Will we ever leave Florida?

Memorial Day weekend and the park finally got some life back. We were perfectly positioned- by the water slide and the mochachinno cart. Kids and bikes and lots of trailers.

We were looking forward to our departure on Sunday morning- it was just time to leave the Crusher. We got everything slid in, tanks drained, the jacks were up and the GPS was programmed. John wanted to start the engine—and I saw his face fall as the horns blared and the engine would not turn over. We pulled out the phone lists and started calling—trying to find anyone to answer the phone on a Sunday on a holiday weekend. We finally got to a technician at Cummins who could only guess that it was probably the “ECM” (translation- the engine computer….real translation-$$$$$$). Our only option was to set up a tow truck to get us to the closest Cummins dealership—in Ocala, 50 miles away. We opted to set up the tow truck for Tuesday morning. No sense spending the rest of the weekend in the Cummins parking lot – or being the entertainment for all of the campers as we are being towed out.
Tuesday finally came, the weekend campers were gone and we were alone at Rock Crusher again. We got up at 7 AM to call Good Sam Emergency Road Service and were told that the tow company would be there within the hour. After emphasizing the we are a 45 foot motorhome- and that they needed to find a company with equipment capable of towing a 50,000 pound vehicle, we waited…and waited… We got their automated call to confirm that service was complete—and still no word from the tow company. Back on the phone to Good Sam, they checked with the tow company…an hour delay. We once again asked them to confirm that the tow truck could handle our motorhome. No problem… At 10:00, we finally heard from the tow company- the driver was on the way. We asked about the truck and it’s ability to tow our motorhome. They hadn’t been told anything about towing a 45’ motorhome- and didn’t have any equipment to do it. So, three hours later and we were back to square one. The service group at Cummins in Ocala (where we were being towed) gave us the name of Revis Towing- and said that they were the only company in the area that could handle our motorhome. We called Good Sam and gave them that info—but they wouldn’t even listen. They insisted that they had another company available- and if we didn’t accept that company, we were on our own. Well, one thing we will be doing after all this- GETTING RID OF GOOD SAM EMERGENCY ROAD SERVICE. What a joke they are – they are probably a fine company for towing travel trailers and fifth wheels- but they don’t have a clue about what it takes to tow a motorhome.
So, we called Revis and within an hour, a 60,000 pound truck was at our site.

According to our new friend, Chris, this monster truck is the only truck that can tow a 50,000 pound motorhome- and the only one available in Central Florida.

It was quite a feat--it took this 3 tour Iraq War vet about 3 hours to get the motorhome ready to tow (with John helping). He had to disconnect the 200 pound drive shaft--located UNDERNEATH the engine.

He had to secure the front axle on a massive hydraulic boom. After the 3 hour connect time, we still had an hour drive to the Cummins dealership in Ocala (about 60 miles away) --just in time to watch this guy back his truck with our coach attached into the Cummins maintenance bay.

We got the diagnosis - evidently it was caused by the lighting stike that hit about 2 feet from our motorhome and 4 feet from the window that John was looking out. The discharge from the strike fried one of the computers that control the engine. So, we were "homeless". We found the closest motel- the pet friendly "Red Roof Inn". We were told that, unlike most of the other smelly, moldy trucker motel rooms in the area, this one was relatively new and still smell free. We splurged the following day and upgraded to the "King Inclusive" room that gave us Wi-Fi access.
Time passes so slowly – we had our motel breakfast and would amble over to check on the progress at Cummins – find some place for lunch – go back to Cummins… We were SO bored. Finally on Thursday afternoon, the engine started, the test drive was done and we were good to go (more or less- we still had an ABS light flashing- but the dealership didn’t have the diagnostic tool to check it), cruise control wasn’t working – but the coach was drivable. We got ready to leave – at last. But our nightmare wasn’t over—the backup camera was in-op. Our hearts sank- especially when we were told that we’d have to go to a Newmar dealership to get the camera fixed. So, we were off to Orlando to Independence RV.
On Friday, we drove to Orlando and discovered that not only has the lightning knocked out our backup camera- but also our step motor. $762.00 later- and we were drivable again—still with an ABS problem, but we had our “get out of Florida” card. It was 2PM and we were going to drive as far as we could away from Florida. We made it to the southern edge of Savannah that night. The next day, we were heading north- making our way to Salem, MA.

A drive to Wisconsin

We celebrated John’s birthday a day early—dinner at the Havana House, with Chloe at her appointed seat. On his birthday, it was packing day. In hot, humid Florida, packing is a real chore, but we finally finished up and made it an early bedtime—with a 6:30 planned start the next morning. Right on time, we were off with clear skies. The weather forecast for the entire drive wasn’t great- lots of rain forecast, but we lucked out on day one and got into Athens, AL at 4:30. We had a little happy hour in the motel then found a local restaurant for dinner. I was out by 9:00 while Mom stayed up to watch the finale of Grey’s Anatomy.
Up the next morning at 5:30, breakfast at 6:00 and we were on the road again. We had great weather for most of the trip- until the last hour. With 60 miles to go, the skies poured on us. We made a brief stop, thought about calling it quits for the day—then the rain let up and we decided to give it a shot. We finally made it to Mendota, IL and it was freezing! Cold, damp and chilly. The hotel clerk told us to give the truckstop/restaurant across the road a try for dinner. They had a buffet and menu option. What she didn’t tell us about was the side-show we’d have watching the largest people in the world gorging themselves on the buffet. We were amazed at the never ending parade of really big people. We were truly in mid-America.
Our last day- a shorter drive – and we made it to Lake Viola at 1:30. We got the car unpacked and thought we were ahead of the game…until, we found that the furnace wasn’t turning on. With a forecast of freezing weather for the night, we were depressed. It was Saturday night and we had to try to find a repairman. We finally found someone willing to come out – it was a process of bleeding the air out of the lines. While he worked, we stopped at the hamburger bar and picked up some burgers for dinner.
With 3 days to go, we attacked the boxes room by room and by Tuesday afternoon, we were all done and it was feeling like “home” again. On Wednesday- it was a nuclear start—we had to be in Rice Lake by 6:45 am for me to catch the shuttle to the MSP airport. It was an uneventful trip—just lots of spare time in the airport. We arrived at the airport at 8:30 and the flight didn’t take off until 12;55. Memories of those awful travel days when we were working….unending hours at the airport. We finally took off, had a minor maintenance issue keeping us on the runway for 20 minutes, and had a nice flight- until we hit Florida. The thunderstorms bounced the plane like an amusement park ride and it was a white-knuckled ride all the way into Orlando. Then, I still had 2 hours of drive time to get home. Rock Crusher never looked so good.