July 1 – 4, 2021

Thursday, July 1, 2021

First, let me show you a few pictures from yesterday. These were taken before we finished with all the chains.

Because we are so far behind schedule, I realized several days ago that I could not count on being home for the weekend of July 4 to move our RV from one park to another. No one had expected this huge schedule disaster. I can not just leave, because there is no one to replace me. If they just called someone from the phonebook, they have learned from the past that at least 90 percent turn out to be a disaster. Just like playing the drums…..everyone says they know how. But very few actually do! They never hire someone that doesn’t have experience with steering these particular trailers. But 90 percent may have steered other trailers, so assume it’s the same, so lie, and say yes. Then they steer them off the road, into a ditch, into another vehicle, or turn the dolly at a 90* angle, getting the truck stuck and needing a wrecker to pull them out of the jam. Right now, we have no idea where we will be on that weekend, because we have no way of knowing if we will be delayed when we unload. Depending on what state we are in, we may not be able to drive after noon tomorrow until Tuesday, of maybe Monday. Or, maybe we can drive all day Friday, but not Saturday. And, some states allow us to drive right on through the weekend. What we do know, is that after we unload, we are heading back to the shop in MN.

So I called the owner of our present campground. He feels responsible for the whole issue, and is such a nice guy, and willing to help. He said, “Mr Jehle, this is not your problem, it’s mine. Don’t you worry about a thing. I have a one ton dually and have owned several campers. I will help your wife break camp, pull it over, set it up, and do whatever she needs to get things right. If you want, I will film it all for you, or we can be on FaceTime so you can watch. Whatever makes you comfortable.” LOL Annalou was comfortable with that, and arranged for him to move it today, so he doesn’t have to do it on the holiday.

We pulled out at daybreak, and headed south.

It was a pretty uneventful day, requiring some tower raising at several RR crossings, but no steer turns. Since we are 6 feet shorter now, that makes a huge difference on the corners! We are, however, still over 160 feet long. We parked in Monteagle TN after 354 miles, and I took my driver to a restaurant and we both checked into a hotel for the night.

Annalou told me that the RV move went very well, and she is settling in now. She is now between elder care jobs, so plans to drive to Arkansas to visit her family and friends.

Friday, July 2, 2021

Once again, we left as early as we could, and I enjoyed the scenery on the back roads route they gave us.

Today we had some highway, but when we got off to do back roads again, the off ramp was a very tight circle. Plus, there was a deep drop off on the outside, preventing my driver from driving his tractor out wide on the grass all the way around. So, we knew I would have to steer it. I love to steer, so no problem to me. But I know it was a big problem to those behind us taking that same exit! The HP guy parked his truck at the top of the ramp, and ran back down to drive my van up behind us. I started the pony motor, took the self-steer pin out, and walked behind the truck and steered the back end all the way up. I kept the outside rear tires right on the grass line all the way so the inside frame would not hit the signs and brush on the inside. Once at the top, I had him stop, and I pinned it back in self steer, and shut down the pony motor. By then the HP guy had my van right behind me, along with a string of traffic out onto the highway. We pulled up in a way to allow all the traffic by as quickly as we could before moving on. Many of them honked as they drove by. I always ignore them, but I suspect many of them had a certain finger pointed in the air! Oh, well, we all did our best, and that’s what matters to me!

After just 263 miles, we arrived at the distillery in the early afternoon. The other truck left a day before us, so unloaded yesterday. We were able to drive in (with me steering the back end) and around their beautiful landscaping. At one point, I was steering my back tires 4″ from a building because there was good gravel right up to it, and we needed every inch we could get to make that corner. We pulled under the crane, got unloaded, and then in the intense heat, we shrunk up the trailer back to 12 feet wide, loaded the saddles and steel plates we used for transportation back on, chained them down, and were finished at about 8 PM.

Another late night, and a short nap.

Saturday, July 3&4, 2021

Good news! Since we unloaded yesterday, and will be out of IL before noon today, we can drive all day, and have decided on the exact rest area we will park at until Monday morning. Annalou is leaving this morning for AR and has decided that since it is only about 3 hours out of her way, she will drop in this afternoon before supper, and stay with me until Monday! Woohoo! Nothing like a visit with my favorite wife!!

I steered the back as we pulled out around the landscaping, curbs, and gates and parked at the front. There was a gas station there, that had just opened at 7, and everyone wanted a coffee.

Looks like a long truck, doesn’t it?

We drove 298 miles to Calvert City KY wjere we parked at a weigh station.

We were checked in to the hotel there just after lunch, and Annalou was not expecting to arrive until about 4, so my driver and I went in my van to do our laundry. Annalou got there and checked in just a few minutes before we got back. We went with my driver to supper at the Cracker Barrel close by. She had never met him, as he came to work after Annalou “retired” from Escorting oversize loads.

We had an excellent visit, and even went out for ice cream! She gave me a hair cut, helped me organize my van a bit, and my driver and I took my generator apart until we found and solved the oil leak problem. The valve cover was never tightened at the factory! Annalou brought me my windshield repair kit as well. I had it shipped to NC thinking I’d be there. My new windshield, after bout 3 weeks of it’s life has an 8″ crack, four stars, and about 5-6 dings. I decided that at  $732 per windshield, and an average of 2-3 hits per week, I’d better learn how to repair it myself each night, rather than repalce it every 4-6 weeks like another steerman does.

Boy, does time fly when you get such precious little time to spend with your soulmate, best friend, and wife of 43 years! My heart aches as we separate again, but I know this is what the Lord wants me to do now, and is the best way to earn what we need to buy property and build our tiny house. When we started out, we had no idea how long that would take, but I can say for certain that with me living and eating in my van, we greatly reduced that time! No doubt at all!

We both leave in the mornig to go opposite directions. Annalou will head to Arkansas, and I will head to Minnesota for my next adventure!!