Who Put Those Dents In Back?

I have not blogged about my encounter with a Texas tree, which must have moved behind me as I backed up, but to make a long story short, I was in a hurry to get going from Falcon State Park. We had emptied tanks and the layout forces you to turn around to leave the park. I thought we were clear and as I backed up (not having asked Mary to help) I heard sort of a crack of a branch. Just thought it was brush I'd backed over so I pulled ahead, backed up and heard it again. And off we went toward Corpus Christi.

After an hour or two, we stopped for fuel and as I approached the trailer from the rear, this is what I saw.

 It didn't make my day. I was sure there were no trees back there, they must have moved!

We had an insurance person take a look at it before we came home but now it is time to deal with the dents.  So, the other day, I hooked up the Airstream and we drove over to see one of the experts in Airstream restoration, Colin Hyde.

Colin, well-known for his renovation work, is located across Lake Champlain, about two hours away.  The day didn't start well -- I again had trouble with the electronic jack that raises the front of the trailer.  I tinkered with that and soon we were heading toward Burlington on I-89.  It made us think of the last time we had done that -- just four months ago, when the weather was similar with low clouds and spitting precipitation, but the temperature was about 30 degrees colder.

Getting to Plattsburgh involves either driving up to Rouses Point and way back down the Northway, or taking the ferry.  I'd never used the Grand Isle ferry with the trailer but it was a piece of cake.  Colin's operation was just down the road and soon, he was looking things over.

The problem with having an expert look at your used trailer is that he sees everything -- the problems with the floor, the inoperative break-away switch, the leaky vent -- I came home with quite a laundry list.  Don't get me wrong, it's great to have sharp eyes helping and Colin is very good at separating "nice-to-do" items from critical ones.

Colin's business is booming and I'm going to try to shoe-horn our project into his busy work schedule.  We brought the trailer back and while he is ordering parts and scheduling the work, I'll take a stab a disassembling some of the cabinetry and other items needing to be removed before his work begins.  It' going to be a hassle but who can I blame but myself.  Trust me, I'm much more cautious with my backing up and now always ask Mary to help me out.