Thursday, June 12, 2014
Short update on progress
We signed the official contract a 2-3 weeks ago. Had our home inspection and passed with flying colors. We however did not pass the Radon test so we have to pay for mitigation about $750. We got our appraisal and have not heard the official results yet. I guess if it were not good, our realtor would be calling us. So we are in the final process of purging. The garage sale is at the end of June and we move the Bighorn to the campground on July 1. I guess that would make us full timers but stationary for now. Getting some camping in at our local county park this last week. Had an issue with the slides and leveling system due to a failed circuit breaker(relay) but got in touch with Heartland Company Customer Service and they got us in touch with a Moblie RV tech. Problem solved. More details when I have some time in the next few days. The countdown continues and it won't be long.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Memorial Day Weekend...Visiting grandkids
We hadn't made any reservations to go camping on Memorial Day weekend since knew it would be crazy busy so it was a great opportunity to visit the grandkids. The older grandkids were with their Dad(daughter is divorced) however the younger granddaughter, Ryleigh(different father) was still at home. Our younger daughter lives in Osceola, IN near South Bend. So when I got off work on Friday we headed out with just about every other person on the planet. We took I-55 to Dwight, IL and then took the detour on Route 47 to avoid a road construction up to Morris, IL and onto I-80 East. Once we got past Gary, IN and took the IN toll road the traffic was much more tolerable. Sommer and Todd had ordered pizza for dinner in anticipation of our arrival. Todd and Sommer had to work on Saturday so we didn't stay up too late. On Saturday we had our breakfast, set out some patio furniture for them and after lunch we took Ryleigh to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend.
The zoo has a pretty good assortment of animals and we had a great time.
The lion looked like he was sizing everyone up for a meal.
After the zoo we headed back our daughters for some dinner. We grilled out some steaks, chicken and brats. We like to make potato packets to grill out when we are camping so we made some to go with our meal. The food was delicious but we saved some room for dessert. Last summer we brought our 22 foot Jayco over and stayed at Potato Creek State Park south of Mishawaka, IN. While we were there our daughter had seen a show on the Food Network about an ice cream place in Nappanee, IN where they make the ice cream individually by using liquid nitrogen. Here is my post about our time there, Potato Creek Park Camping. So after the dishes were put in the dishwasher and everything was cleaned up we headed to Nappanee. We made it just in time before they closed. We all enjoyed our favorite flavors.
Ryleigh
We had a nice drive through the country and saw a lot of farmers in the fields. Once we got home we relaxed with full bellies and watched some TV. We got to sleep in a little on Sunday morning but once we got around we packed up to travel over to Streamwood, IL to see our youngest grandson, Aiden. We got on the road about noon EDT for a 2 and a half hour drive to Streamwood, IL.
It was a typical Chicago type drive with cars buzzing by and really having to watch out for the other guy. We stopped and had some lunch on the way over to Paul and Heathers home and Aiden was just getting up from a nap. We took a walk around the townhouse complex with their two dogs, Zeus and Izzy and had Aiden in the stroller. It was day to be outside. After the walk Heather and Glenda went to the local Target store and got some food to grill out. We had a great evening watching Aiden play and catching up on what is going on. Heather and Paul are also trying to sell their townhouse and buy a home where Aiden and the dogs will have some room to play. We are hoping they are able to sell soon. Aiden got pretty tired around 8pm so off to bed he went and we enjoyed more catching up.
Aiden having some breakfast
Aiden and Grandma
Aiden and Grandma on the swing
Monday morning Paul and Heather went to the gym to work out and we stayed with Aiden. I had forgotten how much energy it takes to keep up with a 1 year old. After a couple of hours they were back with some Starbucks Coffee and we got our reinforcements to help occupy Aiden. We took one more walk around the complex and stopped at the park in the middle of the complex so Aiden could swing with Grandma and then we had to head home. Of course we stopped at Portillo's Italian Eatery for some lunch and then onto the Interstate. On the way home we decided to detour and headed west on I-80 toward Utica, IL. We haven't been to Hickory Hollow Campground the last two years and we wanted to ride our bikes on the I&M Canal Towpath so we stopped at the campground and made a reservation for this weekend. Looks like the weather will be good and we got a nice pull through site with some shade in the afternoon. It was a great weekend even though we didn't get to see all the grandkids. It was fun to spend some time with the youngest ones.
P.S.....We had our home inspection today and passed with flying colors. Now if the Radon test goes well and the appraisal comes back good we should be home free. We also made a reservation at a local campground in Carlock, IL called Kamp Komfort for July and August. The plan is to have everything out of the house around July 1 and move into the Bighorn. The house closing isn't until mid-July but this may save us some money by moving into the 5'er and get organized. Three more months and it's retirement and the full time life. Really looking forward to it and it won't be long.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
We have a contract
I posted last week or so that we listed the house and it started off pretty slow. 1 whole week and no one came to look. We had a realtor call earlier in the week about an appointment but the person decided they didn't want to pay any HOA fees per month so they cancelled. Glenda and I decided to go camping over the weekend to get our minds off the house and not having any showings. We decided to go to our favorite campground here in IL. Forrest "BO" Wood COE at Lake Shelbyville. I took some time off on Friday and we left Thursday evening and were able to snag site #103. We had been there before and it is an end site with no one on the awning side and a big yard area, so to speak.
We were having a good time even with the rain that followed us there. It was a little cool for this time of year too. High on Friday was only 53 degrees. It made for some nice sleeping though since we had our fleece sheets and a warm comforter. Saturday was supposed to be better and it was but still not as much sun and warmth as we had hoped for. As we were getting ready to take a walk around the campground Saturday afternoon we got a call from a realtor that wanted to show the house. Finally some action. We didn't hear any more until we were parking the Bighorn at the storage lot this afternoon. It was our realtor and he said we had an offer. It, of course, was a low bid so we countered with a decent counter. They came back with something more reasonable but not in our range so we countered again. They came closer but not enough so we said here is our finally offer. Finally we got a call and they accepted our price but wanted us to pay the premium for a home warranty. It takes about $500 more out of our pocket but it's close enough.
We discussed it with our realtor and admittedly the home is 15 years old. We accepted the offer and will pay for the home warranty. Now we just have to wait for the person to get their financing and pass a home inspection and appraisal. The tentative closing is mid July. If all goes as we hope we should be moving into the Bighorn around the first of July and have a couple of months to get the rig ready for traveling and our full time life. Another chapter in the story of our transition. It feels good but still some unfinished business. I don't expect to be able to relax until after the closing. Now it's time to plan the garage sales and continue purging and moving into the Bighorn. We appreciate the encouragement and well wishes from those that follow our quest. So as always, I continue to work to retirement and it won't be long.
We were having a good time even with the rain that followed us there. It was a little cool for this time of year too. High on Friday was only 53 degrees. It made for some nice sleeping though since we had our fleece sheets and a warm comforter. Saturday was supposed to be better and it was but still not as much sun and warmth as we had hoped for. As we were getting ready to take a walk around the campground Saturday afternoon we got a call from a realtor that wanted to show the house. Finally some action. We didn't hear any more until we were parking the Bighorn at the storage lot this afternoon. It was our realtor and he said we had an offer. It, of course, was a low bid so we countered with a decent counter. They came back with something more reasonable but not in our range so we countered again. They came closer but not enough so we said here is our finally offer. Finally we got a call and they accepted our price but wanted us to pay the premium for a home warranty. It takes about $500 more out of our pocket but it's close enough.
We discussed it with our realtor and admittedly the home is 15 years old. We accepted the offer and will pay for the home warranty. Now we just have to wait for the person to get their financing and pass a home inspection and appraisal. The tentative closing is mid July. If all goes as we hope we should be moving into the Bighorn around the first of July and have a couple of months to get the rig ready for traveling and our full time life. Another chapter in the story of our transition. It feels good but still some unfinished business. I don't expect to be able to relax until after the closing. Now it's time to plan the garage sales and continue purging and moving into the Bighorn. We appreciate the encouragement and well wishes from those that follow our quest. So as always, I continue to work to retirement and it won't be long.
Monday, May 12, 2014
House is Listed
Well it's taken us a while but we finally contacted a realtor and listed the house last Friday. Of course with it being Mother's Day weekend there wasn't any activity. So now the waiting game begins. We feel we have it priced about right and hope we don't have to do much negotiating if someone decides to make an offer. Tomorrow the realtors from the local ReMax agency will come through on their realtor tour and get a better look at what we have to offer. Of course our family and friends think it will sell fast but it's still a nerve wracking feeling. We spend Mother's Day weekend at our local county park and enjoyed very nice weather. Getting more and more used to being In the rig and feeling like we live there. We continue to purge and add things from home to the new home. If you're interested in seeing some photos of what we are trading in the MLS number is 2141624. Please send some good vibes our way. We're ready to get on the road. So I'll continue to work toward retirement and the clock says it won't be long. P.S. - I'll update when we have some news.
Monday, May 5, 2014
House ready to sell....meeting fellow RV'ers
Ok, the last time I posted I mentioned that we should be ready to put the house on the market at the end of the month(April). Well we didn't quite make that timeline but we will be contacting a realtor this week. We have had difficulty getting contractors to call back and get some work done but we finally got the call backs and tomorrow all the contractor work will be finished. We still have a small area of the basement floor to paint and bring everything from the basement up to the garage. That will make it easier to organize as we get ready for garage sales once the house is sold. Everything is looking fresh and clean as we have painted and put finishing touches on décor. I'm finally feeling like some light at the end of the tunnel.
I had a nice comment from Debbie at Down the Road on a recent post and she and her husband, Steve, are at right about the same position we are toward full timing. Debbie and Steve are from California and the funniest thing is they are buying their truck from a Dodge dealer in Clinton, IL about 25 miles south of Normal, IL where we live. Debbie and Steve also contacted us through RVillage. It's a new RV specific social media where RV'ers can see where fellow RV'ers are camping and set up get togethers and join groups with like minded folks. RV-Dreams has a group within RVillage and a link to their forum. Anyway, I replied to Debbie's comment and saw that she was a blogger too. She mentioned that they were going to the spring RV-Dreams Rally in Sevierville, TN and then would be traveling up to Clinton to pick up their truck. They had booked a room in a local motel in Normal. As time got closer we conversed more and I found out the motel was about a mile and a half from our home.
We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and we waited to see how their progress was in getting to Normal. (Is anyone really normal?) HaHa. Well, they left the rally yesterday morning and made good time on their way here. I told them if they had not had supper we could meet at a local Mexican grill called Moe's. (Welcome to Moe's) They got into town around 7:30 and we drove to Moe's to meet them and had a nice meal and great conversation. The only problem was...Moe's closed at 9 pm. We could have talked for another 2 hours I'm sure. The conversation flowed and we had a great opportunity to compare notes on our progress and fun talking about our trucks and rigs and our feelings about full timing.
Debbie and Steve gave us some good information about the RV-Dreams rally since we will all be attending the fall rally in Goshen, IN in Sept. It really whet our appetite to attend this fall. This time they will have their 5th wheel with them and we will also be bringing ours. We hope that the house will sell quickly and we will be living in the Bighorn this summer. I'm so ready for a new lifestyle and meeting more new friends. Debbie and Steve have many of the same interests that we have and we hope to get together again in the future somewhere where we can do some kayaking, hiking and biking. I just know that there are so many more folks like them on the road. I love to follow the blogs of others that are going out there now or have been out on the road for some time. You are my inspiration and I continue to thank you for your comments and encouragement. Thank you Debbie and Steve for making the effort to meet yesterday. Thank you Howard and Linda Payne for all that you do on your website RV-Dreams and at your rallies. I wish you all could see the smile on my face right now as I type this post. I will continue to work toward retirement and it won't be long.
I had a nice comment from Debbie at Down the Road on a recent post and she and her husband, Steve, are at right about the same position we are toward full timing. Debbie and Steve are from California and the funniest thing is they are buying their truck from a Dodge dealer in Clinton, IL about 25 miles south of Normal, IL where we live. Debbie and Steve also contacted us through RVillage. It's a new RV specific social media where RV'ers can see where fellow RV'ers are camping and set up get togethers and join groups with like minded folks. RV-Dreams has a group within RVillage and a link to their forum. Anyway, I replied to Debbie's comment and saw that she was a blogger too. She mentioned that they were going to the spring RV-Dreams Rally in Sevierville, TN and then would be traveling up to Clinton to pick up their truck. They had booked a room in a local motel in Normal. As time got closer we conversed more and I found out the motel was about a mile and a half from our home.
We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and we waited to see how their progress was in getting to Normal. (Is anyone really normal?) HaHa. Well, they left the rally yesterday morning and made good time on their way here. I told them if they had not had supper we could meet at a local Mexican grill called Moe's. (Welcome to Moe's) They got into town around 7:30 and we drove to Moe's to meet them and had a nice meal and great conversation. The only problem was...Moe's closed at 9 pm. We could have talked for another 2 hours I'm sure. The conversation flowed and we had a great opportunity to compare notes on our progress and fun talking about our trucks and rigs and our feelings about full timing.
Debbie and Steve gave us some good information about the RV-Dreams rally since we will all be attending the fall rally in Goshen, IN in Sept. It really whet our appetite to attend this fall. This time they will have their 5th wheel with them and we will also be bringing ours. We hope that the house will sell quickly and we will be living in the Bighorn this summer. I'm so ready for a new lifestyle and meeting more new friends. Debbie and Steve have many of the same interests that we have and we hope to get together again in the future somewhere where we can do some kayaking, hiking and biking. I just know that there are so many more folks like them on the road. I love to follow the blogs of others that are going out there now or have been out on the road for some time. You are my inspiration and I continue to thank you for your comments and encouragement. Thank you Debbie and Steve for making the effort to meet yesterday. Thank you Howard and Linda Payne for all that you do on your website RV-Dreams and at your rallies. I wish you all could see the smile on my face right now as I type this post. I will continue to work toward retirement and it won't be long.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Spring has Sprung....and a Radio
We still had the itch to get out the Bighorn last week and because it was the opening weekend at our favorite campground...Bo Wood at Lake Shelbyville, I made a reservation for 3 nights beginning on Thursday evening. I had a meeting at work Thursday morning and as soon as it was over I took some personal time and we hitched up the Bighorn and headed south. I was a little worried about our route with the larger rig but we made it safe and sound. We reserved site #103 on the end of a row with no one on our awning side. It's a site that is out in the open and is good for this time of year when you want the sun to warm the rig up during the day. I checked us in and we got set up on our site. I really like the auto leveling system. It makes the process of getting level so much easier. Once we got the slides out and the utilities hooked up we had some supper. Glenda had made some chili that morning for us to have over the weekend. After everything was cleaned up we took a short walk around the loop. We noticed there were only a few rigs which was nice for some privacy.
We watched some TV and enjoyed the larger space to move around in. Once we headed to bed we were out like a light. Fresh air will do that to you.
Friday
We slept well in the bed and had out little heater on in the bedroom which was just enough to keep everything toasty along with our fleece sheets and comforter. Once we got up we had our oatmeal and I made some coffee and sat our under the awning with the warm sun on my clothing. I kept my face in the shade and with the cool breeze it felt wonderful. Glenda got her shower and then I got mine. I decided to do some organizing of the basement area and as I was moving some containers around I noticed that a vent on the side panel was loose. I got my screwdriver out and took both screws out. I then thought I would take the vent off and take a look behind the panel. You see the panel is on the side of the outdoor radio. As I mentioned in my last post how disappointed I was that the radio didn't work I thought it has to be something simple. I got the owners manual out and as I was looking at the diagram and looking at the back of the casing that the radio is housed in I noticed an opening in the back. I looked at the diagram again it said this was for the antenna connection. AHHHH...the antenna. I got my flashlight and looked through the vent opening and saw what looked like a radio antenna. I reached it and took hold and pulled the end out of the vent hole. I saw that it the the opposite end so I reached back in and followed the wire toward the other end and sure enough it was not connected to anything. I pushed the end through an opening next to the back of the radio where the other electrical connections went through and then took that and connected it to through the opening in the back of the radio housing. I got the radio faceplate and put that on the front, hit the power button and the channel search and YOU GUESSED IT. Folks we have MUSIC. Happy Days.
When the technician at the dealership had installed the hardwired EMS(surge protection) they must have unplugged the antenna when they opened up the panel to get to the main line. I knew it had to be something simple but how simple was that? I am now a happy camper. I replaced the vent cover and got it tightened down better and finished my organizing. My day and for that matter my weekend was complete. We took a couple walks around the campground and went into Sullivan for some supplies and I took the opportunity to wash the truck at the car wash next to the Shopko store.
It really needed a good going over. We enjoyed a nice afternoon and evening. We thought the weekend might have some rain chances but those disappeared and the weather man said the weekend would be warm and dry. That's why I washed the truck, of course. After supper we watched some TV and we had another restful nights sleep.
Saturday
We again did our routine of oatmeal and I had my coffee and sat out under the awning WITH THE MUSIC ON. It was a great morning. We took a walk around to the older part of the campground that is electric hook up only but has the best views of the lake. Like these.
After our walk Glenda wanted to play a few games of ladders so I set up the game and I don't know how I did it but I won every game. Usually Glenda is the big winner but with the way the weekend was going for me I guess it was just my time. An indirect reference to my friends Rick and Kathy from the blog, It's about Time. Anyway, I will take a win when I can get it. We took a drive into the town of Arthur, IL where there is a community of Amish folks and a nice store where we bought some peach salsa and some cookies. Once we got back to the site we relaxed in our loungers and enjoyed the unusually warm weekend. Temperatures had gotten up to around 75-79 degrees F. I grilled out some turkeyburgers and diced potatoes in foil packets. We got the dishes cleaned up and I went out to build a fire for our last night at the campground. It was a perfect night with little wind. Once the fire burned down we again went in for some TV. The electric heater didn't have to run as much that night.
Sunday
Well, the routine continued with oatmeal and coffee and sitting under the awning. We took short walk around part of the campground and I noticed I had definitely gotten some sun over the weekend on my arms and face. I should know better than to go out this early in the season without suntan lotion on. Anyway, we slowly began to put some things away for the trip home. We drove into Sullivan and got some diesel and a couple of sodas. We had some leftover chili for lunch and relaxed for a while in the loungers until we were forced to dump the tanks, batten down the hatches, hitch up and right at 3pm(check out time) we got on the road. We had a nice tail wind and I actually averaged 11.4 mpg. We got back to the storage lot and found someone had parked their truck in our space. I then improvised and parked my rig at the end of the row. I left a message with the owner and talked to him today. That won't happen again. We have a few more things to finish up with the house and hope to get it on the market by the end of the month. I'll keep you posted. So I continue to work toward MY retirement, and it won't be long.
We watched some TV and enjoyed the larger space to move around in. Once we headed to bed we were out like a light. Fresh air will do that to you.
Friday
We slept well in the bed and had out little heater on in the bedroom which was just enough to keep everything toasty along with our fleece sheets and comforter. Once we got up we had our oatmeal and I made some coffee and sat our under the awning with the warm sun on my clothing. I kept my face in the shade and with the cool breeze it felt wonderful. Glenda got her shower and then I got mine. I decided to do some organizing of the basement area and as I was moving some containers around I noticed that a vent on the side panel was loose. I got my screwdriver out and took both screws out. I then thought I would take the vent off and take a look behind the panel. You see the panel is on the side of the outdoor radio. As I mentioned in my last post how disappointed I was that the radio didn't work I thought it has to be something simple. I got the owners manual out and as I was looking at the diagram and looking at the back of the casing that the radio is housed in I noticed an opening in the back. I looked at the diagram again it said this was for the antenna connection. AHHHH...the antenna. I got my flashlight and looked through the vent opening and saw what looked like a radio antenna. I reached it and took hold and pulled the end out of the vent hole. I saw that it the the opposite end so I reached back in and followed the wire toward the other end and sure enough it was not connected to anything. I pushed the end through an opening next to the back of the radio where the other electrical connections went through and then took that and connected it to through the opening in the back of the radio housing. I got the radio faceplate and put that on the front, hit the power button and the channel search and YOU GUESSED IT. Folks we have MUSIC. Happy Days.
When the technician at the dealership had installed the hardwired EMS(surge protection) they must have unplugged the antenna when they opened up the panel to get to the main line. I knew it had to be something simple but how simple was that? I am now a happy camper. I replaced the vent cover and got it tightened down better and finished my organizing. My day and for that matter my weekend was complete. We took a couple walks around the campground and went into Sullivan for some supplies and I took the opportunity to wash the truck at the car wash next to the Shopko store.
It really needed a good going over. We enjoyed a nice afternoon and evening. We thought the weekend might have some rain chances but those disappeared and the weather man said the weekend would be warm and dry. That's why I washed the truck, of course. After supper we watched some TV and we had another restful nights sleep.
Saturday
We again did our routine of oatmeal and I had my coffee and sat out under the awning WITH THE MUSIC ON. It was a great morning. We took a walk around to the older part of the campground that is electric hook up only but has the best views of the lake. Like these.
After our walk Glenda wanted to play a few games of ladders so I set up the game and I don't know how I did it but I won every game. Usually Glenda is the big winner but with the way the weekend was going for me I guess it was just my time. An indirect reference to my friends Rick and Kathy from the blog, It's about Time. Anyway, I will take a win when I can get it. We took a drive into the town of Arthur, IL where there is a community of Amish folks and a nice store where we bought some peach salsa and some cookies. Once we got back to the site we relaxed in our loungers and enjoyed the unusually warm weekend. Temperatures had gotten up to around 75-79 degrees F. I grilled out some turkeyburgers and diced potatoes in foil packets. We got the dishes cleaned up and I went out to build a fire for our last night at the campground. It was a perfect night with little wind. Once the fire burned down we again went in for some TV. The electric heater didn't have to run as much that night.
Sunday
Well, the routine continued with oatmeal and coffee and sitting under the awning. We took short walk around part of the campground and I noticed I had definitely gotten some sun over the weekend on my arms and face. I should know better than to go out this early in the season without suntan lotion on. Anyway, we slowly began to put some things away for the trip home. We drove into Sullivan and got some diesel and a couple of sodas. We had some leftover chili for lunch and relaxed for a while in the loungers until we were forced to dump the tanks, batten down the hatches, hitch up and right at 3pm(check out time) we got on the road. We had a nice tail wind and I actually averaged 11.4 mpg. We got back to the storage lot and found someone had parked their truck in our space. I then improvised and parked my rig at the end of the row. I left a message with the owner and talked to him today. That won't happen again. We have a few more things to finish up with the house and hope to get it on the market by the end of the month. I'll keep you posted. So I continue to work toward MY retirement, and it won't be long.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Excitement and Disappointment
The day finally arrived...we picked up our Bighorn at the dealership in Elkhart, IN. We left on Thursday evening, April 3rd to stay at our daughters house so we could be ready for the walk through the next day. We got to the dealership and I felt like they had forgotten that we had the walk through scheduled that day. Our salesman was sick so he couldn't be there, we had to wait about 10 15 minutes for a Service tech to come and give us the walk through and they didn't have our rig inside like they were supposed to. The salesman said they would bring it in 3 days prior to get it ready. Didn't look like that happened since they hadn't even installed the TV's yet. I found out they had 2 other walk through's scheduled that morning and only one tech to do them all. Finally we got going with the walk through and I did remember to get our video camera to video what the tech was showing us. Things went pretty smoothly however since we were running long on the walk through I didn't go through every item to be sure it was functioning.
That's where the disappointment comes from. I will discuss that later. The excitement comes from finally taking possession of the rig and after they did fix a couple items that were not quite perfect I got a quick lesson on hitching and unhitching a 5th wheel. The service manager pulled the rig outside with the tractor they use to move the rigs around the lot with. I pulled our truck around the back and he lined the rig up with my truck and had me begin the process of backing up to the rig. Once I got fairly close he explained the method of opening the tailgate. Lining up the hitch and the kingpin and getting the height just right and then I backed it in with a nice solid THUD. The jaw secured itself around the kingpin and we heard the distinct sound when the jaw closes and the jaw arm is in the right position to insert the safety pin. We then looped the break away cord to the jaw arm and retracted the front jacks so the weight was now on the truck. I was surprised how even the dually squatted quite a bit. But it handled it well. The service manager showed me a little trick to be sure we don't drop the rig on the truck bed. He had me retract one front jack and then as the other came up I only raised it about 1 inch. I then got in the truck and pulled forward a couple feet. If it wasn't secure and it did drop it would land on the one jack and not all the way down onto the truck bed. We practiced with me doing all the steps a couple more times and then it was time to make our way on our own to the KOA in Granger, IN where we had made reservations for the weekend. The short trip was uneventful and we got a nice pull through site with easy access.
Once we were set up, I noticed that there was water coming out by the basement area and immediately turned off the water at the source. I tried to get the panel off by didn't have the right tool(square head screws) so we headed back to the dealership. Once we got there we found out they didn't put our license plate on the back of the rig. That's great. So I was talking to a service tech and said someone need to come to the KOA to fix my water leak because I didn't want to bring it back. The owner of the dealership happened to be near by and said that he lived near the KOA and would come out in a couple of hours and look at the problem. We went over to our daughter's house and picked up the grandkids to they could enjoy our new home and shortly later the owner called and said he as at the front gate. He had the proper tool and we opened up the panel where the water source was and he had me turn on the water again. Water squirted into his face and it was obvious where the leak was. Fortunately it was a loose connection. Shouldn't that have been treated before when prepping the rig? We tightened up the connection and he said he would be back the next day to be sure it was functioning correctly and put the panel back in place.
Well that night Brooklyne and Ryleigh stayed overnight and Caden, Brooklyne and Ryleigh spent the night on Saturday night. We had a nice campfire Saturday night and it really felt good to have some room to move around and a nice big 42" TV so the grandkids would have something to do in the evening. We were able to pick up a few local channels and we also rented a couple of movies to watch on the Blue Ray DVD player that came with the new rig. They really enjoyed that. The furnace worked great and the fireplace heater is wonderful too. The Bighorn comes with a Tempur pedic type of mattress and I must say it is very comfortable. Even the sofa bed is comfortable. (Grandkid approved) Sunday arrived and we slowly took our time in hitching up the rig ourselves for the first time. It went well and we took off. We found out very quickly that the Interstates are not very smooth. In fact in some areas they are down right terrible. On the way home I thought every nut and bolt was going to come loose. We did make it back safely and decided we would go directly up to our county park about 10 miles north of our town. Comlara Park had just opened a couple weeks before and we stopped at the office and asked for a pull through site. They had #7 available and it had 50 amp service and a nearby water source so we took it for the week. IT was great sleeping in our new home each evening even though I had to get up an extra 30 minutes early to get ready and drive into work which is at the other end of town. It was worth it.
Coming into the park on a Sunday is great since not too many people were there during the week. We pretty much had the area to ourselves. Glenda would sleep late and go into town and get a few things from home each day that we had decided on keeping on the rig once we retire. She is a great organizer and by the end of the week it really was beginning to feel like a home. We took walks each evening and saw geese, ducks and the typical wildlife in the area. I even had a deer sighting one early morning as I exited the park. We tried most everything on the rig to see how it worked and because we have a radio with outside speakers so we can listen to music while sitting in our loungers I placed the faceplate on the radio and turned it on. I pushed all the buttons to find a station and nothing but static. It wouldn't pick up a single station. I reset the radio and nothing. That's my disappointment. Shouldn't this sort of thing be tested when prepping a rig for someone to take home? A call will be made to the dealership on Monday. Not that it will do much good since I don't plan to take it back until September unless something major goes wrong before then. Is it possible that it's just a loose wire? Where is the antenna? There isn't one on the roof - I checked. WHY? Is it too much to ask that everything works on a NEW product? OK, enough of the disappointment. Here are some photos of the scenery we had and what the park looks like.
Well this afternoon we hitched up the Bighorn, dumped the tanks and took it to our storage lot at the south end of town. Just another aspect of disappointment. Now that we have the truck and the Bighorn it is so hard to have to leave it at a storage lot. But another exciting thing is we made a reservation at our favorite COE park at Lake Shelbyville called Bo Wood. It just so happens it is the opening weekend there and we have been there on the opening weekend the last 2 years and this will be 3 in a row. Now that I have my America the Beautiful Senior Pass we get a full hook up for $12/night. Ain't life grand. Now we are just a few weeks from listing the house and hoping for a quick sale. I've talked to the owner of a local campground and he is holding a site for us once the house sells that we can move onto for the summer.(That is if there is a quick sale) I get another day off tomorrow and back to work. The countdown clock keeps ticking away and I keep working toward retirement and it won't be long.
That's where the disappointment comes from. I will discuss that later. The excitement comes from finally taking possession of the rig and after they did fix a couple items that were not quite perfect I got a quick lesson on hitching and unhitching a 5th wheel. The service manager pulled the rig outside with the tractor they use to move the rigs around the lot with. I pulled our truck around the back and he lined the rig up with my truck and had me begin the process of backing up to the rig. Once I got fairly close he explained the method of opening the tailgate. Lining up the hitch and the kingpin and getting the height just right and then I backed it in with a nice solid THUD. The jaw secured itself around the kingpin and we heard the distinct sound when the jaw closes and the jaw arm is in the right position to insert the safety pin. We then looped the break away cord to the jaw arm and retracted the front jacks so the weight was now on the truck. I was surprised how even the dually squatted quite a bit. But it handled it well. The service manager showed me a little trick to be sure we don't drop the rig on the truck bed. He had me retract one front jack and then as the other came up I only raised it about 1 inch. I then got in the truck and pulled forward a couple feet. If it wasn't secure and it did drop it would land on the one jack and not all the way down onto the truck bed. We practiced with me doing all the steps a couple more times and then it was time to make our way on our own to the KOA in Granger, IN where we had made reservations for the weekend. The short trip was uneventful and we got a nice pull through site with easy access.
Once we were set up, I noticed that there was water coming out by the basement area and immediately turned off the water at the source. I tried to get the panel off by didn't have the right tool(square head screws) so we headed back to the dealership. Once we got there we found out they didn't put our license plate on the back of the rig. That's great. So I was talking to a service tech and said someone need to come to the KOA to fix my water leak because I didn't want to bring it back. The owner of the dealership happened to be near by and said that he lived near the KOA and would come out in a couple of hours and look at the problem. We went over to our daughter's house and picked up the grandkids to they could enjoy our new home and shortly later the owner called and said he as at the front gate. He had the proper tool and we opened up the panel where the water source was and he had me turn on the water again. Water squirted into his face and it was obvious where the leak was. Fortunately it was a loose connection. Shouldn't that have been treated before when prepping the rig? We tightened up the connection and he said he would be back the next day to be sure it was functioning correctly and put the panel back in place.
Well that night Brooklyne and Ryleigh stayed overnight and Caden, Brooklyne and Ryleigh spent the night on Saturday night. We had a nice campfire Saturday night and it really felt good to have some room to move around and a nice big 42" TV so the grandkids would have something to do in the evening. We were able to pick up a few local channels and we also rented a couple of movies to watch on the Blue Ray DVD player that came with the new rig. They really enjoyed that. The furnace worked great and the fireplace heater is wonderful too. The Bighorn comes with a Tempur pedic type of mattress and I must say it is very comfortable. Even the sofa bed is comfortable. (Grandkid approved) Sunday arrived and we slowly took our time in hitching up the rig ourselves for the first time. It went well and we took off. We found out very quickly that the Interstates are not very smooth. In fact in some areas they are down right terrible. On the way home I thought every nut and bolt was going to come loose. We did make it back safely and decided we would go directly up to our county park about 10 miles north of our town. Comlara Park had just opened a couple weeks before and we stopped at the office and asked for a pull through site. They had #7 available and it had 50 amp service and a nearby water source so we took it for the week. IT was great sleeping in our new home each evening even though I had to get up an extra 30 minutes early to get ready and drive into work which is at the other end of town. It was worth it.
Coming into the park on a Sunday is great since not too many people were there during the week. We pretty much had the area to ourselves. Glenda would sleep late and go into town and get a few things from home each day that we had decided on keeping on the rig once we retire. She is a great organizer and by the end of the week it really was beginning to feel like a home. We took walks each evening and saw geese, ducks and the typical wildlife in the area. I even had a deer sighting one early morning as I exited the park. We tried most everything on the rig to see how it worked and because we have a radio with outside speakers so we can listen to music while sitting in our loungers I placed the faceplate on the radio and turned it on. I pushed all the buttons to find a station and nothing but static. It wouldn't pick up a single station. I reset the radio and nothing. That's my disappointment. Shouldn't this sort of thing be tested when prepping a rig for someone to take home? A call will be made to the dealership on Monday. Not that it will do much good since I don't plan to take it back until September unless something major goes wrong before then. Is it possible that it's just a loose wire? Where is the antenna? There isn't one on the roof - I checked. WHY? Is it too much to ask that everything works on a NEW product? OK, enough of the disappointment. Here are some photos of the scenery we had and what the park looks like.
Well this afternoon we hitched up the Bighorn, dumped the tanks and took it to our storage lot at the south end of town. Just another aspect of disappointment. Now that we have the truck and the Bighorn it is so hard to have to leave it at a storage lot. But another exciting thing is we made a reservation at our favorite COE park at Lake Shelbyville called Bo Wood. It just so happens it is the opening weekend there and we have been there on the opening weekend the last 2 years and this will be 3 in a row. Now that I have my America the Beautiful Senior Pass we get a full hook up for $12/night. Ain't life grand. Now we are just a few weeks from listing the house and hoping for a quick sale. I've talked to the owner of a local campground and he is holding a site for us once the house sells that we can move onto for the summer.(That is if there is a quick sale) I get another day off tomorrow and back to work. The countdown clock keeps ticking away and I keep working toward retirement and it won't be long.
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