The Journey from NH to TN.
Ok, as requested, the tale of breaking down on the highway with a menagerie in tow.
We left NH on a day in November 2021, just as it started snowing. We were hoping to outrun the weather, so we jammed the camper shower full of cages with chickens in, piled up and cable tied together to minimize movement. A couple more cages each side of the bed and a cat in a crate in the kitchen. The two dogs traveled on the back seat of the truck.
Our journey was to take us 4 days. My husband is disabled and can't do marathon trips, so we were moving at his pace. He was driving, I can't drive the truck as my legs don't reach the pedals. I did have some pedal extenders packed in the truck in case I had to take over at any point, but I was really not looking forward to that reality. I'm pretty certain that all the other drivers out and about that day, were lucky that it never became necessary.
The journey progressed well, with many stops for walk breaks and water and food top ups. The last two nights we decided to stop at a Red Roof Inn. We really needed showers and ours was full of chickens. Red Roof Inns allow dogs in the rooms with a damage deposit and they also allow you to park campers where you can see them. Our plan had been to park up at trucker rest stops, but they had just opened up transport of goods again after Covid, and everywhere was packed solid.
Added to that, sharing a room with chickens is not the best smelling option. Especially nervous, traveling chickens. Even with the windows open....
Anyhoo, our last stop at a Red Roof was in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Around 200 miles away from our destination. We decided to relax, get everyone settled, walk the dogs, have dinner and a restful night and then just take it easy for the Sunday drive to our new home 194 miles from where we were. Everyone was pretty much done with the journey and hubby and I were both feeling under the weather.
Sunday dawns, bright and early. We get breakfast, gather up the dogs and pack up the camper. It starts to rain. We weren't that bothered, it was to be a relatively short travel day, and our new home awaited us. Started the truck, got on the highway and we noticed that the camper door handle was sticking out, it has to be placed flat against the camper while traveling. A bit of swearing, and hubby pulls onto the hard shoulder and I get out. It's raining a bit harder now. I secure the door handle and I climb back into the truck. Hubby signals to pull back on to the highway, and.....nothing happens. We try again. Nothing. No gears. It's raining quite a lot now and we are on the hard shoulder of a very busy highway that is starting to wake up. Big trucks hurtle past, and every time they do, the truck and camper shake. We are not feeling happy. Both of us are now in full Dayquil mode, sniffles and coughs too. We just want this journey to be over. Apparently it is. Just not in the right location.
We have AAA coverage and we called them. Bad news, hubby had added the camper to our insurance but not to our recovery plan. It's not covered for a tow. They offer to come and get us in the truck, but the camper would be left on the side of the road and they recommended that we get a company in Bowling Green to come get it and store it for collection later. Not happening. It's full of chickens. We decline. More bad news, no-one has a tow truck that can tow two vehicles. They would have to do two journeys, again leaving the camper on the highway. We decline. 3 hours later we are still sitting in the same spot. We should have been home by now. Thankfully, we have a camper, and our own toilet. We carry on as normal, just on the side of a highway. Finally, some good news. A man has been found who can tow both vehicles at the same time. We have a little happy dance. It's still raining.
Said gentleman arrives. Loads us all up and we set off. The dogs had to stay in the truck, on the back of the flat bed. The camper is being pulled by the flatbed. I am wedged firmly between two large men in the front of the flatbed which has no back seat. Just one of those bench seats. There are some horrible metal struts digging into my leg and I can't move my arms. I later had bruises from those struts, but strangely, I was just happy to be moving again. 2 1/2 hours imprisoned in that seat. It was one of those life moments where you really want to just get lost in your own thoughts until it's over, but the nice man kept chatting. After what seemed like an eternity we arrived at the property. We were unloaded and we fell out of the truck into fresh air.
Now we are at our new home, sans vehicle, we don't know anyone and we can't go anywhere. We have no furniture yet, as it's scheduled to arrive two days after us. Our brand new neighbours saw the 'new folks' arrive in style on the back of a flatbed. We know how to impress! We are back to sleeping in the chickens bedroom. Oh, and it cost us just over a thousand dollars for the camper to be towed.
Now the real adventure starts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading.
We left NH on a day in November 2021, just as it started snowing. We were hoping to outrun the weather, so we jammed the camper shower full of cages with chickens in, piled up and cable tied together to minimize movement. A couple more cages each side of the bed and a cat in a crate in the kitchen. The two dogs traveled on the back seat of the truck.
Our journey was to take us 4 days. My husband is disabled and can't do marathon trips, so we were moving at his pace. He was driving, I can't drive the truck as my legs don't reach the pedals. I did have some pedal extenders packed in the truck in case I had to take over at any point, but I was really not looking forward to that reality. I'm pretty certain that all the other drivers out and about that day, were lucky that it never became necessary.
The journey progressed well, with many stops for walk breaks and water and food top ups. The last two nights we decided to stop at a Red Roof Inn. We really needed showers and ours was full of chickens. Red Roof Inns allow dogs in the rooms with a damage deposit and they also allow you to park campers where you can see them. Our plan had been to park up at trucker rest stops, but they had just opened up transport of goods again after Covid, and everywhere was packed solid.
Added to that, sharing a room with chickens is not the best smelling option. Especially nervous, traveling chickens. Even with the windows open....
Anyhoo, our last stop at a Red Roof was in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Around 200 miles away from our destination. We decided to relax, get everyone settled, walk the dogs, have dinner and a restful night and then just take it easy for the Sunday drive to our new home 194 miles from where we were. Everyone was pretty much done with the journey and hubby and I were both feeling under the weather.
Sunday dawns, bright and early. We get breakfast, gather up the dogs and pack up the camper. It starts to rain. We weren't that bothered, it was to be a relatively short travel day, and our new home awaited us. Started the truck, got on the highway and we noticed that the camper door handle was sticking out, it has to be placed flat against the camper while traveling. A bit of swearing, and hubby pulls onto the hard shoulder and I get out. It's raining a bit harder now. I secure the door handle and I climb back into the truck. Hubby signals to pull back on to the highway, and.....nothing happens. We try again. Nothing. No gears. It's raining quite a lot now and we are on the hard shoulder of a very busy highway that is starting to wake up. Big trucks hurtle past, and every time they do, the truck and camper shake. We are not feeling happy. Both of us are now in full Dayquil mode, sniffles and coughs too. We just want this journey to be over. Apparently it is. Just not in the right location.
We have AAA coverage and we called them. Bad news, hubby had added the camper to our insurance but not to our recovery plan. It's not covered for a tow. They offer to come and get us in the truck, but the camper would be left on the side of the road and they recommended that we get a company in Bowling Green to come get it and store it for collection later. Not happening. It's full of chickens. We decline. More bad news, no-one has a tow truck that can tow two vehicles. They would have to do two journeys, again leaving the camper on the highway. We decline. 3 hours later we are still sitting in the same spot. We should have been home by now. Thankfully, we have a camper, and our own toilet. We carry on as normal, just on the side of a highway. Finally, some good news. A man has been found who can tow both vehicles at the same time. We have a little happy dance. It's still raining.
Said gentleman arrives. Loads us all up and we set off. The dogs had to stay in the truck, on the back of the flat bed. The camper is being pulled by the flatbed. I am wedged firmly between two large men in the front of the flatbed which has no back seat. Just one of those bench seats. There are some horrible metal struts digging into my leg and I can't move my arms. I later had bruises from those struts, but strangely, I was just happy to be moving again. 2 1/2 hours imprisoned in that seat. It was one of those life moments where you really want to just get lost in your own thoughts until it's over, but the nice man kept chatting. After what seemed like an eternity we arrived at the property. We were unloaded and we fell out of the truck into fresh air.
Now we are at our new home, sans vehicle, we don't know anyone and we can't go anywhere. We have no furniture yet, as it's scheduled to arrive two days after us. Our brand new neighbours saw the 'new folks' arrive in style on the back of a flatbed. We know how to impress! We are back to sleeping in the chickens bedroom. Oh, and it cost us just over a thousand dollars for the camper to be towed.
Now the real adventure starts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading.
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