It was bound to happen, and yesterday, it did

Shortly after we left the RV park yesterday, a car pulled up beside us at a stoplight and told us one of our trailer tires was going flat. I immediately pulled over and discovered she was right. 

This discovery was an unpleasant surprise, to say the least. Whatever was causing it to go flat must have happened after leaving the campground, as I had inspected the tires before pulling out, something I always do. 

After realizing what was happening, I eased the trailer up to a convenience store parking lot where we could park safely removed from passing traffic and analyzed the situation. 

You may not know this, but campers are no longer sold with jacks and lug wrenches due to the number of times people raised one side too high and tipped over their rigs. Yeah, I know, right. And, alas, my truck jack, sturdy as it is, was not up to the task. Neither was its lug wrench. It was too big for the lug nuts on the camper wheel. Our camper is, however, equipped with a spare tire. 

A situation like this is why we belong to a roadside service company. We dialed the number received assurance that help was on the way. Twenty minutes later, they called back and said they were still trying to find someone who would come out. Another twenty minutes passed, and they were still looking. Then another twenty. 

Evidently, no garage or towing service in the entire Grayson, Carroll County area was willing to send out a truck on Father's Day to lend us a hand. Pray you never need help if you break down anywhere near Woodlawn on Galax, Virginia, on a Sunday or holiday. 

When the roadside service company finally found someone, the garage that agreed to send someone out was in Jonesville, NC. The tech who came to help us drove from Statesville, NC. This, of course, was a long drive. 

A very courteous, polite, professional, and knowledgeable young man did arrive and had the tools to take care of the problem for us. In under 10 minutes, we were ready to get back on the road. 

I tendered the young man a generous gratuity for having come all that way for us, enough for him and his significant other to enjoy a nice dinner out once he got home and washed up. 

All told, we spent 5 hours in that convenience store parking lot. Thankfully, it wasn't very hot, and we had internet, snacks, and drinks.

The lesson I learned from this is to keep a jack and lug wrench of the right specs in the camper. 

 

A version of this article was contemporaneously published on myLot.com.