You Can't Make This Stuff Up

[Roll With The Changes]

As many of you know, finding an RV campground site in South Florida in the winter can be a challenge. So, not wanting to plan a year in advance, sometimes we have to take what we can get. We pulled up to this one which is actually in the middle of town. DW thinks there's no way we can get in there with a 35ft Solitude. I notice there are several large rigs, so I figure there has to be a way.

The campground owner comes out to the street to tell me how to get in. It's his campground and he sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so let's go with it. He has me pull into the vacant lot across the street and back into the campground. It's tight getting by the trees, but it's a pretty straight shot. So far so good. This is what you would expect at an RV park in south Florida; stone parking sites with a concrete patio. Put the curbside tires about 6 inches from the concrete... no problem. Except that puts the sewer connection directly under the left side trailer tires. I didn't see the white plastic cap in the white stones and the campground owner backed me right over it. Well, I need to move the trailer over a few inches, so he has me back deeper into the site to do that. It get moved over and that's when we notice the ground boiling. He ran me over the water supply pipe too! Apparently he didn't know that was there.

So, here we are perfectly parked in a flooded site and it will be dark soon... no way I'm pulling out of here through the trees in the dark. So far, he's been a good sport about things. He calls the repair guy (who is out fishing). We'll get it all fixed up. No problem....

[WhittleBurner]

This year you might have been able to pick from more than a few CGs. Many are not full with the Canadians not able to come.

So many working the desk have no clue on how to back into a spot. We got directed to just pull straight in without going around and down the back road at a park near Ormond Beach and that put all the sewer and water on the wrong side. Let the office know they are wrong and to save people the trouble of having to get into the site more than once. Each one looked like a deer in headlights. Sad part was this spot was almost right in front of the office

[Roll With The Changes]

So DW and I get out the chairs and have an adult beverage to unwind a little bit and wait for the repair so we can hook up water. She is so mad at this point she wasn't even talking.

The repair guy finally shows up after it's completely dark. He dug up the pipe under our trailer by the light of a cell phone 😅 Of course I had to go around to say hello and maybe hold a light for him and generally be helpful. He had to get another tool so I went back to my chair. He comes and goes, back and forth for about two hours. (Never did bring a flashlight). We noticed that he hadn't come back for a while, so I went over to check progress. The repair was complete, but nobody ever told us! But wait! How could this get any better?...

The repair was complete so I checked the spigot and no water. I went to an empty site and tried that one... water works. Obviously, the water is back on, but we don't have any... Now I have to back up a little bit. When I first talked to the repair guy, I asked him why there was a tap (a tee with a cap on it) stubbed off this obviously new pipe that was broken. He shrugged and mumbled that I don't know thing. He also did know what the other, smaller, older pipe in the ground was. Now we know what all of this things were...

[WhittleBurner]

LOL, this place sounds almost scary!

[Roll With The Changes]

They had recently installed the new water pipe (that's the one that I broke). When they did that, they cut off the old supply to the spigot but never hooked it up to the new supply. That's what the stub was for. So here we are the next morning at a site with no water.

I like to think I can find my way out of a wet paper bag, so all is not lost. It ten o'clock last night, I found a neighbor camper that actually had their water turned off (I didn't want to shut somebody's water off to fill mine). I filled my trailer tank and my truck tank so now we have about 120 gallons on board. Plenty for three days. We're all set and now we're just going to wait and see what the park says. 🤣

Now the lessons learned part. We travel with a third of a tank of water for on the road pit stops anyway, so we had some. I don't want to be any heavier than I need to be, so I don't think I will change that. We still had options. I think we are prepared for most anything and I think we got through this one ok. But the damage in the first place was preventable and completely my fault. I broke my own rule which is never trust anyone. I should have walked the route and planned my parking. I might have done it differently and avoided all of it.

For now, I'm actually ok with just laughing about it. This is the adventure we chose right? I hope you all enjoyed the story.

[traveldawg]

ah - such is the joy of camping!

So many memories being made. So many stories to tell.

Good to see you took all in stride and with a bit of a sense of humor. Sometimes ya just gotta laugh.

[Canyonlight]

Roger - another good example of camping and RV life style stories of being on the road. It is interesting that a certain generation has decided that a phone light is all that is necessary anymore. Flashlight.....what is that !

Laughing about it is the right way to deal with these types of adventures. It is you and folks like you that make sitting around a campfire with a beverage(s) sharing stories a most enjoyable evening.

Thanks, for sharing !

Dan

[D2Reid]

Rolling with the changes is an excellent attitude. I too have many stories about broken pipes and odd connections, like the sewer connection in the middle of the pad... You have to have a since of humor to do this rv thing...