I was awakened by the gentle tapping of rain just before dawn yesterday morning. The temperature was in the mid sixties and I slept well. I reached up to slide the window closed above my head so the coming rain wouldn’t get in the camper. You have to be really careful with campers. Even a small leak can lead to damages that will eventually kill a trailer.
The previous owner had the large skylight over the bed replaced in July when she noticed a small leak. We’ve had a few really hard rains since we bought the camper and we were thrilled everything worked perfectly after we switched out the faulty GFI outlet. Living with a trailer is like getting married…you never know exactly what you have till you’ve slept with it a while.
I’ve been staying out in “The Birdhouse” as much as I can since we bought it so I can learn the ins and outs and any little quirks she may have. When yesterday’s pitter-patter of rain drops turned into a constant drumming on the roof, I figured I’d better be getting a move on. I had an appointment at noon to get the new tires put on.
West Virginia storms are often a constant torrent of rain all day…sometimes for days at a time. When there was a little slack in the storm, I quickly started closing up the camper so I could hook it up to my truck. I took the blankets off the bed to fold them and put them away. When I pulled the last blanket off…there was a wet spot on the sheets about fourteen inches across in the corner under the newly installed skylight. What the heck? I ran my finger along the bottom edge and sure enough, water was coming in!
I quickly got the camper secured and hooked up to my truck and headed to town. I was way too early, so I sat in the truck for a little bit to catch up on some correspondence. I finally went in…still too early for my appointment, but I knew they would have to find the tires I had ordered from the internet and had delivered there.
The young man who checked me into the automotive department was pleasant and efficient and knew exactly where my tires were. I walked in with him because I wanted to see the date they were manufactured. You have to be careful because you can get “new” tires that are already two or three years old. I don’t want old tires. These were manufactured this year.
As I stood there looking at them, something seemed off with these tires. I ordered three ST185/80R13 LRD 8Ply Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tires…to be exact. Why three when the camper only has two wheels? Because, I wanted the spare tire to match. Remember…those tires were manufactured in 2014. NOT dependable when you’re going to drive cross-country.
I asked the young man what was wrong with these tires because one seemed larger than the other two. The two were strapped together and he said he thought that was what made them look smaller. I wasn’t convinced.
“Ummmm…you wouldn’t mind checking those numbers for me, would you?”
He did. And checked them again. Just as I suspected, the single tire was the 185 size, and the other two were 175’s. Come on…you’ve got to be kidding me, here. So, they refunded me for the wrong tires and reordered the new tires. Hopefully they’ll be in by the end of the week or so and we can get them put on. We still have some wiggle room with time on our side.
I contacted my friend Lynn who owns Setzer’s World of Camping down in Huntington and we’ll take the camper down on Wednesday to see what’s going on with that skylight. Hopefully it’s a really quick and easy fix. By early afternoon, the rain was gone and the sun was shining again. This is just a minor stumbling block. Compared to everything else that’s going on in the world today, this is nothing to worry about.
?
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
Proverbs 19:21 ESV