my first trip with Miss Moneypit...

[norbert]

I guess i should have gone to the gypsy woman, because i think i was jinxed from the get go....before i was to leave,a thief stole the right turn signal module off my truck($54+)plus the grief of trying to locate on a sat morning...after many delays, ihit the road...b4 i could get out of wis., i stopped at a farm stand...when i opened the door i discovered my refrigerator door on the floor plus food everywhere...i managed to put it back together after i calmed down...by the time i reached wyoming the bracket holding my stone guard broke and it was flapping well....thank god for duct tape....blackfoot id. the front vent cover was flapping all over and almost lost...thank god for duct tape......when i hit the oregon coast...the state parks had very small sites, and i could not back in...somewhere along the line my power cord get caught in the sway bar and sheared....luckily i had the tools and butt splices to fix it my self...i finally made it to seattle.. only to unhook and discover a very loose hitch ball....scarry....staying in the park i discovered the inaccuracy of my monitor panel when the grey tank backed up from the shower drain....... seattle was enjoyed...now it was time for the weather to chase me home...u.s. 2 was icy i stopped for the night in you can havre mont. only to discover i had no batt. power, hence no furnace.... it was 8 degrees that night....the coldest i have been in thirty years.....it took my frozen brain a day to trouble shoot and figure out that a 60 amp fuse had blown when my power cord sheared...i wish i had taken a picture of the ice that had built up on my rig....but was still not thawed out myself....needless to say i had had some fun, but it had become more of a learning experience....... p.s. the heavy duty tv hold down straps from camping world are worth a sh@#$...somehow cold weather affects their stickiness, and i guess now you know the rest of the story.....

[uwe]

Norbert,
I admire you for staying calm throughout your ordeal. Whatever does not kill you makes you tougher, right?
Next trip will be fabulous, I bet. Why? Because you experienced a 5-year allotment of booboos in a single trip. You have credit now......

[Tin Hut]

I'm going to go out tomorrow and load up on duct tape.

[dinoburb]

Duct Tape: Half of a Honda reapir kit. A 3 lb hammer is the other half.

When I was racing motocross in the '60s and early '70s that was the preferred method to get back into the race. If those two items couldn't fix it, it was really broke!

Duct tape managed to contain several quarts of transmission oil when I used it to hold together the engine case, clutch side, of my twin port CZ 250.

Take care

[InsideOut]

And I thought only us vintage folks got to have all the fun!

Shari

[85MH325]

Norby, you have the admiration of us all. You have lived through and conquered most of our most dreaded nightmares... and in a SINGLE TRIP!

You have single-handedly captured the essence of exploring uncharted wilderness and mountaineering. Ah, the joys of travelling by car and trailer!

Congratulations on your resourcefulness and your safe return. The lesser among us would have turned back. I believe your account should receive a nomination for a "Most Things To Go Horribly Wrong in a Single Trip". The only other contender at this point is Brett and Edie!

NOW you can ENJOY your Airstream since you have become much closer friends!

Roger

[biggerbadbrad]

I was going to submit a reply to this thread, but I got to thinking that Norbert's bad luck might rub off on me if I did. So this really isn't a reply. But if it was a reply, I'd say better luck next trip Norbert.

bbb

[John]

Norbert,

I'm currently gathering/writing a non-fiction book on the humorous and not so humorous stories of rving and I was wondering if you would mind if I could include your story?

I'd be willing to give you credit and/or leave your name out,which ever you prefer.

If your willing to participate, please either email me or PM me. I'd like to call you to get some deals and your sense of being during your travels.

Many thanks-John

[startrekker2001]

It must be obvious to even the most casual observer that Norbert is a man among men and an Airstreamer Nonpareil.

On occasion I have been known to give awards to individuals who have distinguished themselves above and beyond the call of whatever it is that calls them. Norbert has struck a chord in all of us that makes us well up with pride, that one of our number could face such adversity and overcome same while still maintaining a sense of humor and a willingness to face yet another trip, with duct tape in hand and a 3 lb hammer at his side.

It is with a sense of humility and admiration that I bestow upon Norbert,

Knighthood in The Loyal Order of the Aluminum Shell.

Arise Sir Norbert and face your admiring throng. HUZZAH… HUZZAH

signed

Groveler Emeritus

[flyfshr]

All hail Sir Norbert...Huzaah, huzaah. In order for Sir Norbert to keep his knightlyhood though, he must overcome new adventures and challenges. May your next trip be equally adventurous and your only challenges be the direction in which to travel.

FF

[Stefrobrts]

My goodness, I think we would have ditched the trailer and been staying at Best Western's halfway through that adventure! You are truly a better man than I ... well of course I'm not a man, but you know what I mean

[overlander63]

That will be a trip to remember!
Gee, my best (worst) misadventure to date has been a frozen black water tank rupturing and liberally dousing the vehicles following me with the frozen liquid and semisolid contents...
Terry

[Stefrobrts]

I'm sure the vehicle that was behind you remembers that as their worst trip ever too

[biggerbadbrad]

I'm sure the vehicle that was behind you remembers that as their worst trip ever too

Yes, as a matter of fact I do. We need to talk, Terry!

bbb

[norbert]

i just finished reading Brett & Edies thread.....they really deserve it more then me.....compared to them mine was a cake walk.....
and me...im just a regular guy....
norby

[ALANSD]

Knighted with an aluminum sword!

We used to call duct tape -- rock n' roll tape when I was in the music biz. It was used on everything. I leave the rest to your imaginations.

On a serious note-- I bought two small screw down clips from HDepot, and got extra duty velcro to run thru and hold down the TV set is works great

[Pick]

Norb, our very first trip with our Airstream was similar in some ways. Our A/S has an apartment type fridge that works on 120 VAC only. Hence no door latches. The campground, a US Corp of Engineers reservoir we camped at had no electric or water. We arrived with an empty fridge, with warm food all over the floor. Nothing worse than arriving at a campground with warm beer.

My father-in-law lent us his 2 cycle, 500 watt generator. It wouldn't run a damn thing, not even the convertor.

When we left the campground, we stopped at the dump station to empty the black tank. Guess which hose clamp was loose?

All in all it was a great trip, we hit another campground that weekend with full hookups. A trip to remember.

[LonnieW]

Norbert, I hope you used SILVER duct tape!

Lonnie (Still no Airstream in the driveway)