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Borrego Springs, CA

Friday, May 10, 2013

“That Was Easy”

Well, my zig zag journey from Okefenokee NWR to Tamarac NWR hasn’t exactly been without incidents, but at least it hasn’t been too traumatic.  After the shock to my wallet with the new tires, and other maintenance and repairs, I wandered around Arkansas for over a week. 

While there, the windshield wiper incident happened, and I ended up waiting out a strong snow/rain storm for four days.  Then it was on to Missouri.  Had a nice couple of days in Carthage, and headed out to just north of Kansas City.

I planned to do just one night at the Basswood RV Resort in Platte City.  I thought perhaps it was the place that fellow bloggers, Kenny and Angela, reside.  I emailed them about my arrival and the possibility of sharing a pizza on Wednesday evening.  That didn’t work out.  I never heard back from them, and the folks at Basswood would not confirm their living there.

After getting the slides in and levelers up on Thursday morning, I stepped outside to unhook the electric.  That’s when a neighbor asked if I was planning to head north on I-29.  I said yes, so he told me I might want to forget it.  Seems there was an awful accident on 29N, and the road was closed.  With two people killed and nine more injured, the investigation and cleanup were expected to go on until the afternoon.  I don’t like just heading out in the afternoon, so I paid for another night and just sat tight.  Too bad since it was an excellent traveling day.

This morning, I finally headed out, but the north winds began to blow and I battled a fairly strong headwind all day.  After driving through the construction and lumpy roads around Council Bluffs, I checked my passenger’s side rearview mirror once again and noticed a little air space on the back arm of my automatic awning.  It appeared to slightly bow in and out from the side of the rig.  Egad!  My mind could just conjure up the whole awning flying out and getting ripped to shreds.

I slowed way down and limped to a nearby rest area while constantly checking the mirror.  When I got out of the rig, sure enough, the back arm was cocked out about two inches.  I tried opening it and closing it again several times, but it still remained not fully in.  What next?  I decided to try helping it get all the way in using my collapsible pole I have for my trucker’s antenna.  All that accomplished were some scratches on the awning arm.

I’m sure it kind of looked like a Chinese fire drill.  I’d open the awning, then hit the retract button, grab the pole, and run to the back to try to help push the thing up with the pole.  I did that a couple of times with no progress.  Next try?  Unpack and haul out the collapsible ladder.  I had to climb to the second step from the top to finally reach high enough, but after pushing and hammering the thing with the heel of my hand I finally heard it click into place.  Victory!

I closed up the ladder, packed it back away, and headed into the rig to…

_MG_2093…hit my easy button!  The few bucks I paid for this button were sure worth it.  It puts a smile on my face, and helps calm my nerves after a stressful situation. 

Tonight, I’m ensconced in a KOA right along I-29 near North Sioux City, SD.  I rarely stay at a KOA because I think they grossly overcharge for a campsite ($47!), but after 270 miles and the awning snafu I’m pooped and needed an easy off-easy on stop for the night.  I guess when I was in Carthage, I stood under that crap duster a little too long!  Crying face

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

19 comments:

  1. Good thing you caught that awning before there was a disaster!! Next time you have a chance and are at a place where there is an opportunity for service, look into awning locks for your rig. We have them on every awning on the coach. Cheap insurance!!
    Love reading about your adventures ... we are full timers for the last (almost) 3 years and loving it. But we are the lazy sort who do not work on the road. Stay safe ... be well.

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  2. Good to not have your awning rip off on the road.
    I have to get a new one soon mine has larger than pin holes in it.

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  3. travel days can be a bit of an adventure some times! glad you got the awning popped back in!

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  4. I agree KOA's are way too expensive. We too only stay at them when we have to. Glad you fixed the awning. Gotta love the "easy" button. LOL

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  5. Oh dear. So sorry to read about the awning incident. Glad you did stop. Our friend was driving and noticed his awning doing something similar to yours, but by time he found a safe pull over the wind had torn the awning almost entirely off. Cost him some big bucks to get it fixed.

    We saw the accident on the news. Horrible! Safe travels to your next destination.

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  6. We were in high winds last week and had a heck of a time. We met a couple who had awning issues. He decided to just duct tape his shut. He saw three other people who lost their awnings.

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  7. It's no surprise that RV awnings are the top insurance claim, they are not the best design.

    I'm having trouble with my rear awning bracket, too and have to give it a hard push to fully close. Since I had my awning motor break, it has been acting up. I wonder if when the motor broke and the awning snapped hard open if the bracket got a little twisted.

    We avoid KOA's like the plague. How do they get off charging more than some hotels and you're bringing your own bed with you?

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  8. Thank goodness for the EASY button! So glad that story had a good ending. Hope todays adventure is a lot less stressful.

    Hugs to Emma!

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  9. I'm amazed that you could climb up on that ladder. Even the thought of that makes me a little queasy and I didn't just have parts of my body replaced. So glad to hear that you got the awning in tight though. Very expensive repair - know that from first hand experience. Sigh. Hate KOA's. Way too expensive. But sometimes an absolute necessity. Hopefully today is a much easier day.

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  10. I'll have to get one of those Easy buttons. Smart move to pull over and make sure your awning was fully snapped in and locked.

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  11. Goodness you had quite a couple of days. No wonder you don't much like the traveling between NWRs much. Glad things have worked out. I had one of those "That Was Easy" buttons and gave it to a friend thinking I'd get another and have never seen them again. Sure would like to replace it. It brought a smile to my face too whenever I'd push it.

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  12. After all that your last sentence cracked me up! I guess that's why they don't use them too often!

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  13. Glad you caught your awning problem right up front and got it taken care of before any damage. KOAs, that is way too much for a campsite.

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  14. Isn't it supposed to be warmer this time of year, forecast for SD looks chilly tonight :-)

    Thought you might be heading up I-29 instead of I-35 where we are. Someday we will meet up.

    Glad you fixed the awning before a big disaster. We agree about KOA, only stay there if no other option.

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  15. It's amazing what we can do when we have to, isn't it??? You SHOULD be very proud of solving the awning problem, which could have become a terrible disaster if not addressed...YOU DID GOOD, JUDY!!! Oh, and by the way...at your suggestion, I just tossed the lighthouse sweatshirt into the garbage...Good call.

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  16. We have a latch that fits over the awning. Gives us such a bit more security. Goodness, you have gone through a lot getting from place to place this time.

    Wish I had known you were trying to get hold of Kenny and Angela. I have their phone numbers on my phone. Nice people. You would have enjoyed meeting them.

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  17. You did great! Love the "easy" button. I think we all need one of those.

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