We departed Egg Harbor RV Park at about 9:00 in the morning heading for Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin and the Country Roads Motorhome and RV Resort. That was when the "fun" began!

As we departed the RV park, about one-quarter mile down the road I looked in the rearview mirror and say considerable smoke coming from our tires on the driver’s side of the RV. I immediately pulled over. We found that one of the shackles that holds the leaf spring in place had snapped off.  It had, obviously, been cracking for considerable time. This allowed the rear tire to move forward and engage the middle tire on the RV. They began to rub each other and the heat caused the tire to smoke. After checking this out, I noticed that there was a parking lot available to use about 50 yards down the road at the Door County Artisan Cheese company. We drove into their parking lot and stopped. We could not back up due to the binding tires. We could move forward slowly for a short distance. We then went into crisis management mode and tried to come up with a solution. We felt that we needed a portable welding service to come to us and make the repair on the spot. I then got out my jack and pulled the tire off to better examine the damage. 

I then called the RV repair service that we had used the previous day. They could not help us, but they gave us the name of two companies that “might” provide mobile welding service. The first one said no. The second one said no too, but they did say that they could fix it if we could take it to them; a 22 mile drive. I realized that I could drive on two wheels on that side if I could pull the axle back to where it should be and then tie it up to keep it from dropping onto the road. I did not have the tools to do this. We then called Progressive Insurance Towing Service since we have roadside service with them. They said that they would send a tow truck to help us. The truck arrived after about one hour. It is now approaching 12:00. The driver’s name was “Big Daddy.” We never got his real name, but he had “big Daddy” on his shirt and on his truck. I asked him about his experience, and he said that today was the actual day of his fiftieth year driving a tow truck. He clearly was experienced. He surveyed the situation and pulled out a thick tie-down strap. He used this to pull the axle back and up. He then worked the springs and axle until he could put a chain around the unit to hold it in place. Pretty soon we were ready to move down the road. I knew that we could run on two wheels because we had not water in our holding tank and all the other tanks had just been dumped. We were pretty light. I kept the speed to 45 mph and did have some vehicles backed up behind me, but this was an emergency (at least in my mind). We drove the 22 miles to the repair facility and Big Daddy followed in his truck. I gave Big Daddy $50 and he would also get paid by Progressive. Be sure to see the photo log to see Big Daddy and what he did to secure the axle. 

Three guys at Mueller Towing and Repair surveyed the damage and came up with a plan to fix the problem. They used hydraulics to push the axle back and they moved the broken plates back into position. They then began grinding all the surfaces to make sure that the welding would hold. You cannot weld over painted parts. They re-welded the broken parts back in place and then ground the weld beads into a smoother surface. They then welded additional plates on top of the ones already there. When done, the shackle was stronger than when I purchased the RV. They then even painted the area to keep them from rusting. Lisa and I were so luck to find such great technicians. 

They then inspected all the other shackles holding the axles to the RV. They found three more that were cracked. The two farthest forward and the two farthest back were the ones that cracked likely because they absorb the most torque when the RV turns. They re-welded the cracks and put plates on each of the cracked shackles. I had found one of the cracks, but they found the rest. They did a great job. It was now getting to be 6:00 in the evening and we still had a four-hour drive. They only charged me $400 for all the work they did. Lisa and I made sure to tip each of the workers. 

All-in-all, we were very lucky. It happened early in the day and I was going slow. If I had been at freeway speeds, it could have caused the tire to fail and come apart and destroy the underside of the RV. Also, some other cars in the area could have been involved. We also met Big Daddy who was able to secure the axle for travel. We also ended up at a repair shop that worked hard to do the job right and get us back on the road. The people at the Country Roads Motorhome and RV Resort were very nice and left instructions for us when we pulled in at 10:00 at night. As we were making our way to our site, the camp host happened to see us and guided us into our spot. He was so nice. We did not even disconnect from the truck. We used the front landing gear to take the load off the truck and (since we were pretty level) put out the slides. We then called it a night; what a day!

The next day we set up the trailer and spent most of the entire morning talking to our new neighbors; they are all so nice and want to ask questions about our RV. By noon we were ready to see part of the area. We decided to go take a Duck Boat trip. This is an amphibian vehicle that runs on  land and can then just drive out onto the Wisconsin River and a nearby lake. It is pretty cool. We also decided to take a boat tour of the upper Wisconsin Dells on the Wisconsin River.  We are in the “Dells” region of Wisconsin. “Dells” are slabs of rock that are predominantly found in this area along the Wisconsin River. 

Note: As we drove around, it became obvious that the Wisconsin Dells area is a huge tourist trap area and the water slide capital of the country. There are huge venues that try to lure you into their facilities with gimmicks. There is a huge roller coaster here. There is a building that was constructed up-side-down building that was simulating Pompeii. There are lots of animal parks where you can see all sorts of animals from around the world. This is a busy and industrious area with lots of activities for kids. People come from all around the state and nearby states to let the kids play here. An interesting aside it that the area actually became an upper-scale tourist area in 1867 when the Dells of the Wisconsin River were advertised outside the area. For the first 50 years, people came here to relax and see the river. Then the trade began to shift to amusement parks and activities to attract families. Now, it is a massive tourist region. 

Duck Boat Ride – (be sure to see the photos) We rode the Duck Boat through the forest near Wisconsin Dells and out onto the Wisconsin River. It is cool to go from the land to the water without changing vehicles. Lots of dips and turns while on land, but very slow in the water. The Duck Boat we were in was built in 1944. These were basically WWII amphibian troop carrier type vehicles. They can do about 50 mph on the road, but only 5 mph on the water. My feeling is that they would be an easy target while on the water. We had a cute little family right in front of us and the young boy (about seven years old) was having a ball. You may see him in the video of the trip. About halfway through the trip, the Duck Boat entered a local lake and we did a little sight seeing along the lake. This was a fun ride we saw some pretty neat terrain along the way. 

Boat Tour of the Upper Dells – On this tour, we traveled up the Wisconsin River for about eight miles. Along the way, we traveled through the “Narrows” where the river narrows and the current increases. There were lots of families on the water with speed boats, pontoon boats, ski boats, and fishing boats. They had to compete with the boat tour boats, and 1200 horsepower fast, jet boats. It was quite interesting just to be on the water with everyone. There were two stops on the tour. The first one was at Witches Gulch. After we left the boat, we walked about a quarter mile through a narrow canyon with running water passing through it. The natives in the area considered this a sacred and mysterious area. The walls are very high and it is very tight. There was a concession stand at the end of the hike. We really enjoyed the trip through this “slot canyon.” After leaving Witches Gultch, we move on to the “Standing Rock” area. Standing rock is a free-standing hoodoo with a top that is a Dell or slab of rock. A famous early photo showed a young man jumping the six-foot distance from the land to the hoodoo. For us, they had a German Shephard dog make the jump. They, apparently, do this for all the tourists who visit the site each day. Be sure to see the photos of the area since there are some very impressive geological sites. 

We decided to take a hike on Sunday since there was a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and we did not want to get caught out on the bike. We drove to Devils Lake State Park and decided to hike around the lake. The first part was pretty flat and then we encountered a long, steep trail over a peak on the side of the lake. It was quite a climb! It was well made with steps and asphalt, but the temperature was in the upper 80s and the humidity was about the same.  It was hot and we were sweating quite a lot. We walked the last mile and a half on a railroad track. We ended up with five miles of hiking today. It was hot! We waded into the lake before driving away. 

On the way home, we (for the first time) stopped to try a Culver’s Butter-burger fast food restaurant. It was very nice and the people were very friendly. As we were finishing our meal, a lady named Shauna stop to ask how we were doing. Turns out that this is the second Culver’s store that was ever built and there are nearly 800 of them now; primarily in the upper Midwest and in Florida. It also turns out that the actual first store is just down the road in the town of Sauk City, Wisconsin. When she learned that this was our first time in a Culver’s, she offered up two free sundaes; they were really good. We had a great conversation with Shauna and even took a photo with her. You can see her in the photo gallery. We both agreed that Culver’s was, likely, our favorite fast-food restaurant.  That was a nice find.