How I got here Part II !!!!

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HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY SARAH!!! I love you!

Last blog I had just arrived in Logansport. Whew!!! What a relief it was to step out of that bus. On the drive up from Ville Platte I had to stop 3 times! No, not potty breaks. 😊 It was mentally and physically exhausting trying to keep that RV between the lines. Basically, I was stopping every hour to take a break. I had plenty of spiritual protection on that drive.

After lunch, Dad, Daniel and I were out looking at the RV and they pointed out that one of the inner rear tires had blown out. Dad said, "No, wonder it was so hard to drive!" Yes, I had driven probably the last hour on a blow out and didn't realize it. The tire was just rolling around on the inner rim. That explained why it was so difficult to drive when I got above 50 mph! In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to use those rubber valve extensions. It seems that the clip on the rim came loose causing the rubber extension to fly around as the tire spun. Evidently it hit the inner rim and was cut in half causing the air in the tire to leak out.

Dad and Daniel also asked why those valve stems were sticking out of the front of the RV. All I knew was that the manual said there was an air supsension system on the bus. According to the manual, you are supposed to check the pressure when the bus is empty, estimate the load you will have on the bus and then add air to the appropriate pressure. I read that and said, "Yeah, right!" See, I already had all of my stuff moved in when I discoved it had an air suspension sytem. I decided to "trust" that it was filled properly when I purchased it. Daniel got a tire gage and checked the pressure. One side had 70psi and the other 35psi. I was stunned. No wonder the thing was bouncing back and forth every time I hit a bump or tried to adjust my position on the road. We got the pressure in balance and I have to say it seemed to handle better when Dad road tested it later.

Dad and I took the RV to the tire shop the next day to have that tire replaced. Unfortunately, I had to replace all four rear tires as they were all damaged by those valve stems. Cost me $1,600 dollars! But it was my fault. I was in a rush to get on the road and settled for a quick fix with the valve stem. Lots of lessons in patience in this process with the bus.

After all of this I was just afraid to take the RV on the road for four months so I decided to leave it in Logansport. I transferred as much as I could into the Jeep, left my beautiful cats at Mom and Dad's (Thanks for cat sitting, Mom and Dad!) and hit the road. It was Wednesday and I had to be in Colorado Springs by Friday evening to pick Sarah and James up at the airport.

The trip out was fine. I spent the night some where in West Texas at a hotel. I did have a couple of warning lights come on in the Jeep the next morning (more about that later). I arrived in Co Springs about 4 Friday evening, unloaded my stuff and picked the kids up at the airport by 10. Seems my luck had shifted! YESSSSSSSSSSS!

More later!

Denise

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