Lessons Learned From A Small Town Mechanic
Imagine you are running in a race and there are runners behind you, trying to overtake you. You suddenly stop, for a side cramp, trying to breathe in and out carefully. The person that was running behind you tries to stop but had too much momentum to stop and runs right into you, causing you to fall along with this runner.
That was what it felt like as we were driving our truck and pulling a travel trailer and another truck behind it. I felt pushed, even sometimes like a runaway train as we drove down hills. Will we make it safely to our destination, and most importantly, will we not drive into someone else?
I was following my husband one day into our camping site. I noticed that our travel trailer lights were not working. After investigating for a time, it was decided to take it to a mechanic, in the small town we were visiting. While small towns are fun to visit, they cater to the tourist, not necessarily to major business, like a mechanic.
I grew up in a big city and I am used to easy conveniences, like a Walmart on every corner, eateries wherever I go, and especially a variety of mechanics and their abilities to choose from. But visiting a small town is quite different.
There was only one, one mechanic that could fix the problem. The real problem was how busy the business was in this small town. In addition, we had two problems:
Could he fix the problem?
We had plans to leave in two days. Would he get it done?
As fulltime rv’ers, we camp at boondocking locations, and are limited to where we can stay and how long we can stay. It is not like when you have a house, you drop off the vehicle and wait till they are done. The best part of living in a house is you do not have to move out of your house or move your house around like a fulltime rv’er!
Even though it was our travel trailer lights that were out, the truck that pulls the trailer controls those lights, so there was a “communication” problem with the truck talking to the travel trailer.
When it comes to anything electrical to fix, my husband is challenged. He is handy with most things, except anything electrical. My husband made it clear that we are camping and leaving soon and asked if it could be done. They reassured us it would. Using the word “reassured” was not what we thought it meant. My husband spent all day at the garage to make sure they got it done. They were slow as running molasses! They were busy, but still offered to fix our light issue.
After a day, it still was not done. This type of fix in the big city would have been at least one hour, not a day. I was not a happy camper. Our reservations were short, and we were heading to another state within a matter of days. The garage “reassured” us it would be done the next day.
My husband again showed up at the garage in the morning, waiting for them to fix it. The mechanic decided to come in the afternoon. When do mechanics show up in the afternoon, with no calls out on the road? Never heard of that! After another full day, he got it done. What I mean is he got what he could get done.
Our day of departure arrived, and everything went smoothly as we packed up, got the slides in, hooked up the trailer to the tractor and left. But wait, there was a hesitation, like we were dragging the trailer. My smart husband jumped out of the truck and investigated. He then came back and gave me an ultimatum: either visit the mechanic again and find another place to camp (remember small town?) or keep going to our next camping destination. We chose the latter. Another day in that town was not what we wanted.
So off we went, only with tractor brakes. My husband unhooked the plug between the tractor and trailer so we could drive without wrecking the trailer brakes, causing a fire. I realize it might not have been the safest way to go, but we made the decision and went with it. Luckily, my husband knows how to drive a semi and very well. We were careful on the hills going down, and there were few.
Here are some tips to help if you find yourself needing something fixed:
Patience and a lot of that. Small towns are equipped to handle so much. They would love to fix your problems, but it may or may not happen.
Make plans to stay a little longer if needed. We have the time as fulltime rv’ers, do we not?
Smile. Do something fun to get your mind off the problem.
If you can, visit a larger town to fix your vehicle or trailer. They may be able to help, although it could take longer and cost more.
Find a mobile mechanic. They might save you money and time, depending on their schedule.
Unfortunately, things break, fall apart and we might have the mindset to get it fixed right away. But when it comes to small towns, a little patience can go a long way!
The funny thing about this story is that we drove to another small town, although not as small as the one we visited. We found a mobile mechanic that was overwhelmed with work but was willing to fix it. After some time and more money, it was done, but not really (another story for another time).