22 miles via I-75 and I-40. Cumulative distance: 1,325 miles.
GTW Hop 9: Heiskell TN to Knoxville TN
This was more of a “limp” than a “hop.” The original plan, before the devastating Thursday blowout, was to put the RV in the shop for one day to fix the assortment of minor problems that we had accumulated to date. The idea was that the RV repair would be a day activity, with us continuing on to Pigeon Forge – just 25 miles away – when the work was done. But after the service manager took a look at the damage, he shook his head – never a good sign – and said that we would have to leave Patience (now renamed “Patient”) in his caring hands until Monday.
Which meant we had an unplanned Columbus Day weekend stay to arrange in a Knoxville hotel. A hotel that took dogs. Knowing how hard it is to find a hotel that takes dogs in Massachusetts, I thought we would have to search for hours to find one. But, as it turns out, Tennessee hotels are very dog-friendly. It seems that the majority take dogs. We were directed to the Econo Lodge next door and they happily took my money for 3 nights – with $10 per night tacked on for the pups.
Jett had collected clothes and toiletries in about 5 minutes. She did a good job, but couldn’t get at some items in the kitchen with the slide in. I had to go back later, after they had brought Patience into a service bay and hooked her up to electricity, to get those things, plus a few others that we had forgotten. But I still couldn’t get into the bunkhouse to retrieve our hotspot or the power cord for my laptop, so I am writing this on Jett’s laptop, using the (not-so-great) hotel WiFi.
I had to go back to the dealer anyway to deliver the new tire. Yes, I bought a fourth trailer tire and had it mounted in place of the malformed not-quite-exploded tire. So we now have four new trailer tires and a good spare. With any luck (yeah…) that will be the end of the tire problems.
I asked the service manager what he recommends for cold pressure in an Open Range tire. His answer? 60 psi. Not 80, as almost everyone else told me. Not 70 as one of the tire repair guys had recommended (and my personal favorite). Nope. 60. So I now had 3 pressures to choose from, all from self-proclaimed experts. Throw in the confusion over gauge accuracy and you have a perfect storm of inflation confusion.
Speaking of gauges, I decided to test my new pressure gauge on the tires on the truck, which, I recalled, had been inflated to 80 psi, just like the trailer tires. The readings on the four tires I could reach? 3 62’s and one 65. None even close to 80.
I don’t get it. How can these pressures be all over the place? Is there some tire poltergeist visiting my rig in the middle of the night and changing my tire pressure on me? Will I ever find a gauge I can trust? Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of “As the Tire Turns.”
But enough about the tires. Let me mention yesterday’s new problem: the truck. Jett and I went out briefly Friday night, to meander through Knoxville and to pick up some beer and snacks. Somewhere along the way I was reflecting on all the problems we had been having with the RV and thinking “Well, at least the truck has been reliable.”
Blam! I might as well have shot it in the head. Thinking good thoughts is the death knell on this trip. Sure enough, Saturday morning as we were about to leave on a road trip to Pigeon Forge, the truck refused to start. It would barely turn over. Dead battery. After banging my head on the steering wheel for a few minutes, I called Paragon, who must be getting tired of hearing my voice. They sent a guy out and we got it jump-started, no big deal, though I think I am going to have to add a category to my budget for “roadside assistance tips.”
But why was the battery drained? Sure, we had left the GPS plugged in, but that is like taking a bucket of water out of Lake Mead. There is just no way that the GPS could have drained the battery (actually *2* batteries) on the GMC.
So we got the truck started, took our trip down to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, fought horrible holiday traffic on the way back, got some KFC for supper and returned to the hotel – all without stopping or turning the engine off. We were not about to risk having to make another roadside assistance call. We have had it with emergencies.
On top of it all, the weather sucks. I imagine that, most years, Columbus Day is wonderful in Knoxville. Not this year. The forecast for the weekend – all three days – is rainy and cold. The forecast high today is 58. Just to twist the knife, I took a look at the Boston forecast yesterday. Sunny with a high of 82.
We went south for THIS?
In a couple of hours I will try to start the truck. In the meantime I will search for battery places because I believe that is the “fun” that is in store for me today.