An Inauspicious Start Day 1 – Low Riding

Almost immediately after I had posted the picture of the truck and the trailer and had started driving, friends posted comments that the truck seemed to be riding low. For a while, I tended to dismiss them because the suggested causes didn’t make sense to me:

• You need a bigger truck – We have an F-350. It can haul trailers 3-tons heavier than our fifth wheel;
• Need to check the weight distribution – Weight distribution hadn’t changed since we picked up the trailer. Everything was balanced.
• The hitch was installed improperly – The truck included the fifth wheel package, where the guides for the hitch were integrated into the frame

As the messages regarding the truck riding low in the rear continued to be posted to my Facebook page, Deb’s worries grew. Finally, like most stubborn men, I agreed to stop to check things. Besides it was almost time for lunch. As we were near Columbus, we planned to stop at Pilsner’s; however, by the time we saw it, it was too late to stop. So, we headed a mile down the road to Jerry Mikeska’s Barbecue. After eating marginal barbecue, we looked at the truck and the fifth wheel. Yes, the back end was riding low. Checking for obvious issues, we observed that the air ride pin box was underinflated. We made plans to stop at the next truck stop to add air.

An air ride pin box is an attachment to the trailer that uses a series of air shocks to buffer the impact between the tow vehicle and the trailer. The air spring absorbs the road shocks that are transferred from the truck to the trailer. When it works, the air pin box produces a smooth, stabilized tow.

That settled, we returned to the road searching for a truck stop. From what we knew and a quick internet search, we determined the closest stop was in Luling at Love’s and Buc-ee’s. Our first stop was Loves, as it was on the same side of the highway we were driving on. Pulled up to the compressor, inserted $1.00 of quarters, and took the hose over to the trailer. Very quickly, I realized the hose fitting was too long and rigid to fit in the space between the trailer and the air pin to attach it to the air pin’s valve stem. Slightly frustrated, I got back in the truck and told Deb we were headed to the Buc-ee’s.

Deb pulled out of the Love’s parking lot, crossed 183, and turned left to drive under I-10 to Buc-ee’s. For those of you not from Texas, Buc-ee’s is like the Taj Mahal of Travel Center’s whose reputation rests on immense and sparkling clean bathrooms and Beaver Nuggets, which are sweet puffed corn. Driving through the parking lot, we searched for the air compressor. We saw it to the right about 200 yards from where we were. Deb drove to the end of the aisle and began turning right.

When driving a trailer, right turns are more difficult than left turns. Simple geometry as there is less space in which to turn. Often when turning right with a trailer, the driver will need to either pull over to the left side of the road before starting the turn, or turn into the oncoming lane then return to the right lane. As Deb was executing the right turn, I watched the right mirror. I soon realized if she continued she would hit a new Porsche Carrera someone had parked far away from the building so no one would ding their car. Good theory, but bad execution, as they had parked on the corner of one of the busier aisles. I told Deb to stop and described why. I got out of the truck and gave Deb directions that resulted in no damage to the vehicle and a successful right turn (FYI, this is foreshadowing). We then headed to the compressor.

When we arrived at the compressor, someone had just pulled in and was airing the tires on their truck and their 12 foot trailer. We waited patiently for 10 minutes. After they finished and left, we began to pull up to the compressor, but some guy in a Buick decided he needed air before us and pulled into the space. Apparently, Texas being an open carry state has not stopped people from being rude. We waited for him to finish (actually, I stewed), then pulled up to the compressor to fill the air pin. I checked the hose fitting, placed $1.50 of quarters in the machine, and then began to inflate the air pin. The only flaw in executing my plan was that the compressor’s maximum pressure was 72 pounds, and I needed 120 for the air pin box. More frustrated, we returned to the road and tried to figure out what to do next.

Deb suggested I call an RV dealer and ask them to help. Having dealt with RV dealers while looking for the trailer, I did not like the idea. However, with Deb giving me looks and me not having a better idea, I agreed to call. I searched Google and found three RV dealers about 20 miles down the road from us. One was the ExploreUSA RV Supercenter dealership in Seguin which was the first dealership we visited first during our search.  No way I was going there.

The top rated dealer that appeared in the Google search was San Antonio RVs in Seguin. I called them and described the problem, saying we needed help inflating the air pin and our tires. The person who answered the phone said they would be happy to help.

We arrived twenty minutes later. Talked to one of the guys at the front desk. They called Tom, the service manager. Tom looked at the truck and trailer and told me that adding air to the air pin would help and that he had a chuck to fit in the gap. Aired up the air pin then checked the truck tires and added air to the rear tires. He was the nicest guy. Didn't charge me for the assistance and gave me the chuck. Told me to call any time I had a question. I asked if I could buy him an adult beverage, and when he said yes I handed him $20. I asked him one last favor, back the trailer out onto the I-10 access road for us. Seeing it took him about 10 minutes to do that, I was glad I asked for help.

With the truck riding level, Deb took the wheel and we headed off to Kerrville.

 
Next up: Gate Post 1, Trailer 0.

Moving In

Sunday, September 13, 2015

We moved into the fifth wheel last Tuesday. Deb decided it was too frustrating to have half of our stuff in the house and the other half in the trailer. Now to get into the habit if referring to our former home as “the house” and the trailer as “our home”.

The Boys are with us and adapting nicely. They have learned to go up and down the stairs into the trailer and have found their places on the chairs and the couches.

We moved the trailer to the Northlake RV Resort. Much nicer than the trailer parks I grew up in when my father was on a geophysical crew. Less park and more subdivision for RVs. At the center is a retention pond to which they have added a fountain and stocked with fish. Several dog runs are available. So many trucks hear that I have begun to refer to this place as DuallyWord

Our neighbors are a young couple (early 20s) who have been on the road for 3-1/2 years. Chad is an electrical lineman contracting with Centerpoint. Marissa is working as a receptionist at a veterinarian. They follow the seasons (Midwest and Northwest in the summer, Texas and Florida in the winter) for contract work.

On Thursday, took the trailer to DeMontrond to get estimates on the repairs to the window and side and to repair items that we found broke during the shakedown run. Since they had to keep it overnight, we slept in the trailer on the property. That night, a hose under the sink disconnected, flooding the kitchen. Turned off the water, but that meant no flushing the toilet or showers on Friday morning. We will be taking it back to DeMontrond on Monday to finish the repairs they were making along with fixing a new plumbing leak.

During the day, we took the Boys with us to the house to continue clearing it out. Amazing how much stuff one accumulates over 20 years of marriage, and 12 years in one place. It seems that everything has a place, and every place has a thing. On Thursday, Deb’s sister and Mary Gibbs shared a mover to take most of our furniture (bedroom suites, shelves, office desk, televisions). All that is left are the two dining room tables and the couch in the living room.

Friday evening, picked up the trailer and returned it to Northlake. This Sunday will be the first day we do not go to the house to pick up stuff. As I type this, Deb is practicing scrambling eggs on her induction stove top.

If you are wondering if you missed the other posts about the shakedown trip, you did not. Been way too busy during the day moving stuff to have time to write. Don’t worry, there will be more about the shakedown trip to entertain you or make you think we are idiots.

The Shakedown Ride - An Inauspicious Start (Part 1)

Thursday, September 3, Deb and I took the fifth wheel out for its first trip. Our destination - Quiet Valley Ranch, 7 miles south of Kerrville, Texas, to attend the 2015 Kerrville Fall Music Festival. The following recounts the travails of our trip. If I covered everything in a single post, it would be as long as a James Joyce short story; so I will be covering each topic related to the trip as a separate post.

Day 1 – Hitch

Our plan was to be on the road by 10:00 am. We were loaded up and ready for me to hitch the trailer to the truck by 9:45. Things were looking good.

Like most motorcoaches and fifth wheels, our trailer come with an automatic leveling system. The auto level is computerized system that will raise and lower the jacks until the unit is stabilized and level. Watching it work is very cool, kind of like Transformers. 

When it is time to leave, the auto level system should return the unit to the height at which it was disconnected from the truck. Of course it helps to follow the instructions as written. I thought I remembered what to do. (Yes, this is referred to as foreshadowing.) Don’t remember exactly what I did, but looking back and rereading the instructions, I realize I did not properly unlevel the unit.

Once I had the unit at what I thought was level, I backed up the truck to connect the trailer to the hitch. After a couple of tries, we had it lined up perfectly. I looked like the unit was low enough. Maybe the king pin was a little higher than the hitch, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Or so I thought.

Backed the truck up, heard the click of the king pin in the jaws of the hitch and the handle releasing. Got out to inspect pulled on the handle and realized it wasn’t completely closed and that I could not move the handle at all. Further inspection found the king pin was trapped between the hitch plate and the top of the hitch jaws.

For 45 minutes, I tried everything I could to release the king pin. Raised the fifth wheel. Lowered the fifth wheel. Back up the truck. Try to drive the truck forward. Nothing. Deb searched the web for solutions. Nothing. Finally called Reese Products’ technical support.

I forgot his name, but the technical support guy was very nice and very helpful. He confirmed my hope that I was not the first person to make this mistake and told me the solution was straight forward.  It involved releasing the hitch from the truck bed. While this sounds complicated, it is easy. The hitch is held onto the truck by two pins. Remove the pins, slide the two guides on each side from the bracket, and the hitch is released.

I followed the above, and the hitch was released from the truck. What I forgot to do was put the truck in park and engage the parking brake. The truck moved forward and the king pin was released from the hitch. However, the truck kept moving forward. Deb yelled, I muttered an obscenity, then went racing to truck cab, pushed the gear into park and slammed the brake with my hand. Vehicle stopped. Fortunately, the truck did not hit anything. The only damage, other than to my ego, was the barrel connector to the trailer rear view camera was torn from the wiring. Considering everything that could have gone wrong, that is an easy fix.

After taking a few deep breaths, collecting our thoughts, we started over. Backed the truck up, made sure the unit was lowered so that the king pin was at the proper height, then backed the truck so that the hitch was engaged. Get out to close the hitch handle and to put the locking pin in place. Victory.

Took a picture of the truck and trailer together then took off for Kerrville.