When Things Go Wrong On the Road

Things happen, it’s inevitable. Knowing this, it still throws me for a loop. So on a busy travel week of overnights and short stays, losing our tag somewhere along Highway 101 between California and Oregon, it really threw us off. We got to our overnight campground, noticed it not only missing, but broken off entirely (the bracket was plastic and secured underneath the tail light). Our spare tire was also loose, and we knew we’d hit some bumpy transitions and construction, so we figure that is what happened.

Losing the tag wasn’t the biggest issue. The challenge for us was that we were on the other side of the country and weren’t someplace we could get mail easily. Adding to that was our destination was a campground we were planning to stay at for a couple of weeks, but they had a wildfire nearby and their phone lines weren’t working, so we couldn’t call and ask about mail–but the internet said they didn’t allow packages and the post office general delivery would be an additional expense.

So what did we do? Well, first, we calmed down.

Then, I reached out to our last campground to confirm it wasn’t there (we saw it on our walk around before leaving, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t fall off on exit). He told us it was not, which is what we expected.

Since we lost it somewhere along the long stretch of Highway 101 between Northern California and Southern Oregon, we needed to report it lost. We first called to the California Highway Patrol (yes, CHiPs is real!) who told us they require in person reports for a signature, but referred us to Oregon since that’s where we’d be for a while. Then we called the Oregon State Police who put us on with a Sergeant that took a report, the tag number and our information. He flagged it as lost in case it was found, gave us a case number and his contact info, and let us know he’d do a sweep of that stretch of road while he was out that day. He also advised us to NOT put a lost tag sign up in the window as this can be a red flag for law enforcement, so to just roll on and deal with the situation if it arises and we get pulled over.

By this time, it was after 5PM Pacific time, so we left calling our DMV for the next day. The next morning, before hitting the road to our next short stay, we tried reaching out to our long-stay campground to find out about getting a package delivered that was important. I made dozens of calls to them, with no luck, later finding out that their phone lines were down. While I was doing this, BJ contacted our the DMV.

The DMV was incredibly understanding and helpful in our situation. They got us a new tag on order, and since we were within a couple of months for a renewal, she went ahead and renewed the truck and the new trailer tag so we wouldn’t have to figure that part out in another month. The next challenge was getting it to us.

Since we weren’t able to get in touch with the campground and the post office was a no-go, we just had it delivered to our home base with family, and she expedited that so it was there in a day or two, instead of a week. Since we had some home school materials we also needed to get delivered. Yes, we were also in the midst of preparing for a new school year, and the start of high school–more on that in a later blog!

A few days later, and before everything got to our home base, we got to our campground and were able to let them know about their phones, as well as find out how to get a package to us (and their fee). Once it arrived to home base, we just had everything combined into one box and shipped to us.

Lucky for us, we had no issues or traffic stops about the missing plate. Unlucky for us, a wildfire had just started 30 miles north of our campground, and with smoke overhead, we had no idea if we’d end up needing, or wanting, to leave before our 2-week planned stay was over. This was magnified when another wildfire, the Emigrant fire, started a couple days later about 70 miles to our west and blowing smoke and ash over us.

We were relieved when the Flat fire was under control and no longer a threat, and the winds changed enough that the Emigrant fire wasn’t such a nuisance, so evacuating was no longer a major concern.

Our package arrived in the middle of our second week. With everything in hand, we needed to fabricate a new tag bracket, since the old location was gone. BJ had been working a plan in his mind to make it more secure, and not plastic, so we could avoid further issues. He decided to use U-bolts and fashion a bracket that directly attaches to our bumper so it would be more secure.

With this resolved, we were ready to set out to our next location and with a lot less worry than our last travel day.

I share this story with you for a couple of reasons. One, to let you know that problems still happen in this traveling lifestyle that you have to deal with quickly, working with what is available to you. And, two, to remind us, and you, just how kind and helpful people in the world are. Sure, it cost us extra money, but that’s why we have an emergency fund.

We’ve learned that the old expression “good, fast or cheap–pick two” also applies in travel life, and sometimes having even one of those options can be a challenge.

What kinds of challenges have you run into on the road, and how did you handle them? We’d love if you’d comment here, or on Facebook/Instagram where this shared, as well. Let’s help others in the community by sharing what we learn!

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