Dad, DJ, Angel and I are getting settled in NH. It always take a couple of days to get caught up on sleep, lol.

The day we left was entertaining. I almost didn’t bring the camper because I couldn’t get the generator started. The RV is like a mini-apartment; it has it’s own plumbing system and electrical system, it has it’s own kitchen and bath, etc. It has a dash AC like any car or truck, but a dash AC can’t cool a 36′ apartment on wheels…so it also has two roof AC units. To run those underway, you start the onboard diesel generator. That also runs things like the fridge and freezer.

When I went to get it that morning, I figured I’d start the genny up get the AC going, so it would be cool when we put Dad and the cat in to leave. You start it with a rocker switch on the dash. One side has something that looks like a little lightning bolt…so I’m thinking that means start. I mashed the button a few times, and got nothing. I needed to get on the road that day, and was considering my options…do I call the generator guy? Do I abandon the RV and pile everybody into the Land Cruiser? Do I take it anyway, and let Dad and the cat stay in the AC?

Eventually I had the windows uncovered and was in a spot with more sun. I thought maybe I’d try the genset one more time, using the switch under the hood on the generator itself. I touched the switch and it started up without any hesitation whatsoever. When I went back inside and sat down in the driver’s seat, I saw why. I had been pushing the switch OFF. There was no mark you could see for ON. The switch had a light on that side, that showed through when it was on, but you couldn’t see under less than perfect lighting.

We got almost to the Dames Point Bridge when I started thinking I hadn’t closed the hood. I figured since I had to stop and do that, we’d top off both vehicles (Dad and I in the Bounder, DJ in the Land Cruiser with the bike trailer). When DJ went to open the gas door on the Land Cruiser, he released the hood…so on the other side of the bridge he was pulling over to close that up, lol.

We used handheld radios and our phones to communicate throughout the trip. Not long into the day, I get a call from DJ.

DJ:   Mom, did you see the hose fall off the motorhome?

Me:  WHAT motorhome?

DJ:   You!

Me:  (By now wondering how many hoses there are on the rear diesel engine) WHAT hose?

DJ:   The sewer hose! I ran over it. And so did a semi.

Oh, well. I knew there was a reason I’d carried two all these years. The sewer hoses live in a wire cargo basket suspended in the rear engine compartment. One of the service guys probably moved the top hose some to get at something, and it worked its way out of the basket and down past the engine to the road.

DJ has always loved South of the Border, and likes to stop and visit with friends who train there at their motocross facility. So that was our intended first night stop.

DJ passed us at some point, and as he did, I noticed the lights on the trailer weren’t working. As he got further ahead of me, I could see something hanging very low and/or dragging on the ground, under the trailer. I hailed him on the radio and told him I was coming alongside to take a look. Unfortunately, what I saw was that the light plug had dragged, and I knew from experience what that meant. We got off and found a place to take a closer look and verify it was disintegrated. I had a spare “quick lock” connector with me, but it had spaces for 4 wires, and the trailer had 5….and I couldn’t double up on that particular style plug. We sought out an auto parts store, picked up repair supplies, and were able to get the lights hoped back up.

I was looking forward to bed by the time we got settled at South of the Border. I got my last surprise of the day when I went to go into the back bedroom, and found the trim had come loose around the tv…it was hanging on by one screw, and the tv had started to slide out of the wall. Thankfully, that was quickly remedied with just a screwdriver. Otherwise I would have taken the tv and just put it in the back of the truck for the rest of the trip.

Friday we continued to make our way up the highway. I probably should not have made the comment it was a boring day.

Traffic was already starting to get heavy in VA, so I decided to head up 17 into Winchester, and take 81 instead of 95. We more or less had a KOA in PA in mind for the night, but we stopped to fuel at a very quiet Flying J, and the temperatures weren’t too bad…so we decided to spend the night there instead. I had only ever spent the night at one other Flying J, and that one you had to park much closer to the pumps, and heard the PA system all night. This one seemed calmer, and although I still had some doubts, I thought about my friend Lorraine, who spent the majority of her 9 months on the road sleeping in parking lots. I told myself if she could do it, so could I.

I should have known the day was not off to a great start when DJ woke me up at 4, saying he felt sick. But we eventually got on our way and did make further progress. In NJ, we stopped to top the fuel off before we had to go through CT, which is always the most expensive place on the trip. We got a little tangled up and I pulled over on a side street to wait for DJ to turn around and find his way back. He said it would be “awhile” and so I turned off the engine to wait. But when he’d found his way back, and I went to start the rig, nothing happened.

I have had AAA and Good Sam Roadside Assistance for years. I recently decided to also add Coach.net service, which many people say is better than the rest, because they specialize just in RV’s. I could have called AAA or Good Sam, but decided to go ahead and try out my new Coach.net service.

What a pain in the *** they were. The first 20 minutes were spent “registering my rig.” Seems to me, they could have asked for all the info while I was still sitting at home, but I patiently answered their questions. I just wanted to get to the part where they sent me help. But the lady insisted that FIRST I talk to a service tech. Except they were all busy, and would have to call me back. I pointed out we’d already been on the phone 20 minutes, and it was liable to be a half hour then before anyone even dispatched help (thinking that it would take another 10 minutes for them to call me back and decide to send help). Ha. It was an hour and 15 minutes before I talked to them, and that was after I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor.

The supervisor said they were busy that day, and offered to call the police if I didn’t feel safe. I told them thanks, but I could call the police. I paid them to help me mechanically, and would prefer to make progress on that side of things.

When I finally got a tech on the phone, they still didn’t want to send a mobile truck. They wanted me to go to a Walmart parking lot, wait for a wrecker to be available, and let them tow me to whatever shop they could find, then wait 3 days until the shop was open to get it looked at. I declined to take their advice. After 2 hours of wasted time, I had the rig and generator both up and running by holding down the booster button on the dash (which boosts the 2 starting batteries with the 4 house batteries). I wasn’t sure I had enough diesel to run both the engine and genset and make it to NH, but it was better than staying in NJ. Over the phone, cousin Frank suggested I just add enough diesel to get me here to NH without shutting off the rear engine, which is exactly what I did.

So I haven’t tried to start it back up yet. I parked it and turned it off. We’ve been getting settled and trying to catch up on our sleep. At some point here shortly, I’ll either take it somewhere or find a mobile tech to come check things out. But for now, we’re here, and safe.