The 4-Day Wait: Surviving the Chattanooga Service Wasteland

The plan was simple: get the RV serviced at Tri-state Truck and RV in Chattanooga before the camping trip, pick it up, and roll out like a competent adult with a functioning itinerary. That was the fantasy. The reality, back in 2024, was four days of calling, checking in, and realizing the rig was not being serviced so much as it was being held in decorative storage.

That’s the "4-Day Wait." Not a breakdown on the road. Not a mid-trip mechanical ambush. Just the RV sitting stagnant at Tri-state before the trip even started, untouched, while my patience did laps around the parking lot.

And this matters for the timeline: this 2024 run to the Tennessee campground was my first trip out after spending much of 2023 living in the RV at a KOA in Virginia Beach while my sister recovered from a stem cell transplant for Multiple Myeloma. So this was never just a random little getaway. It was the first real exhale after a very hard season.

It was also not my first camping experience. That goes all the way back to 2005, when I rented a camper for work, drove to Colorado, and stayed at the KOA in Estes Park with the snow-peaked Rockies showing off in the background. That trip spoiled me early. The scenery was gorgeous, the setup was comfortable, and my bougsie-ness as a camper was basically locked in on the spot.

Eventually, Tri-state declared victory, handed back the keys, and I finally left for the campground. Which is where this story stops being merely annoying and becomes fully ridiculous.

The Diesel Spill Nightmare

To be crystal clear, the diesel leak happened in 2024, after the service and after the camping had started. I had already picked up the RV from Tri-state. I had already made it to the campground. The nightmare hit while I was leaving the campground, because apparently Tri-state’s idea of "fixed" came with a dramatic third-act reveal.

It started with that unmistakable scent, sharp and oily and immediate, followed by the kind of diesel leak that turns a normal campground exit into a full-on mess. We weren't talking about a polite little drip. We were gushing. At the campground. After service. After the trip had begun. Exactly the sort of detail that should not need repeating, yet here we are.

To his credit, the campground maintenance man stepped in and helped on-site before things got even worse. In a story packed with delays, incompetence, and diesel fumes, that help mattered.

And because the repair clearly wasn’t repaired, the final move was a trek to a dealership in Knoxville to actually fix the mess Tri-state left behind. Nothing says relaxing camping trip like a service appointment sequel nobody asked for.

Ethel, my faithful traveling companion, was less than impressed. She isn’t some random yellow dog; she’s a seasoned traveler with more miles under her collar than most long-haulers. She sat in the driver’s seat of our Synergy, looking out at the wasteland with a gaze that said, "Felicia, we could have been in the Sea Islands by now." In 2026, that kind of big adventure is still the dream on the vision board, not the trip this post is describing.

Day 1: The French Roast Fortitude

By the time the sun began to set on day one at Tri-state, the reality had sunk in. The RV had been dropped off for routine service before the camping trip, and absolutely nothing was happening. Back then, FB Roasters did not exist yet. Now that I’ve finally launched it in 2026, I can say with complete confidence that French Roast is the blend I wish I’d had in that service-lot purgatory.

If you’re going to watch your travel plans stall before the trip even starts, you need a coffee that’s as dark and bold as your mounting irritation. I spent the evening with Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. There is something profoundly satisfying about reading about glamorous Paris while your own big adventure is a folding chair in a service lot.

Day 2: The Spirit of the West (Still Waiting)

Day two brought the "Cowboy Mentality." When your RV is sitting untouched in a parking lot, you either spiral or you get rugged. At the time, there was no Cowboy Blend to pour. Looking back, that blend is exactly the kind of cocoa-caramel backbone I needed while Tri-state treated my RV like showroom decor instead of a service appointment.

The contrast was almost comical. My camping origin story involved Colorado in 2005, a rented camper for work, a stay at a KOA in Estes Park, and the snow-peaked Rockies serving cinematic background energy. That was the trip that taught me I like my outdoor adventures with a little comfort and a lot of beautiful scenery. In other words, the bougsie camper identity was established long before Tri-state introduced me to the industrial-chic version of RV life.

I dove into Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes. They were exploring the unknown; I was exploring the outer limits of service department indifference.

Ethel and I took "Shore Leave" around the perimeter of the lot. She treated the stacks of pallets like a tactical obstacle course. We weren't just walking; we were patrolling.

Day 3: Tropical Bliss (Before the Trip Even Begins)

By day three, the walls were closing in. I did not reach for Latin American Blend then, because FB Roasters had not launched yet. But this is exactly the kind of bright, nutty, sanity-saving cup that later inspired FB Roasters, which I launched in 2026 after experiences like this one made good coffee feel less like a luxury and more like survival gear.

I paired this with The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway again. Because, like Santiago, I was locked in a battle with a giant beast, only mine was a service timeline with no visible captain. I spent the afternoon reading the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Omnibus. Sisko and the crew knew a thing or two about being stuck in one place longer than planned.

The coffee fantasy helped. The waiting did not.

Day 4: Released Into Chaos

Finally, Tri-state got around to the RV. Or so they said. Day four did not actually come with Whiskey Barrel Aged coffee, because that launch was still in my future. Looking back, though, that bourbon-barrel backbone is exactly the energy this fiasco demanded and part of the inspiration for the business I started in 2026.

I spent those last hours reading about George Ohr, the "Mad Potter of Biloxi." His eccentricity felt right for the moment. I also cracked open A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson (Garak fans, unite).

Then I finally picked up the RV and went on the camping trip, which should have been the happy ending. Instead, while leaving the campground, the diesel leak announced itself like a villain returning for the second act. That was when the stronger drinks earned their place.

After surviving the campground fiasco and the emergency detour that followed, the "Midnight in Paris" Espresso Martini stopped being a cute travel cocktail and became a very reasonable response.

Must be 21 and over Please drink responsibly

• 2 oz Vodka

• 1 oz Freshly brewed & chilled French Roast

• 0.5 oz Coffee Liqueur

• 0.25 oz Simple Syrup

And once Knoxville entered the picture to actually clean up Tri-state’s mess, the "Double Oak" Old Fashioned felt even more appropriate. Using a syrup made from the Whiskey Barrel Aged coffee, this drink is bold, oaky, and assertive, exactly like the attitude required when one dealership fixes what another one should never have sent back out on the road.

Surviving the Wasteland: Lessons Learned

What did four days at Tri-state Truck and RV teach me?

1. Never travel without FB Roasters now that it exists. The coffee in the waiting room is a crime against humanity, and the good stuff may be the only stable thing in your itinerary.

2. Ethel is the MVP. A traveler who can handle a four-day service delay, a campground diesel fiasco, and a detour to Knoxville without losing her cool is worth her weight in gold.

3. A "fixed" RV and an actually fixed RV are not the same thing. Tri-state handled the first version. Knoxville handled the second.

4. Compassion goes a long way. Especially when it comes from the local maintenance man at the campground who stepped up in the middle of a mess he didn’t create.

At Dale's Angels Inc., we believe travel should be about the journey, but sometimes the journey takes a detour through a diesel spill. Whether you're navigating the AI-driven future of Afrodruids or just trying to get your rig back on the I-24, you need the right fuel.

If you are ready to plan your next adventure send an email directly to felicia.baxter@fora.travel with Subject HELP I NEED A VACATION. The Tennessee campground mess and the four-day Tri-state wait happened back in 2024. The bigger dream trips, Sea Islands included, are the adventures we’re still working toward in 2026. Hopefully, your next trip won't involve a four-day pre-trip service delay, a campground diesel leak, and a mercy run to Knoxville, but if it does, at least you’ll know what coffee to pack.

For more information about our services, check out our About Us page or visit DAI Travel Services to start planning a trip that actually involves scenery.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, please reach out for help. The SAMHSA National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders. Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

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