On to Tennessee

Saturday became a day to lounge. I felt some flu like symptoms. I wanted to feel good on the long drive south through Georgia to Tennessee. It also allowed me to stand by in the event that real estate agent, Mona, had time to connect.

Shortly after eight I set out on a partly cloudy day. Sometime after noon I began to yawn and my neck began to stiffen. I kept my promise to myself and others, found a rest area, pulled in, and took a 45 minute nap. Again my arrival at the RV park was after dark. In the darkness I observed the voltage meter pegged over to 16.

To my surprise this KOA site office was closed before 6:00 PM. A call to the number provided reached an answering service. There was a yellow bag next to the “late night sign in box” had my last name on it with instructions to my site. Inside was a single site map with a sharpie line drawn to #26.

Setting up was a bit time consuming. The left side stabilizing jack kept inking into soft earth. The ignition has to be on to activate the jacks. That side had to be raised planks and 4’ X 4”s inserted beneath the jack to maintain an even height. The office did not open prior to my departure. When re-assembled for departure The engine would not start. I caught up with the maintenance man feeding the donkeys. He had been riding site to site on a golf cart. He had a”box” He brought it to the RV. It started immediately. I thought I was on my way.

When I climbed in to drive out, the step to the RV entrance did not retract. Once the ignition is turned on it is supposed to retract. The engine had to run awhile to raise the battery level. Luckily when the engine was turned off and on again it did retract. But it kept clicking like it was getting a signal to extend or retract. Now I was afraid to stop and open the door because if it got stuck in the down position driving would be very dangerous. As I headed up the parkway an RV Sales and service was on my right. With some difficulty I managed to turn around and get to the proper entrance. They had no time to look at the issue. The desk manager came back from the service bay with advice. Find a cotter pin. Pull it out when the step is extended. Then tie the step up in the retracted position. Now it was afternoon. The parkway is commercial. There are mile after mile of businesses and eating places. I elected to pull into a parking lot next to a Tao Bell. Took my burrito and coffee to go back to the RV. The step was in the retracted position and stayed that way. I climbed up. But when it was time to restart the engine it was dead. I waited more than two hours for Good Sam to find and dispatch a truck. When one came it started immediately again. I asked the tow truck operator if he knew someone who worked on these things. We do was the answer. I followed him around a winding road to a very busy 24 hour towing service, Uhaul rental, auto repair shop.

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Carr’s Towing service

As service goes in these kinds of situations, Dennis was exceptional. He explained every step and every diagnosis and every possible solution. Google is the American English word for search and research. Caterpillar made the diesel engine. They sent him under the right side rear to find the vin number stamped on the block. It took the whole afternoon to find a possible replacement for the alternator. Dennis lined me up next to the shop to stay for the night. In the morning the RV was backed into a bay. The alternator had to be disconnected and freed up from underneath. But it could only be removed from the compartment under the bed in the coach. I hope Dennis got a healthy share of the $285 labor cost. (Probably not likely. Bernie Sanders points out the rich get richer. The people who do the work squeak by.) Dennis is worth the the labor cost. The alternator had over charged the batteries (which were less than 3 months old) and cooked them. By noon Dennis announced I was, “Good to go”.

The coach in dennis’ operating bay.