So, we drove and drove and drove some more. Our top speed while towing is about 65 mph. Mind you, the speed limit in these parts is 75 mph. We've gotten used to the suck-and-blow of the semis passing by. We stopped for Happy Meal dinners and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Then we were faced with where to spend the night. We opted to preheat the trailer and head into California to the first rest area. We made it, unloaded the kids and slept.
The next morning we pushed the button to pull our slider in the four inches it was out and nothing. The trailer's battery was dead. No worries, we thought. The van will charge it while we're driving. We'll go down the road a few miles and pull it in. That didn't work. We were then faced with driving 50 miles to Ludlow in search of an electrical outlet with our slider out ever so slightly or calling the manufacturer for assistance, towing, etc. We decided to take the risk and drive. We were lucky to find an outlet at a gas station turned automotive fix-it place in Ludlow. We plugged in, slid in and were again headed west.
We opted to stop in Barstow for breakfast and to see about getting the trailer looked at. We were sure there was some problem with the power converter. It's under warranty so why not, right? We pulled in to Affordable RV somewhere south of Barstow and were told almost immediately by our super helpful diagnostician that the problem was the van not the trailer. He added a fuse here and replaced another one there all to no avail. And of course because the problem was with the van and not the trailer we owed them money. I just love unexpected vacation expenses.
No worries though. We were headed to our state beach campground that had electric so we could deal with whatever electrical issue we had when we got home. Not the case! We made these reservations before we even bought the trailer and failed to write down that the sites we reserved did NOT have hook-ups. We spent the remainder of the second day of vacation scrambling around trying to find power. We bought a battery, then a generator, then returned the battery, then learned the generator didn't work, then went to bed with no power. We felt frustrated but knew the next day would bring fresh perspective.In addition to our power woes, Seth was battling a mean cold. Poor guy had watery eyes the entire day. Fortunately, he slept a bunch in the car.
Stay tuned, our vacation got much better on Day 3!
2 comments:
As someone who also overnights in rest areas (and who reads a lot - too much? - on the internet), be sure to have a flashlight handy and if someone knocks on your door stating they are the police or whatever authority, don't open your door. Ask them to display credentials and use your flashlight through the window to check them first. It's a low probability scenario, but things do happen and you can never be too careful. Also, hopefully you have a locking hitch pin, but I would always double check your connection after staying overnight or stopping for whatever. I can't believe the stories I've read about people removing hitch pins or doing things to people's hitch connections that may not immediately be evident, but cause problems 40 miles down the road.
Hopefully you'll take this in the right vein, I'm not trying to scare anyone, just pass on things that I've read and been stunned by. How sad is it that we have to contemplate the potential for things like this...on vacation no less?
oh man Heather! TOugh way to start out....can't wait for the next post...or a visit!
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