We got started about 0830, and had gorgeous travel weather. It is really nice being in the RV, as we can make a meal at any time, and have on-board “facilities” that prevent us from having to take long stops anywhere while motoring down the road. Terri mentioned that it is really eye-opening to be the “big rig” going down the road. It really reminds you of all the lame brained maneuvers we have made over the years when in the car, namely pulling right in front of a big vehicle and slowing down…we go down the road at about 32,000 pounds and we are being “pushed” by a 5,600 pound toad. Even though we have air brakes, it takes a while to stop. Why did we think it was OK to do that to semi’s, etc in the past….all perspective I guess, but I certainly have changed my driving habits when sharing the road with other large vehicles whether in the RV or not.
We made it to Paducah and the Duck Creek RV park about 5 PM. Is case you are wondering where this park is, it is located right between Possum Trot and Monkey’s Eyebrow…now you know! Rate was $30 per night for a full hook up pull through with our Good Sam discount. We were right next to a county road and across the street was a field full of beef cattle. Was nice to wake up to a familiar smell of old, and the sound of the cattle. We were surprised with a face time call from our two-year old grand son early in the morning, knowing we would be seeing him later in the day.
I will be posting some new pages soon…one will be Tech Tips, essentially lessons learned, and there are many already. Another will be “Dumb Ron” which will highlight some of the more comical mistakes I have made. I expect this to be quite active as well. We also plan to provide a full-time RV finance page at some point in time to give you an idea of what it takes to live full-time on the road. There are many very good resources on the WWW dealing specifically with this subject, and all other things relating to the full-time lifestyle, and we will post those links as well once we get permission to do so. Until we get those pages up, here are a couple of items for your perusal:
Tech Tip #1. The internet is a great resource to find out how to fix things. Terri’s seat belt would not retract, and she was able to find the brand and suggested fixes on-line. Here is the technical explanation of the fix in her words: “I pulled the guide thing off, gave it a good tug with leverage (my foot), fixed!” The forum said that this will sometimes happen with the seat reclined. The seats are quite large…see below:
The troublesome seat belt
Tech Tip #2. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE THE SLIDE OUT IS!! I had noticed earlier in the day that the Coach had developed a drip of oil from what I believe to be is the oil pan. Terri was making a run to the grocery store, so a perfect time for me to get greasy. I took my tools and crawled under the coach and snugged up all of the oil pan bolts…about 36 or so…I think, well, maybe not quite that many, but a lot. Here is the Dumb Ron part…after you wiggle out from under the Coach, make sure you look up before you stand! I flipped onto my stomach and stood bolt upright, and made an awesome connection with the corner of the rear slide. Hopefully this is something that was a one time event:
Hard slide, not so hard head.
Tech Tip #3. No matter how great service guys are, you can trust, but you should verify! As mentioned above, Terri went to the grocery store. When we had the SMI Air Force One Supplemental Braking System installed on the truck, and inquired about any difference when un-hooked from the Coach when you have adjustable brake pedals in your Toad (TOAD: Also referred to as Towed…the thing you pull behind your Coach). Some background…SMI is a manufacturer of supplemental braking systems for TOADS. Since our Coach has air brakes, this device utilizes the Coach brake system to activate the brakes in the truck (Toad). I had read on a blog somewhere that this system is great, but watch out if you have adjustable pedals. The guy that installed the system said it would not matter. When Terri left for the store, she hit her pre-positioned button, which moved her seat, mirror…and brake pedal. She called me shortly after I smacked my head and said the truck would not move real well…oh oh. Yep…the brakes were on going down the road. She asked me to come her way as she just was just down the road a bit. Her definition of bit is different from mine. After walking about 3/4 of a mile, I found her in a local bar parking lot, and she had figured out what the issue was by the time I got there. Lesson learned: If you install one of these baby’s (which work great by the way) make sure you have your brake pedal at the position under which it was installed when you unhook and take the Toad out for a spin.
ronandterrirvlife 