Perhaps our maiden voyage was a bit involved. Traveling 3400 miles to get the bugs out may well be excessive. It leaves you vulnerable and open to frustration.
When you break down, and you WILL break down, you will always be in the least convenient location. You will be in the most unreachable area and assistance will not be found via tow truck or dealership. Rest assured you will be in a county park campground, a Mickey D's parking lot or half way through a 5 mile climb of a 4% grade. If you are fortunate, you will get to experience these and other catastrophic events on your shake down trip.
Now before you go looking for a voodoo doll of BRB and posting our pix on your dart board, instead of cursing us the next time your tire blows in the middle of northern Montana or your refrigerator is warmer than your bath water, think of the positives this event has brought into your lives.
Not that you needed to master tire changing or finding tech info on the web about fixing that Dometic product, rather it is the opportunity to solve yet one more problem that stands in the way of your independence. And there will be problems.
When problems and difficulties arise, you will have to face them. You can either curse, pout and stomp--or you can solve the crisis. Sometimes you are lucky enough to have a shop, mechanic or repair facility near by. Most of the time it is just the problem and you.
And even if you are not successful in "fixing" the problem, just by investigating and making it work in the moment will be a statement to your fortitude and determination NOT to allow this crisis to set you back.
Make no mistake, you will want to head for the nearest airport and fly away. You will swear better than any sailor or rapper ever has. You might even consider selling your rig to the first person to walk by and give you taxi fare to town.
Then, after all the frustration has passed, and it will indeed pass if you seriously consider your situation, you get to work to solve your current dilemma.
So it was on our shake down cruise. Climbing out of North Carolina that Monday afternoon, I realized the Dodge would need some improvements if we were to ever get over the Rockies next summer. So while we were climbing those 4 mile long 5% grades in the Appalachians, I was busy thinking about all the cool modifications I could do this fall to make the Dodge Cummins more of a towing force and not the little engine who thought he could.
When the Coachmen started throwing sparks from a wire on the underside of the frame, I went to work and approached it as if I were doing electrical on a stick structure. Found the fuse box, analyzed the wire and soon it was good to go.
Sitting in the Mickey D's parking lot with a dead starter was the worse. No cables and the few folks we asked didn't have cables either. Call road aid? That is always a possibility. Wait a few minutes and try again? Have lunch and do some grocery shopping at the Piggly Wiggly, sure why not. Thirty minutes later the truck turned over and we were off towards Green Bay
When the starter went in Green Bay, I got busy looking for a solution. I went to Craig’s list and several other Dodge forums I am active on. Eventually, I was able to get the part to me and installed.
Through it all, we had doubts and anxiety so high we could have passed out from the altitude. With patience and perseverance, we worked on finding a solution and avoiding the "I told you so" syndrome.
And we have made a VERY big list of things to try and avoid the same problems, because as you know, problems are here to stay, so you will need a plan.
SO the next time your travels literally come apart at the seams, remember where you are and why you are there. It is a choice and everyday we decide if we want to continue and stay the course. This is true whether you been the road or in a stick house. You wake up everyday and ask yourself,
"WHAT AM I GOING TO DO TODAY?"
And no matter where you are in life, the answer is always the same---
WHAT EVER I CHOOSE TO DO...
Please choose wisely and with patience.
Tim and Mary
Maiden Voyage Complete
Bunnlevel, North Carolina
No comments:
Post a Comment