Whoa ... I just noticed that I am way behind on this blog!
So ... we left Raccoon Valley last Monday, found our way to I-81 and headed north ... first stop ... in Natural Bridge, VA. OK ... with that 300 miles out of the way we took off again Tuesday heading north again. But where to stop? We knew we were going to NJ to see the NJ Gang ... but which route? Hey, I know! Lets go to Dover, PA and visit with Randy and Terry Guiler on the way! We haven't seen them in a while and it's sorta on the way. So we did.
We drove up I-81 to Chambersburg, PA and then hung a right on the Lincoln Highway ... iconic I-30 .... right through beautiful downtown Gettysburg, PA and then on to Dover through some gorgeous PA countryside. Now the countryside may have been gorgeous but the roads were typical rural PA. Ups and Downs, lots of curves, a few rotaries, and a bunch of stoplights ... but we finally made it!
Terry found us at the Cedar Lake Family Campground shortly after our arrival and escorted us into York, PA where we met with Randy at Mission BBQ. We ate some really great BBQ, visited with some really great friends who we don't get to see often enough, and then returned for a restful nights sleep.
We could have visited with the Guilers for several days ... but alas it was time to move on to grandkids and closer to home. We were on the road again Wednesday morning - destination Clarksboro, NJ. After way too many miles through more rural PA, more stop lights, construction, traffic, and other such mess ... we finally pulled in here in Clarksboro, NJ.
After a couple hours here at the rig to rest up - we met up with the NJ Gang at their place where we spent a few more hours catching up on their busy lives. Two teenagers, school, karate practice, band concerts, soccer practice and games, baseball games ... I know we did this too ... 25 or so years ago ... but wow ... I certainly couldn't keep up the pace now!
Due to some after school sports rainouts on Thursday we were able to have the whole gang over to see WTT and participate in our first WTT cookout!
See ... you can fit at least 5 around our new couch and table!
Today was a bit slower day with some sleeping in and minor chores accomplished here with WTT before heading over to visit with the Gang for a few hours before Brian was off to work and Emily was off to karate practice. We did manage to corral Nicky and Alyssa long enough to have a nice dinner out at the local Texas Roadhouse before heading back to Clarksboro to get ready for the final travels up to Maine.
We have about 500 miles left before making it to beautiful downtown Topsham, Maine. Although we have done it in one day before ... that was then ... and this is now. Those kids and grandkids may be able to go-go-go ... but us mature keenagers need a rest now and then.
See ya in a couple of days you Mainers!
Once again, we have returned to the Escapee Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, TN ... just a stones throw from Knoxville, TN.
We left Little Rock, AR on Friday morning driving east on I-40. We finished off Arkansas with a fuel stop in West Memphis and then continued on I-40 to the small town of Parkers Crossroads, TN -- near Jackson, TN. Another successful travel day with no particular issues to report.
Until Saturday morning when we attempted to depart. We were accomplishing our morning travel routine, although we are developing a new routine for the new equipment, when we came to the step to "raise all jacks." That step started off OK .. with the engine running I had depressed the "Retract All Jacks" button ... the jacks retracted and the air ride system pressurized with air ... but the "Jacks Down" Alarm would not clear. After checking that all jacks were indeed up all the way I attempted to re-level the coach in Automatic ... nothing happened. Then I tried Manual Mode ... nothing again. Then I tried retracting again. Still no action by the hydraulic leveling jacks. Well now ... I suppose I could have driven to the nearest dealership and had them fix it ... but I would have had to listen to that very loud and irritating alarm for many, many miles. To make a long story somewhat shorter ... between the operating manual and a visit from the campground owner I deduced that the "Jacks Down" alarm was actuated and cleared not by some proximity switch on the jacks themselves (like the previous system we had), but rather, by a level sensor in the hydraulic oil tank. When the jacks are up - the oil returns to the tank - and the alarm goes away. That's the way it's supposed to work anyway. So I did what any resourceful nuclear plant operator would do. I wrote a repair order, gave it to myself, readjusted the level sensor slightly until the alarm cleared ... retested the system satisfactorily ... all was right with the world once again and we were on he road -- a few hours later than planned ... but on the road anyway.
With that repair behind us we made it through Nashville, through the Cumberland Plateau, and landed here near Knoxville around 5 PM Eastern Daylight Time. That's right folks ... we have made it back to Eastern Time!
We filled up with Diesel Fuel upon arriving in Knoxville ... our 4th fillup since our initial fill back in Lordsburg, NM ... some 1,650 miles back. So ... I am happy to report that our average fuel mileage for those 1,650 miles is slightly above 10 mpg and our cost per mile for fuel is about 21 cents per mile with the average cost of Diesel being $2.15 per gallon. Since Winne got about 7 mpg and the average price for this trip was about $1.78 per gallon ... her price per mile for fuel was about 24 cents per mile.
Well that's good news ... right? But not so fast. a few years back the Federal Government mandated new emission standards for diesel engines and most engine manufactures were forced to implement the use of DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) to reduce emissions and meet the new standards. Not only did the use of DEF complicate the operation of these engines - it added a new cost. Since our DEF tank was down to about 1/2 when we rolled into Knoxville I decided to fill it as well. I figure we used about 6 gallons of DEF in those 1,650 miles and since a gallon of DEF cost me about $6.40 per gallon ... I figure my DEF cost is almost 3 cents per mile.
So the lesson to be learned here is .... When operating a Motorhome ... gas or diesel ... the per mile fuel cost is about the same.
Now ... aren't you glad these Maineiacs In Motion helped you learn this!?
Stay tuned for more amazing facts as these MIM continue our trek northeast -- back on the road tomorrow!
These Maineiacs In Motion have finally made it out of the Great State of Texas. We followed a slow moving huge line of thunderstorms for several days trying to avoid the really nasty stuff and we did avoid a lot ... BUT ... we have now made it to Little Rock, AR where we expect to have some nasty thunderstorms move through again tonight. I guess it's just that time of year!
We left Pecos, TX on Sunday and drove a couple hundred miles up I-20 to Sweetwater, TX ... just west of Abilene. We spent an extra day in Sweetwater to let the storm front move further east. Since we had some time on our hands on Monday we decided to check out Buck's Steakhouse and BBQ for lunch. I had some great mesquite smoked brisket and ribs with potato salad and Peggy went for the mesquite grilled burger and some huge Texas sized onion rings. It was all mmm mmm good!
We hit the road again on Tuesday and drove around Ft Worth and Dallas on I-20 and then headed northeast on I-30 to the small town of Caddo Mills. We got a decent night's sleep last night in spite of the thunderstorm that moved through early this morning. We took our time leaving this morning to let the storm front move on and then we followed it ... all the way to Little Rock.
We are staying at the Downtown Riverside RV Park here ... which is Downtown ... on the River Side. The park is a city owned and run facility where we have stayed several times in the past. It is relatively easy to get to, has decent facilities ... and best of all ... it's cheap with our Passport America discount!
We have just stayed here overnight in the past but this time we are intending to stay an extra day so maybe we will make it across the bridge this time to check out the Clinton Presidential Library.
WTT has continued to run well on her Maiden Voyage and I am getting more comfortable at the controls. I guess our biggest complaint inside the coach is that several of the overhead LED lights have failed already and need replacement. I understand this is a well known problem as Winnebago got a bad batch of these lights. From what I have read ... those that have had this problem and had the lights replaced are having good experience with the replacements. Even though we have had 6 fail already -- I remain confident that Winnebago will get this fixed easily. Frankly ... I want them all to fail as soon as possible so I can replace them all under warranty!
The biggest problem outside is how filthy the car is getting being towed behind this diesel! The engine exhausts out the back and apparently these new diesel engines -- with all their new gadgets to clean up the exhaust -- are still kinda dirty. I have a couple of ideas on how I may improve this situation ... but those can wait until a later date. For now I will just clean off the yuk every day or so.
We have now traveled a bit over 2,100 miles since leaving Merced and about 1,300 miles since leaving Tucson with WTT. We have a little under 1,600 miles left to go to get us back home. It has been nice seeing all the spring wildflowers along our trip and all the green leaves on the trees. But we are really getting excited about seeing springtime in New England and our kids/grandkids.
Ready or not -- here we come slowly!
Tonight the Maineiacs In Motion find themselves in the West Texas Oil Patch in Pecos, TX. We are staying in the Escapees TRA-Park RV Park in Pecos which is not much more than a gravel parking lot with full hookups. As with most of the RV Parks in this part of Texas, most of the spaces in the park are being used by oil field workers.
But let me back up a bit. We left Tucson on Thursday in the new Forza and drove about 200 or so miles to the Escapees Dream Catcher RV Park in Deming, NM. The trip went well with no issues while I was learning how the new equipment worked, how it handled out on the highway, what all the new sounds were all about, and we even managed to accomplish our first diesel fuel fillup without grabbing the wrong nozzle. I'd call day 1 a success.
We decided to take a day off from driving on Friday to do some grocery shopping and to accomplish some reorganizing of our "stuff" in some new bins we would pick up at the local WalMart. The other reason for taking a driving day off (a zero day) was to stay off the roads when the forecast high winds arrived ... which they did in the early afternoon, coming in from the west at about 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph. The parked Forza handled the winds fine with only the normal sounds of the dryer vent flapping in the breeze to annoy us at bedtime.
With our stuff reorganized a bit (still more to do) we hit the road this morning heading East again on I-10 ... through Las Cruces, NM, through El Paso, TX and into the stark West Texas landscape. The Forza purred along through it all. I guess I have enough data now to report that I like driving the Cummins/Allison combination! It is a bit odd not having the feedback of the engine noise to tell me how everything is running - I need to watch the tachometer and other gauges to see what's going on with the power plant - but it sure is nice to sit back and watch when approaching a long upgrade as the engine stays in high gear for much of the pull and almost imperceptibly downshifts to 5th and even 4th if and when it needs to ... without seeming to work overly hard to keep a relatively constant speed up the grade.
The wind was blowing from the west again pretty much all day today. I had to drive south for some of the day while going through El Paso so I had a pretty good crosswind. The Forza handled the crosswind pretty well -- but I did have to "stay up on the wheel" and keep a bit of steer into the wind to keep her in her own lane. I think it was a bit easier than the Adventurer would have been -- mostly due to the fact that the Forza is heavier.
Now for the really good news ... I filled up again here in Pecos and was happy to see we got 11.7 mpg. Now that may not seem great to some of ya'all ... but when you are used to averaging around 7 mpg ... that is reason for celebration. Now I do realize that we had a pretty decent tailwind, and there is always a bit of uncertainty when filling up to compare "full tank to full tank" ... but the initial news is pretty encouraging!
The weather to our east and north is looking pretty nasty at the moment with a long line of thunderstorms, hail, and even a few tornadoes stretching from just to our east to clear up into North Dakota. The front is supposed to slowly move east. I really do not want to get anywhere near such weather if I can avoid it ... so we are waiting until tomorrow morning to see if we are going to let it move further east before we move ... or if we feel we can safely make some more miles while keeping our distance.
If we decide to sit still - I'm sure we can find some way to get into trouble -- even in West Texas.
I know all of you have been waiting impatiently to find out how the 'buy a new motorhome' experience went. So I won't keep you waiting any longer ...
Peggy and I got Winne ready for her short trip to LaMesa RV early on Monday morning and we arrived a little early -- around 9:30 AM ish. The folks at LaMesa directed us to a convenient parking place and we went to smooze with the sales guys while they finished washing the new Forza. Once the wash job was complete they moved the Forza to a parking place under a huge cover and then directed us to park Winne under the same cover - Door-to-Door. We spent the next 3 or so hours going over all the Forza's systems with Tommy (our Walkthrough Guy) making notes of the deficiencies we noted and questions he didn't have answers for. Tommy was really very knowledgeable but there were a few things he had to go check on while we took the Forza out for a short test drive with Bill - the Sales Guy. The test drive went pretty well. I didn't hit anybody or anything -- and the Forza seemed to run and handle fine.
After our return, the LaMesa guys took the Forza into the shop to take care of a few items from the walkthrough while we hung out and had some lunch on LaMesa. I reckon you get a free lunch when you spend that much $$ on a new motorhome! After the Forza made it back next to Winne we reinspected the fixed items and made the decision to complete the deal and start the process of moving in.
We moved stuff for several hours before calling it quits around 8 and resting our weary bones. Since the food was still in Winne - we ate our last meal there before spending the night in our new bed in Winne The Two. After a short night's sleep due to a combination of sore bodies, noisy interstate right behind us, and a lousy new mattress -- we got back to work early Tuesday morning. It took most of the day - but we managed to get all our "Stuff" moved from Winne to WTT by the end of the day -- including swapping our "old" mattress for the uncomfortable one that came in WTT. We also got our new Wineguard Trav'ler satellite dish changed from Directv to Dish during the day after the parts arrived around noon. We finished signing all the paperwork Tuesday afternoon but decided to spend the night at LaMesa one more night.
I spent some time this morning getting the tire pressure sensors installed and then we took off around 11 AM to make our first trip -- all the way across the street - back to the Lazy Days KOA. I say "we" but Peggy actually followed in the car. After getting set up here at the KOA and dumping our grey tank which was getting pretty close to full, Peggy decided to give her new washer and dryer a full scale test while I moved on to getting the "towed brake actuation" wire installed on WTT so I would have indication when the Fusion's brakes were actuated by the Invisibrake system installed in the Fusion. That installation went well - but I must tell you that it is way easier to crawl under Winne than it is to crawl under WTT - not much ground clearance!
With that job complete, and a second shower of the day to clean off all the accumulated yuk, and a little relaxation under our new electric awnings, we decided to celebrate by taking each other out to dinner at our favorite Tucson eatery - Daisy Mae's Steakhouse. You just can't beat Daisy Mae's mesquite grilled ribs and steaks!
WTT First Impressions
So how do we like our new Forza? I reckon we like it just fine so far!
I like the fact that I don't have to fix all the things I knew were wrong with Winne ... and those things that I knew I needed to fix before they became a bigger issue!
I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the whole Cummins Turbodiesel, Allison 6 speed transmission, Air Brakes, Air Bag Suspension thing ... I'll report back on that after we get a few miles under our belts.
I like the new TVs, but a 48" TV in a RV living room!? -- Real overkill! Oh yeah -- I suppose the 30 something inch TV outside under the awning is a bit of overkill as well!
I like that we have a residential refrigerator instead of an electric/propane powered RV frig. But I think we need a few weeks experience traveling with the new frig to really pass judgement.
I'm pretty sure Peggy likes the new stacked washer/dryer setup. So far so good. Even the slight shake of the whole coach when the washer goes into its high speed spin isn't too bad!
I like all the basement storage. I still have a lot of organizing to do with our "stuff" down there ... but the good news is - it all fits ... even unorganized as it is.
Oh yeah .. I'm not much of a horn blower when driving ... but I pity anybody who has to suffer the blast of WTT's new twin Air Horns!
Even though we like all the above ... and more ... there are a few things that we don't care for ...
I don't like the fact that there is no hot water heater bypass valve. The valve is really only necessary when putting in RV antifreeze when winterizing the plumbing system ... but come on Winnebago ... that was a ridiculous way to save a few bucks.
And who's idea was it to not install an outside porch light? Another silly way to save a buck.
And who took the roof access ladder? I never liked going up there anyway ... but I still want a ladder ... what is going to hold up my flagpole?
We are still in the moving-in phase and there are plenty of things that we haven't quite figured out ... like where the heck do we keep the laundry hamper?, and where is the coffee maker going to go?, and how are we going to function without a dinette? My daughter calls these "1st World Problems." I'm pretty sure she is right and even more sure that we will figure it all out!
In the meantime ... I think it's time to get WTT and us back to Maine. So, in spite of all our 1st World Problems, we are going to get on I-10 tomorrow and point WTT East.
I'm not sure where we will end up tomorrow night ... but I know it will be an adventure.
Peggy and I said our goodbyes in Merced last Wednesday night and started on our return trip Thursday morning. On Thursday we drove down CA Route 99 to Route 58 East -- Took Route 58 to Barstow, CA where we transitioned to I-40 East and then traveled about 25 miles further east to the small town of Newberry Springs, CA where we stayed for the night at the Newberry Mountain Motel and RV Park right on the Mother Road ... Route 66.
Friday was another long travel day as we finished off California on I-40 and then to Kingman, AZ where we turned south on Route 93 towards Congress, AZ where we spent Friday night at the Escapees North Ranch RV Park once again. Although our Friday travels were uneventful (but long) we did run into a few rain squalls ... something we hadn't seen in many days!
We were back on the road Saturday morning with only 200 miles in front of us to our destination here in Tucson, AZ. It may have only been 200 miles but those miles included plenty of stop and go traffic in Surprise and Sun City, AZ ... and then there was the big city freeway traffic in Phoenix and here in Tucson. But alas -- we made it safe and sound. Since our main purpose for coming this way was to pick up our new motorhome (Winne the Two!) at La Mesa RV ... and since La Mesa RV is right across the street from Lazy Days RV and the Lazy Days - Tucson KOA -- that's where we decided to park for a couple of days.
After settling in for an hour or so we jumped in the Fusion and made the 5 minute drive over to La Mesa to check out our new rig. Although our "walk through" is scheduled for tomorrow at 10 we wanted to at least see it and check out a few things ahead of time. The rig hadn't been "detailed" yet and was still pretty dirty from its trip from Albuquerque ... but we got to check out the few things we were interested in, took a few measurements so we could figure out where some things were going to be stored, and left to have a really nice dinner at the local Texas Roadhouse Restaurant. Thanks for the gift cards NJ Gang!!
Although today was not a travel day we still got an early start and made it to the early service at the Tucson Mountain Baptist Church. After church we traveled back here to Winne where I completed several pre-trade-in chores I wanted to accomplish and Peggy got caught up on the laundry. Fortunately we got all our chores done in and around the several rain squalls that visited Tucson today. It may not rain often here in Tucson ... but they got their share today!
So tomorrow is the big day. If all goes according to plan - we will find Winne the Two to be acceptable for delivery, sign all the necessary papers, and start the process of transitioning all our "stuff."
The folks at La Mesa will be setting up a spot with power available so that we can park both rigs "door-to-door" so we won't have far to carry the stuff. Since I'm sure it will take us several hours to move our stuff -- we plan on staying overnight on the La Mesa lot tomorrow night.
Then things get a bit iffy. I got a call from our Service Manager last Thursday letting me know that they would not have the parts necessary to accomplish the Directv to Dish changeover until Wednesday. So ... we could just camp out on the La Mesa lot for a few days while we wait ... or we could leave with the new rig and make our way back here to the KOA for a few days. Right now I think we are planning to leave La Mesa on Tuesday - take a short joy ride somewhere - and then come back here to the KOA and play with our new "stuff" while we are waiting (patiently) for parts. My plan (hope) is to be able to hit the road heading east on Friday.
Although we are excited to get the new rig ... it is certainly bittersweet. Our 2003 Adventurer has treated us very well over the past 12 years. We purchased Winne in May of 2004. Although she was a 2003 model year coach she was still "new" with only 1745 delivery miles on her odometer. After we make the 1 mile trip over to La Mesa tomorrow Winne will have carried us 135,927 miles for a total on her odometer of 137,672 miles. She has traveled through all of the lower 48 states, made it from the Pacific to the Atlantic (about a dozen times), been into Canada, within a stones throw of Mexico, and traveled along the Gulf of Mexico. In all those miles she has never failed to get us where we were headed ... although we changed where we were headed several times. She has protected us from snow, sleet, rain, winds, and even a few (too) close tornadoes.
Remember that first shakedown trip all the way to the Augusta-Gardiner (Maine) KOA?
Or how about that first trip to New Jersey?
First Coast-To-Coast trip with Nan after Mikees 1st retirement?
Certainly have been a lot of great memories!
Well Done Winne ... you deserve a nice retirement in Arizona!
Well here we still are ... hanging out in Merced, CA out amongst the almond and pistachio groves where the days are sunny with daytime temps in the 70s/80s and nighttime temps in the mid 50s ... not too shabby!
We have spent most of our time here in Merced visiting and helping out around the house - but we did manage to get in a day trip to Yosemite National Park on Saturday. Before heading out on our adventure we met Carol and Kendrah at a local Park to watch Kendrah and her soccer team play a rousing game on a lovely morning. Then we loaded up the Fusion with an ice chest full of picnic supplies and headed east to the El Portal Gate of the Park. It was a very pretty drive through the farmland of the San Joaquin Valley and then the green and gold foothills of the Sierra's with lots of blooming wildflowers including large patches of California Golden Poppies. Springtime in California can be gorgeous.
We entered the park around 1 PM and made our way to our first traffic jam at Bridal Veil Falls. Once we inched our way into the parking lot and were fortunate enough to snag a parking space -- life was better. We made the short walk over to the falls and, along with hundreds of other tourists, were treated to a truly gorgeous natural beauty. When Peggy and I last visited here in the fall of 2006 there was barely any water coming over the cliff -- not this time! After getting fairly wet at the base of the falls we made our way back to the parking lot and enjoyed our picnic.
It didn't take too long after getting back on the main Park Loop Road to realize that the last Saturday of Easter School Vacation Week was probably not the best day to visit here ... assuming you wanted to be able to park anywhere -- except on the roadway waiting for the car in front of you to move a few feet at a time. Now I don't want you to think we didn't enjoy ourselves -- because we did enjoy the beauty of the area and the fantastic falls -- but WOW were there a lot of PEOPLE there!
Our time here in the Golden State is about to draw to a close We have enjoyed our time here with Carol and Kendrah and hopefully we have been more help than hindrance ... but it is just about time to head home.
Our plan is to leave here on Thursday and backtrack to Tucson, Arizona to pickup our new wheels. I figure it will take us three travel days to make it to Tucson so we should make it there on Saturday. Then I figure the Fun/Stress will set in as we deal with more RV sales and service folks. The new rig is supposed to be ready for inspection/delivery on Monday ... but I'll believe that when I see it. Just call me a skeptic ... but we are dealing with RV salesfolk here people!
Once all that fun is complete we will hit the road once again - heading East -- destination Maine! I still hope to be back in Vacationland by the 1st of May ... but that will depend a lot on how next week's adventure turns out.
As is tradition here on the MIM Blog ... being at the westward terminus of a trip requires a few of Mikee's informative but mostly useless trip statistics. So here goes ...
1. Our westward journey from Maine took a total of 25 days with 15 of those being travel days.
2. We traveled 4,061 miles on the westward leg of the trip ... so we averaged 270 miles per travel day. With rest stops thrown in, I figure we average around 50 mph while traveling ... so that's about 5-6 hours travel per day for you folks who think in terms of time and not distance when traveling!
3. We filled up Winne with Regular Gasoline 14 times during the trip at an average cost of $1.69 per gallon ... and averaged just under $0.25 per mile. With all the headwinds traveling west we averaged right about 6.9 mpg for the westward leg. We typically average around 7.2 mpg for a round trip. It's going to be interesting to see how the new diesel powered rig will compare. Although diesel fuel can be cheaper than regular in some places here in the west - it is generally more expensive .... but I figure we will get bout 2 mpg better fuel mileage ... so it will be interesting to see how the cost per mile compares.
4. We have now stayed in 293 different RV Parks during our travels. I can remember most ... and most are good memories ... some are just "memorable."
5. Peggy and I have "lived" in Winne for 1170 nights over the past 10 or so years since I retired. I figure we should add about another 100 days of use before I retired and then another 100 or so days of use for me while I was still figuring out how to retire.
Here's hoping we get at least as much use/enjoyment out of the new one!
