2018-28
A Special Report
A Cautionary Tale for all RV’ers
or (A Scary story
fit for the Halloween season)
Well it’s a rainy
day, so as I often do, I’ve extended my stay for an extra day so
that I don’t have to travel in the rain. That being said, a week
or so back I didn’t take my own advice and did travel on a rainy
day. Assuming the rain would let up as I continued my journey
eastward.
This story is a
cautionary story for all you Full-time and part time Rv-ers heading
to your next destination. As I’ve mentioned in my blogs
previously, I most often take the back roads rather than the major
highways. Often those back-roads are 4 lane divided highways making
for a very pleasant journey in that I can drive at a slower pace,
enjoy the scenery and stop in the many small towns along the way.
Other back-roads are two lane my favorite ones having a paved
skirting along the roadways enabling one to pull over when ever
needed. And others are country farming two lane roads with no
skirting and very little to no traffic, but that’s not always the
case is it.
So my story actually
begins in Texas along route 190, 290 and 105 all connected and
basically parallel north of Interstate I-10. The story ends in
Louisiana along hwy 190 before merging back onto I-10.
 |
| Texas route hwy 190, 290 and 105 |
I’ve taken much of
both routes in the past with little to no problems. It was a sunny
Texas day as I began my back country journey. However, on this
journey (October 2018) I started to come across a number of very
large over sized flatbed trucks carrying industrial tanks, equipment
and machinery. With the roadway being relatively straight I was able
to see these huge vehicles coming my way, with their safety vehicles
flashing yellow lights ahead and behind the over sized trucks.
Giving me enough time to slow down and pull off onto the paved
skirting.
Everything went
well, as I passed the first of what would be many of these over-sized
transports coming at me. I quickly noted that anytime they reached a
section of road that crossed a small river or gorge, the road often
narrowed on these back-roads with guard rails. I was able to slow
down before getting into a situation where there would be no way that
the over-sized truck and my truck and camper would be able to
negotiate those narrow bridges.
As I traveled
through Texas, I probably encountered at least a dozen or more of
these huge over-sized vehicles and their cargo
 |
| You have to get over to the side of the road onto the skirting |
Cautionary Warning
#1: Always be aware of narrow bridges bordered by guardrails. It’s
best to slow down even to stopping after pulling off to the side of
the road to let the over-sized vehicles pass safely. The over-sized
vehicles must move to the center of the road to negotiate the narrow
bridges with guardrails and you won’t be able to squeeze by. Fair
warning.
The next Section
after finally traveling what seemed like weeks to get across Texas,
it really is a big state folks, was Louisiana. I have traveled the
190 back-roads in the past and they were very doable for we RV-ers.
Going through numerous old southern towns as the road travels north
of the major interstate I-10. Now it should also be noted that hwy
190 through Louisiana has gotten a bit rougher needing repaving as
many roads throughout the country do.
 |
| hwy 190 through Louisiana is mainly a two lane road, no side skirting and road is rough condition is sections |
Unfortunately the
day started out with a light rain and I thought I could outrun the
rain. Well, it got worse as I continued my travels east. Finally
pulling off at a Valero gas station. They are large gas stations
which cater to the trucking and regular vehicles as well.
This Valero gas
station was run down and did not have all the great conveniences as
most of the modern big gas stations have. No this one had turned
into a rundown over sized gas station/liquor store. I should have
realized that after noting that only one other vehicle had pulled in
here and as I was about to enter the building, the large overhang had
a spectacular waterfall cascading through the roof.
But it was poring
out and I needed to wait until the rain let up a bit. After a while,
it appeared the rain was letting up and I headed back on the road.
Of course the rain had only let up temporarily and once again I was
driving in a down pore. Up ahead of me, hardly able to see but a
short distance through the heavy rainfall, on a two lane road, no
shoulders to speak of, ahead of me I saw the entire road ahead turn
into a wall of splashing water. What was going on? What was ahead
of me, now only a couple hundred yards ahead of me. Barreling down
that two lane road was coming an entire mobile home, traveling at
full speed, maybe more. I had exactly 3-5 seconds to react, and
somehow, I was able to pull off to the side of my lane by what I can
estimate was mere inches. Having no shoulder, I might have ended in
the ditch. As the mobile home and truck pulling it barreled past me
in a swirl of water, it felt like my life was woshing past me. I’d
made it. Surely I had a couple, maybe a dozen guardian angel looking
after me that day.
Cautionary Warning
#2. You know better. Just don’t travel on days that it’s
raining out. It’s not worth it. Like today, as I sit in a very
nice State Park in Florida as it continues to rain, the remnants of
yet another hurricane passes through the area, extending my stay
another day, knowing tomorrow the day will be clear and sunny.
Cautionary Note #3.
Although I do enjoy the back-roads for traveling, perhaps it’s time
to start asking the locals or FB Rv forums about those back-roads and
find out if they are congested with over-sized vehicles which may
make your travels less than safe. Some areas have big logging
trucks, it’s best to ask the locals which routes they prefer. As
much as I’ve enjoyed those back roads, I think it’s time to
reconsider and do a bit more investigation and planning before taking
those back roads.
Well, that’s my
story for a very wet rainy day. I usually don’t like to tell scary
tales but I needed to tell myself this cautionary story to myself for
reinforcement purposes and hopefully it will add to your knowledge
before heading back out onto those open roads. Be safe, be cautious.
Knowledge enables us
all to live better lives.
dp
