Warning: Long blog post alert. It has been a long couple of days, and a lot has happened.
We had quite the adventure in the wee hours this morning. After a long travel day yesterday, we finally got settled in and went to sleep. We knew thunderstorms were going to roll in. OMG. Did they ever! They were intense and lasted about four hours from around 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. We managed to sleep off and on throughout.
However, we were awakened at 1 a.m. by something landing on our feet. I was out of that bed so quickly I didn’t even realize it until after my feet hit the floor. Once we got our wits about us, we realized what was happening. A problem we thought we had fixed wasn’t totally fixed. The air conditioner in the ceiling is having trouble draining the condensation properly.
The water has to go somewhere, and the only place is into Tramper. Let me tell you, that was some cold water and a rude awakening. Mike got outside, jacked up the front of Tramper about 6”, and that put a stop to the water building up on the roof. We got the wet sheets off the bed, tossed them in the shower, got the sleeping bags out of the truck, and settled back in to try and get some sleep, which we were surprisingly able to do.
Mike got up on the hitch so he could get a picture of the roof and the AC unit to try to show what is causing the problem. Hopefully you can see, but when the AC unit was mounted in the roof (which by design was a bit arched), it created a concave pocket in the roof under the AC unit. There is a drain tube, and the pocket isn’t allowing the condensation to drain the way it should because water builds up in the pocket and covers the tube drain.
We thought this had been addressed, but obviously, not well enough . . . yet. It will be, though, for sure!
We woke up to a beautifully clear day and secured Tramper for travel. First up was a stop at Menard’s (the Home Depot or Lowe’s of the midwest), where we picked up what we think will be a solution to the condensation challenge, and got on the road at 9 a.m.
Our first stop for fuel brought us to Sapp Bros. Travel Center. One of the YouTubers we follow comes to this place often on his routes. We now know why. One of the best travel centers I’ve seen.
And, with my spirits admittedly a little low this morning after our challenging night, I quickly found something to smile about. I am (was) a bidet neophyte. Not anymore. I couldn’t resist trying it. I must say I’ve added this item to my bucket list. My spirits also rose quite a bit. What can I say?! I’m easily amused sometimes.
The day couldn’t have been more perfect for traveling. We stopped near Aurora, Nebraska and had a nice lunch outside next to the corn fields. There are a ton of cornfields in Nebraska.
At the time I write this, it is 6 p.m. We have 175 miles to drive before landing in Scottsbluff, Nebraska for the night. We will have gone 575 miles today. When we arrive, we have things to do, and then we are disconnecting to wind down for the night.
Tomorrow’s another day!