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.