Oct 4, 2008 !!!!!!!!OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

Things were going so well on our first day of travel to Arizona. Everything was packed, double checked, and all arrangements made to be gone a few months. We were just west of Indianapolis when I looked in the right outside mirror. Something didn't look correct. Couldn't quite figure out what wasn't right, but there was something different. I ask Betsy to take a look, and she commented that the door appeared to be open!! I pulled over on the shoulder of I-70 and she jumped out and ran back to shut the door. I saw her lock it, slam it shut, and pull on it to see if it would open. It didn't budge. So off we go again. Not a half mile down the road it blew open again and slammed into the side of the trailer. We stopped at the next exit and figured at the worst we would have to tie the door shut for the rest of our journey. We were totally unprepared for the damage that had been done. The outer skin had a huge dent, the door itself had been bent where the door stop on the side of the trailer had hit it. The upper and lower corners of the door had been forced out when the center of the door was forced in by the door stop. Consequently the door wouldn't shut totally. After a few hammer blows we were finally able to almost shut the door, but the upper and lower corners still protruded and would act as wind catchers. We duct taped the door shut. It wasn't pretty but it worked. Our first call was to Dan who sold us the trailer, but he doesn't stock old parts. He confirmed my feeling that we should get in touch with Chuck C. in Watervaliet, MI. Chuck runs a vintage trailer shop, and his family started the Avion Co. Unfortunately he isn't open on Saturday. We decided that we'd head back to Columbus and figure out what to do from home.
When home I found on the internet a listing of salvage RV shops and called one in Carthage, MO, another in Phoenix, and three or four in northern IN. No luck, but some didn't answer probably because it was Saturday. I guess we'll wait until Monday and then call Chuck to see what advice he has. There is another possibility that our friends Kay and Ernie have a neighbor that might be able to make the repairs. We've e-mailed pictures to let him see the damage. We'll keep you updated. Ah, the joy of vintage trailering. Tippy likes the campground we're in tonight--it looks just like home.