Armadillo Killer

Well, I'm okay, and the RV has been repaired (it could have been a lot worse), but I'm not sure the armadillo lived to tell about it. Last Sunday morning, on a dark, wet drive home from work, I came upon an armadillo smack dab in the middle of the road. I knew I couldn't avoid him completely, but I did try to at least straddle him. Apparently, when frightened these little devils jump up and that seems to be what he did because I heard a horrible thunk. I figured I must have glanced off him with a tire and since nothing seemed to be affected in the driving of the van, I continued on home. At home I did an exterior inspection and found no damage to the body, but when I went to hook up my sewage line, I discovered both valves were open and, upon further inspection, saw that the gray water pipe underneath the van was completely broken apart at the Y that joins the gray pipe from the kitchen sink and the gray pipe from the bathroom sink. My heart just sunk. I called over my neighbor Ken, who happens to be a certified RV technician, and had a complete meltdown in front of him. Being the great guy that he is, he recognized a tired night shift worker and told me to go to bed and get some sleep, we'd be able to fix it.

The next day, Kenny and I tracked down the parts and supplies needed to make the repairs and Thursday we got at it. As it turned out, the gray pipe at the kitchen tank was also busted and I could see exactly where the armadillo had hit that part of the pipe. How that section of pipe broke away completely without also destroying the gray tank itself is beyond me. Suffice to say it could have been a whole lot worse.

Four hours later I was back in business all for right around $300 parts and labor. The next time I see one of those little armored bowling balls in the road, you can bet I'll do everything I can to stop before I hit him.