A better day

Oh my goodness.  Yesterday was so much better than the day before.  We're still not completely sorted, due to an electrical issue in our car.  We have a 1999 Dodge Durango, which we got last November.  Back then, we had no inkling we'd be getting a trailer.  It appears that nobody ever towed anything with it, and it needs fixing!  So into the shop it goes tomorrow morning.

Anyhow, our itinerary for the day worked well, and went smoothly for the most part.  We added a couple of things last minute, including a stop to grab a couple of donuts from the local shop.  The woman ahead of my, who's toddler was getting a pink sugar encrusted donut they called  "princess donut" ordered something called a mocha round (and a large hazelnut latte).  The mocha round turned out to be a Bavarian creme donut infused with shots of espresso.

I'll take it!

We hit the road and headed for Camping World, the one and only place that had the sort of hitch we were after in stock.  We got there, found the guy we had talked to on the phone the previous evening, and he got us sorted in no time.  We had to join the Good Sam Club in order to get the sale price he promised us (online price plus the $80 shipping = $313 + $25 membership price < $379.99 regular price).  The guy was really hyper and stressed out and tossed in a 2 inch ball for free, and somehow the entire bill came to $322.  Hmmmm.  At this point one walks away and does not question the new math.  He actually said "the receipt will look really weird but I'm doing the right thing!"  I'll say.

The next stop was the credit union, nothing to report as removing money from one's account is rather straightforward and dull.

WAIT.  What - did we just join the GOOD SAM CLUB?  What are we becoming?  What's going on here?  Other than campground and propane discounts, and discounts at Taco Bell (as we were told), I'm not sure what benefits we get.  I guess we'll find out soon!

Where was I?  Oh yes - the next stop was the Dodge dealer that was holding the trailer relay that we needed.  While waiting in line as Mr. Juggalo Tattoo went on and on about the anomaly of his engine to the parts guy (tell it to the mechanic, dude) we noticed a couple of interesting things.  Hemi Powered BBQ Sauce!  And drag races nearby!  We are so there.

It turned out the part they were holding for us was not the right thing - no surprise.  We finally got a relay that fit, so off we went to the trailer.

At last!

As expected, the electrics still didn't work.  A disappointment, but at least now we know what needs to be fixed.  We got the official sale details sorted though, and the trailer is OURS!  All ours.  I took some photos of it, here they are!

The more we look at it, the more we love it!

Despite the electric issues, we were much happier with how the day went and we can go back and pick up the trailer when we're ready.  The guy we bought it from is really nice and understanding - and has plenty of room to store it until we can pick it up!

The last thing we had to deal with on the way home required another visit to Camping World, because the 2 inch ball was too tiny for our hitch.  A different guy helped us, and they found a ball with a bigger fitting that would more easily be switched to our hitch.  He disappeared briefly, and when he returned the job had been done!  Fantastic.  But when it came time to settle out, we had to explain that the ball we walked in with hadn't actually been paid for... he was a bit confused, and we didn't want the other guy to get in trouble.  Just pretend it never left the store...

And so we paid for the ball, and returned home - trailer owners but still without.

A day of hell...

We knew today might be problematic.  But holy crap.  It was a bit more horrid than even I, the optimist, expected.

Last night we determined that there are a few bits missing from out towing package, namely a relay and one or two fuses.  According to our owner's manual,

"This relay and the fuses power up the trailer towing option.  See your Dodge dealer for further information"

Okay then - simple enough, right?  When we plugged the trailer into our Durango last night, the lights didn't work.  We hoped we could get it sorted pretty quickly today, but that was not in the cards.  Or the stars.  Or whatever hocus pocus you prefer.  We prefer figuring out the problem and taking care of it.  However, that's a bit hard to do when you're not fully sure of what you need and some of your "experts" don't quite have it right either.

I spent WAY too much time here today. This store is usually great, but today they failed us and didn't particularly add to the forward momentum of our endeavors.  In the end I visited here three times.  I hit the Dodge dealer twice, and the second time proved much more fruitful than the first.  We figured out exactly which part we need, and that the dealer close to where the trailer is at the moment has it in stock.  AND THEY ARE OPEN ON SATURDAY.  Hooray!

There's no guarantee that the parts we get from the dealer will solve the electrical problem, but chances are good.  We'll report back tomorrow.

But no, no, that was not the end of our woes today.  Shortly after 5:00 pm, Michael was out cleaning up the electrical hookup and otherwise tidying the hitch coupler, when a horrible discovery was made!  The hitch that comes with the trailer (which we thought would at least get the trailer home), WON'T FIT our much more modern vehicle.

Nooooooooooooooo!

In case you're wondering, not too many places are open after 5:00 on Friday, and if they are they don't carry the weight distribution hitch we really wanted anyhow.

Which brings me to the U-Haul debacle.  For your viewing, please see exhibit one.  I'm pretty sure this is a picture of your typical U-Haul call center employee:

Wait - I'm not actually talking to somebody located here in my town?  That chipper little bippy that told me the parts were in stock and they were open until 8:00 pm (NOT TRUE) was actually one of THESE minions?!!!

That girl with the twinkling voice doesn't just live on the other side of town?  WHY did she tell me they were open until 8:00?  WHO is open until 8:00?  The BBQ Joint?  Taco Bell?  GameStop?  We quickly drove over to the local U-Haul and it was closed.  CLOSED.  I tried calling again, and got the same "helpful" fellow I got on my first call (which was disconnected in a transfer, before the call with the little bippy), and tried to determine if there was another location we had somehow missed.  I told him we were at the rental place and it was closed, and he said the shop is located "1/2 mile south of the Naval Air Station on Goldie Road" and I asked if it was further up the road and he said "YES."  Turns out Mr. Helpful probably had no clue what he was talking about, since he probably live in Topeka Kansas!  We drove around a bit, and nothing made sense, so we called again - THEN the truth finally came out about the call center and the fact my calls to the local number were being routed to the call center - and most U-Haul locations close at 5:00 pm.

WHO THE HELL WAS I TALKING TO?!!!  WHO WAS THAT LITTLE BIPPY?!!  WAS SHE A GHOST?!!  A DRONE?!!  A CYBORG?!!

Once I got home and drank a big glass of wine, I started in on the research to find an actual living person who also happened to have a trailer hitch in stock (and wasn't 50 miles out of our way)

I'm so glad I'm a librarian, and know how to use the internet, and have knowledge of THINGS.  It didn't take long to find a possible source in Burlington, and a phone call determined the hitch we wanted is in stock and we can pick it up tomorrow.  We'll get what we need (and then some) and towing will be a lark. 

As long as those electrics work.  Crap.  I practically forgot about those in the quest for a hitch.

Tomorrow will be interesting.