How about I start at the beginning...
We got up at a half decent hour, with the plan to be pulling out of our daughter's driveway by 10:00am at the very latest.
I didn't have much left to do to get Sherman ready... fill up the fresh water tank, and turn on the refrigerator. Simple, right?
You would have thought so, but my brain was apparently not in gear.
I got out the water hose and started filling up. But I soon noticed that the water wasn't going in properly. Burping and gurgling. I got a light and had a closer look at the vent hole, and sure enough it was blocked solid. Must have been those mud dauber wasps. Anyhow, I poked away at it but couldn't clear it up. So I had to go inside and remove the dinette cushions to get access to the tank itself, and remove the vent tube from the other end. Then, I could fill up the tank, and clean out the tube.
So I went back outside and turned the water on again. I heard some dripping from a few feet away, and I saw water coming from under the rear wheel well. My immediate thought was that I hadn't winterized properly and that a leak had developed. But it then occurred to me that I had not hooked up the lines to the water pump when I disconnected them a year ago.
Dummy! I can't believe I did that!
So the entire compartment under where the water pump sits was soaked. Like, I mean soaked.
So I spent some time drying that up, and eventually got the problem under control.
Then, I went to light the fridge. The propane had been turned off at the tank and I know it takes a long time for the gas to make it's way from the tank to the fridge, so I had to recycle the starting sequence a dozen or so times. I had already turned on one of the stove burners, so I knew the gas had made it that far. But the fridge wouldn't light.
I tried for another 10 minutes or so. Nothing.
So I went and took some things apart and checked the fridge burner. Sure enough, a pile of rust from the burner exhaust tube was sitting on top of where the flame was supposed to be. I had only cleaned that tube about two years ago. I'm going to have to take it all apart again one day, but for now I just blew it out and vacuumed up the pieces. The fridge then fired right up.
Okay, on the road! Only 45 minutes late at 10:45am.
Made it to the local Walmart and did some stocking up on some gluten free flour and stuff at Bulk Barn.
Sherman!
And then, on the road to the border. It wasn't long and we were at the bridge to cross over at Ogdensburg, New York.
Crossing the Ogdensburg Bridge.
Big Great Lakes freighter going underneath us!
Did I mention it was a miserable day? Well, it was a miserable day!
Raining on and off, windy, and about 3C (38F). Miserable.
Made it through the U.S. border guys with no problem. It still took 45 minutes or so. But as we were finishing up with them, one of the guys taps on my window and says "You maybe want to put some air in your right rear tire".
Huh? I got out and looked at it, and sure enough the outer dually on the right rear was pretty much flat!
I hadn't noticed a thing while driving, but that's pretty normal with dual rear wheels because if the inner is full, it will still support the weight... for a while, anyhow.
I pulled over after the border and filled it up. I think it might be one of the valve extensions leaking.
Amish horse and buggy. Brrr.
Low bridge coming into Watertown, New York. 12"3".... but we are only 11'3".
Downtown Watertown.
I pulled in to get some cheap American gas. But I only put in $30 ($39 CAD) worth, because it's cheaper in Syracuse. I paid $2.65 a gallon, but it's $2.48 a gallon ($0.85 CAD per litre) in Syracuse. When you're buying 50 gallons, that adds up!
After I bought the gas, I had a look at that tire. Sure enough, it was low again. I couldn't find a nail or anything in it, but it's miserable and the ground was wet so I didn't look really closely.
We went to Walmart and spent $175 ($225 CAD) stocking the shelves.
As Ruth was shopping, I was trying to figure out what to do with this tire. By now, it was 3:30pm and it gets dark at 4:45pm. Plus with the overcast skies, it looked pretty dark out already.
We made a corporate decision... it only made sense to stay parked up for the night at Walmart. No, we don't like it and it's always a last resort for us. But with a bad tire and dark closing in on us, we decided to call it a day.
So this morning we'll go get the tire looked at, and hopefully still make it to Beavertown, PA later this afternoon.
Not a great start to our trip, but at least we've started it!
Ruth made a delicious roast beef dinner. The oven helped keep us warm!
Happy to be back in Sherman!
Yesterday's drive, 156 kms (97 miles).
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Black Friday Deals Week has started!
And in Canada...
I'm buckled in and ready to roll. Let's get that tire repaired and on with the stress relief. Luv to read this blog/pics and thank you for the detail.
ReplyDeleteAll done and one the road again! Glad you are enjoying the ride already, even with our little bumps along the way.
DeleteI remember once upon a time when one of my brothers and I were mucking around with transit busses out in P.A. Saskatchewan. Most every sentence was started with, "Well, at least....". For example, "Well at least that tire didn't fly off." Or, "Well, at least you were only 45 minutes behind schedule". On another subject, I found that keeping warm in the front of our Class A in those temperatures was a bit of a challenge. Come to find out, the hoses were exposed to the ram air coming in the front. Some foil backed insulation cured that issue. Were you able to keep warm underway? Oh and..."Happy Motoring".
ReplyDeleteI think we said that to ourselves a few time both that first day and yesterday.
DeleteFor the most part yes, we are keeping warm in Sherman as we travel down the road. Kevin says that it is cold around his feet though, he can feel cold air coming in but my side is fine. He will have to have a look at that and see what he can fix up to make it better, although it won't be long and the weather will be improving anyways.
At least at the end of your crappy day there was a nice cheap bottle of red wine:) Hope today is better.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually a cheap box of wine, even beter! :-) It really wasn't a crappy day just not a smooth one.
DeleteI hate those days! Nothing but blue skies from here on it for you🤗
ReplyDeleteThat is what we are hoping for although today it isn't sunny, we are waking up to rain. :-( Good think it isn't a travel day!
DeleteThis is probably going to make you laugh, but your post has me positively itching to hook up our Trail Manor and hit the road again! Yes, RV'ing can have it's challenges, but still, the excitement of everything being new is so addictive. Much enjoyed this post guys, and look forward to further installments! 😊
ReplyDeleteTamara, I notice that you said you had a Trail Manor. Is this the same "foldable" and towable RV I have heard so much about, which when open appears to have wings? I read that initially the company was founded by a NASA engineer after years of the shrinking of NASA. We loved how unique it is.
DeleteDee, It is foldable, and very lightweight for towing, so likely the Trail Manor you are thinking it is. We appreciate both features, but primarily that it can be stored in our garage, thus no storage fees.
DeleteWe totally understand that hitch itch Tamara. Maybe you guys need to go out in it for a weekend or more just to fix that problem! :-)
DeleteYes, RVing definitely has it's issues. Not every day is going to be a bed of roses and we totally get that and if this was a "bad" day then it really wasn't so bad. Luckily nothing was a serious problem.
Awesome that you are back on the road!
ReplyDeleteWe sure are and that is all that matters! :-)
DeleteYou're in no hurry, right?! Relax and don't get stressed. You have 2 years to get where you're going.
ReplyDeleteNope not really in a hurry except that we had made arrangements to stop at a friend's place for the weekend so it just meant a bit more driving on our second day than we were hoping to do. Definitely not getting stressed about any of it, Kevin doesn't even know what stress is! :-P
DeleteDinner looks delicious! Hopefully, you're getting the "bugs" out up front and the rest of your journey will go smoothly.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and dinner was delicious and having the oven on warmed us up inside nicely.
DeleteWe are hoping that we got all the bugs out now as well. We will see!
It's far better to deal with the problems before you get too far down the road especially when you've sat still for any length of time. Glad that Border officer alerted you to the tire.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
That is the problem, Sherman sat to long without being used and he was upset with us! ;-)
DeleteWe are glad that the border guy noticed as well. As Kevin said at least it was on the dually.
Rain, cold weather doesn't deter me from enjoying traveling...we got that in Victoria Island a couple of weeks ago but I enjoyed every minute of it. The down side, I developed cellulitis on my right leg so had to visit urgent care. Loved the urgent care center, quick in and out of the center and down to London Drug to get prescription. I notice no nurses to take vital signs...the doctor did all that...loved it!!! Happy travels...got my seat belt on :-)
ReplyDeleteIt didn't really bother us either, it doesn't make for such nice pictures though. However, after having such hot weather in Barbados we really noticed the cold and I have to admit that didn't impress us much.
DeleteNot a good start indeed, but a start it is! Once the tire is fixed you'll be rolling along. Dinner looks as good as the table it's served on, and the wine finishes it up oerfectly. Happy travels!
ReplyDeleteAll is good now and yes, our second day was a much better day. :-)
DeleteDinner, wine and our new table made up to the rough start.
Bumpy start but wonderful end to your day. Stay safe😍
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what we thought. The dinner and wine were wonderful.
DeleteAt least you and Ruth can seek some warmth inside of Walmart if the temperature drops too low. Cooking a sumptuous meal on the gas stove was a good idea to provide some heat in Sherman. By the way, is this the same tire you were pondering replacing a good many posts back, but decided that you might wait until you could shop prices in the US?
ReplyDeleteWalmart is fine to warm up a bit but we can't spend the night in there! ;-)
DeleteCooking our roast beef was a great way to keep the inside of Sherman warm and our Mr. Buddy Heater did the rest but we don't keep the heat on at night so it was very, very cold inside first thing in the morning.
No, this was one of the tires that was replaced back in the summer of 2016 so it have very few miles on it.
If you had taken it for a run before you left would you have noticed the problems?
ReplyDeleteWe might have noticed the tire but it is hard to say because it wouldn't have been a long enough drive to have caused it to lose enough air. As for the water and the fridge, it might have helped if Kevin had done those things the day before but we were just too busy and didn't have enough time and he really didn't think that we would have had a problem with them.
DeleteRemember if you want a free place to stay with hookups in southwest Arkansas, just let me know.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie, we will keep that in mind. You you anywhere the Natchez Trace?
DeleteGo that you can get those issues out of the way and hopefully you should be good to go one that sure is taken care of.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is good to get those out of the way at the beginning so hopefully we will be good to go now!
DeleteIf we didn't have bad days how would we know when we're having good ones? On the positive side of things, you did get started on your newest adventure, once the tire is fixed you will be moving forward,you had a fantastic dinner, soon you'll be far enough south to get out of the cold, and at some point the sun will come out. You're shelves are stocked, you've got wine and the fridge works. Not mention the cheap fuel in the future. So over all, not really a bad day. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteYou are totally right, and it makes you appreciate all the good ones even more. We were definitely not complaining about any of it, except that it wasn't as smooth of a start as we would have liked it to have been. Things certainly could have been a lot worse, and as you said, all in all not really a bad day. :-)
DeleteBeautiful meal on that beautiful new table. Safe travels and get that tire fixed.
ReplyDeleteYep, it was a perfect end to a not so perfect day! :-)
DeleteWow is that with little yorkshire puddings too? Amazing dinner cooked in an RV!
ReplyDeleteI don't do anything half-assed when it comes to cooking, lol! ;-)
DeleteI hope all the bad luck is behind you and you two have a wonderful safe and uneventful trip.
ReplyDeleteIt was all pretty minor in the long run so if that is considered bad luck then we did not bad! :-)
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