![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ourwanderyears.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/GTW-Hop-9.jpg\" "\\"GTW")
<\/a>GTW Hop 9: Heiskell TN to Knoxville TN<\/p><\/div>\n
This was more of a “limp” than a “hop.”\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Which meant we had an unplanned Columbus Day weekend stay to arrange in a Knoxville hotel.\u00a0 A hotel that took dogs.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 But, as it turns out, Tennessee hotels are very dog-friendly.\u00a0 It seems that the majority take dogs.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Jett had collected clothes and toiletries in about 5 minutes.\u00a0 She did a good job, but couldn’t get at some items in the kitchen with the slide in.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
I had to go back to the dealer anyway to deliver the new tire.\u00a0 Yes, I bought a fourth trailer tire and had it mounted in place of the malformed not-quite-exploded tire.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
I asked the service manager what he recommends for cold pressure in an Open Range tire.\u00a0 His answer? 60 psi.\u00a0 Not 80, as almost everyone else told me.\u00a0 Not 70 as one of the tire repair guys had recommended (and my personal favorite).\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 60.\u00a0 So I now had 3 pressures to choose from, all from self-proclaimed experts.\u00a0 Throw in the confusion over gauge accuracy and you have a perfect storm of inflation confusion.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 The readings on the four tires I could reach?\u00a0 3 62’s and one 65.\u00a0 None even close to 80.<\/p>\n
I don’t get it.\u00a0 How can these pressures be all over the place?\u00a0 Is there some tire poltergeist visiting my rig in the middle of the night and changing my tire pressure on me?\u00a0 Will I ever find a gauge I can trust?\u00a0 Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of “As the Tire Turns.”<\/p>\n
But enough about the tires.\u00a0 Let me mention yesterday’s new problem: the truck.\u00a0 Jett and I went out briefly Friday night, to meander through Knoxville and to pick up some beer and snacks.\u00a0 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.”<\/p>\n
Blam! I might as well have shot it in the head.\u00a0 Thinking good thoughts is the death knell on this trip.\u00a0 Sure enough, Saturday morning as we were about to leave on a road trip to Pigeon Forge, the truck refused to start.\u00a0 It would barely turn over.\u00a0 Dead battery.\u00a0 After banging my head on the steering wheel for a few minutes, I called Paragon, who must be getting tired of hearing my voice.\u00a0 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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 We were not about to risk having to make another roadside assistance call.\u00a0 We have had it with emergencies.<\/p>\n
On top of it all, the weather sucks.\u00a0 I imagine that, most years, Columbus Day is wonderful in Knoxville.\u00a0 Not this year.\u00a0 The forecast for the weekend – all three days – is rainy and cold.\u00a0 The forecast high today is 58.\u00a0 Just to twist the knife, I took a look at the Boston forecast yesterday.\u00a0 Sunny with a high of 82.<\/p>\n
We went south for THIS?<\/p>\n
In a couple of hours I will try to start the truck.\u00a0 In the meantime I will search for battery places because I believe that is the “fun” that is in store for me today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
22 miles via I-75 and I-40.\u00a0 Cumulative distance: 1,325 miles. This was more of a “limp” than a “hop.”\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The idea was that … Continue reading