I thought my trip from SD to KY was a helluva trip. This trip said ‘hold my beer’. I was able to leave Campbellsville a day earlier than planned and got to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville AL without any problems at all. It was a good idea that I looked closely at Google maps routing before I left KY. It would have had me on a very narrow, winding back road, just like it did on the way in. I avoided that stretch and the associated white knuckles that accompanied it. I had to call Redstone from a rest area to make sure they could take me a day early and all was good. I didn’t even have to stop for diesel. One tank lasted the entire way. Maybe there’s something to short driving days after all.

So, the plan was to stay at Redstone Arsenal until the day after Christmas. Usually I prefer driving on major holidays because of lighter traffic. This time, the memory of my last trip was still very fresh. I really didn’t want to break down on Christmas day, or New Year’s for that matter and take forever to get help. I spent a few days in Huntsville relaxing and even managed to visit a Chinese buffet that I’d been to before. Pulled out on the morning of the 26th and made it about 15 miles down I-565. A car pulled up next to me and started motioning towards the back of the RV and also pointing to his nose. I immediately started checking mirrors and slowing down. I was able to stop in a safe place at the next exit to figure out what was wrong. That spring hanger weld that cracked in Arkansas? Yep, it cracked again in Alabama. Maybe I just need to stay out of states that start with A. I started making phone calls looking for a mobile welder. After several fruitless hours, I broke down and called my roadside assistance. They couldn’t find a mobile welder but offered to find a tow truck that would put the 5th wheel on a flatbed. Well, they failed at that also. I was getting ready to spend the night on the interstate when a local deputy checked on me. After I explained the situation, he called a local towing company. They were able to respond about an hour later with a mobile welder. He was very concerned about the propane line next to the hangar so he made a very temporary repair and suggested a local welder for a more permanent fix.

I was able to spend that night in an RV park with electric and water so that was great. The next day, Sunday, I called the welder to get on his radar before he opened on Monday. He actually came to the park on Sunday to look at the RV. I wasn’t able to find another buffet in that town but I did top off the tank with some very cheap diesel. Monday morning I was at his shop at 0700. Besides the spring hanger, he found worn bushings and recommended replacing leaf springs at the first opportunity. I pulled out of his shop with plans to reach Duson LA that night.

As it turned out, I got tired faster than anticipated and only made it as far as Hammond LA. I’d called ahead and they gave me directions to their ‘overnight’ row and said to pick any open spot. I got there after dark and at first it didn’t look like any of the spots had electric. I had to get out of the truck to find very small outlets at the back of the sites. Found one with 50 amp and had to go around the loop again to get to it. Well, I suppose I could’ve backed up about 100 yards but I really didn’t feel like doing that in the dark after another long day. The next morning, I woke up to peacocks wandering around my site. After paying in the office I hit the road again – and made it about 2 hours down the road.

I pulled off to fill up again at a truck stop. While I was looking down the line of the RV, I noticed one of the tires looked low. OK, no biggie. I’m in a truck stop with a big empty parking lot. Plenty of room to safely put the spare on. Then I looked at the other side and noticed the tires rubbing against each other again. I finished filling up and pulled slowly into the parking area. The other side (same side with the broken spring hanger) had a broken leaf spring this time. Oh well, it was still fairly early in the day and there was a trailer repair shop less than 2 miles away. I could limp there without a problem. Unfortunately, they were all booked up and couldn’t help me other than providing a phone number for a mobile tech. The mobile tech was very busy. He managed to get to me just after 4 PM to get measurements on the leaf springs so he could get parts from the trailer shop before they closed. He had another job to finish before he got back to me so I filled the time by walking to the DQ across the street for a blizzard and changing the flat tire. That was the first time I saw a rock embedded deep enough to lose air. The mobile tech returned and replaced both leaf springs on that side and I was able to find another RV park to spend the night just 5 miles down the road in an easy pull thru spot. Early the next morning, I was first in line at a local tire shop getting a new tire.

Back on the road again for Texas. By this time I was hyper sensitive to any problems with the rig. I cringed a little every time a truck passed me, just waiting for them to signal another problem. Sure enough, after leaving the interstate for a state highway, a trucker signaled me to look at the back of the RV. One of the nice things about Texas is that they have ample shoulders on their highways so I immediately pulled over. I walked towards the back of the RV like a pedatory animal, eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary and nose sniffing for burning rubber. None of the tires were rubbing or low on air. I crawled under and didn’t see anything broken. I searched for another few minutes and couldn’t find anything wrong so I hopped back in the truck and continued driving. A few miles down the road, I remembered that I’d just changed a tire recently but didn’t use the torque wrench on the lug nuts or check tightness after 50 miles. I pulled off at the next truck stop and got the 1/2 inch ratchet out. Sure enough, some of the lug nuts weren’t as tight as they should’ve been. Maybe the trucker spotted a slight shimmy on that wheel. On to my next scheduled stop, a place to lay up until after New Year’s day. It was a nice enough park, lots of live oaks. They escorted me to my site, avoiding the low hanging branches on the way. I had hoped to get the leaf springs on the other side replaced at a local shop while I was here but they were either closed or couldn’t get the parts for several days. My biggest problem at this park was a split sewer hose which was easily repaired and fire ants that were displaced by heavy rains.

I left that park very slowly and carefully to make sure I didn’t hit any limbs and made it to my final destination without any further problems. My assigned site for the next few months was a 90 degree back in spot, which shouldn’t have been a problem except the permanent residents around that site had ‘stuff’ that came right to the edge of the road. Due to that ‘stuff’ I couldn’t make it from the good side. Had to go around the block to come at it from the other direction. Oops. Couldn’t make the last turn because of previously mentioned ‘stuff’ too close to the road. Had to back out of that turn to the next intersection, go around the original direction, but back down the street from there. I was very fortunate to have a 5th wheel neighbor assisting with spotting and suggestions. Without much further ado, I got into the spot, auto-leveled and started relaxing. The weather was great for setup.