On the Rod, Day 4

[bluepinecones]

CArol and I had a bit of a rough night Wednesday. There were no level sites at the IN park so both of us were parked with rig tails low. That had sleeping position head down, not good.

However I had an even worse problem develop during the night. Lost power around midnight. Fortunately I had not been in bed long enough to be sound asleep so when CPAP quit I was able to get the mask off quickly. After noticing the bath house lights were still on, I assumed I had tripped a breaker or fuse, but when saw that fridge was on gas I realized the problem might be at post. Sure enough, the surge guard had shut power down indicating a voltage problem. I turned post power off/on several times between midnight and daylight but still nothing. In hindsight probably should have left it alone as at one point, got an awful pop/crackle sound and just knew I had fried the surge guard. Then about 7:00 the power came back on. So thankful, I quickly brewed a couple of cups of strong coffee to help me thru the day. Good thing too because 30 minutes later power tripped out again. This time I just unplugged it. Comforting to know the surge guard works. I just hope it is not damaged as one of the prongs is badly discolored and there appears to be a slight burn on rubber just above the prong.

We had another beautiful weather day for driving but sadly no photos opportunity as we passed thru some small town with lots of fascinating architecture, particularly the court houses. Our chosen route got us here without going thru any major cities other than Battle Creek, and it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be. Lots more construction and some wash board roads but even that turned out to be a good thing. Apparently whatever was clogging my water line got jarred loose along the way and I had running water again last night.

At one point both of us were getting desperate for a potty stop and some lunch but there were no places to pull over. Then in the middle of no where, there was a neat little road side park. We took a nice break and before leaving played with their water fountain which was pump operated.



Back on the road, we arrived in MT Pleasant, MI late afternoon and got set up on a grassy field at county fairground. It is PA and has both electric and water at sites. We had a much better evening/ night.
CArol checking in with her sister (she is on phone)

[Redwahine]

Sounds like you are enjoying your trip. What fun to caravan with a friend My SurgeGuard went out when we were in MS. The power surge broke the protector. Thankful the surge didn't break my electric system on RED. Sent it back to the manufacturers and they sent a new one. Hope your continues to work.

[dayspring39]

Oh my I have been to Mt Pleasant and spent a few dollars... hope you have enough left to travel farther north...
Kathleen

[grammynmaggie]

You two looking good out there on the road...
sure wish I was tagging along...besides here
but glad you post so I can...have a great day
and stay safe...donna & maggie

[havingfunnow]

I'm glad last night was better! Sleep is such a good thing. I'm looking forward to meeting you at Otsego.

[VickieP]

I love getting the updates each day, keep them coming!

[Acadianmom]

It's fun to follow along with you all. I have been very negligent about using my surge protector but after your post I hope I remember to use it. So glad you had yours on and it saved you from some expensive repairs. Glad your water problem cleared itself.

Martha

[MsBHaven]

I'm enjoying following along on your trip. Thanks for posting and glad last night was better.

[snowball]

hmmm I started to say I have surge protectors inside the trailer but thinking now I don't
and what does the one out side look like? where do you get it? and where do you put it?
glad things worked out so you got to where you wanted to be tonight!!! what is there that one would
spend so much money on?
sheila

[mitch5252]

..

This is the portable version (there is a hard wired version). It plugs first into the campground post.



..

[bluepinecones]

That Surge Guard looks like the one I have. Got mine at Camping World. They do put them on sale now and then.
BTW: Mine still seems to be functioning okay.

[Nasoosie]

Good to know the surge guards work, and that the factory will replace one if it shorts out doing its job. I use mine all the time.

[Bethers]

I have seen two surge guards burn up - when there was a brownout - with no damage to any other rig. So, the surge guard might be replaced, but in one of those cases, it burned the end of the cord in it - which was not. So, the question of using one - some do, some don't - and both are right, maybe both are wrong. In other words, there is no definitive right here.

[JudyJB]

I love those old water pumps in Michigan roadside parks. We used to stop at them all the time, and there was one down the beach from where we had a cottage for 50+ years. Loved the taste of the water there, also.