This is a story about Everyday Troubles with a Recreational Vehicle, Air Conditioning, and Flat Tires. The story really begins about a year ago when we purchased a 28 foot pull behind to provide a stopgap living situation for our son. The idea was that he would live in the thing at a local RV park. That lasted three months and it ended up in our backyard with him living in it. The specifics of why that only lasted a couple of months are not really important to the story.
So although we did not purchase this 28 foot pull behind for our own use we decided we could find a use for it. The plan was to take it to our land in Arkansas. There for a period of time it could be a place for us to stay until our house was built. Then it would be our guest house.
However, before that could be accomplished it needed some repairs. It had storm damage to both its awning and the vent cover to the bathroom as well as some interior redecorating.
We do not own a vehicle powerful enough to haul this thing and I was able to get a friend of mine to take it from the house to the dealer where we purchased it for its repairs.
Now the story gets a little more interesting. Since its placement on our land was to be permanent we decided that it would be best to purchase a cover for it. I don’t really know what they call these things the best I could guess would be an RV port because they’re made by the same people who make aluminum carports. Not wanting to deal with the company far away I purchased a carport from a dealer in Mountainhome Arkansas, which is only about 45 minutes from our property. This was one of my first mistakes as these people only sell the things they really come from Mount Airy North Carolina.
My first direct contact with Eagle Car Ports came soon after the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic had descended upon our country. I was not able to talk to a live person and the recording on the other end of the line was curt to the point and not exactly friendly. The message in short basically said we’re behind we won’t get to your order for at least four weeks don’t call us will call you.
I was in the dentist chair getting my teeth cleaned when they called. I confess I was inpolite enough to take the call. Hello this is Eagle Car Ports we would like to deliver your RV port on Thursday. I replied that’s not gonna work I live six or seven hours away I can’t just pick up and be there. I will call you later.
Several phone calls later I had given them about four dates when we might be able to meet their people there as we needed to be there to pay them etc. They had explained that being so far away they could only come in our direction when they had enough work to justify the trip.
And so I set a plan in action so that we would be ready if they were ready for the first date that I had given them Friday, August 14. I contacted Enterprise Rent-A-Car and reserved a pick up truck. I arrange to be away from my church job on Sunday, August 16. I reserved a place to stay with my timeshare points. Actually it turned out to be two places to stay since neither resort could handle us for the whole four days.
We were pleased when we got the call that in fact they could come on Friday the 14th at 9 AM in the morning. At this point I started to have second thoughts about renting a truck as I had not clearly stipulated that I needed a 4 x 4 with a hitch. My doubts were confirmed the only such truck available was six hours away in southern Louisiana and if I rented it I’d have to go get it and take it back. Many phone calls later I came to the conclusion that renting a truck was not a possibility.
Help from Travis
We had been considering buying an older truck at some point and I thought perhaps this would be a time to do so. After much research on the Internet and by phone I determined that was going to be more money than we were prepared to spend at this time. And so we wrecked our brains to think about who might be able to help us out. The answer came through our neighbor and Lawn Guy Travis. Travis was having some difficulties of his own as his trailer broken axle and his big lawnmower needed a new engine. We had come to a bartering arrangement in which we lent him our trailer in exchange for him hauling off a bunch of junk to the recycle place. Thus when I asked him if I could hire him to haul the RV to our land in Arkansas he was immediately willing to be helpful. Although his truck was not a 4 x 4 he said he could borrow his fathers which would be plenty strong enough.
On the Monday before we went to the RV dealer camping world to pick up the repaired pull behind. I was somewhat disappointed in that I had asked them to remove the awning if it was too expensive for us to have repaired. We wouldn’t really need the awning at least in the immediate future so it seems too much to spend $1500. When we arrived the awning was still attached.It was late in the day there was hardly anyone there and I really couldn’t or didn’t want to change my plans to travel at a different time. Also and this is a point for later in the story I didn’t ask anyone if they had checked to make sure the air conditioning was working. Brenda had asked me to do this and I didn’t really want to bother because I was sure it was working.
Another little important detail is that Travis noticed that the pull behind did not have a sway bar. As I really didn’t know what a swaybar is or how important it might be I said no and just stuffed that off.
As Brenda‘s workload for the week became light with a cancellation we decided to drive up on Wednesday instead of Thursday so that we could have a day of rest before having to get up early to travel the hour and a half to be at our land to be there for 9 AM on Friday.
Flat tire 1
Everything was going smoothly until just south of Little Rock. Out trailer was loaded with our side-by-side and a Rototiller and air conditioner for the window in our shed and a box with a directional antenna so that we might get better cell coverage. Since about 65 mph is pretty much the top speed was such a load we were constantly being passed by faster moving traffic. As one 18 wheeler passed us The driver honked and waved his arms up and down and pointed. This is never a good sign. I found a place and pulled over. As I walked around the vehicles the only thing I noticed was that the lid to a large tub that I had placed near the back to hold assorted small things seem as though it was loose. I surmised that it flapping around was the reason the trucker thought I needed to check out my load. I secured it again and on we went.
Oh I almost forgot. One of the wrinkle to the story is that I was expected on a zoom call with the clergy of the diocese at 2 o’clock. Since it was during that time I set up my IPAD For the meeting and as it approach I signed in. It seemed like moments later as I was going from I 30 to I 430 a passing motorist frantically waved at me. What now I wondered as I look for a place to pull off.
This time Brenda also got out to look and see what the problem was. However it was not difficult to discover a tire on the trailer was shredded. I stepped back in the car long enough to send a chat message to the zoom meeting saying got to go got a flat
Aiden Helps
I neglected to explain earlier that our 13-year-old grandson lives with us. From here on out it is important to say that he was a big help in the coming ordeals. I unloaded the back of the Kia Sorrento so that I could get to the Jack. I blocked the tires, set up for Jack. Then I proceeded to retrieve the spare tire for the trailer. This however was the proverbial easier said than done. One nut came off without much trouble the second was just too tight. In addition the Lugnuts were too soft. The tire iron just went round and round smoothing the nut. In my tool chest which I always bring I have a vice grips and a small I am a size small crescent wrench. The vice grips were of no use. The crescent wrench was able to get a good grasp of the nut. Unfortunately the handle was too short to provide the needed leverage. I gave up and went to the car to get my phone to call AAA.
Meanwhile Brenda and Aiden had come up with a better plan. They got the hammer from the tool chest and proceeded to tap on the handle to the crescent wrench. It worked and we proceeded to finish changing the tire.
Once again on our way Brenda got on the Internet to find a fire stone store where we might purchase a replacement for the spare tire. Once you have one flat you become concerned about the next one. We made it to Conway Arkansas and proceeded to downtown to the fire stone where we discovered they did not have the tire we needed. However I did get them to tell me exactly what the size of the tire was that we needed. And thus we headed for our first trip to Walmart auto center this time in Conway.
Walmart
By now it was nearing 4 o’clock or maybe five and I was concerned upon arrival to find no one in the auto shop. Banging on the door aroused the woman who was minding the store so to speak. Explaining my situation through the door she proceeded to be of assistance. First she discovered that they did have the proper tire second she explained that although they could put it on the rim they couldn’t put it on the trailer. I said that was fine I had one on the trailer. So about an hour later we proceeded on our way again. We made one brief stop in Clinton Arkansas at the Baskin Robbins as a reward for our hard work. Then we settled in to the pleasant accommodations in Fairfield Bay.
Meanwhile at some point that I don’t remember Eagle Car Ports called to say that their people couldn’t get there Friday morning at nine but would come at one on Saturday. I replied that would be OK as we were going to be around until Sunday but we really needed them to do it Saturday as it’s a good 6 or 7 hours back home.
The next morning as we were all tired I let Brenda sleep in. About 10 I went out to make sure everything was set to go in the car and on the trailer. There I discovered that the spare tire that I had put on the trailer was now flat. Grateful that we had the good sense to replace the spare tire we proceeded to change it once again.
Meanwhile Travis called he had taken the trailer with him to go to Minden Louisiana for an oil change before heading to Arkansas. However, without a sway bar he was only able to go 45 or 50 miles an hour and didn’t think that was gonna be a very good way to travel to Arkansas. I told him to hold on and called camping world.
By now Virginia the service tech at camping world and I are best buddies. She put me on hold to make sure that they had a sway bar that would fit and return to say yeah we can do that today it’ll just be $600. Needing to get this job done I said fine and called Travis back and told him to head over to camping World. I also explained to him that if he needed to wait and come the next day it was OK as the RV port people would not be coming until Saturday. He replied that no he and Val were looking forward to having a weekend after they dropped it off so they’d be headed out and get there as soon as they could.
We proceeded to Mountain View Arkansas for stop number two at Walmart auto center. We’re no they could not repair my spare tire as they are not allowed to do so on trailer tires. On the other hand yes they had the proper tire and would be willing to sell me one.
In the first Walmart auto center and counter I neglected to say that really was not the first. On our last trip to Arkansas I had a flat tire on the car and got it replaced at this Walmart auto center in Mountain View. And once again all my information was happily present in Walmarts computer. Plus the clerk at the counter recalled the hour we spent together on the last trip.
Air Conditioning
No we turn to the saga of the air conditioning. On the land we already had a 14 x 24 shed. It is for storage and as a work room and it’s just bare-bones. At this time of year it’s hot in Arkansas and it’s particularly hot in the shed with no insulation and no air-conditioning. On the last trip I bought a window unit from the local true value hardware store. It just wasn’t big enough to do the job. Meanwhile back home in Louisiana we had recently installed a new central air unit. That is another long story. The short version as it applies to the story is that about a month ago the new unit froze up. To hold us over till it could be fixed I bought a window unit that really does the job. And so we had purchased the second one to bring with us for the shed.
It was relatively easy to install just fit the window and started to crank out cool air. The truth is although it can make it bearable inside the shed until we get the shed insulated it is not really adequate. Don’t worry dear I said by the time Travis gets here we will have the air conditioner in the RV. She replied with the oft repeated question are you sure it’s going to work?
As it was so hot we did very little else on the Land and headed to Crown Point resort in horseshoe Bend Arkansas where we would spend the next two nights. We arrived without event and settled in when Travis called again. They were making good progress because they might be there in a couple hours. I really wasn’t sure how that could be possible, but was happy enough to hear it. However when he called again in a couple hours later I realized they were headed to the wrong place. Although I add stressed to him several times Calico Rock Val was being his navigator. She had put in the address Sunnyland Road and didn’t really know the difference when it came up as Mountain View and not Calico Rock. I asked if upon discovering this mistake they would be stopping somewhere for the night. Travis said oh no we really want to have the weekend and so we will press on you don’t need to meet us we will find it. I said I really think I need to meet you. It’s difficult enough in daylight. I’ll be in Calico Rock next to a little restaurant called Between the Buns by 11:15 and I was.
Travis‘s dad‘s 4 x 4 was definitely up to the task and made it up the very rough windy is steep Sunnyland road. I parked where we could use my headlights to shine light on the pad that had been prepared for the pull behind. It took some maneuvering to get it backed in and every ounce of power the truck had to get up some of the looser gravel but by 12:30 AM the pull behind was in place. I paid Travis the agreed-upon price with $100 tip for the extra work that was needed. They had reservations back in Little rock and we’re determined to get there that night or should I say that morning. I told him to follow me to a little town called Violet Hill where they could easily get on the right path to get back to Little Rock without having to retrace their Windy trip back through Mountain View, Clinton, and Conway.
I got back to Horseshoe Bend by 1:30 AM. They called the next day to say that they had arrived at their hotel by 3:30 AM and they have kept the reservation for them all was well.
Friday we set up the RV and attempted to get its air-conditioning running to no avail. Brenda reminded me that she had asked me to make sure it was working. I again either said or just thought it should be working will figure this out. Deciding it was just too hot to do much of anything else we went back to Crown Point.
Eagle Carports fail
We spent a relaxing morning waiting until noon to head back to the land. At 1 o’clock the people from Eagle carport courts called to say they are just finished a job in Mountain View and we’re heading our way. However they couldn’t find it on their maps. Upon further conversation we were confused as they also had Verizon iPhones as we do and we could find the address on our phones. I proceeded to text them detailed directions and offered to meet with them in Calico Rock as I had with Travis. About an hour later they texted to say they were almost to the White River which is where Calico Rock is. Then they texted again just to say that they had decided to stop for lunch. That was the last we ever heard from them. I sat in the heat and periodically called and texted them with no success. Brenda went and sat in the river enjoying the land, the wildlife and the peace.
At 5 o’clock we finally gave up loaded up the trailer as we would not be coming back the next morning and one last attempt to try and get the air conditioner in the trailer working and headed out. As we were leaving Brenda was asking if there wasn’t someway to get somebody there to fix the thing. I said well I’ve unplugged it and I locked it. Also part of my guessing about what the problem was that perhaps it was because most everything in the RV works off the battery and maybe the battery just needed to be recharged. So Brenda remembering that insisted that we go back plug it back in and come back in the morning to see if it worked. Reluctantly I turned around.
Air Fixed
Those of you who know me will not be terribly surprised when you find out what I discovered as I was plugging the RV back in. I noticed that I had not got the plug pushed in all the way. So I pushed harder the plug connected and I heard the air conditioner come on. After sitting waiting for it in fact to cool down the RV enough to prove to us that it really was working we unplugged it and closed up the RV once more and headed back to Crown Point relieved.
I was happy to be correct that there was no problem with the air Brenda was still angry that I had and asked if it was working.
Weary and ready to get home and also needing to be out of the unit by 10 AM we were packed and headed out in about 1015. All seemed well were still mad as hell at Eagle carports. However the RV did get up there. As we thought and talked we decided not only would we try and get our deposit back but we would try and build ourselves an RV port.
Another Flat!
South of Batesvilke Arkansas after having turned onto Route 167 just north of Circe the dreaded soft tire light came on my dashboard. Yes we had a flat tire number three this time on the Kia Sorrento and not the trailer.
I was thankful for Brenda‘s insistence we actually have a spare tire that is a real tire and not a doughnut. By this time Aiden and Brenda and I were experts with the Jack. One minor complication is that for some reason the spare tire and spare rim came with a different designed lug nuts. Thankfully I had kept these Lugnuts and the adapter that is needed to put them on and off in the glove box. We changed the tire and realized it was soft not flat but soft. I drove up the road to Circe Arkansas where I looked for an air hose.
I saw one just off the exit at an Exxon and pulled up and attempted to use it. It took a credit card. I was happy about that. However it did not have a gauge and it didn’t seem to be working. I didn’t have one either. Luckily they sold me one inside. I came out and could see the tire was even flatter and then I saw the faded sign in pencil on the machine that said you guessed it out of order. Luckily I do own one of those air compressors that you plug into your cigarette lighter. I was able to get enough air into the tire so that we could go a half a mile down the street to yes you guessed it again the Walmart auto center.
It took about an hour and a half. Somehow I had picked up a huge hunk of wood in the edge of the tire. So we replaced that and I had them check the spare. Thankfully there was nothing wrong with it.
Home safe
We arrived home safely still relatively angry at Eagle Car Ports. Happy to have had our pull behind delivered. Glad we had a full size spare. Determined to build our own RV port and pleased the air conditioning in the pull behind works. So my friends that is the story of our RV AC and tires