Heidi’s Trek Back to Baltimore

This last weekend, the lovely Loriann, Mikhaila, and I drove down to Blacksburg, VA to visit Brianna and Nich (her husband). Prior to our visit, Brianna had asked me if I’d be willing to take her back to Baltimore for the winter. She’s not had many opportunities to drive Heidi, and the few times they’ve tried, the batteries been dead, so she’s been hesitant to rely on the car. With that in mind, I packed my towing package (towbar, safety chain, and magnetic-base taillights) and some tools in the back of the Suburban before we headed down Friday.

After a wonderful couple of days full of good times, weather, food, and drink, it was time hitch up Heidi. The first issue was I’d grabbed the wrong tow-ball off the shelf at home. A quick run to Advance Auto rectified that error. With the ends of the tow-bar secured to the front bumper and the hitch over the ball, it was time to connect the safety chain. I’d not used this before, so it could have been issue number two, but I was able to get one hook through the hole in the receiver and the other around Heidi’s crossmember. A couple tie-wraps ensured the hooks wouldn’t vibrate off and wire kept the chain from dragging. I’d wanted to make a visit to the Tractor Supply Company store, but never made it, so the lights went on with the knowledge that the right turn signal/brake indication was nonfunctional. Once I’d checked the transmission fluid level, and made sure the shifter was in Neutral and the parking brake was off, we were finally able to hit the road.

Other than having to sit in traffic for well over an hour due to at least three accidents on I-81, the trip was thankfully uneventful. Heidi now sits in front of the house, and my first task is to figure out if the battery is okay or not. Then on to why it goes dead. All the while working around getting Ringo primed.