A Series of Unusual Travel Day Events

A day off work midweek gave us a rare opportunity to travel outside of our normal weekend relocations. We packed our rig, connected it to Gulliver, and set out for higher elevation so we could boondock in cooler temperatures, oblivious to the series of unusual travel day events that was about to begin. 

During our pre-travel walkaround, I noticed a missing screw in the trailer’s skirting. Although seemingly a small thing, it warranted fixing before hitting the road. Otherwise, the notorious winds of the South Dakota prairie could cause it to flap so much that it would crack. 

We unloaded items from the bed of the truck so that Bob could get to his tools. He found what he needed and replaced the screw. Damage averted.

Power Deficit

A few hours into our trip, we encountered another issue, this time with the truck. As the flatlands of the Mount Rushmore State transitioned to the Black Hills, Gulliver seemed to have trouble climbing. Normally, his turbo kicks in, enabling us to maintain our speed and pass other vehicles on ascents — even when towing. Bob had the gas pedal floored, but the speedometer kept dropping.

Although we didn’t slow more than the RV in front of us, this was unusual behavior for Gulliver. Knowing the issue could be the activator that switches between the exhaust brake and the turbo, we flipped off the exhaust brake and said a prayer. 

About 15 minutes later, the turbo started acting properly again. We thanked God and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing a climb up a dirt road awaited us before we could reach our chosen destination. The turbo fluctuated some more but then continued working, and we made it.

After ascending the hill, however, I found the truck’s tailgate down while Bob was parking our rig. It seemed the washboard dirt road had caused so much vibration that it knocked one side of our tailgate off its pin. We’re not sure when the tailgate came dislodged but, thankfully, it didn’t cause any damage to the trailer during turning. 

Time Trials

We were able to set up without incident, although we did notice a fresh layer of dust on our furniture, another result of traveling on the dirt road. 

I glanced at the clock inside our rig. It registered an hour later than the time on my watch. When did the time change? I wondered. We thought all of South Dakota fell under the Central time zone. A quick Google search revealed a split down the middle of the state, leaving the Eastern portion on Central time and the Western part on Mountain time. Good to know.

As we retired for the night, I set the alarm on my phone for 6 a.m. as I had to work the next morning. 

When the alarm sounded, I didn’t want to get up, despite sleeping for more than eight hours — or so I thought. I dragged myself out of bed even though the sun hadn’t risen and checked the news on my phone. Wanting to research a location, I opened Google Maps and was surprised to see my picture, indicating my whereabouts, in Michigan. My image quickly moved to the correct location and, as it did, the time adjusted on my phone. 

Because my device thought I was in Michigan on Eastern time, my alarm had actually sounded at 4 a.m. local time. No wonder I felt so tired. I went back to bed and woke up nearly two hours later, pleased to find the sun also ascending.

You might also like The Key to RV Success.