TN4 Actual
I am belatedly doing the post-mortem on the Fourth Trip North (TN4). By the numbers: 17 nights in 8 hops, 1664 tow miles, 1930 truck miles, $757.93 in campground fees ($44.58 per night). The campground total does not include the 2 nights we spent in the Quality Inn in Lexington MA and if I were to provide a total cost I would have to include the 5 days we had to rent a car in Newburgh NY and fuel, not only to get to the destination but also to make that trip by rental car to Lexington so that Jett could make her medical appointment.
In short, this was not the trip that was planned. The main feature was mechanical problems with the truck – first in NC then again in NY. The failure in NY caused a 5-day delay in reaching the destination. It also resulted in unexpected expenditures of over $1,500 for hotels, an 8th campground and a rental car. Those problems were definitely the main “lowlights”, but not the only lowlights. Once again we were plagued by rainy weather all the way from VA to MA, including a threat of flooding in PA. The highlights? Visiting family in VA and an always-pleasant stay at James Island in Charleston. God, we love that park and love that city!
We also picked up Rusty along the way in VA. Many thanks to Jett’s sons for taking such good care of him. He almost didn’t want to leave.
We left NY with a repaired truck and hopes that we would have a reliable (and maintenance-free) truck all summer. Well, those hopes were dashed a week later. I will describe those separately.
This was probably the most difficult north/south trip ever. We need a problem-free trip south in the fall to feel confident that we have a reliable truck.