And when you think things couldn't get worse...

So right now we have two vehicles. One Kia Sportage, a nifty little silver SUV, and one Tropi-Cal, a ginormous 37' diesel motorhome.

We've just picked up the keys to our new apartment, and have 5 days overlap with our old apartment to get everything moved. The plan is to use the motorhome as a moving van, loading and unloading in a leisurely fashion.

On the way back to the old apartment, around 8:30 p.m., the Kia decides to die ungracefully, revving slower and slower until we crawl into a gas station and then dies completely. A check of the oil level reveals pretty much nothing in the engine. We put two bottles of oil in, but the engine just doesn't turn over when we try to start it again.

What to do? Well, the obvious answer is to use the motorhome to tow the car to the dealership for repair, right? We have all the towing gear - but the motorhome is in storage 15 miles away, and it locks up at 6 p.m. The gas station says we need to move the car or they'll get it towed. No problem - the storage place happens to be my workplace, and a pleading call to the security guard on duty lets us know he'll unlock storage "just for us" if we can get there. We work out we have the money for a taxi if we don't eat anything for the next couple of days...

We take the taxi, pick up the motorhome (after a short panic on my part when I can't find the keys) and drive back to the car. We negociate the difficult task of connecting the tow bar to the motorhome by moving the motorhome inch by inch (as the car is immobile). We tow the car to the dealer, and unhook it. Then...

We notice the motorhome has a flat tire. A very flat tire.

More considering of the options. After the taxi fare, we don't have enough money to fill up the motorhome tank to the level it would take to run the generator, and spending the night in 90 degree heat with no air conditioning is unappealing, so we decide against boondocking where we are. We drive back to our old apartment VERY SLOWLY. I call my supervisor at 9:30 p.m. and give her the bad news that due to having two vehicles out of commission, I will not be able to get to work the next day. She calls back an hour later, having found someone to work my shift for me.

Now we're looking at having no money, and two vehicles that need fixing. Last time we had to have a new tire, it cost in the region of $500. And if the engine is shot on the car, that's probably four figures at least. So...

The next day, we find our CoachNet membership card that gives us free towing and/or repair on flat tires, but no parts. We call them, and they have a guy come out. He quickly finds that the valve stem extender on the tire is less than finger-tight, and blowing air like a dolphin. He spends an hour checking the rest of the tire, and concludes there are no other problems. He tightens the valve stem, re-inflates and drives off. Total cost: $0

Meanwhile, we wait to hear from the dealership on the car. I use the motorhome to commute to work. Hey, lucky they have room for me to park it! We continue our plan of using the motorhome as a moving van, and move into our new apartment. Not having the car is a pain, but a relatively minor one.

Five days later, the dealership gets around to looking at the car. The problem? One of the battery terminals had worked loose, so the battery was no longer charging. They trickle charge it, and we pick it up. Total cost: $21.40.

*Relief*