We all need a little R&R from time to time, don’t we? My little two days away were peaceful, yet productive. I really wanted to see how the new truck performed pulling TOW-Wanda. My other truck had a rear axle ratio of 373. That thing would pull TOW-Wanda up Vail Pass at 65MPH in cruise control…piece of cake. Trucks with that rear axle ratio are scarce as hen’s teeth in these parts but a dime a dozen in Colorado. That’s because Coloradans have some pretty steep passes to go over and a large proportion are towing big stuff like campers and horse trailers. Around here, that ratio is overkill. Let me tell you, there is a huge difference between a 373 and a 331 like my new truck. I was so worried it wouldn’t be able to tow the big camper but she worked like a charm. Very smooth. I watched my transmission temperature on the hills and she did fine. A little hot on the very steepest hill, but I took it slow. I’m sure the Rockies will give her a run for her money but I think she can handle it. I feel much more secure now than I did before I went.

I knew there would be some maintenance issues to address before the trip. When I went to pick her up, the first thing I noticed at the storage lot was the nose of the camper tilted down. She wasn’t like that the last time I went. Turned out, the ground under the front jack softened after the last really big rain and the wood block it sat on shifted. The jack dug down into the ground and held solid but it could just as easily have bent the jack. Thankfully, it did not. I pressed the buttons to raise the jack. Nothing. I called over to the workman and he came out with the tractor. He lifted the nose and sat the jack back down on solid wood. I told him the electric jack wasn’t working. He said the battery was dead. I said the only time this had happened before was when there was a problem with the fuse that is on the pigtail line running from the battery. No, he said…your batteries are dead…even though I assured him I had just gotten them last spring. I wish I would have opened the little fuse covering but didn’t. I took his word. I went to Walmart and bought a battery charger then went back to the lot. With the electric line hooked to the back of my truck, I was able to raise and lower the jack and finally got hitched up and left. What should have taken four hours took seven.

I arrived at the Beaver Creek State Park (Lisbon, OH) campground and discovered the refrigerator was warm. This was a mystery but I decided to worry about that later. I finally got unhooked at the campground and hooked up to electric, I opened that fuse cover and there was my answer. The fuse was badly corroded. Some battery post cleaner and a new fuse fixed the problem. Next to address was why the refrigerator didn’t run on gas. I took the cover off the gas tanks, moved one slightly, and it started to hiss. The hose had sprung a leak, but only just then…not on the drive up. I puzzled over the problem and figured the igniter didn’t go off because of the fuse thing. But now I had to address the gas hose. If one goes out, you should replace both. It doesn’t cost that much and better to be safe than sorry.

The nearest RV dealer was twenty miles away and fortunately they had the hoses. I asked if these were what I needed and the guy said yes so off I went back to the campground only to discover the fittings on the hose was too small! Back to the RV dealer for two adapters, which he just so happened to have, and back to the campground. Lesson learned…always double check your fittings when you buy replacement hoses. Everything fit back together perfectly. I checked for leaks with dish soap…nothing. Good. Turned on the gas, switched the refrigerator to gas, and voila…it turned right on!

I took my hose out from the underbelly of the camper only to come to the sad realization that my site was electric only and I had neglected to fill the water tank before I left! No hot showers or doing dishes for me because I was NOT hooking that camper back up for anything! I ran into town and bought water and heated it in my electric teakettle for dishes. I kept some water bottles in the bathroom for rinsing the toilet and used the camp bathroom for solid waste.

BLT with fresh leaf lettuce and Tennessee tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob, Amish potato salad and fried green tomatoes…a perfect camp dinner. I was so excited to have friends at the campground. We sat around the campfire and caught up. Other than the maintenance items, which I fully expected to deal with, it was a wonderfully relaxing couple of days away. I hope you all have been enjoying your last few days of June. It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is upon us! I’m in the final countdown before I head out on my next big road trip! I need to deep clean TOW-Wanda and get her packed. I backed her up into the driveway at the farm so she’s here where I can work on her. Stay tuned! ❤️

“let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.””
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭12:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬