September 3, 2004

September 3, 2004

DAY 78

 

 

Had difficulty falling asleep last night. No dedicated RV parking area at Fargo's Flying J. Had to just park in amongst the big trucks. Lots of noise. Reefers running. Trucks arriving late. Trucks starting their engines at 6:00 A.M. to start the day. Got out of bed at 6:20 A.M..

While I waited for Joanne to get up, I went into the Flying J for a coffee, then walked across the Interstate to the Goodyear dealer to shop for a tire for the truck. The Interstate Highways are not very pedestrian friendly ! I priced, but did not buy a tire.

As we were dumping our holding tanks, a motor home pulled in behind us to wait for us to finish. An elderly lady came out and threw a hug onto Joanne. They were Escapees, and had seen our Escapees RV Club decal. They were also headed for the rally in Goshen. A hug is the official Escapees greeting.

We left heading southeast on I-94. In just a few minutes, we crossed the Red River, and were in Minnesota. Stopped for brunch and Wal-Mart replenishment at Fergus Falls. Bought a 12V compressor on sale for $6.50 ! Stopped for lunch at a rest area near Avon. Talked to a lady from Kentucky with a trailer very similar to ours. Same make and model, one year newer.

Joanne drove for about an hour, from the Avon rest area to the next rest area about 10 miles west of Monticello. This was only her second time driving the rig. She did very well. A few miles after this rest area, with me driving again, a car pulled up beside honking wildly and pointing to the trailer. I rolled down my window and they were yelling something about a tire. We stopped on the shoulder, and got out to take a look !

OMIGOD ! The right rear tire and wheel on the trailer were missing. The wheel bolts had sheared off, and the wheel and tire flew off. The fibreglass skirt on the bottom of the trailer was quite damaged.

We took a deep breath, and were grateful it was the right side, and not the left. The wheel and tire had flown off into the ditch somewhere ... safely. If it had been the other side, it would have flown off into traffic.

The rest of the day was so complicated and discouraging, I hardly know how to articulate it.

We unhooked the trailer, and left it on the shoulder, kind of leaning over towards the ditch. We drove back and forth, a few times, looking for the tire and wheel, to no avail. This took quite awhile because the Interstate exits we used to go back and forth were 10 miles apart. While looking, we stopped at an RV dealer for assistance. They weren't able to help. We got a few phone numbers from them and started phoning around. At 4:30 P.M. on Friday afternoon of a long weekend, help was not readily available. Finally we gave up searching for the wheel and tire, and making phone calls, and decided we'd better get the trailer off the shoulder and to some place safer. We hitched the trailer up, and crawled slowly along the shoulder 2 miles to the exit to Monticello. We got off the Interstate, and parked in the RV parking area behind a MacDonald's. That's where we are now. We might be here until Tuesday.

I stabilized the trailer with the rear stabilizers, and put the truck jack under the trailer axle where the wheel and tire are missing. I assessed the situation, and decided to remove the hub from the axle. I achieved that, and realized that a new hub was all that was needed to get us back on the road. Temporarily, we could use the trailer's spare wheel and tire, as long as I could get a new hub, or perhaps the sheared wheel bolts removed and replaced. More phone calls. Finally went to a tire shop a couple of blocks away. It was half an hour past closing, but the owner was there and was able to give me a few leads about where I might get a new hub assembly. I returned to the trailer, and tried to remove the broken bolts out of the hub. No way ! Looks like I'll need a whole new hub assembly. And a new trailer wheel and tire. And a new tire for the truck. Will probably be in excess of $500 U.S. altogether.

Back at the trailer, I repaired the damaged fibreglass temporarily with ... yup ... duct tape. We drove 10 miles back down the Interstate for one last search for the missing wheel and tire, just as the sun was setting. No luck ! As Joanne prepared a late supper, I drove across the street to fill up with diesel, and tear pages out of the Yellow Pages, to get all the phone numbers I will need to try phoning tomorrow morning to get a new hub assembly < really huge sigh >.

I'm ready to quit !

Well ... let’s see if I can find a bright side. We’re now parked safely. No one was injured. Once again, I have managed to deal with this major problem self-sufficiently, without needing to phone Emergency Roadside Service. Or an ambulance ! Maybe a good night’s sleep will help things look brighter in the morning.

DSK