We've decided to maintain as much of our plans as we can while our trailer is being repaired. The picture to the right and the next one down show the extent of the cracks. The bottom is of the replacement cross member that was completed Wednesday. Apparently, Lippert did much more than just come out and look. The front & bottom caps need to be reattached and may be done by tomorrow. We're thinking it may go to paint early next week...or it may not. Your guess as good as anyone else's.
In the mean time we're here visiting and getting some doc appointments out of the way. We've canceled all reservations except our Dec 1st reservation at Gulf State Park. Probably be late, but too early to give up on arriving on Dec 1st. We're carrying our crock pot and both summer & winter wardrobes with us (two large totes from Wally World) and all my automotive cleaning gear. Nothing starts a conversation like me washing & waxing our truck in a hotel parking lot without using a water hose. Donna's crock pot recipes also gets us some nice notes from housekeeping on just how wonderful whatever-Donna's-making smells, too.
We're missing our trailer, but we know it needs to be repaired correctly. We're thankful that a Lippert tech finally agreed with us that the trailer flexed too much and started to investigate. I've always joked on the Suites Owners forum that we didn't need to worry
about the height of our trailer as it'd just see the low clearance and just bend down on it's own to get below the obstruction. May have been more truth to that than I care to admit! And then there's that one fleeting idea that keeps popping up: will the trailer still be traveling level after the repair? My guess is that we'll be a little nose high with more clearance over the tailgate of the truck. But I've guessed wrong on that before, too. We'll see. Oh, and is this going to change our hitch and axle weights? Inquisitive minds want to know!
One thing we've noticed: this adventure has given us a chance to use the truck as a car and take full advantage of all the bells and whistles currently available as automotive manufacturers begin to introduce electronics for autonomous driving. Many of you are already use to having these new gadgets in your vehicles, but it's new to us. You'd think we'd be using all this stuff while towing, but some of the electronics aren't available with the trailer attached (for example, blind spot warnings are automatically turn off when our trailer is attached). And you're not suppose to use adaptive cruise control when you have a trailer attached. (You set it for "normal" or what I call "traditional" cruise control.) Also, the settings for the exhaust brake are different when traveling light vs. carrying a load in the pickup bed or towing a trailer. We find there's less stress when you're not towing, too. People do some real stupid things around people towing trailers. OK, make that people do some real stupid things - period - but the consequences are significantly less without an additional 39 ft and 18,500 lbs behind you. Let's just say Donna really, really likes her truck.
So, we're in Fredericksburg for the time being. We think we're fine. Appreciate you stopping by and checking up on us. It's all part of the adventure! David
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