Oops!

Well, it happened.  In nearly twelve years of pulling the trailer, I have never had a major accident.  Until this past Monday, that is.  Traveling like a barn sour horse, we came out of Taylors, SC, and entered the automotive quagmire of Atlanta, GA.  A wreck on the northeast side delayed us for a couple of hours so that by the time we hit the intersection of I-20, it was officially rush hour.  It took us about four hours to get from the Mall of Georgia to Six Flags.  (We stopped at neither place, but for those who know Atlanta, these are familiar landmarks on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.)  After making it through the traffic to the west side of the city, I realized that we needed to stop for fuel.

Motorists who have not pulled a large rig such as a forty-foot trailer rarely appreciate the difficulty that larger vehicles face.  Just any filling station won’t do: evangelists need one with lots of space in which to maneuver.  Thankfully, filling stations have taken steps to accommodate the needs of larger vehicles, some of them even creating designated lanes for RV’s.  It was into one of these designated lanes that I pulled.  It was late and we were in Villa Rica, GA, not far from the AL state line, ready to be rid of GA traffic for the night.

As I pulled into the RV lane of this gas station, I quickly realized that not all RV lanes are created equal.  Not all are endowed by their creators with ample space for large RV’s.  In fact, this one seemed to have been designed for smart cars more than for any sized RV.  It was especially unsuitable for a truck pulling a trailer, no matter what the sign said.

Not to worry, though.  I have been pulling large trailers for twelve years, right?  When we were done fueling, I had to back up to reposition the trailer in the lane so that it would clear when I pulled through and made a left hand turn to return to the freeway.  No problem.  I kept the rig on the right side so that my trailer would follow and miss the large concrete bumpers erected to protect the narrowly placed pumps.  Textbook.  One learns a few things through experience over years of repetition. 

In front of me sat several cars parked in designated parking areas—areas that some engineer is probably still laughing about because there is no way a large RV can make the turn out of the RV fueling lane with those cars there.  I had to carefully watch the cars in front of me so as not to hit them and watch in my mirrors to make sure that my trailer cleared those awful concrete barricades.  The barricades were quite war worn, bearing the the scars of several victories in previous encounters with different RV’s.  I had missed every obstacle when I began to turn the wheel to the left.  The rear of the trailer pivoted to the right as I did so and, out of my line of sight, struck the right hand barrier.  We did not so much as feel the impact, because we were going very slowly.  Nor could we hear anything, but as I completed the turn, I felt a slight pop.

The barrier had torn the back part of our trailer to bits.  Although it was towable, it is still not livable.  As technicians at the local RV service center examined the damage, they used the word totaled a lot.  Of course, the service center pronouncing the unit totaled is not the same as the insurance adjustor announcing the unit totaled.  We will have to wait and see what insurance says.  In the mean time, we are in the busiest time of our year without a trailer.

Please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s will concerning a replacement.  Some have already offered to help fund the new unit.  We are so thankful for the willingness of God’s people to help me the need.  Whatever happens, we are confident that God will provide.