ODYSSUS INTERRUPTUS

Our departure from sunny Florida, on Sunday the 29th of March, went as planned. Chris’ friend, Donna Evans, and her seeing-eye-dog Traci (a black lab that Max liked to hang out with) came along so she could visit friends in the DC area – in fact we had organized a party for all of us to attend when we got home in just a few short days. The truck was a little crowded with three adults up front and two large dogs behind in the extended cab but we had lots of laughs and good conversation as we headed north. By the time we spent our second night together, in South Carolina, we had worked out our routine for dishes, make-up (not Jay) and walking dogs so we didn’t get in each others’ way.

Monday afternoon, the 30th, we had just re-fueled and switched drivers, and crossed the North Carolina borderline on I-95. The weather was perfect and after dealing with construction and bouncing around all morning on the terrible South Carolina roads we remarked about the smooth North Carolina road surface and were speculating on how far we might get before we quit for the day. Traffic was light and Chris was driving in the right lane on cruise-control at 65 in a 70 mph zone – that way everyone could pass us and we didn’t have to do a lot of lane-changing. Just cruise along and enjoy life…

About 8 miles into North Carolina a flat-bed semi passed us and pulled right in front of us, filling our safety zone completely. We didn’t worry about this because they go much faster than we and, in a short time, open up the space quickly – usually. Just after getting in front of us he went over a little hill. As Chris followed she suddenly saw nothing but brilliant, red taillights. The net weight of our 33’ RV is about 13,000 pounds. Add another ton of personal belongings and stopping it, going down a hill, at 65mph is no easy task. To Chris it all happened in slow motion; seeing the lights, standing on the brakes, watching the gap to the truck growing smaller, praying that the RV didn’t whiplash, and that another vehicle didn’t run into it, cringing at the sight of the hood crunching into the flatbed and finally coming to a stop. She was in a bit of shock. The radiator fan was howling and Jay had to tell her to turn off the engine. Within a few moments she had enough presence of mind to inquire as to everyone’s state of health and exit the truck with Donna and the dogs. Jay was already out checking the damage and talking with the truck driver. The driver said he saw us coming and pulled onto the shoulder of the road once we made contact. Truck parts and the rear bumper of the semi trailer were strewn over a hundred feet behind us.

We found out later he had talked to other truckers up ahead and learned that, due to construction, the two lanes were merging into one and he wanted to be in the thru-lane. Logical thinking but disastrous execution. Fortunately, by the time we made impact we had slowed to less than 20 mph which lessened the severity of what could have been a fatal event. The airbags didn’t even deploy. The good news is that none of us were hurt worth mentioning. The bad news is that Donna got a little more “adventure” than she’d planned, Ol’ Blue, our GMC truck, was totaled and our lovely trailer was damaged to the point that it could not be towed on its own wheels. Both axles were bent and the trailer wanted to crab sideways, which is a little hard on tires – and other things while towing.

Here is a link to a photo gallery Chris put together for the insurance appraiser and Sunnybrook factory. www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/RV_wreck The first few photos are of the damage to the truck, hitch and front of the RV. Later ones show interior and other exterior damage, none of which look that bad, but parts got bent and skewed so that doors don’t close properly and the bedroom bump-out doesn’t bump out all the way. Click on the green button to move forward and the red button to move backward through the gallery.

The following days were spent at a nearby RV park with Donna making arrangements to continue her journey north and Jay working with the insurance company to determine if our Odyssey had suddenly come to an end. We felt the truck was easier to replace than the trailer. If the trailer was totaled, so was the Odyssey. The appraiser supplied a preliminary estimate for repairs contingent on a final estimate from the Sunnybrook factory that would do the work. The problem was how to get the trailer to the factory in Indiana when it couldn’t be towed!!