Heading Out of Town

Our first "real" trip in our trailer was planned for Sunday, July 17. We spent quite a number of days making more improvements and planning what we wanted to pack. Smoky created a multi-page checklist of everything we needed to remember to do before a trip. Checklists are good things at any age, but they are especially helpful at our age. [Now if we could just remember where that checklist is...]

Friday we plugged the unit in, turned the refrigerator on, and started making piles of items we wanted to carry with us. I finished the laundry and tried straightening the house. Saturday, we began the process of fitting everything into the trailer's storage spaces. By the end of the day, everything was ready. The refrigerator and freezer were stocked. We were ready to leave Sunday morning.

Smoky and I both tried to get to bed early on Saturday night so that we could leave Sunday morning. Keep in mind that "early to bed" for us means midnight, and "leaving Sunday morning" means anytime up to noon!

On Sunday, we finished the last minute packing, said goodbye to the cat, hitched the trailer to the truck, and headed down the driveway. Halfway down, we both exclaimed at the noise the trailer was making. Smoky said that it felt as though the trailer was pushing the truck down the road. At that point, we realized that the brake controller was not working at all. Rather than take a chance on this 500-mile journey with no brake controller, we turned the trailer around and returned home. Sigh.

Pathway Auto and RV, Knoxville.

It was quite a letdown to be so ready to leave only to have to turn back! I had even made the bed! There wasn't much we could do about the needed repair until Monday morning when Pathway Auto and RV was open.

I took a nap, always a good option when you aren't sure what to do. Monday Smoky called Pathway as soon as they opened and drove the truck over for repair. Fortunately, they realized what the problem was (the electrical ground wasn't adequate to support the load) and fixed it quickly. By noon on Monday we were on the road!

--Shann