Putting the HEART in Heartland!

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired
Just got back from Crossroads, off loading our belongings so they can be ready to work on the rig as soon as the adjuster says go. They are confident that we will be good as new when they are finished and I have the same confidence!

Now for the HEART part! While at Crossroads, I get a request to come into the office because I have a phone call. :confused: Go inside and it's Mary Ann Proto. She says you're all set! We transferred your site fees at Sea Pirate to a rental unit so you are going to the rally and staying there for the duration. No going home at night to return in the morning and no sleeping in Mike & Ann's basement! This is not a negotiable deal, you're doing it and that's it! We exchanged some tearful words and quite honestly, I have never felt such love and affection from a "friend". Mary Ann and John, we love you guys! We are blessed to have you "two very special people" in our lives. God bless you and your big Heartland hearts! Love you both! Wow!
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Debbie - did it miss something? What happen to the Big Horn?
 

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired
Debbie - did it miss something? What happen to the Big Horn?

You may have missed it as most of it was explained in the VA Rally thread. Here's the short version. We cleared the inbound side of the fuel island overhang. Unfortunately, the outbound side got in our way as it was up hill leaving the pumps! We ripped up the bedroom AC and have interior and exterior damage. Camper is at the dealership waiting on the adjuster tomorrow!

Just knowing the we have made friendships like that with the Proto's makes everything easier to deal with!
 

mjatwalker

Retired MD Chapter ******s
Oh darn--guess this means no goofy pictures!!!

All kidding aside, this is truly wonderful. Mary Ann and John you are two very special people. We are all blessed to be able to call you "FRIENDS". Can't wait to give you a big hug.
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
I am glad to hear that your getting your BH repaired and getting to atten your rally. There is a lesson here that I learned a long time ago. If at all possible, never fuel up while towing the 5er. That is why I had a 45gal tank installed.

Hang in there and get the BH back on the roiad as soon as possible.

BC
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Ouch! I just got our AC shroud replacement thanks to a low-branch encounter this winter. I am definitely more aware of overhanging things because of it. I think we'll stick to fueling at truck stops to make sure we fit.

Hopefully they'll have you repaired quickly. Enjoy the Rally, that's great you still get to participate.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Just got back from Crossroads, off loading our belongings so they can be ready to work on the rig as soon as the adjuster says go. They are confident that we will be good as new when they are finished and I have the same confidence!

Now for the HEART part! While at Crossroads, I get a request to come into the office because I have a phone call. :confused: Go inside and it's Mary Ann Proto. She says you're all set! We transferred your site fees at Sea Pirate to a rental unit so you are going to the rally and staying there for the duration. No going home at night to return in the morning and no sleeping in Mike & Ann's basement! This is not a negotiable deal, you're doing it and that's it! We exchanged some tearful words and quite honestly, I have never felt such love and affection from a "friend". Mary Ann and John, we love you guys! We are blessed to have you "two very special people" in our lives. God bless you and your big Heartland hearts! Love you both! Wow!

The Heartland Family is the Best!!!!
 

trdeal

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
Deb sorry to hear about your accident but thank God for the good friends that we have in the Heartland Family.Hope Cross Roads gets you back on the road very soon.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
That's just great Deb and John. Mary Ann and John are great people. Club members and Yorkie owners - I am not surprised.
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Oh Debbie - sorry to hear about the overhang problem but more importantly, ya'll are safe. It must have been strange hearing that crunching sound. But with all that said, the camping gods are looking out for ya'll with great friends and campground folks. Let us know how things turn out with the Horn.
B--
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Deb, I had missed the report of your accident as well. Sorry to hear of it but it's good to know you guys are safe and with friends while the rig is in the shop. We hope the repairs go well and you are back on the road soon.
 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador
Sorry to hear about your mishap...hope things get repaired quickly...this is why we usually fill up at truck stops on the truck side...gas station covers scare the bejeebers out of me....
 

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired
They scare us too and even more so now. Sent the following off to Maryland DOT hoping they will address the signage issue.

Dear Sirs,

While traveling on Monday from Virginia home to New Jersey with our fifth wheel RV we had the need for fuel. We entered the North East Maryland Rest Area at milepost 98 on I-95. Upon entering the access roads the signs clearly say “SUNOCO” with an arrow pointing to the left” and “Cars with trailers” with an arrow pointing to the oversize parking area on the right. Since we had a need for diesel fuel we followed the signage to the Sunoco area. There was no signs pointing out the diesel pumps and as a result we entered the gasoline isle assuming that the diesel was mixed in there somewhere. As we could not locate the diesel pump we attempted to pull out and go around again to see what we may have missed. This is where things go bad. The protective weather overhang has a lower height on the far side of the fuel island. While exiting the fuel island our trailer struck the overhang and major damage resulted. This was not the first time that this structure had been struck as there was much damage done to it prior to our arrival. As a result we were stuck under the overhang and did thousands of dollars of damage to our 2011 Bighorn RV. I asked your staff why it is not marked with a height restriction and there response was “it is”! I looked at the entrance end of the structure and there are numbers mixed in with all the previous damage that said 11-1. It is NOT clearly marked as a CLEARANCE HEIGHT nor is the correct height 11' 1"! If it were we would have had damage much lower on our RV!

Even more frustrating than our damage, was the treatment from the station staff. We were laughed at and as we were trying to survey the damage and figure out our options, the fuel island attendant demanded my insurance card. It was not like we could leave the area as our truck and trailer were held hostage by the overhang. At no point did anyone offer any assistance and the nasty and harsh attitudes were definitely unwarranted. And for all this, we are left with a huge repair bill.

Would you please take some time to check this area and place the proper signage so as to save someone else the grief that we and many before us (judging by the amount of previous damage) have suffered. Additionally, we would have never suspected that the diesel Island had to be accessed from the truck parking area. There are no signs that direct you to the diesel island and that whole situation could have been avoided if there were proper signs that (1) directed travelers to the area they need go and (2) clearly indicate any height restriction that may be present. If these two things would have been in place this never would have happened. Our RV would still be usable instead of sitting in a dealership battered, broken and waiting for me to pay the repair bill! Lastly, in the event of an accident, I would think the staff should by sympathetic and courteous instead of rude and disrespectful!

Thank you for your time,
 

Nabo

Southeast Region Director-Retired
Oh my - what an ordeal. Shame the staff didn't offer some suggestions or given ya contact numbers instead of disgested looks/commits. Hopefully the state will reply quickly.
 

hillsonwheels

Well-known member
If Heartland ever needs a diplomat, I'll vote for you! You very nicely stated what I would have had to invent a new four letter word vocabulary for.

And, as for the Proto's, they may talk funny, :rolleyes: but they have big 'ole southern hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angel: Thank God for folks like them!

Dick
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Deb, It's is a shame that this happened to you guys :-(... The state of MD DNR is to blame ! MD is not friendly to RVers and this is just one more example. You should read the diatribes folks have written on the web about the bad experiences experienced at the various parks in Maryland ! Also, MD is definitely not ready for big rigs. I myself had a horrible experience at Elk Neck state park - I will never return or recommend that dump ! Most MD parks can't fit us in, so go to private CG's. Now from your experience they can't even fuel us without a fiasco ! I will make a mental note to not purchase fuel in MD. I will arrive with enough fuel to leave... and take my $$$ to another state :). They don't treat boaters any better, they have the bay and they have hostages - period. We wish you the best for speedy repairs and relief from Maryland created problems. T&P
 

dbylinski

NE Reg Dir Retired
Tom,

I'm not mad at anyone or any state. We have had many good times in Maryland and have many great friends there. We'll be attending the Maryland rally and I don't intend to boycott any part of it.

OK, here goes - Although the signage was terrible at best, the ultimate responsibility lies with us. We don't intend to blame Maryland as we should have known better! My only hope is that they correct their neglect of clear direction and we save the next guy from similar harm. I don't want any fellow RVer to suffer through that situation and my contact with the DOT was purely to bring this situation to their attention.
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Deb, I should have been clearer. We love Maryland and it's residents it's a wonderful state. We have many friends there also. We often stay in private CG's in MD. In fact we just got home from a 10 day RV trip in MD. I was speaking specifically about some of the MD State Parks and service plazas, in general they need to up-grade (up-size) and take better care of their parks and plazas. Just this past weekend a fellow MD camper told me they got stuck in a "big rig friendly" MD state park and had to wait until the park rangers cut down trees so they could exit. This almost happened to us at Shad Landing, fortunately I drove my TV "only" to double check... good thing I did or the ole buzz saw would have been cutting some trees down for us too. We left and stayed at a private MD CG and there are many nice private CG's in MD.
 
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