Ch. 5 - Cheese, You’re In Wisconsin
Holding their breaths they squeaked under the overpass intact and took the next available exit which mercifully plopped them back in a steady stream of big boys and 18 wheelers. Can you hear the collective sigh of relief? Rinni then had the bright idea to switch the directions to an app she had downloaded called TruckMapUSA. A user could input their vehicles particular height and weight, and receive directions to accommodate their size. Every time she opened the app it asked if she wanted to pick up a certain tonnage of cargo to deliver (decline!), but surely this would keep them on the best route for high profile vehicles. She was wrong. The new route took them off the highway altogether, down roads with names like “Catch a Fish Road” and “Tiny Squirrely Country Lane That an RV Should Never Ever Be On Drive”. After turning back 3 times (Rosie executing perfect 3 point turns at bridges with restricted weights way under their own), they abandoned TruckMapUSA and made it to their Aunt G and Uncle M’s house on Fox Lake. Hallelujah!
It had been an exhausting first week on the road and spending time with family was a welcome change. They were also lucky enough to support their Aunt G as she continued her journey of KICKING CANCER’S STUPID BUTT!! There were celebrations, boat rides, garage clean outs, cook outs, gardening, kayak explorations and of course… RV Repairs!
They had scheduled to drop the RV off with a mechanic nearby in a few days. In the meantime, they’d see what they could ascertain on their own. Roll up your sleeves folks! We’re going under the rig and replacing the Black Tank Valve!
After an afternoon of loosening bolts, removing cable, and prying (desperate prying), they learned (confirmed later by the mechanic) that the valve on this rig is installed in such a way that is impossible to remove without also removing the tanks. And that kind of project is way above Rosie and Rinni’s pay grade. Fret not! All hope is not yet lost! The new valve came with a one page pictorial instructions sheet. Deciphering the pictographs, we learned that there are basically 3 rules when installing these things:
Theirs had been installed breaking all 3 rules. Reinstalling the original valve, but rerouting the cable in a less loopdy loo way seemed to solve the problem. Rinni, taking no shit from no one, also installed a secondary emergency valve at the very end of the system (right before the cap, where the hose attaches). This way if their old valves do fail again, the contents will be held back by this fail safe valve. It is one of Rinni’s Favourite Purchases! Queue confetti!
They also tried to asses the power situation, collecting information on battery levels, voltage, etc. Somewhere there is a napkin full of data points, but alas they couldn’t quite make sense of them. The time had come to drive the RV to the mechanic. With a bunch of positive online reviews and a shop location within spitting distance of the Wisconsin Cheese Castle, Rosie and Rinni figured this guy was really worth his salt.
They discussed the issues with the mechanic and were told it’d be ready in 1 to 1 million weeks, but he promised to call with updates. So with a leap of faith, they left their home on wheels behind and drove further north in Wisconsin to crash in on another set of Aunts and Uncles, patiently waiting for good news.
Will the mechanics figure out what’s up with their failing fridge? Solve their power issues? And how many fried cheese curds is too many fried cheese curds? Find out next week!
