Day 5 - Unable to move.

Narration Here.
As the team settled in for the evening they were serenaded by a gentle, un-rhythmic, tapping of small twigs, pine cones, and branches hitting the Smitanic roof. This symphony was then joined by the pidder-patter of small rain drops that would crescendo and subside with the pattern established by the earlier instruments. Theresa lay there realizing she had set the lawn chairs out earlier in the day and had not folded them and stowed them prior to battening down the hatches for the evening. Just as the team was adjusting to the sounds of the symphony there was a THUMP on the roof of the Smitanic. It was either Santa Clause crash landing his Sleigh in July atop the Smitanic, or a much larger tree part that had lost its grip on life. In the morning Kevin will need to climb the ladder to inspect the debris/damage that may have happened to the roof of the vessel. Soon the team was fast asleep and resting for the next days events.

Zinfandel made it known at 7:20 am that the team needed to rise and greet the day. She sneezes, flops her ears, beats the end to the bed with her tail, whines, and then finally climbs up on the edge of the bed to asses if the occupants are dead or alive.

The team gathered themselves up, brushed teeth and prepared the first cup of coffee.

Zinfandel was walked while the first cup of coffee is consumed. Kevin took that time to climb the ladder and inspect the roof. No large branches were spied, just lots of twigs, pine needles, and pine cones. The forest sheds more than a sheep dog during the summer months.

Plenty of time remained to leisurely break camp. The process began at 8:20 am and lasted only 15 minutes. The water was disconnected, slides pulled in, engine started, jacks stowed, wet lawn chairs packed, and shore power disconnected. Kevin then began his normal walk around the vessel looking and listening for anything out of the norm. All was looking good as he circled the RV from drivers front wheel around the back of the bus to the passenger’s front wheel. It was at that location that Kevin stopped, listened, and placed his ear closer to the tire. HISSSSSSSSsssssss………. . Kevin told himself it was just the air compressor topping off the pressure line to the air brakes or to the air suspension. Give it time he thought and it will stop. As he waited for the noise to subside he entered the Smitanic to inspect the air pressure gauges. Rear Pressure was at or slightly above 100 psi (safe to drive), Front air pressure gauge was struggling to reach 100 psi. Rev the engine to encourage the air compressor to speed the build up of pressure. No change noted on the gauge. Kevin then exited the vessel to determine if the noise had subsided. Nope. Immediately Kevin began to stress and surmise that the roads the day before had indeed done damage to the front end of the vessel. Either the brake line or an air bag on the passenger front end had been damaged by the poor road conditions. All the air suddenly escaped Kevin’s body as he realized this is not going to be an early start for the day.

Plans were made by the team to call road side assistance and the extended warrantee companies to put them on notice of the situation and to start the long drawn out processes of initiating claims and calls for service.

Road Side assistance was quick to respond and was ready to dispatch a mobile repairperson immediately. Roadside assistance typically covers simple items like jump starting, delivering fuel, and changing tires. They would pay the service fee for the mobile repair company to visit the RV and assess the true damage. That would then need to be relayed to the Extended Warrantee Company to gain approval to complete the repairs and to have some of the expense of the repair covered under the limited terms of the policy.
The phone calls were made to the extended warrantee company to see what if anything they would cover. Time elapsed as the team was on hold and the check out time of noon was looming. Finally Kevin had an opportunity to speak with a representative to explain the situation and to seek approval for a mobile repair service visit. This was approved but did not provide for approval of repairs. The mobile service person would have to assess the situation, get full costs of parts and labor to repair and then call that into the extended warrantee company to get an authorization number before proceeding with repairs.

Kevin called the Roadside assistance service to request they go ahead and dispatch the mobile repair personnel. Kevin was informed of the name of the mobile repair service and that they would be there within the hour. It was now 10:30 am check out time is 12 pm. The only hope is that the repair can be completed before 4 pm, which is the earliest check in time for those scheduled for the campsite currently occupied by the Smitanic.

The team elected to plug back into shore power and turn on the air conditioners as they waited for repairs. A call was placed to the State Camp Ground staff to warn them of the situation and to ask if the Smitanic can stay in port till repairs are made.

The response from the staff of the TN state campground was one of no sympathy. You must move that vehicle. It was explained that the vehicle can not move because the suspension will not raise up high enough for the front tires to clear the wheel wells which means the front tires can not be turned right or left. WE DON’T CARE, THAT VEHICLE MUST BE MOVED, SOMEONE HAS YOUR SITE TODAY, and the campground is full for the weekend.

Kevin and Theresa elected to spend the next hour waiting for the dispatched repairperson to arrive by listening to Kiehl’s latest “MR. Opinion” Podcast, conversation #9. An hour passed. Kevin gets a call from the Road Side assistance company to ask if the repair had been completed or if it is underway. No the repair person had not yet shown up to start the repair. Kevin was placed on hold while they tried to locate the mobile repair service. Kevin was informed that the Mobile repair team was within 15 min of getting to the location. Time is now 11:40 and the Smitanic will not be able to shove off by noon.

15 minutes passed and no mobile repair person, 20 minutes passed and a call came in to Kevin’s Phone. “We are at the entrance to the park were are you?”. Kevin gave them the site number and camp loop name to help direct them to the Smitanic. Theresa ran up to the road to help direct them to the spot. 20 minutes passed. A call to Kevin’s phone. “We drove all the way down Highway 70 and to Highway 46 and could not find you”. “You drove passed the entrance to the park which is off of Highway 70” replied Kevin. “You will need to come back on 70 and the park entrance will be on your left”.

After another 15 – 20 minutes a pickup truck (not a mobile repair vehicle) entered the campground and rolled up to site 116. It was now 12:30 pm and new campers began to circle the campground in search for their weekend sites.

The Mobile repair service was a husband and wife team. She drove the truck and he assessed the repairs that would be needed. There were NO TOOLS in the truck so there would be NO repairs completed on the site.

Kevin explained what he had heard and what the roads were like the day before. The mobile repair person smiled and said the highway disrepair is his best friend. His business is booming with truckers all breaking down due to the poor road conditions of the nations highways.

Kevin and the Mobile repair person worked as a team to pinpoint the problem. The air leak was coming from the passenger side front air bag. It was blown out due to the various potholes encountered over the last couple of days.

Just as the diagnosis was being made the campers who had site 116 reserved for the day arrived and wanted to know why were not gone. Interesting that check in time is 4 pm and they were there about 1 pm. Theresa explained the situation and the new arrivals agreed to take a spot across from 116 and hope they do not have to move the next day when the campers who have that spot reserved arrive. Hopefully the Smitanic will be able to vacate site 116 before others arrive the next day. The new arrivals were very sympathetic to the plight of the Smitanic and seeing the struggle even grabbed Theresa’s hand to offer a short prayer. Amen.

Calls were made to find a new air bag that would fit the Smitanic. Timing is the issue with the Smitanic at risk of being towed by the state park if not out of the site by check out next day.

Parts were found but not locally. The parts would need to be shipped over night at a cost of $450 to be available the next day. The cost to overnight parts is not covered by any warrantee. Kevin had to pay upfront all costs by check not credit card before the parts would be ordered. Kevin requested that the Smitanic be the first item on the mobile repair teams agenda the next morning.

“We sure will do the best we can” was the reply along with a wink and a grin. After the repair guy left, proper introductions were made to the new arrivals, Jimmy and Cheryl from Memphis, here for the weekend with their family.

That was the start of day 5 of the Smitanic Northern Exposure.

Later Jimmy came over with fresh picked cucumbers as a good RV neighbor. RV people are truly the nicest!