EscaPOD Adventures

As I mentioned, we encountered some very rough roads in the upper mid-west. Once we got farther south, the roads got better. We were on the last leg to Asheboro, NC where my sister-in-law lives. Somebody passed us, honked, and pointed. I started checking mirrors to see what was up. It was a good thing that we were almost to a rest stop. The stress of the rough roads caused the black tank drain to come loose (Again!). When our escaPOD went to the factory for repair, the factory installed a second hanger. Unfortunately, it was of the same type as the first. The nylock nuts had come off both somewhere along the way and the end started dragging on the pavement. I don't know how since the handle is on the foreward side, but somehow beside losing the cap, the valve came open and the tank dumped on the Interstate. It is a good thing that sunshine is an excellent disinfectant. I feel sorry for whoever was behind us though.

At the rest stop, I closed the valve and used a number of zip-ties to strap the drain up. The good thing is that the valve was still capable of  shutting without leaking. I zip-tied a freezer bag over the end to take the place of the missing cover. We got the rest of the way to Holly Bluff Family Campground without further incident. However, our escaPOD had a certain "air" to it. It wasn't too bad and did fade over the next day.

After the funeral, we spent the night at the same campground. It was a nice campground not too far outside of town. It had a pool which we were not able to take advantage of on this short stay. I would like us to return there for a longer stay and to visit the NC  State Zoo in Asheboro while we are there. We arrived home and started the work of unpacking and getting ready for our next trip.

I ordered a new valve, drain, and cap from Amazon. It was tricky emptying the black tank so I could make the repair. Gorilla Tape helped. Still, the valve body did leak some also while it was open. Again, sunlight makes a great disinfectant. I used some bleach also. In addition, I fabricated a new hanger from strap aluminum. My hanger will NOT come loose. I should have done this the same time I did the one for the gray water tank, but I thought that having two of the other type would provide sufficient backup. Was I ever wrong! Live and learn!

Originally posted by StephenH There is not much to add about the next few days of driving except to comment that the roads in Illinois are among the worst that I have driven on in a long time. More about that in my next post though.

I grew up in Illinois, and I can confirm that Illinois does have some awful roads. In their defense, the soil in the state is largely made of clay, and in the earlier days, they did not do a lot of underlayment. As a result, when temperatures changed (especially freezing weather), they would develop these "frost heaves", AKA raised stripes across the road every few hundred feet. Pretty terrible to drive on.

When you get up into Wisconsin and Minnesota, the soils are more sand than clay, and even with the more extreme temperatures they get in those states, the roads are a lot smoother.