As you may recall from previous posts, not all of our travels are a bed of roses – free of troubles and cares. And our trip back to Louisiana was not one, either. In fact, we had a serious issue with our RV on a dirt road we had been advised to use when parking at one particular RV park in The Woodlands, Texas. This was our second time there. The fit is tight for a rig as large as ours. We have a forty-two-footer. There is a paved road coming in, but on our first stop there, the manager/builder advised we come in on the dirt road in the future (if we stopped there again) as the paved road forced us to back in our RV on the blind side and it was much easier from the other direction. Naturally, that is what we did.
It had been raining for several days, so the manager poured cement on the inside curve of the dirt road to prevent wearing away. His intention was to make it safer for anyone coming in. However, this gave the impression the cement went further than it did as it was blended with dirt. The cement wasn’t smooth, as you would imagine, but dropped in stepping stones or larger sizes and allowed to run together. This caused a false sense of safe travel around the curve. Ultimately, we slid directly into the curve and our 5th wheel was stuck, the middle jack on that side ground into the dirt, and the whole thing tipped precariously. It was terrifying. Our entire life, our home itself, is the RV. If something happened, we would be homeless. Not only that, but it would have likely taken our truck over with it.
A tow truck was called. Two showed up just in case, but one was sufficient to pull us out. There was no cost to us. We could not see any immediate damage, aside from the front part of the RV above the hitch bowing out a bit and some screws coming loose. Things seemed to work fine. The jacks appeared to lower properly as far as we could tell, even though we were missing two SnapPads buried so deep in the dirt, they could not be found. In the morning, we moved on to our next stop at Osprey Lake RV Park in Louisiana, about a three hour drive. However, this lowering of the jacks did not go as well. When they came down, the one that had been pushed into the dirt in The Woodlands came down crooked! Clearly, there had been damage done to the frame of the 5th wheel that had not shown itself immediately.
The first picture is how the jack should look. The thick part on the bottom is the SnapPad. This is our front jack:
This picture is of the damaged jack. Honestly, it’s a bit scary but it’s been stable as we have carefully watched it. We will have to take it somewhere to be repaired.
I wanted to cry! I’ve come to love our 5th wheel. Not only because it allows us freedom to travel, but it has become our home. I have things in it that make it mine. Our dogs are with us. Jay and I are together. We find a lot of times to laugh. We have enjoyed this new life immensely. And then this kicked up a bit of anxiety – something I’m known…and medicated for – and I worried we might be affected in ways that would change our plans.
Guess what happened next?
Our furnace went out! Yes, on this new 5th wheel, our furnace bit the dust. Thankfully, we are under warranty, so aside from the service call, it was covered. And it was a good thing we were here in Louisiana. It rained a lot when we arrived and hampered a few things we had hoped to do. And while it was rather cold, it wasn’t Utah or Colorado cold! We got by running the electric heat and the electric fireplace, along with wearing sweaters inside. The service tech who came out looked at the jack, too, and confirmed what Jay had discovered. The frame was damaged in the slide. We’ll have to have it welded, though he didn’t think it was an urgent matter. He couldn’t do it because he doesn’t weld.
One happy thing when we were still in The Woodlands was being able to celebrate my newly married nephew’s birthday! We all went to dinner at an Iranian restaurant and it was delicious. My brother-in-law was born and raised in Iran. He’s been married to my sister for thirty-seven years and they have two handsome, successful, amazing sons! Shayon couldn’t be there as he’s working on his PhD in Mississipppi.
From left to right are my sister, Kandi, my semi-sister, Judy, my brother-in-law, Javad, my new niece and Bezhan’s wife, Carly, my nephew, Bezhan, my husband, Jay (he’s hiding), and me. It was wonderful to see everyone again.
On Hummingbirds Wings 