After being delayed a day, the schedule for the TN6 was reduced to 18 days. The first hop was going to be a late arrival even if we got going by 4pm, which we almost did – the repaired truck was back in my hands (hands which were $2300 poorer) by 3pm and we actually pulled out of our site at 4:30. I was hoping to get to our destination in Citra FL by 8:30 so that we would still have some light to set up by.
I needn’t have worried – we aborted the trip before we got 5 miles. The turbocharger hose that had blown in the fall of 2018 near Sevierville and had become detached – twice – on the trip from Flagler Beach to Fort Myers in May 2019 – became detached again – twice – in the first 5 miles of TN6. Deeply disappointed and totally discouraged, we turned around and went home.
Tomorrow will be devoted to getting that troublesome turbocharger hose replaced. When it becomes detached it is easy to reattach, but I can’t be stopping every few miles on the interstate; I need that connection to hold for thousands of miles.
I also have to repair our WiFi cable line tomorrow. Apparently I broke it when I detached the cable TV line when departing. I guess that is one small silver lining – if I had left with the line in that shape I would not have had remote control over the shed’s air conditioner. I do like being able to check the status of the shed wherever I can.
So… another trip another disaster. But I can truthfully say that I anticipated this one and prepared for it. I did not trust that turbocharger hose, despite the dealer’s assurance that it was okay. So I started the trip on I-75 one exit further south than normal, to give me two exits before the long 17-mile stretch out of Fort Myers. I did not want to get stuck 17 miles from the next exit. After blowing the hose connection twice – once at each exit (where there is an emergency stop area where I could work on reconnecting the hose) – I was able to turn around before the 17-mile stretch.
If you have enough disasters you get good at handling them.
I think the hose is just too short. Hopefully I can get a replacement that will fit better and be reliable.
Hope springs eternal.
The problem, really, is that I can’t test the turbocharger without hitching up the RV as the turbocharger is only stressed when I am hauling it. Taking the RV for a test drive is difficult But I am desperate enough now to consider doing that.
I now need to rethink the TN6. There are several possibilities but the existence of Memorial Day weekend complicates matters. I had to book all 3 days in Chesapeake and will lose all 3 days if I skip that stop, but that is probably the option that makes the most sense. Get the turbocharger hose replace tomorrow, Friday to Citra, the weekend near Hilton head, one night in Fayetteville and a long day trip to Dumfries. That is a god option (or the best of the bad options), but it depends entirely on being able to book a site for Memorial Day weekend. If I can’t do that then the whole trip may have to be delayed until after Jett’s next infusion.
Stay tuned.
