Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Can We Move, Please? Some Warmth Returns but the Day Takes a Turn for the Worse


Pilot Knob RV Resort, Winterhaven, CA
On Wednesday, Feb. 5th I tried the ‘slip out of bed quietly maneuver’ but even a mouse couldn’t do it without waking the sleeping beauty beside me. He stirred and got up just a few minutes after me. I slept well all night, not waking until 6 am. It was another coolish night below 50F but we are hoping for a bit of a warm up today. Weather folk promising sunshine and 63F. 😊

The start of our day was bright and beautiful
although under cloud covered skies
 Bill and I had another hope this morning too. The rv’er on Site 79 is scheduled to pull out today. That means we can pull in. We want to move. We’re crammed in here along the fence like sardines and we have no cement patio, neighbours we don’t converse with and certainly less room here. The only bonus is the back window view of the desert, sunrise and sunset. I can walk to see those same things though from our other site.

There is something special about a cloudy sunrise and sunset, isn't there?
We did our 1 ½ mile walk and it felt very cold with the ever-present winds again. Today is the last day for those too, fingers crossed. I made my tea and when the office opened at 9, Bill went up and confirmed our move. Then we just had to pull slides in and wait.  Finally, at 2 minutes to check out time, they left. We just had to jig around the corner and claim our site. Sounds easy. Bill hooked up, did the tug test (pulling ahead with front jacks down to make sure it is locked and loaded – so to speak) and I started walking over to 79.
While waiting for our site to be vacated
this caught my eye
Now, do you really think that little car can pull that Mountain Aire?
Funny, how it looks.
When I heard the noise, it wasn’t good news. We’re not sure exactly how or why, but the hitch pin didn’t catch. The Suite dropped onto the truck rails and the pin box rammed the tail gate. Our neighbor, Jim, on the end site came down to help. Bill was able to reconnect and he pulled around and backed into our spot. With borrowed blocks from Jim, Bill raised the Suite enough to get the pin over the crumpled tail gate.

Black Beauty is hurting today

This is not a pretty sight
 Right now, we’re both feeling sick to our stomach. With 2 crushed rails and a totaled tail gate, we are feeling pretty beaten down. Jim helped Bill get the gate off, where it will stay until replaced with a new one. We finished setting up and Bill drove up to report our move to #79. After a quick set up with the satellite, I made us eggs and sausage for breakfast or rather lunch. It was noon hour. The sun is brilliant today but the strong winds are forcing the temperature to hold around 58/60F.

There's no fixing this tail gate
I finished setting up inside and did the dishes while Bill fired off an email of the damages with pictures to our insurance company. Nothing else we can do at this point. We tell ourselves that it could have been worse but that isn’t always easy to focus on. Bill is really bummed. The position of our Suite is different than it was before but neither of us feel like doing anything about it. We are parked closer to the tree and the patio but we’ll deal with it just as it is.

The drop has also cracked the fibreglass on the nose cap of the Suite
At my suggestion, we put our large patio mat on the gravel at the edge of the cement pad and that will extend our seating area. Not that we need it necessarily but we might! Bill stretched out in his recliner and dozed off. I’m glad because he isn’t worrying when in dreamland. I got my 3 new balls of wool out and pulled up the pattern for a sweater I found a few days ago. I hope I am successful; it would be good for 3 seasons. I wasn’t in the mood to start it though.

sitting at Happy Hour, a little rodent (gopher, prairie dog?)
was driving Ken nuts
He disappeared when I got my camera out and refused to make any
more appearances
It was cute watching him throw dirt up out of the hole
Kim texted around 2 to see if we were up for a Happy Hour today after our upsetting morning. Heck ya! Even more so than usual! Ha ha. So, at 3, we put some drinks in a cooler and walked up to their site. 

Black Beauty without her tailgate
is looking saddened
I dressed for outside and that is where we all stayed. The sun was nice and by 4ish the wind began dying down. It needed to. We walked back home at 5 and settled in our recliners for a bit before supper. I know I dozed off for a few minutes.

The sun set through our tree
We still had chili left, enough for one more meal so I reheated that. Bill wanted his with toast so made that himself. I had a salad on the side. 

A good hearty meal tonight
As I was eating, I felt discomfort on my upper right tooth. I believe it is my wisdom tooth and I realize that it is loose. What the? Nothing like things happening in threes. First, Bill’s dental issues. Then the truck damage and now my tooth. I knew that at some point my wisdom tooth would have to come out but I didn’t expect it this year.

Stunning


Oh my! No words necessary tonight
I’ll have to call in the morning for an appointment with Dr. Eva. I sure hope it isn’t going to be too costly. LOL We got the dishes done and then got into our books. The sky was beautiful tonight just after sunset so I had to run out and get a couple of pictures. It wasn’t a great day but we are still here, still healthy and happy. Bill received word back from Wayfarer’s (our ins. Co.) and he will chat with them in the morning. A quick response like that is exactly what we needed to get.

The good news is that we got moved to our new site
We are very happy about that
Good night y'all!
Thank you for stopping in to see what we’ve been up to. Tomorrow will be a better day.

32 comments:

  1. SEE, iF I DIDN'T READ I would not be feeling sick to my stomach right now for you two. That is awful for what happened. Damm accidents anyway! So sorry and so grateful for insurance. Will catch up with you two shortly. :)

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    1. I know! Sorry about that! Thank you for the note. So very frustrating and although always a deductible, we know it will be taken care of.
      It will be nice to see you.

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  2. Gosh!! What a mishap!! Sorry for the misfortune! Glad no one was hurt. Metal can be fixed, bodies not so much.
    Don in Okla.

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    1. Thank you Don. You are absolutely right. It is all fixable. :)

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  3. Been there, done that. . . It's a matter of when it happens, not if it happens when you tow a 5th wheel. We know it's frustrating, but your truck is still driveable and no one was hurt. Sorry you have to deal with this and hope the dentist can take care of your tooth tomorrow. Becki

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    1. Thank you Becki. So frustrating but you're right, we can still drive it and no one hurt. Thank God for that.

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  4. Sorry for your damage,equipment will fail sometimes for no good reason.Bill might wish to check with local “ wrecking yards “ as Ford tailgates are really common & often not damaged in collisions- bought one for my rig some while ago for$100– all the best.

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    1. Thank you, AJ. We will probably wait until we're home regardless but that's a good idea. You never know what you'll find.

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  5. Oh Patsy, I'm so sorry to hear about the tailgate... and your tooth. We are always concerned about this same thing happening when we hook up. We have many friends that have been through it. Hopefully you can have that tooth taken care of at a very reasonable fee. We had very cool weather here yesterday with quite a bit of wind, and I'm hoping for warmer weather today - the winds never seem to stop so if it must blow let it at least be warm winds!

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    1. Thank you Cheri. The tough part is that he did the tug test and it locked, was still locked after it pulled loose. Grrrr.
      The tooth shouldn't be bad, just getting it pulled.
      The winds have been bad for 3 days but seem to have left us for now and today will be in low 70's. :)

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  6. Mishaps are bound to happen in the course of travels but we always hope they are not in our backyard. Chin up guys, things could always be worse! The 60's sound much better than our -6 C.

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    1. Thanks Donna. Just another bump in the road and it could have been worse! We'll take our 60's for sure!

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  7. Boy can I relate to your accident this morning. We had the same thing happen last year. We had also done our tug test and all was fine but when Ken pulled away, kuplunk, down she came. We didn't suffer quite as much damage as you did, but we did dent the rail on the truck. Our feet were down a fair bit so that stopped the rig from dropping down any further. But I know how you feel, I felt sick, cried my eyes out. Turned out the locking mechanism on the hitch was broken we had to replace that part. But it stays with you, always a little nervous now when we pull away even after the tug test.

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    1. Thank you Ruth. I figure we'll be a bit nervous now too. The pin locked in when he backed up the second time so not sure what went awry. So frustrating.

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  8. John is right. Been there, done that and it will happen sometime if you tow a fifth wheel. Like you, my stomach just dropped and since I'm a crier. I cried. And like Ruth, everytime we hitched up we triple checked and did a pull test. So sorry you had to go through this. Dr. Eva is great.

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    1. Yes, I'm finding out we are not alone. When I saw the tail gate especially and then the front of the Suite, I was fighting the tears. Tried hard to be brave. LOL
      We love Dr. Eva too and I'm not too worried about the tooth pull. She mentioned last winter that it would be easier to clean back there without that wisdom tooth. :)

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  9. Gosh I hate it when that happens!! Same exact thing with my California friend and his BRAND NEW truck and trailer after his old one was hit by a car. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. The good news is you have insurance. I doubt mine would have paid for that. In no time Black Beauty will be as good as new!! I hope the same is true with your tooth!!! Hang in there!!

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    1. Thank you Nancy! It is so frustrating, we wanted to kick something - hard! that wouldn't have done any good! Could have been worse though and obviously it has happened to others. Insurance to the rescue but the deductible still hurts even though minor.
      Just an easy pull of the tooth, I hope. :)

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  10. We had the same thing happen with our Avalanche but the damage to the Cap was less then your's. We learned to Tug and add the Security Lock as a backup.
    Good Luck with the Tooth problem.
    Be Safe and Enjoy the warmer temperatures.

    It's about time.

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    1. Yes, the tug test is a must but when it doesn't work, you are at a loss. Crazy frustrating.
      Thank you, Rick, the tooth should be an easy fix.

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  11. Oh you poor guys! I can imagine how Bill feels, but again accidents happen and that's what we have insurance for Right?! Oh darn, tooth issues suck! If it would just fall out you wouldn't have to go haha. Seems there's always something to make life interesting. Glad you got to move, that was really packed in where you were. Beautiful sunset and great Happy Hour! Hugs!!

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    1. Thank you guys. We just felt sick to our stomachs - an expensive winter already with Bill's dental. Mine should be easy - it would be great if it fell out!!
      Interesting, well our winter adventures sure are that! haha Seems each year we have one 'major' thing. LOL We'll keep coming though, one year will be a breeze!

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  12. That was an awful thing to experience yesterday and I bet Bill never ever knew this would happen. I am shocked however to learn by the comments that this is a common failure at 5th wheel hookups. Hope your wisdom tooth will not give you much trouble as they can be painful but if it has to come out then it will be a quick fix. Wishing you all the best and hope the insurance will come through as well!

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    1. Thank you Marlene for your comment. It is unbelievable how often this happens but it does help Bill and I to know we are not alone.
      I hope the tooth comes out easily too! Thanks for the wishes!

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  13. OMG Patsy, so sorry to read this. What a devastating thing to have happen I can see why you are both sick to your stomachs. I am sure the noise was awful to hear. I know when I heard the window pop that day in Florida it was not fun and that was nothing really just a window replacement.
    Then your tooth seriously. The good news, if there is some, would be you are still close to the dentist. As I recall my top wisdom teeth were very easy to have taken out. Fingers crossed that is the same results for you.
    On the other hand beautiful sunset pictures. Someone up there knew you needed a pretty sunset. Glad to see you made it to your favorite spot there. Take care.

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    1. What a supportive comment, Deb. Thank you. These things happen and it never feels good.
      I couldn't believe it when my tooth started. Oh well, hopefully an easy pull. :)
      The sunset was indeed a blessing in disguise. So beautiful.

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  14. Been there, done that. According to folks that tow, there are two groups, the have's and have nots. Those that have dropped the rig and those that are waiting to drop the rig. You've moved to the other group now.
    Still sorry for your troubles, it's all repairable and insurance is a wonderful thing, it's one of the reasons we pay for it, so little boo boo's like this can be fixed. Leave the tailgate behind and use a cargo net to hold things in if necessary.
    Hopefully your tooth is an easy fix.
    Good luck with both. Keep in mind it could always be worse, much worse. Someone could have gotten hurt and all of your teeth could be loose and need work. Keep smiling Miss Patsy. Mr. Bill, this sick feeling shall pass.

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  15. Oh dear, that is not nice. Hope that insurance is good to you and you can get it fixed quickly. Good luck with the tooth!

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    1. Thank you! Fingers crossed for the insurance. So far, they seem very helpful.

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  16. Oh no. I feel bad for Bill and Black Beauty. At least no one is hurt and truck gates can be easily replaced. Certainly not the end of the world event. A loose wisdom tooth would far more devastating. Luckily, I had the wisdom to have all mine pulled many years ago. :))

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