Why should you learn about metrics early on?

Life gave an expensive lesson about changing cms to inches and meters to feet.

29.05.2022 20 °C

After picking up our trailer one of my first question to the dealer was how high the thing was? He reassured that it will fit the road all across the US and kept saying number 8 for some reason as I insisted to know the exact height. I even planned to put the number on a postit and place it on the dash as a reminder. Then with other 200 new piece of information this step somehow did not happen. As a last note the dealer said to better watch out at small, old train bridges but other than that it should be fine.

As I am using Interstates and highways on my drive to Montreal I was not worried. My trailer is really small compared to the large trucks passing me on the highway and the fit under bridges perfectly. Then after about two days heading North the unexpected happen - just as I expected. Around fourish in the afternoon (with less than 3 hours sleeping) I felt enough of driving in the rain. The next 10 miles was red on Google Maps due to an accident and traffic was coming to a halt. So I left the highway to look for a good night sleep before I continue. As this is the Memorial Day weekend all campsites are fully booked. So I decided to call a nearby ACME and ask if I might park there for the night. The manager was kind and said "no problem" so I put the address into Google Maps and boom, it is just 5 minutes from me!

Did the turns as directed when suddenly a train bridge was in front of me, with the sign saying 9"12' And this is where I learned the importance of metrics as honestly I had no clue how much that is in meters and if the trailer will fit in or not. At first sight it seemed no problem and the number 8 came to my mind from the dealer so I did not even slow down too much. Then after the car went trough I heard a big boom and in my mirror big white plastic parts were falling mixing in nicely to the rain. "Oh shit, the tv antenna" was my first thought as I pulled over and jumped out of the car into the rain. I realised that the situation is much worse than loosing an antenna. The trailer fit in but the AC on its roof was not. It was shaved by the bridge and pipes and pieces were all around the place.

To make things even worse rain was falling inside the trailer as the AC normally blows cold air through an opening of the roof which is about 50cm x 50 cm and I still have no clue how much that is in inches or feet. I will have a look, promise! So I was running around like Benny Hill, picked up all the debrish and with wored out nerves I parked in front of the ACME. Learning from my earlier motorbike tours I had duct tape with me so using some plastic garbage bags and tape I built a neat drain system into the kitchen sink. So this is how I learn about metrics and exchanging cm to inches and meters to feets.

If I think about my earlier motorcycle adventures (where my first ever new bike was dropped in the first roundabout but then I had years of fun without major accidents) then a very promising start to our camping life. Looking forward to it!

Later this story made it as one of the "Stories time needs to beautify", a popular section in our e-book about our travel, "One Year of Camping - The Guide to Plan Your Escape".

It is part handbook for those people, who are travelers at heart but did not make the big step yet. Moreover it has our favorite tips and the best (and ugliest) stories of our trip. Here is a peek preview of the cover: