 Traveling the country on the well-designed interstate highway system and connecting state highways has been a staple of American life and freedom since President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Although I first experienced the benefits of the interconnected highways at the age of 4, when my family moved from Michigan to Oregon, I didn’t appreciate the marvel of the highway system until embarking on my first cross-country tour with the Continental Singers and Orchestra at 18. I remember being amazed at the ease of travel with cloverleaf on and off ramps in Texas. Today, the “Greatest Public Works Project in History” makes full-time RVing possible. Although we like using interstates because we know they’re safe for our tall fifth wheel, we also like to venture off the freeways and away from large cities to get a better taste and feel for small-town America. Both kinds of travel can lead to some unusual sights. In addition to witnessing a total solar eclipse, dinosaur tracks, and the northern lights, here are some of the rare sightings we’ve observed in five years of RV living. Horse-Drawn Carriage on a Main Road  Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is home to the oldest Amish settlement in the country. There, Amish people, who believe in simplicity and eschew technology, live alongside modern Americans who espouse contemporary conveniences. While en route from an overnight stop in Lancaster to Sight and Sound Theatre to see a show, signs displaying a horse and buggy gave way to the real thing. We happened upon a slow-moving horse-drawn carriage on the two-lane road and had to reduce our speed until oncoming traffic dissipated so we could pass. Camping Hearse  Because our rig is fitted with solar panels that allow us to do a lot of boondocking, we don’t spend a lot of time at campgrounds. When visiting our son Josh in Eugene, Oregon, however, a campground offered closer proximity to him than boondocking options did, so we took advantage of it. While at this campground, a hearse pulled in one day and took up temporary residence in one of the campsites. We had heard of van living, but not hearse living. Typically, hearses are associated with death. Truck Camper on a Trailer  Speaking of odd campers, while camped in Homer, Alaska, we saw a truck camper on the bed of a trailer, towed by a truck. I’m sure it has its advantages. After all, you don’t have to remove the camper from the bed of the truck in order to separate the two. But it looks a bit funny. We witnessed this phenomenon again in Canada en route to the Lower 48 after our summer in Alaska. Maybe it’s a new trend. A search on Reddit revealed people are asking about this setup and how to do it. Precarious Class A Motorhome  While boondocking in the Badlands of South Dakota, we caught sight of a class A motorhome parked downhill with its front tires off the ground. The weight of the coach rested on its levelers, with no supports under the tires whatsoever. It looked too unsafe for my liking, but apparently the owner had no issues. I have to admit that the first time we took our fifth wheel out for a test camping run, we set it up and leveled it, lifting the two passenger-side tires off the ground. Although it looked a little risky, we felt pretty safe. We were quite inexperienced then and have learned a lot about proper leveling techniques since. We no longer park with tires out of contact with the ground. Windmill Fan Blades in Transit  Travels through windy areas of the U.S. can lead to sightings of wind turbines designed to convert wind power into electricity. In passing, it’s difficult to gauge the immensity of these structures and how quickly their blades actually move. The length of a single blade is about 170 feet, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. We gained an appreciation for their enormity when seeing a blade stretched from behind a tractor trailer, seemingly suspended, and then attached to a self-steering, dolly-type trailer toward the back of the unit. Roadside Attractions  Living on the road gives us lots of opportunities to see roadside attractions, of which there are too many to count. We’ve seen a gigantic hot dog on the roof of a restaurant in Michigan, an enormous roadrunner made of recycled electronics in New Mexico, a giant beaver in Beaverlodge, Alberta (between Calgary and Edmonton), the Dignity statue of a Sioux woman in South Dakota, and many others.
Perusing the collection of photos from our travels, I can’t help but be grateful for the amazing lifestyle we get to lead. You might also like 6 Big-Rig-Friendly Overnight RV Stops.
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 In our fifth year of full-time RV living, we traveled 8,233 miles, averaging 257 miles per trip and staying at 29 places. Having headed east, where boondocking options are minimal, we spent the bulk of our six months on the road moochdocking. That gave us considerable time with friends and family while keeping our expenses low. Our travels took us to New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. Highlights of the year included sledding down white sand in Alamogordo, New Mexico; witnessing the total solar eclipse in Paris, Texas; visiting Buc-ee’s for the first time in South Carolina; touring Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina; and seeing the bombers from CAF Airbase Arizona in many places along the way. We often get asked about our favorite parts of the country. So, rather than spotlight our top stops of the year, we thought it might be fun to count down our five favorite RV destinations in five years on the road. As you can imagine, narrowing down the best areas this great country has to offer was no easy task. To be fair, there’s still a lot of the U.S. we haven’t seen (seven states, to be exact, not including Hawaii), but here goes. 5. Waveland, Mississippi  Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Waveland, Mississippi, is unique in that the city doesn’t allow commercial buildings on its 5-mile beachfront. That means residents and visitors can enjoy beautiful views year-round. Most buildings in the area are on stilts in case of flooding, making for even better panoramas. What drew us to “The Hospitality City,” population nearly 7,000, was Buccaneer State Park. The campground is set back away from the waterfront, so at the end of my workdays, we’d pack our beach chairs in Gulliver and drive to the coast to bury our feet in the sand and bask in the warmth of the sun. The area is probably abuzz during the summer months. After all, Buccaneer State Park spans 343 acres and features a waterpark. But we visited in late March 2022, far from peak season. We liked it so much that we returned in late April 2024, still beating the crowds. 4. Louisiana Another Southern state made our top five. Louisiana boasts beautiful state parks, many that offer cabin rentals literally on the water, in addition to canoeing, fishing, and hiking. Having stayed at these campgrounds in Delhi in the northwestern part of the state and Westwego near New Orleans, it was difficult to pinpoint a favorite area. Compounding our choices, we spent time in Ville Platte in the central part of the state to visit friends Dwaine and Belinda. The entire Pelican State made our list for its delectable Creole and Cajun cuisine, crawfish boils, and completely different way of life than what Bob and I grew up with in Massachusetts and Arizona, respectively. The people are genuine, friendly, down to Earth, and extremely hospitable. 3. New Mexico Deserts We’ve spent a fair share of time in the deserts of New Mexico. The wide open areas offer plentiful boondocking opportunities, something we’ve grown to prefer. Being out in nature away from the hustle and bustle of city life has a lot of appeal, at least for us. We weathered a wind storm with gusts up to 50 mph in the desert near Carlsbad, had the privilege of experiencing the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta while camping at a casino nearby, spent an adventurous week in Alamogordo, and braved the heat near Deming in mid-September. Although we didn’t boondock at all of these stops (we had hookups near Albuquerque and Deming), they were all remote and shared amazing vistas, alluring mountain views, and magnificent sunsets. 2. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula When we started RVing, we knew we wanted to head to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan sometime in our travels, despite having to drive our long, heavy rig across the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge. We took that opportunity in May 2021, before the tourist and Black flies seasons, and spent a week in St. Ignace on Lake Huron, a week in Gladstone on Lake Michigan, and a week in Christmas on Lake Superior. The UP is renowned for its numerous waterfalls, Porcupine Mountains, and Pictured Rocks — in other words, natural beauty. It definitely lived up to that reputation when we visited. Each stop offered lighthouses and unique things to see. Our favorite of the three was undoubtedly Christmas. While there, we rented a pontoon boat and toured the vast lake with frigid wind in our faces, docking on a small beach to grill lunch — an unforgettable experience. 1. Gravel Lake, Alaska  Our trip to Alaska in 2023 remains the top highlight of all our travels. We drove our fifth wheel on the Alaska Highway both ways, with picturesque overnights in Canada’s Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon. We spent the entire summer in the 49th state, from Memorial Day weekend to Sept. 1.
Of the myriad places we explored, manmade Gravel Lake (you won’t find it on a map), about 20 minutes south of Tok, ranked as our absolute favorite. We spent three wonderful weeks there, enjoying occasional appearances of moose, trumpeter swans, and fellow campers. For the most part, we had the quiet, peaceful place with mountain views to ourselves and appreciated its proximity to town for supplies. It also made for a good jumping-off point for a trip to Chicken, Alaska, a unique and worthwhile place to visit. You might also like 4 Perks of Full-Time RV Living.  While camping at my brother’s farm in the middle of Michigan, we noticed some dark brown spots on the exterior of our fifth wheel that we hadn’t seen before. I was able to rub some off, so we didn’t think much about them. But we were curious as to their origin. We hadn’t painted or diffused anything nearby. Had my brother sprayed some pesticide or mosquito repellant? A quick browser search indicated we were dealing with fly defecation. Situated across the street from a cow farm, we had observed a number of flies in the area, so we quickly dismissed the dots as that. Shooting Spores Fast-forward two months. After setting up our rig for a long-term winter stay in the Southwest, we paid someone to power-wash it. He finished cleaning the coach’s exterior, but the spots remained. It appeared we had wasted $250. Further research revealed we were actually facing a case of artillery fungus, which is commonly found on rotting wood in moist environments. Having been established in 1893, the Michigan farm had its fair share of decaying wood piles, especially after a heavy windstorm wreaked havoc on the property earlier in the year. The name of the fungus is derived from its ability to release, or shoot, sticky spores into the air that attach to things such as vehicles up to 10 feet away. Those spores, if left untreated, can become permanent fixtures. Not wanting Tagalong to be speckled with brown spots for the rest of his life, we decided we’d better do something about them. But what? They clearly didn’t come off with power washing, which included soap and water. We needed a stronger substance. Finding a Heavy-Duty Solution Having spent a decade working on WWII airplanes, Bob is familiar with a variety of heavy-duty cleansers. His favorite is called Awesome, an all-purpose cleaner we’ve only been able to find at Dollar Tree. Evidently, it’s also available on Amazon (paid link). Knowing Awesome did a good job of removing grease and grime from airplane exteriors, Bob decided to try it on the RV spots. Simple rubbing of the cleanser didn’t immediately erase them. So, he invested in a polisher and put that to work with the Awesome. That extra power did the trick, allowing Bob to scrub the dots away. The only problem with this heavy-duty cleaner is that it can strip away wax and protective coatings. And that’s exactly what it did to our rig. In addition to removing the brown spots from Tagalong, we effectively rubbed away any protectant, a must-have in the harsh Arizona sun. Investing Elbow Grease and Time That meant we had twice the job we thought we did. With rain in the forecast, we spent our free time dousing, rubbing, and scrubbing Tagalong’s exterior to clean all the spots and Awesome off and reseal it with Turtle Wax ceramic spray coating (paid link). On a 42-foot trailer that stands more than 13 feet tall, that’s no easy feat. It involved a lot of early mornings to beat the heat and a lot of ascending and descending our telescoping ladder, moving it, and repeating the process — for the better part of a week.  Afterward, we discovered a few spores we missed. Those will have to linger — and maybe even become permanent. But we’re confident our rig is clean and protected. And maybe next year, we’ll do the full job ourselves and not waste money on a middleman.
You might also like Storm-Ready: Battening Down the RV Hatches. As Amazon associates, we may earn from qualifying purchases.  When we set out to become full-time RVers, we never envisioned spending a single night in a location en route to somewhere else. We quickly learned the folly of that mindset and have come to appreciate the respite of overnight stops when trying to reach distant destinations. Not all overnight options are big-rig-friendly, however. That means they can’t all accommodate a class A motorhome or a camping trailer that extends beyond 40 feet in length. Our fifth wheel is about 42 feet long, classifying it as a big rig. In our travels, we’ve found six big-rig-friendly overnight RV stops. 1. Rest Areas  Rest areas are convenient stopping points on a long journey as they offer easy on-and-off access to a freeway. They also provide the added benefit of saving space in the RV wastewater tanks if we choose to use the public facilities instead of those in the rig. Some rest areas even have dump stations. In five years of RV travel, we’ve spent 15 nights at rest areas. Because of the length of our rig, we park with the semi-trucks. Although some run their engines all night long, it’s a constant hum that doesn’t really bother us. Not all rest areas are created equal, however. Some are smaller than others, and some are cleaner and feel safer than others. To determine if a rest area is big-rig-friendly, we examine the satellite view on Google Maps to get a better feel of the layout and ensure adequate space for opening our stairs. 2. Cabela’s/Bass Pro  Many, but not all, Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops allow overnight RV parking and can easily accommodate big rigs. Some locations are restricted by city ordinances, so it’s best to talk to the manager at the location you want to visit to make sure doing so is permissible. Although we’ve only spent three nights in a Cabela’s or Bass Pro parking lot, this is one of our favorite overnight stops. They’re usually quiet and close to restaurants, offering welcome relief after a long day of driving. 3. Walmart  Like Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops, some Walmarts don’t allow overnight RV parking, but most do. They also tend to be near restaurants. If not, they have food inside. We’ve stayed at eight Walmarts. This is often our last option because these parking lots can be noisy with people coming and going. At a Walmart in Gallup, New Mexico, we parked near a light pole and heard music blaring from a speaker on it all night long. If you choose to stay at a Walmart, avoid parking spots close to the store entrance and be aware of your surroundings. 4. Casinos  Many casinos welcome RVers with the thought that you’ll go inside and spend money to cover the cost of your spot. Some casinos even provide hookups. And some charge for parking and/or hookups. We’ve stayed at three casinos — one on two separate occasions. With any overnight stop that offers food or services, we make a point to patronize the place as a courtesy for allowing us to stay there. Although we don’t gamble, we’ve found some good food options at casinos. 5. Boondockers Welcome/Harvest Hosts  Harvest Hosts acquired Boondockers Welcome in 2021. The combined entity offers overnight (and sometimes longer) stays at more than 2,400 sites for an annual fee. These locations can range anywhere from residential driveways to farms to museums. These hosts expect RVers to be fully self-contained, but some provide electricity, water, and even sewer dumps for a small fee. We’ve stayed at nine and met some wonderful, generous people as a result. Some shared fresh eggs and garden harvests with us. 6. Love’s Travel Stops  Although a bit costly, Love’s Travel Stops can be a good alternative for an overnight stay if you need to run an air conditioner. They typically offer water and electricity, as well as a dump station. Plus, they have food available for supper and breakfast, including coffee. We’ve taken advantage of this option twice.
Wherever you choose to spend a night, be a good camper and leave no trace. Let’s all work together to keep these big-rig-friendly overnight RV options available. If you don’t feel comfortable or safe in a location, don’t be afraid to move. It’s better to be safe than sorry. You might also like Our Favorite Phone Apps for RVing.  South Dakota is known as the Mount Rushmore State. It’s also our state of domicile. As such, we made a point to visit its eponymous monument to the birth, growth, development, and preservation of our country while boondocking near the Badlands. The 60-foot-tall granite faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln took 14 years to complete. Today, those faces greet more than 2 million visitors annually on a mountain that stands 5,725 feet high in the Black Hills, a 5 million-acre forest plagued by controversy. Only 16 miles away is another, much larger granite monument we didn’t know about at the time we visited Mount Rushmore. This one, of Crazy Horse, is a tribute to Native Americans. Like us, you may have heard of Mount Rushmore and wonder if the Crazy Horse Memorial is worth visiting. Read on to decide for yourself. Envisioning Another Monument The entire Black Hills area was sacred to numerous Native American tribes and was granted to the Sioux and Arapaho tribes through a treaty in 1868. When Colonel George Custer and his expedition team found gold in the area in 1874, the Americans wanted the land for themselves. This led to the Battle of Little Bighorn, which ended with the tribes losing their rights to the land. Before the completion of Mount Rushmore, Lakota Sioux Chief Henry Standing Bear commissioned New England sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who assisted sculptor Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore, to carve another sculpture in the area to honor Native Americans. “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too,” Chief Standing Bear wrote. Ziolkowski met the chief in 1940. After serving a call of duty in WWII, Ziolkowski agreed to take on the project to create a 100-foot sculpture of Crazy Horse, the Lakota war leader who fought the U.S. government to preserve Native American land and the Lakotan way of life. In 1946, Ziolkowski sculpted a scale model of Crazy Horse. A year later, he moved to the Black Hills to begin working on the full-scale project. Upon arrival, Ziolkowski decided to enlarge the sculpture to 563 feet, even though he knew he could never finish it in his lifetime. While five of the nine survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn looked on in 1948, Ziolkowski made the first blast on the mountain, seven years after the completion of Mount Rushmore. Forgoing a salary and rejecting funding from the federal government, he pledged that the project would be nonprofit and educational. Exploring Crazy Horse Seventy-six years later, donation-funded work continues on the Crazy Horse Memorial, which became quite a sight to behold on its 50th anniversary in 1998. At that time, during a dedication ceremony, Ziolkowski’s widow, Ruth, unveiled the complete face of Crazy Horse. Although the sculpture is visible northbound on US Highway 385, more than 1 million visitors pay $30 to $35 per carload to navigate the winding road to the Crazy Horse Welcome Center. There, they pay their respects and glimpse the world’s largest mountain carving.  From the parking lot, they’re greeted with a side view of Crazy Horse’s face, outstretched arm, and pointer finger. A round window in the granite marks the beginning separation between Crazy Horse and his horse.
True to sculptor Ziolkowski’s commitment, the memorial grounds include museums, a university, and a conference center. In the welcome center, guests find an informative film, a gift shop, and a restaurant. From the welcome center, visitors can hop on a bus to the base of the mountain for $5 per person — weather permitting (if there’s lightning in the area, tours stop) — to get a better perspective of the size of the mammoth monument. For an extra $125 per person, a van provides a guided tour to the top of the mountain. Even without taking a tour to get closer, the sculpture is truly a sight to behold and worth the visit. We’re glad we got to see it. You might also like Exploring Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada.  Following a successful climb to a remote spot in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the turbo on our truck continued to give us problems. It became obvious that our desire to stay in higher elevations and cooler temperatures as we worked our way southwest would be risky. Not feeling confident our truck could get Tagalong up mountainous roads, we rerouted our course to stay on interstates in lower elevations. That took us to Albuquerque, where high temperatures were in the 80s in mid-September, definitely tolerable. While there, however, the air conditioner (A/C) in our main living area started making strange vibrating noises that rattled the whole rig. The unit continued to work, so we didn’t think much of it. To give it a break, we shut it off in the evenings and relied on the bedroom A/C or opened windows to keep cool. We normally wouldn’t have ventured into the Southwest until October, but it appeared our first grandchild wasn’t going to wait until her Oct. 10 due date to make her entrance into the world. For that reason, we thought it best to keep making progress toward Arizona to help ensure we didn’t miss the special arrival. Warming Up That decision took us to a remote campground in the desert near Deming, New Mexico, where high temperatures hovered around 90 degrees, giving us a very warm welcome to the Southwest.  Despite running both A/Cs, we didn’t feel cool air in our fifth wheel. With sweat beading on his forehead, Bob turned off the main A/C and restarted it. It blew cold air for about 5 minutes, but that was it. With Arizona — and 100-degree temperatures — in our near future, we needed working A/C. After doing some research, Bob climbed onto the roof and took our main A/C apart to troubleshoot. He checked all the simple-solution items. None of those repaired the problem. It didn’t appear the issue would be an easy fix. Meanwhile, we reverted to leaving the windows open and toughing it out, running fans to circulate the warm air and opening our awnings to minimize sun hitting the windows and heating the rig. On hot afternoons, we’d drive a half mile to Dairy Queen for a cool, refreshing treat. But this stop gap could only last so long. It became clear we needed to replace the A/C. Hitting Snags Bob ordered a new Coleman Mach unit from Camping World in Mesa, Arizona, and made arrangements for us to do the work ourselves at an organization we’re affiliated with to save on labor costs. This would also give us access to tools and equipment to help us get the old unit off the roof and the new one on. Our trip to Arizona went smoothly — until Tagalong sent smoke signals on the freeway about an hour from our destination. That incident and the ensuing damage derailed us for five days. When we finally picked up our fifth wheel from Cliff’s Welding, with practically a completely new underside, we drove straight to the location where we had permission to change out the A/C unit so we could get to work. We wanted to have a working A/C before parking and setting up for a monthslong stay. Bob opened the box the new A/C came in and discovered it was not the low-profile one we thought we had ordered. The closest Camping World that had the size we needed in stock was an hour away. Bob loaded the unit into Gulliver and headed out to trade it for the right one. Replacing the A/C After returning more than two hours later, Bob ascended the ladder to our RV roof to disassemble the existing A/C so he could remove it. He took off the shroud and traced around the edge of the unit so we could easily line up the new one in the right place. Then he removed four lag bolts and unplugged the wire harness, setting the factory-installed unit free. Years of dirt had accumulated in the thin space under the A/C. Bob took time to clean the area before installing the new one. We hoisted the new unit onto a scissor lift, only to discover the lift didn’t have enough juice to do the job. It needed to be charged.  Our friend Tim hopped on a forklift and raised the forks up to the roof height of our RV. Bob and I loaded the old unit onto the forks, and Tim lowered it to the ground. Then he reversed the operation and lifted the new unit to our roof.  Bob and I unloaded it and positioned it in place. Reinserting the four lag bolts into the original holes on the roof proved challenging. After struggling for a bit, Bob got three of them to line up correctly. Aligning the fourth required drilling a new hole to ensure the unit would be secure when traveling 70 mph down the freeway.  After straightening the unit’s fins and plugging in the wire harness, Bob had me turn on the A/C from inside the trailer to see that it operated properly. With that confirmation, he installed the cover, cleaned up, and descended the ladder. We relocated, got both A/C’s cranking, and completed our setup in the nick of time. Our granddaughter, Chloe Elizabeth, entered the world about 33 hours later. We couldn’t be happier. You might also like Removing an RV Antenna.   A driver waved us down on the freeway and pointed to our fifth wheel tires. At the same time, our truck displayed a message reading, “Trailer brake disconnected.” Heeding the warnings, we pulled off to the side and got out. Smoke emanated from the front driver-side trailer tire. As Bob approached, he saw flames. “Fire!” he yelled. I ran to unlock the RV door and grab the fire extinguisher. By the time I got to Bob, he had already pulled out the gallon of water we carry in the truck and poured it over the flaming wheel bearings, resulting in a lot of steam. “More water!” Bob shouted over the traffic noise. I dashed to the truck and snatched some water bottles to put into his hands. Then I bolted back to the trailer door and snagged what was left of our case of water bottles, about 20. As I handed Bob one after another, he poured them over the hot bearings in an effort to cool them off. Determining Our Next Move That mission accomplished, we assessed the situation. The front driver-side tire bowed out on the top, making the fifth wheel undrivable. Should we call Coach-Net, our roadside assistance provider? we wondered. What would they do? They couldn’t tow our rig in that condition. We decided we needed to remove the bowed tire from our RV. Bob lay on the asphalt and jacked up the fifth wheel. I stood by watching passing cars and semis, trying to coax drivers to move to the next lane. Fortunately, this happened near where the third lane ended and vehicles had to move over anyway. You don’t realize how fast traffic is moving until you’re stopped on the side of the road. A word of caution, drivers: If you ever see a stalled vehicle on the highway and can safely move to the next lane, please do so. It can make a world of difference to the people in an already difficult situation.  Getting to Safety Bob succeeded in removing the tire and the wheel hub, which was also leaning out. Without the hub or wheel bearings, putting on the spare tire was out of the question. But with the weight of the driver’s side of the rig on the remaining tire, Bob couldn’t get the bottle jack out from under the trailer axle. We quickly dislodged the factory-installed jack from under the passenger seat of the truck. That gave Bob the extra lift he needed to remove the other jack. Whew! Again, we weighed our options. We were about 2 miles from the next exit. Could we nurse the 18,000-pound fifth wheel along on only three tires to get it to a safer area? We decided to take the chance and crept down the emergency lane with our flashers on. I jumped out every few minutes to remove broken tire pieces that lay in our path. About 1.5 hours after our ordeal started, we succeeded in getting off the interstate and onto a nice flat dirt area about 20 feet from a two-lane road, where we could evaluate the damage. Bob discovered that, in the fiery heat, the washer on the spindle had melted to the outer raceway. He called his mechanic buddy Roy to chat through our options and came to the conclusion that we needed a new axle.  Saying Goodbye to Our Home A state trooper showed up. Bob asked him about leaving the trailer, possibly overnight, so we could go to the Phoenix metropolitan area to get parts. We were about an hour outside of Mesa, Arizona, our destination for the birth of our first grandbaby. The trooper informed us we were on an Indian reservation and advised us to contact the reservation authorities. With an OK to leave the trailer overnight on this Friday, we disconnected it from the truck, got it as level as we could, and grabbed some clothes and toiletries. Then we said goodbye to Tagalong, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time we saw him mostly in one piece.  I drove so Bob could call around for an axle. Our search led us to Cliff’s Welding, which has specialized in hitches, tow bars, trailer hitches, and RV accessories since 1964. We headed straight there, explained our situation, and discovered the shop could get an axle for our rig by Monday. (Another place we called had said it would take two to four weeks.) Finding a Fix The catch with Cliff’s was that it wouldn’t be an EasyLube axle, like the one in need of replacing. Because of that, we really needed to replace the second axle as well. Since Bob has never liked the EasyLube functionality, we decided to go for it. But Cliff’s wouldn’t go to our trailer. We had to get the trailer to the shop. One of the workers told us he had towed a number of trailers, even overweight ones, on three tires from the same area where we had left our fifth wheel. We asked how he did it and learned he ratcheted the bum axle to the frame to give it higher clearance and drove back roads at 35 to 40 mph. Based on his recommendation, we elected to attempt to move the RV on our own, waiting until later in the day so there’d be less traffic. Our son DJ went down with us in his truck to follow behind and keep an eye on the trailer. About three hours after we left Mesa to retrieve our home, we returned, thankful to have it off the reservation and in the same vicinity as us.  Counting Our Blessings Cliff’s offered to let us stay in our rig in the shop’s parking lot over the weekend. But because of the Arizona heat (yes, even in September) and the RV’s leaning to the damaged side, we opted to stay with family in the area instead. We thank God for keeping us safe. His angels were definitely watching over us. The incident happened close to our destination, family, and resources. Our home could have gone up in flames. Instead, we were able to get it to the best place it could have been for the work that needed to be done to it. We were blessed with a bed to sleep in (thanks, Mike and Susan!) and had everything we needed. We’re especially grateful to the driver who got our attention and alerted us to the situation in the first place. Thank you, sir, for your kindness. You might also like When Things Go Wrong in RV Life.   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.  As we traverse this great country, we often find ourselves in the path of storms. We endured wind storms in New Mexico, a close-call lightning strike in Georgia, and tornado warnings in Michigan, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. When you live in an RV, like we do, it’s important to keep an eye on the weather so that you can be ready to take action if needed. Because of our experiences, we feel pretty prepared for unexpected situations, but they’re still not fun — or convenient. Here are some measures we take to batten down the RV hatches and be storm ready. Closing Slideouts and Awnings When we leave our rig for any period of time, we make a point to close our awnings. We’d hate for a gust to pick up one of our two shade coverings while we’re away and yank it off. Wind can also wreak havoc on our slideout toppers. Not all RVs come with these. We had them installed when we bought our rig to protect the slideouts from sun and heat and to prevent accidentally introducing debris on top of the slideouts to the inside of the trailer. These toppers are lightweight, making them easily flappable in wind. If we’re likely to get hit by a severe storm at night, we might close our slideouts before going to bed to avoid being awakened by the toppers slapping against the RV. If we’re not sure the storm will bring heavy winds, we’ll take measures to clear the paths of our four slideouts before bed so that we can close them quickly and easily should we need to. This includes moving items, such as my office chair, out of the way so that we can simply press a button without thinking and close the office slideout.  Getting Out of Potential Harm’s Way We don’t have to get the rig tow-ready when anticipating a storm … unless we know something the magnitude of a hurricane is heading our direction. Then we’d be wise to pack up completely, hook up Gulliver to Tagalong, and get out of harm’s way. With that type of storm, we should have enough notice to be able to do all that. Thankfully, we haven’t had to encounter anything like that … yet. Strong winds have the potential to destroy parts of the trailer, or blow debris into or onto it. In the tornado warnings we experienced, for example, we made a point to seek shelter away from RVs, knowing they were the biggest threat. Because weather can change quickly, we’re also careful not to park in low spots that can be subject to flooding. This is especially important since our truck is not four-wheel drive.  Riding Out the Storm
Sometimes the best course of action is to hunker down and let the inclement weather pass. Not all storms produce heavy gusts or threaten destruction. Thunder can be difficult to sleep through, for example, but it’s usually short-lived. Rain doesn’t cause much damage unless we’re moving in rainy weather. Then water can get inside our rig around the wheel wells. Hail can be destructive, but Tagalong sustained hailstones measuring about 1.5 inches that left no marks. The hail didn’t even harm our solar panels. Wherever we find ourselves, we try to keep a level head, be aware of our surroundings, and have a game plan in mind should a sudden storm arise. You might also like The Logistics of Full-Time RVing.  Bob finished upgrading our RV’s power, and we left our rig for three weeks to go on our annual bomber tour with the Commemorative Air Force, hopeful that the efforts we had made to rewire our fifth wheel were successful. It never dawned on us that we might not be able to open our RV slideouts upon our return. Stuck Closed The weather warmed in Michigan, where we left Gulliver and Tagalong at my brother’s, but we had left the air conditioning off to save on unnecessary power consumption. It didn’t make a lot of sense to cool the trailer with nobody spending any time in it. We did keep it plugged into shore power to run our refrigerator, and that was about it. We took comfort in knowing that Bob could monitor our RV’s power remotely while we were away. About one week into our three-week excursion, Bob noticed a low level on our trailer power. “What could be wrong?” we wondered. A check of the weather confirmed my brother’s farm had been subjected to thunderstorms. That could have caused a neighborhood power outage. My brother verified a temporary power outage had been restored. So he went to investigate the electrical connections for our rig and quickly discovered the problem: It appeared an animal of some sort had stepped on the cord and managed to disconnect it in the process.  Steve reconnected the power cords and fixed the issue — or so we thought. Wanting validation that our refrigerator was indeed running, we asked him to open our dining room slideout so that he could get into the kitchen. After holding down the slideout rocker switch for a full minute, nothing happened. The slideout wouldn’t budge. Since we’d had difficulty with that particular extension opening in the past, we suggested Steve expand the bedroom one. That didn’t move either.  Troubleshooting Steve confirmed that shore power was on to the trailer and that the batteries were charged. He asked if there was a breaker box he could check. Unfortunately, the breaker box also required opening that one slideout to get to it. He plugged his electrical tester into an outlet he could access and found that the trailer did indeed have AC power inside. The lights turned on inside the rig, proving that it also had DC power.  Bob guided Steve through trying to open the slideout using the onboard digital control panel, which we’ve found success with in the past. It still wouldn’t budge.  Completely stumped, and unable to do anything about the situation, we asked Steve to see if he could hear the refrigerator running from outside the rig. He could, and he verified that our propane was still working. We had left the fridge on the electric/propane setting so that it would run off electricity if available and switch to propane if not. We rested easier knowing the refrigerator was working properly and went on with our bomber tour, pushing thoughts about not being able to open our slideouts to the backs of our minds. Finding a Solution At the end of our tour, we returned to Steve’s house, opened the door to our RV and, sure enough, the slideouts wouldn’t expand. Bob tried using an app on his phone to no avail. Unsure what to do, he tried one more option: He turned the battery disconnect off and then back on. After that, we were able to open the slideouts as usual.  It seems either the animal issue with the power cords or the outage caused a problem with the slideout controller. As with a computer (Bob was an IT guy most of his career), when something goes wrong, restarting it should be one of the first troubleshooting steps.
Thankfully, the power upgrade turned out to be a success. We have no power issues whatsoever and are able to operate both air conditioners, the refrigerator, and the microwave all at the same time — even when not plugged into 50 amps. You might also like When Things Go Wrong in RV Life. |
AuthorThis is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. Categories
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