Mike took it back to the garage and it turns out the new pump was faulty so we got another. All was well for two weeks when Mike made a sharp U turn and lost the brakes and steering. Called Good Sam Club, got it towed to the closest dealer, rented a car and we were mobile again. Turns out the shaft in the power steering pump snapped. Got that fixed and found the steering box needed to be replaced. We kept telling ourselves we were lucky all this happened when we weren’t towing. Little did we know!

Day 1 Monday Nov 18

Leaving day. Didn’t leave! Had some insurance issues still to be ironed out. They were resolved by 10 A.M. but by then it was too late to get ready and leave in a timely manner. Stayed and prepared for an early start in the morning.

Day 2 Tuesday Nov 19

Woke up early to a cold trailer. The furnace wasn’t working! Mike went to a local RV parts supplier at 8 A.M. That part was back ordered so he phoned around and found the thermostat at a dealer in London ON, two hours on route. Arrived around noon, they installed the thermostat- furnace now worked- we were on our way. Didn’t get out of Canada the first day, stayed at a truck stop in Sarnia. They even gave us a free shower.

Day 3 Wednesday Nov 20

Crossed into the U.S. at Port Huron, Michigan., They asked us some wierd questions about food, money and pets, we told them the right answers and we were in. Now we were really on our way. Travelled west- and west- and west. Sometime after lunch the check engine light came on. Cause for some concern but we kept going. Finally we did pull over and Mike used a gadget he has that tells you what the trouble codes mean. It didn’t seem serious so he turned off the light and we carried on. Harsh words were spoken. Stayed in a Pilot truck stop in Anderson, Indiana. Got ourselves all nicely set up in a nice wide spot when we heard a loud train whistle behind us and a loooong train barreled by. Don’t know how we missed the tracks but we decided to stay even though trains thundered by every 5-10 minutes, sometimes it felt like they would plough through our back end. Surprisingly we slept really well that night, didn’t hear a thing.

So far, so good but, just you wait! (to be continued)