The Hitch Incident

It took two weeks for us to get our Airstream back after the electric brakes failed. When I went to pick it up, I quickly discovered that the batteries had been allowed to drain to zero, and there was absolutely no power in the trailer. We had to use a battery pack to work the jack so that we could hitch up the truck.

I was not happy, but I was trying to remain positive. My mom and I had planned a mother-daughter trip to Boothbay, Maine and I didn’t want to worry her, and I didn’t want to anxiety-spiral myself into thinking that I couldn’t handle everything. So, I just pushed forward, preparing for our trip and hoping for the best.

On the morning we were heading out, I discovered that the batteries were well and truly dead. Despite being hooked up to shore power for almost three days, when I shut off the breaker switch the trailer went completely dark. I busted the battery pack out again for the jack, then we put some frozen water bottles in the fridge and hoped the food would survive our 3.5 hour journey.

Until this trip, I had not driven the Airstream for more than 30 minutes at a whack. In retrospect I wish I’d had a little more time behind the wheel before embarking on such a long haul, but there’s nothing quite like a trial by fire! All in all it went pretty well, although there’s a temporary bridge near Wiscasset that feels like you’re driving down a staircase when you tow a large trailer across it, but other than that the drive was uneventful, just long. I was EXHAUSTED by the time we got to our campground.

I set everything up and took a nap. In fact, napping was my main focus for our little getaway, punctuated by visiting with some family friends, a fantastic hike at Oven’s Mouth, and a quick trip into town to get Bella a new toy lobster (her favorite). Mostly we rested, cooked a few meals, and walked the pups. We only took Bella and Abby on this trip since the campground had a 2 dog limit per campsite, and they both did very well.

Unfortunately, on our last day of the trip, something completely unexpected happened. For the life of me I simply could not get the truck hitched up to the Airstream. I couldn’t get the angle quite right, and I was starting to lose my patience. Mom and I were trying our best, but we were very frustrated. It had only taken two attempts to hitch it up back home and I wasn’t sure what I was doing wrong. Earlier in the day my mom had been chatting with our campsite neighbor who had mentioned that he had the same type of hitch, and to let us know if we needed any help. I really wanted to be able to do it ourselves, but I got to the point where I just wanted it done, and he had way more experience with it than I did. Mom went to see if he was still available, and I decided to try one last time…

…and the whole hitch fell off of the Airstream. THE WHOLE HITCH FELL OFF THE AIRSTREAM. The ball dropped right out despite the fact that the coupler lock was still in place. I was completely stunned. I actually shouted at the sky, “Never mind! I want a house!” I honestly didn't think it was possible for that to happen. I called my partner, my dad, and the Airstream dealership in a complete panic. There wasn’t much my partner or my dad could do for us from where they were, and there was no one at the dealership who could talk to me at that time. I told them it was urgent and was told someone would call me back soon. I put my phone down on the picnic table and stared at the hitch on the ground.

Then our neighbor, who I will not name here simply because I never asked him if I could do so, swooped in like the superhero that he is. Since I did not have a key for the coupler lock he had to break it off so that he could reattach the hitch to the Airstream. He then gave me a temporary pin to use until I could get another locking one. He tested it out and made sure it was solid, and then he helped me hitch up the trailer to the truck, during which I learned that a pretty crucial step had been left out during our tutorial on how to use it, so it has been much easier for us moving forward. We thanked him profusely, and then he walked off into the sunset. Well, he went back to his campsite.

We finished packing up and managed to leave our site on time despite the hitch incident. It was another long but relatively uneventful drive. Someone from the dealership called about two hours into the journey, and I ignored the call. We’d already been rescued, and after the whole battery thing I was in no mood. Also, I was scared that they would tell me to bring the trailer back yet again and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to handle hearing that at that moment. It seems like it’s been at the shop more than we’ve had it home since we purchased it.

Needless to say, I was relieved when we reached home base. My dad and I got the trailer parked, leveled, and plugged in, and then I finally took a break. For a few minutes. And then I started making a list of everything we would have to do to prepare for our next trip. What can I say? I’m addicted. The highs are so worth the lows. And we’re still beginners. Even though things have been difficult, we just have to be patient and not give up. If this particular trip showed me anything, it’s that no matter how bad things get, good people will always be there to help. The RV community is amazing, and if our hero ever does come across this blog, (which I doubt he will but you never know!) thank you thank you THANK YOU. Your kindness and generosity are legendary and we will never forget you.

Safe travels <3