I was very fortunate in that the last few days at the sugar beet harvest were short shifts so I got to catch up on a little sleep and do some travel prep. Actually, my last shift was rather enjoyable. After we clocked in, they pushed the start time back. We got to reposition a piler and had enough people so everyone got to swap around and take frequent breaks.

Fast forward to the next morning. Frost on the truck windows so I had to spend some extra time warming up the motor but still managed to get out of there before 9 AM. Winds were out of the west so I got some good mileage most of the day. The bad thing about traveling this time of year is the short days. I had planned a stop in Evansdale IA. A few hours before arrival I called them and got a recording that they were closed for the season. Oops! With the help of my GF Jean, I got a plan B just a little further down the road. I got there after dark and in the rain. Lucky for me the campground was laid out well (no obstacles) and I got a pull thru site. Hooked up electric, dumped one gray tank and hit the sack.

Got an early start the next morning, again frost on the windows. Another uneventful drive through Iowa and Illinois. Stopped at another RV park in southern IL early enough to unhitch and hit a local Chinese buffet. I also saw an interesting highway sign from the IL state police. Since it was time to change clocks they advised that “Drunk drivers get a free extra hour in jail this weekend.”  Anyway, with the time change, when I woke up the next morning it was full daylight so I hit the road early. (More frost on the truck.) There was a Golden Corral about 1 hour south so, after checking satellite pix to make sure I could fit, I stopped in for a great omelet and bacon breakfast. That was a welcome change from my traveling hard boiled eggs.

I made it to my final stop very early in the afternoon. The place is packed with seasonals and Amazon workers. One of the workampers escorted me to my site, a backin. No problem. From the wrong side. I’ll deal with that too. Uphill on gravel. Really? My brand new clutch did not appreciate what I did to it getting into that site. Due to a tree on the door side, I had to do some maneuvering to get just the right distance from it. Maybe one of these days I’ll invent a device to move a huge RV sideways a few feet.

As I sit here typing, I’m pretty much set up. Need to catch up on laundry but otherwise it will be a night in before my first Amazon appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Oh, OTA TV reception is very good here. Getting 51 channels!!

I left Rochester with a couple of concerns. The first was the truck.  The local dealer suspected a bad flywheel and I got a few dire warnings on the internet about immediate repairs. It didn’t seem that bad to me so I pressed on, while researching transmission shops along the way. The second concern dealt with an intermediate stop in Trent SD. The campground sits next to the Big Sioux River and they had some flooding. My preferred route was closed due to high water on the road. The day before leaving I got a call from the campground owner that a decent route had just reopened.

So, off I went and arrived at the campground after just a minor detour through town. The water gradually receded and by the time I left I was able to drive directly to the interstate. Enter the second concern.

On my way north the truck seemed to be driving normally. A couple of times I heard sounds that could’ve been rocks hitting the under carriage. Shortly after the second noise, my speed started dropping off while the tachometer was rising. Of course, this all happened on a Saturday afternoon. Crap!!

I pulled onto the shoulder (about 35 miles south of Fargo) and quickly determined that the truck would not be moving again under its own power without repairs. Called GEICO for my roadside assistance. After some initial confusion, they dispatched 2 tow trucks. I already had an appointment at a transmission shop in Fargo so that’s where they towed the truck. An OTR tractor arrived to hitch up to the 5th wheel and take me to my campground.

I got setup in the campground without problems. Talked to the transmission shop on Monday. They dropped the transmission and confirmed that I would need a new clutch assembly and flywheel but the price quoted was about $2k less than the dealer in Rochester. I can live with that. And the truck will be ready well before the sugar beet harvest starts.

Overall, the trip could have been better, but it also could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.

I had my departure from TN all planned out. I was going to leave on a Sunday afternoon, heading north on I-65, so I could get through Nashville without fighting construction or traffic. Then boondock just over the state line in KY, before heading to my next campground in IN. Great plan, right?

Well, as I was buttoning up the 5er to leave, the kitchen slide would only come in about 4 inches. The motor was working OK. It just couldn’t make it up the bump. I tried tilting the 5th wheel to each side hoping to help it that way, but still no dice. I finally walked across the road to another workamping couple and asked for their assistance. While she pushed the button inside, her husband and I pushed on the outside of the slide. After several loud grunts, it finally retracted all the way. I thanked them profusely for their help, hitched up and hit the road before anything else could go wrong.

Since I wasn’t rushing to the next campground, I was able to think about my problems that evening. Since I was driving to NW Indiana anyway, I looked for Open Range dealers on the route. Close enough. I found one in NE Indiana, very close to the RV capitol of the world. I left them a voice mail before going to sleep, with a promise to call them back the next morning.

Somewhere in southern Indiana, I had enough of a signal to call them and started my roller coaster ride. They wouldn’t take a walk-in. But they knew of a place fairly close that had more technicians who might be able to fit me in. I called Shipshewana RV Service Center next. Bingo! They also operated an RV park right next to the service center. They sounded very encouraging. I skipped lunch and shortened a couple of fuel stops to get there before closing time. They gave me a nice pull thru spot for the night and highly recommended that I come back the next morning about 8:15 to talk to a service rep. That night I left the kitchen slide in, but did a full setup otherwise.

The next morning, the service rep sounded very familiar with my problem and said he would come to my site shortly to verify the problem.  After checking the slide, he thought a cable adjustment would correct the problem, although he didn’t think very highly of the design of this particular slide. He promised to return later in the day with another tech. I extended my stay by one night and settled in to wait. Shortly after lunch, they showed up and about an hour later all 3 of my slides had their cables adjusted.

I even had enough time to check out a little of the local area before leaving the next morning. I saw more horse drawn buggies in a few hours than I’d seen in my entire life. I checked out a Chinese buffet just over the state line in MI (not good enough to even give a review) and bought some Amish butter for my future toast.

The next morning I was on the road bright and early to spend a few days visiting family, before heading to my next job in Rochester MN.