It was nice leaving the RGV without a strict timetable. I had stops planned for a nice, leisurely drive up to Indiana. Our first stop was just outside Austin TX, checking a new possible winter destination. And that’s where things started to go wrong.
The campground was waaaay off the beaten path. During the last mile of the drive to the gate there was a narrow section of road with trees close on either side, and a pickup truck coming from the other direction. Silly me. I assumed that the trees would’ve been trimmed properly for big RVs. We didn’t feel or hear anything during that 50 yard stretch. After registering at the campground, I stood on their porch and looked down at the RV and thought ‘Why is my antenna upside down and 20 feet back from where it should be?’
We pulled into the site and got set up before I ventured onto the roof. The King Jack antenna would need to be replaced, along with 2 vent caps. Fortunately, the air conditioning shrouds and the exhaust vent covers were all OK. I didn’t see any other damage on the walk around so I felt pretty good that it was so minor and I could do all the repairs. There was an RV dealer nearby that had an antenna but it was much more expensive than what I’d seen online so we lived without live TV for a few days.
On to our next stop for a 2 night stay and I discover another issue. The main awning won’t go out. Oh! The motor cover got torn off by that nasty group of trees and all the wires were disconnected. After looking at it for awhile I could tell something else was missing but was able to connect the power wires and get the awning to extend. Of course, I had to reverse the wires to retract it. Back online for more research and found the missing part. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something typically stocked by RV dealers so that would have to go on the back burner for a few days. But there was one other bonus. As I’m walking around the RV I notice a crack in the corner of the kitchen slideout box. Wonderful! This is the very heavy slide so that’s just not good news.
We decide to keep driving and just extend the kitchen slide partially until repairs can be made. Driving through Arkansas we bypass a planned stop so we can spend an extra day camped on the Mississippi River. Enroute we stop at a Camping World just outside of Little Rock for a replacement antenna. It listed for $199 in the store but at the register I showed them their online advertised price of $140 and they honored that price. We spent 3 nights on the shores of the Mississippi River, watching barges go up and down the river and visiting with one of Mary’s old friends. Oh, and making repairs on the roof. At least the weather was nice while we were there and we found a nearby Dairy Queen.
On to our last stop before visiting family in Indiana. It was a very small RV park in the middle of Illinois and I don’t think they ever decided what kind of park they wanted to be. From the name and size, they were just supposed to be an unattended, overnight, no frills stop. Then they started adding amenities and a rule that you had to change sites after 2 weeks. Either way, it was convenient.
We made it to Cedar Lake IN the next day. This would be a water/electric site for a week but a very short drive to visit Mom and sis so we dealt with the shower house. First stop was for Chicago hot dogs. Man they tasted good after so long without. Italian beef sandwiches and gyros were a couple of days later. It was also time to make reservations at https://shipshewanatradingplace.com/rv I’d visited them a few years ago with slide cable issues and they fixed me up right on my site. This time I was already thinking something more catastrophic that would require us to drop the RV off for weeks.
We arrived at Shipshewana and the RV tech came out to look at the crack before we parked. Remarkably, he remembered me from my previous visit. Not my name, but my face and the problem. He thought it was more cosmetic than structural but also noticed a broken cable. OK, I thought, I’ve replaced those myself. We got setup on the site with 2 slides extended and I got a better look at the broken cable, and the wall around it. At that point I was back to thinking major, very expensive repair. Stopped at the office and their service schedule was booked out at least a couple of weeks. I couldn’t stay on my site that long due to previous bookings for Memorial Day and rallies. They talked to the tech again and he came to the site for another look. It was bad but not catastrophic. He could come out after hours (Friday) and start reinforcing that corner. Whew! We started running into problems with the cable replacement and he called a stop for the night, and also called a factory rep to assist him the next morning. The Norco/BAL factory rep was a real wizard with cables. We both learned a lot from him. That left a few more minor issues, which were taken care of in the bay on Monday. While waiting for that, I finished repairs on the awning with parts that had just arrived the day before. All told, we didn’t miss a night of sleep in the RV and the repairs were under $1k.
We also got to visit the RV museum in Elkhart and a number of Amish shops right here in Shipshewana. It seems like the Amish are embracing E-bikes. They’re not as prevalent as the buggies and horses but still noticeable. It really is an interesting area and we’ll have to come back sometime when we don’t need repairs.
While all the repairs were going on, I was also looking for my next Amazon job. I really didn’t expect to have any problems with this since they have such a high turnover rate. The first place I wanted ran out of openings AND had ridiculously high RV site rents nearby. Second place had no openings. I expanded my search and found another possibility that I applied for. The first appointment would require us to leave here 2 days early but, again, we couldn’t find a monthly site nearby. I withdrew that application and applied elsewhere. Almost had to withdraw that one but finally found a park with monthlies. Hopefully, this will work out for a few months to replenish the bank account.