When to call 911

[VickieP]

Well, here's the story of our Friday the 13th escapades. Started out good, we rolled out of the KOA in Lillian AL around 11am and went north to I-10 then turned west. We knew there was a Bass Pro Shop just a little ways up the interstate and Ronnie wanted to stop there so we took the exit to Spanish Fort, pulled into the parking lot and found a good spot at the outside of their parking lot when Ronnie noticed that the "Continue driving to clean filter" display was on. This is a new thing on the Ford trucks (don't know about others) that dumps fuel into the exhaust and then burns it to clean a filter (EPA crap) and you can't turn the truck off till it's completed. So here we go driving around for it to finish. I think he could have burned out that filter with the steam coming out of his ears, cause he wanted to get into the store!

Finally it's finished so we go back and park, go in to their restaurant, eat a late lunch and looking around the store. I'm telling him (I don't nag, lol) that we need to get a move on because it's only an hour till dark and we need to find a place to stay for the night. When we get back to the truck and trailer Ronnie developed a "situation" where we needed to get him in the rv but the way it was parked I couldn't open the slide to the traffic side and still have room to get him in on his lift on the opposite side. (the slide has to be open to pass through from the garage area to the living area) So I go driving through the parking lot and approach the opposite way and situate it so it will work. Get him in, take care of everything, get him in the truck and start searching for a place to stay on the computer.

It's after dark on a Friday night and the places I've found are booked or not answering their phone, so we get on the road, hoping to find something on the other side of Mobile AL. I found several possibilities and saw a sign for camping next exit so we take it. Followed a sign that told us to turn, found another sign that told us to turn. We were kinda leery when the last one said "Lounge & RV Park" but we had already turned and decided that we could drive through and if we didn't feel comfortable we would just leave. So we're going through this run down neighborhood not seeing any more signs, but TomTom was showing us ways we could turn and take the roads out, so we kept going. The neighborhood got better with nice homes on large lots but still no other signs for the rv park. When we got to the end of that road Tom Tom said to turn right and follow the road out parallel to the road we came in on, so we turned right and then another right.

To say that was a road was another thing, it was grown up on the sides and looked like a dirt road, mud puddles and all, but we thought well this might actually be where the rv park is, just around that corner. WRONG! Tom Tom kept showing the road and yes there was a road there at some time since the invention of the automobile, but I don't think it had ever been a paved road. Trucks might have been through there but I bet an RV had never! There were trees hanging, they would hit the CB antenna and we knew they were gonna hit the top of the trailer, so we would ease through because there was no way we could have backed out of there and besides Tom Tom said it was just a little ways more. In addition to the over growth, there were big holes with standing water that we had no way of knowing how deep they were, 4 wheel drive brought us through 2 of those. I'm praying that there are no downed trees across the "road" and that we can get out. We're scared but we know we have no choice but to keep going. Till we come to a washout/ravine. Yep, Oh Shit is right!

It looked like a dozer had been through there about a year or so before because there were downed trees, dead laying on the side. There was still the path I guess you would call it where you could see where vehicles drove through the dip, but you had to drive past the deeper ravine/drop off and turn immediately left to pass a mound on the right. Ronnie's front driver side tires were about a foot or less from the side of the drop off and we knew that the outside dually and trailer tires would drop off and we would still have to veer to the left to get over the mound. If we continued we would turn the trailer over. We could see in the head lights that the road we were trying to get to was just ahead and paved, but how would we get through this. If the trailer turned over, it would either come off the hitch or turn the truck over with it. The next morning I was thinking about it and the only way I could describe the feeling I felt was when you hear about people in accidents that have to cut off their limb to save their lives, it was sorta like that, we KNEW the trailer was going over, but you knew you had to do it, you had no other choice. I told Ronnie that I had an idea, I figured he would balk at the idea, but I tried anyway, call 911 because at least there would be someone there to call medical help because if we went over we might not be able to call for help. He said okay right away, lol, so I knew he was scared too! We knew we were in a little town called Gautier MS, we had gotten off the interstate and turned left at the light with a gas station on the corner then turned right again. The dispatcher was trying to locate us to send the police, I gave her the name of the road that the damn TomTom showed was right in front of us, I could hear the officer saying, no that road dead ends, there's nothing that connects to it, yeah, right, we found the road that connects to it, finally we could see the lights coming down the road ahead and she found us. She gets out and says OMG I don't even drive my cruiser down here, there's nothing but meth heads that come down here, if she thought she was calming us, she was wrong!

We looked over the situation with her, trying to figure out what to do, she said she could call a wrecker, but that they would just pull us straight through too, through the drop off and it would be the same result,,, we decided that there was a little more room on the right side of the truck and maybe if we backed up some and pulled over to the right and drive straight at the mound on the right side maybe the truck could climb it enough to get the trailer tires past the ravine and then we could turn left off the mound and the trailer wouldn't have to go over that. So I took off the sway control (can't back up with it on) and her and I helped him back up some, she went up front by his window and I stayed in the back, we said a prayer and eased up. Drove the truck up on the mound, got the trailer tires, thank God we have three axles because when one wasn't touching the other two were, past the wash out. He turned the wheels to the left over the edge of the mound and pulled up the hill.

Thank God, even now, I get so emotional, thinking what could have happened. She called the Mayor (yep, really small town, lol) and he recommended several rv parks there. She called one, they had a short site, but we would have to unhook, at that point, I really didn't want to do all that, I didn't know if I could, yes, I could have, but you know, I was still trembling. She took us to another one and they had room for us in a pull through so there we were, got Ronnie in on his brand new lift and we ate a sandwich and Dinty Moore stew and came down off the adrenaline rush. How was that for excitement? Do we beat Sparkle's beach excursion? The next morning I checked everything out and don't see any damage anywhere! When I think of what could have happened, oh, we are so lucky that God was with us and that we had a Super Duty Ford F-450 Dually with the power to pull us through that. Thank God for the knowledge to call 911 so that someone was with us.

[carold]

WOW!!! That woke me up. So glad everything turned out ok. And didn't know there was a contest to beat Sparkle's beach adventure Mitch, what kind of spin are you gonna put on this story? carold

[Nasoosie]

Holy Cow! Now that's an adventure I would NEVER hope to experience! I am so glad you had the forethought to call 911 and they sent some help for you.

One thing I am wondering about---you mention that you can't back up with an equalizer hitch attached? Is that true with all equalizer hitches? I have one on my truck, and was never told I couldn't back up with it, but perhaps that's why I have such a horrible time trying to back up??

[avalen]

OH MY GOODNESS!!
what a scary adventure

[Brewsterivy]

How terrifying for you. That is the kind of situation we all dread and fear might happen when turning down an unfamiliar road. You made a smart move by calling 911 - at least they would know where to find you!!

Thank God you made it through.

Carol-Ivy

[ali1257]

Oh my gosh and I thought I had just come through a scary time with the motor home. I am glad you guys got out okay and that you called 911...I don't know that I would have thought of that.

Praising God that you are all okay.

[mitch5252]

Man, what a frightening experience - like a worst nightmare come true!
Glad you came through it unscathed. And probably felt real good to be home.

For GPS owners who might end up needing 911 in an unknown location, check your specific units...many, if not all, will show your coordinates, which can pinpoint help to your exact location. For my Nuvi 750, all I have to do it touch my car icon on the map screen.

..

[BirdbyBird]

So glad that you remembered to keep breathing....it helps the brain keep working! Wishing you good adventures as you travel farther down the next road.....good as in positive......

[rvgrammy1953]

OMG.... Quick thinking on your part and the police's saved the day (or night) from disaster....Glad everything worked out...Stay safe, please...

[Sparkle]

What a scary situation to be in. I'm so glad the Gautier police helped you. I've stayed there and in Houma and nicer people you couldn't hope to meet. Now that its over and you both are safe and sound you have a story to tell! That;s what's great about these adventures.

[VickieP]

Mitch we're not home yet, we will be today if we don't get on any more "adventures", lol.
Soos, you can back up with equalizer bars on, but not sway control, we have both.

Sorry my post was so long, but it was a long day, lol.

[Redetotry]

Oh Vickie what a day!! So glad you are both ok! Good idea calling 911 especially from the sound of the neighborhood.

[Bethers]

Funny, but it's these "little" adventures that you'll be telling for the rest of your lives - especially when they work out so well. Wonder where that rv park/lounge was? Bet it wouldn't have been a place you wanted to stay - so after all the heart beating, breath catching, scariness - it all worked out - and you met some good folks.

By the way, my heart raced just reading about it. I've been on many little roads in my little Class C that anything bigger than me wouldn't have been able to take. I took one scenic route in WA that had a sign - nothing over 22 feet. Well, I'm 22 feet - so I took it. No scary story to tell, but I'm betting when they wrote that sign, they weren't expecting a small rv to travel it

[Forestgal]

I'm so glad you two are okay, Vicki! It's so hard, trusting technology sometimes. You want to believe that they're not going to lead you astray, but you never know until the deed is done.

It's always good to have more power than you need. Sounds like you've got a set-up that will help keep you as safe as can be ... barring any human/Tom-Tom interference!

Laura -- and Jed

[Echo]

OMG, Vickie your story had me shivering and chuckling at the same time!!! Ya'll never do things in half measures do ya?!!!!

So heartfelt glad that it all turned out for the good!