Our last day left us completely winded (HH/BW Challenge Series)
We set our alarms for before dawn, but I had been up since 3:30AM, unable to fall back asleep. The challenge was coming to a close, and we had just one more night before successfully spending all 27 nights at a Harvest Hosts or Boondockers Welcome location. We should have been ecstatic. Instead, RV problems were piling high, and deep down, we knew we hadn't uncovered all of them. We needed to get an early start because there was an important place we needed to stop before we reached our final Harvest Host.
Back in January when we were in Florida, we began noticing some squeaking and creaking sounds coming from our axles. At first we chalked it up to the humidity and crazy temperature fluctuations, and the truth was that it did improve on drier days. We would think everything was fine, but then a few days later, the sound would be back. We had checked everything we could, but we knew we needed a professional's eyes. We tucked it in the back of our minds and ended up procrastinating on getting it looked at. Until the challenge, that is.
Something about the challenge made us realize that we can't keep ignoring this issue. We were driving a lot more, especially on uneven terrain like gravel, dirt, and grass. The plus side was, this challenge gave us more flexibility to make stops on our travel days. Our drives were usually shorter and we had no real plans to be in a certain area by a certain date, except for our final destination near the ATC manufacturer in Nappanee, IN. We discussed trying to find a Fleet Pride service center at some point during our month bopping around the Midwest. We certainly waited until the last minute, but with everything else going wrong with our truck and trailer, we had the momentum to tackle this problem, too.
When we researched creaking axles on an RV, the most common results talk about leaf springs bending and breaking. Only, we don't have leaf springs. We have torsion axles. They're supposed to be better suspension and less maintenance. Jury is still out on that last one for us. We already had to replace our axles once, last year in Payson, Utah, because one was bent and the other had a broken swing bar. When we replaced them, we upgraded to heavier duty ones and thought we were in the clear. Then months later, the creaking started. The downside to torsion axles is, if one part busts, the whole axle needs to be replaced. We remained optimistic, though. Perhaps some bearings just needed to be lubed. We just needed the pros to take a look. We found a Fleet Pride in Fort Wayne, IN and made an appointment for as soon as they opened on Friday, May 17, our last full day of the Harvest Hosts challenge.
So there we were, unhitched at Escape Muncie, knowing full well we would be hitching back up before dawn and hitting the road just as the sun came up. At least nothing was open yet, so we weren't disturbing anyone...well, except a very tired Tanner.
We arrived to Fleet Pride just before 8AM, but they weren't ready for us yet, so we waited in the parking lot. Around 9:30AM, they had Anthony bring the trailer around to one of the service bays, where at first glance, the guy noticed that part of the swing arms needed tightening. We know nothing about axle parts and terminology, but basically, the parts with gaps should apparently look like the one that doesn't have a gap.
If this was in fact the necessary fix, we'd be out of there in 10 minutes.
If the progression of Tanner is any indication, we were not out of there in 10 minutes. The guys couldn't fix the creaking, but we all developed some theories. And by "all," we mean the Fort Wayne dudes, the Payson dudes (because Fort Wayne called them), and me and Anthony. At this point, all we could do was trust the pros that the axles were safe for the time being. We had a challenge to complete.
Many of our RV friends might be wondering, did we go to the RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame for our last Harvest Host? The Hall of Fame has a museum filled with RVs, and it's located in Elkhart, the RV capital of the world. It's also true that the location is a Harvest Host. It was our plan to make this our final stop, because how could we not?! We still had not been, and it would have been the perfect way to cap off our challenge. Unfortunately, they were hosting an event that weekend, as they often do, and it was closed. So, we had to find somewhere else for our final night. It may not have been the RV Museum, but it was a museum, alright!
Mid-America Windmill Museum, Kendallville, IN
We figured, if we couldn't see a bunch of RVs, we might as well go see a bunch of windmills. Around 60 at the time of our visit, and more keep getting added. We had our own space on the far end of the parking lot, with gravel pullouts specifically for RVs. At least three could fit comfortably depending on length. The museum's Harvest Host listing says they accept four RVs at one time. We were the only ones to stay that night.
Visitors can walk the grounds for free or pay $8 for a self-guided audio tour, which includes more windmills in their barn. We paid for the tour, only it turned out to not be self-guided. Jerry, one of the volunteers, opted to bring us through the barn and share with us "more stories about windmills than we ever wanted to know." His words. And he was right. We simply couldn't retain all of the information he told us, but we got to learn about the history of windmills in the US and the different types. We also got to hear about the evolution of self-lubricating windmills. Windmills are a staple of the Midwest's history because they served as a way for settlers to get water, even if they weren't near a natural water source. They harnessed the power of the wind to operate their pumps, so that they could draw water from underground. This is how the settlers farmed in the Midwest back before other sources of power were available. We also learned the fun fact that windmills were often built along train routes because the steam engines needed water!
We ended up talking with Jerry until a half-hour past the museum's closing. The topic eventually switched from windmills to generational gaps and formal education. Jerry is 80 years old and not a fan of the internet, and so we enlightened him on our lives as the last generation to still have a pre-internet childhood but then be thrust into a world where it's become a grand necessity.
When Jerry finally decided it was time to close up shop and head home to the wife, we made our way out to the museum grounds. The breeze had picked up, so we got to hear the squeaks of the steel windmills. The property also has a covered bridge, pond, and picnic pavilion. They host a lot of field trips there. It was a nice place to walk around, but it was another hot day, so we couldn't spend too much time meandering before we needed to go check the AC and start our generator to replenish our batteries.
Throughout our stay, we watched as cars pulled up the driveway, parked to take pictures, and then turn around and head out. This is definitely a roadside attraction for those passing by. Interstate 69 is a few miles away and US route 6 is a few minutes to the north, but the museum itself is actually nestled between a couple of residential neighborhoods. Our soundtrack for the night was the distant squeaking, occasional train horns, and a barking hound from one of the nearby houses.
The next morning, we had to remind ourselves that celebrations were in order. We completed our Harvest Hosts/Boondockers Welcome Challenge! Only, we were focused on our next order of business. We needed to switch gears fast. In two days, we'd be dropping our trailer off at ATC for a long road of repairs. When we made our service appointment, we had 4 items on our list. During the challenge, we accumulated 4 more. Then, since we were already ambushing them with so many repairs, we added 2 more lower priority ones, bringing our total to 10. None of them had anything to do with our axles, which we are treating as a non-ATC issue until evidence tells us otherwise. We were actually grateful that our service appointment was happening right after our challenge. We had no idea how many issues we'd rack up during these four weeks, but whenever something happened, we rested on the fact that soon we could get it repaired. It helped us stay present in our challenge and do just the bare minimum to keep moving forward.
Looking back at how many circumstances could have derailed our challenge completely, we really should celebrate! The challenge was a lot of fun, but it was also a ton of work. We don't usually look forward to displacement, but we needed to be in one place for a while.
Pulling into the campground was jarring. Our month at Harvest Hosts meant we skipped the beginning of camping season, and all of a sudden the RV parks were packed with happy families beginning their season of weekend camping. We had a pull-thru site in a row that alternated entry directions, meaning that we shared yard space with our neighbors on our pleasure side, and a y-split water spigot with our neighbors on our business side. This must be how people feel when they spend their lives in the country and suddenly move to the city! We felt pretty cramped. But no neighbor made us feel as cramped as the tree that invaded our campsite.
We made several attempts to maneuver around it, coming painfully close to hitting it a few times, before we just moved our picnic table out of the way and drove onto the grass. Then Anthony needed to pull way forward and treat the site like a back-in. We wish we had seen the tree before we pulled around. We would have backed in in the first place.
While everyone else was enjoying their vacation time, we were preparing for our displacement. It's gotten easier over the years, but whenever we need to do it, we're always reminded just how tedious – and messy – it can get.
The challenge helped. We would be out of our trailer for at least a couple of weeks, which meant we couldn't rely on our battery bank to keep our fridge running. We didn't do a lot of grocery runs because we were eating at so many Harvest Hosts. This meant we could eat up the perishables in our fridge and freezer without needing to restock. We also had a lot of things packed already, thanks to our constant drive days. Granted, some stuff needed to be switched around anyway, but starting in "travel position" made it easier to see what needed to be packed and what needed to be left behind.
We pushed through our exhaustion and got done what we needed to, enjoying the full hookups while we had them. Before we knew it, Monday had arrived, and it was time to say goodbye to Buggy. We already felt worlds away from our four weeks of dry camping our way through the Midwest. By the end of the day, we'd be in an Airbnb, living the sticks and bricks life. My, how things can change in the blink of an eye.
One thing was for sure, though. We had lots of incredible memories to take with us from our challenge. Tough as it was at times, we were so glad we embarked on the adventure, and we would absolutely do it again sometime. We accomplished not only the challenge, but our goal to keep ourselves on our toes and try something new and exciting. Plus, we got to support small businesses all throughout the Midwest. We may have been exhausted, but our hearts were full. Now it was time for the next chapter.
