September 4, 2004

September 4, 2004

DAY 79

 

 

Well ... that was an amazing display of self-reliance and self-sufficiency, even if I do say so myself !

I woke up early, showered, dressed, bought a coffee at MacDonald's, and was ready to start working the pay phone in the service station across the street by 8:30 A.M.. Had to make many phone calls to find all the parts I needed, primarily the trailer hub assembly, but also a tire and wheel, 6 lug nuts, wheel bearings, a bearing dust cap, and a hub cover. Didn't get the chrome wheel trim ring, nor the lug nut caps. They'll have to wait. They're just cosmetic.

By 9:15 I was on I-94 headed east towards Minneapolis, an hour away, where I located an industrial supply business that had the hub I needed. When I got there, there was quite a bit of confusion about exactly what was the right part, because Forest River manufactures trailers using both Alco brand axles and Dexter brand axles. My trailer seems to have Alco axles, Dexter brakes, 3 Alco hub assemblies, and 1 Dexter hub assembly. SHEESH ! It was a slightly moot point anyways, because the company I had gone to only carried Dexter parts. Now I have 2 Alco hub assemblies and 2 Dexter hub assemblies. I phoned a bunch of RV dealers from the industrial supply company, and 2 out of 3 RV service departments think Alco and Dexter hub assemblies are interchangeable, and one thinks the sky will fall if I put a Dexter hub on my trailer. Since I already had one Dexter hub on the trailer, I bought the Dexter hub, and will hope for the best. Otherwise I would have been in the MacDonald's parking lot in Monticello, Minnesota until Tuesday. Alco is in Elkhart, Indiana, so I will check with them when I get to Goshen / Elkhart. I was also able to buy the trailer wheel and tire I needed at the same industrial supply company. I drove an hour west back to where the trailer was in Monticello, stopping at PetsMart on the way to buy cat food. I was back to the trailer by 12:30.

We had lunch, then Joanne walked to a grocery store about 15 minutes away while I began the repair / re-assembly job. I was finished by 4:30. Bought propane, filled the trailer tires with air, and hit the road ! On the outskirts of Minneapolis we passed by a Camping World store. We have been very eager for our first Camping World visit, but not today. We just wanted to put Minneapolis and the ordeal of the last 24 hours behind us. The Interstate Hwy. system around and through Minneapolis ( I-94, I-694, I-494, I-35W ) was very confusing and intimidating. Maybe I was just spooked because of all the vehicle problems we've had in the last couple of days.

Shortly after Minneapolis, we crossed into Wisconsin. What nice scenery. Minnesota was primarily grain farming country, and as soon as we crossed into Wisconsin, it became rolling pasture lands. Lots of cattle on the hilly pastures. Lots of trees. An Interstate Highway in great condition. Wide lanes, wide shoulders, smooth surface. An easy drive. I deserved a break !

We stopped for the evening at Flying J in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, about 1/3 of the way across the state travelling south east. If things go well tomorrow ( please ! ) we should be in Illinois by tomorrow evening. Looking at the map over supper, and considering how tough it was to get through Minneapolis, we've decided to go a little further south than we had originally planned, before turning east to Indiana. We'll bypass Milwaukee, and just hit "the south side of Chicago, the badder part of town" ( with apologies to Jim Croce ).

DSK