Always Springing for Something – Austin, TX

We had a pretty funny mishap while in Austin. Our RV camping spot was located under several trees, leading Cricket to quickly become the favorite landing spot for the local squirrels.

It was cute, at first, to hear the thump, thump of the squirrels as they ran across our roof and onto another tree.

But one day, as we were sitting at our table, we heard the telltale thump, thump. And then we heard another noise: sproing, sproing. (Probably not a real word, but onomatopoeia, people.)

Apparently, Austin’s squirrels are indulging a little too much in the local food trucks. Maaaaybe, just maybe, it wasn’t the squirrel’s less-than-graceful landing that popped two of our jack springs, but it’s pretty likely, in my mind!

For those who may not be well-versed in RV hydraulic systems, our Class A motorhome comes equipped with a hydraulic jack leveling system. This means that almost all of our leveling can be done at the push of a button – super convenient. And leveling is very important in our RV – not just for keeping our equilibrium stable, but our refrigerator needs to be level to run on propane (as it does whenever we are not connected to an electrical outlet).

The hydraulic system pushes the jacks down to raise and level the RV. When we’re ready to go, the springs retract the hydraulic levelers. So, when the springs break, the jacks can’t retract, and we can’t drive off into the sunset.

Anyway, it helps that I employ a handyman at all times onboard, just in case something like this should happen. Here he is hard at work:

Hi Cory! Don’t mind me snapping pictures, just keep doin’ what you’re doin’.

We (and by “we” I clearly mean Cory. I had no part in this fixer other than to grab two wire hangers and snap some pictures) used two blocks of wood as a lever system to push the hydraulic jacks back up (since we couldn’t drive with them down).

Then, Cory rigged up a wire hanger to keep the jacks stable.

Obviously that was just a temporary fix! We stopped into a Home Depot to find replacement springs, but no luck. We located a spring store in San Antonio, where we happened to be headed that day! We picked up a few heavy duty springs, and in no time everything was back to normal.

Good job, Cory!