Today is Monday, June 13, 2022, and I’m going to give a current update on our travels. We are driving today from Teslin, Yukon to Whitehorse, Yukon where we will be for 4 nights, before making our final 387 mile stretch into Alaska. If all goes according to plan, we will cross the border for our summer stay in Alaska on Saturday, June 18th.

BUT NOT EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLANS…

On Wednesday, June 1, Dan and I, along with our friends Karen and Al, arrived at Pink Mountain, British Columbia, for a quick one night stay. Unfortunately, Al and Karen noticed a serious issue with their Grand Design Solitude 5th wheel. There was a crack along the bottom on the front of their 5th wheel. And when they were hitched up, the crack expanded, indicating they may have broken a weld somewhere on the frame. This crack was not there the day before, so it happened while driving between Dawson Creek and Pink Mountain.

To make a long story short, Al made dozens of calls to try and find someone that could look at and repair their RV. He contacted many places in Fort Nelson, which was our next stop, but had no success. He was able to find a place in Fort St John, about 100 miles East of our location that would look at it, but getting it there safely was another issue. They have Good Sam Roadside Assistance (we use Coach-Net) and had a very positive experience with Good Sam in locating a towing company that could safely do the job of moving their RV. This is why having an RV specific roadside assistance program is an absolute must if you own an RV.

This is a sight you don’t want to see when RV’ing. Al had to drive the truck/5th wheel on to the flat bed. It’s the only way to get the 5th wheel on to the flatbed. Their dog Cody was not allowed to ride in the tow truck, and had to stay in their truck for the 100 mile drive.

Karen and Al wanted us to continue on our journey, so we said our goodbyes, and we have been traveling on our own since June 2nd when we departed Pink Mountain. I’m posting this now, because I’m happy to report that Karen and Al found a place that was not only willing to do the repair, but made it a priority and worked all day, every day on it for 5 days straight.

Here are some photos, from Karen and Al, of the damage. The weld broke on both sides, and the repair shop had to remove the damaged beam and replace it with a new one. The repair shop had to remove the skin and doors off the front panel of the RV. The circled area is where one of the two cracks occurred.

Here is a close-up of the damaged beam.

They had to remove the old beam, and put in a new beam.

It was a very extensive repair, but they are back on the road, and putting on a lot of miles to catch back up with us. Hopefully by Tuesday they will arrive in Whitehorse and we will be back traveling together.

Once we knew things would be repaired, we decided to stay in Teslin for a few days, to give them time to catch up. The campground here is nice, right on the water. And it has good wi-fi, so I have been able to get caught up on writing some blog posts. I have several ready to go in the next few days.

We have a nice view of the water from our spot. This campground fills up every night, and empties every morning. We have enjoyed watching the RV’s arrive and depart. There has been one issue that has come up during our stay.

You can see the lake off in the distance. Since we have arrived, it has rained and rained. The lake has risen, and has started to flood this campground. We are fine, but are happy to be leaving. Our lake view site is becoming a lake front site.

All of the white posts along the bushes in the photo below are the electrical posts for the waterfront sites.

They moved the picnic tables from those sites, but if the rain continues, they may need to move them again.

According to the weather forecast, the rain should stop by Wednesday. Hopefully the water will quickly recede and not cause any further issues for this campground.

Quote of the Day: “Every problem is a gift. Without them we wouldn’t grow” – Tony Robbins