Well back home now, it was a great shake down for us newbies first trip in a motorhome. Everyone's advice was right on. Thank you. Cades Cove, the grandkids like to sleep in so around 5am I unhooked from the campsite and headed for the Cove. I went in at Townsend on 321 and stopped at a pull off on Laurel Creek road and woke everyone up . I was surprised they slept thru the drive. We all enjoyed our breakfast by the creek with the sound of the water. I also discovered this is why I wanted a class c. So nice to pick your view. We finally got to see some bears in the Cove, And as some others stated the low hanging limbs are a problem. We went real early and the traffic was low so no backups. Our next challenge was Clingmans Dome. So off to Laurel Creek road, stopped at the Sinks then Little River Gorge road to Sugarlands Visitor center. that was the hardest drive with the outcroppings and the tight turns. We took 441 Newfound Gap road from Sugarlands to Clingmans Dome road. A few switchbacks and tight turns as we worked our way up to the higher elevations. The parking is almost impossible and very congested. Patience is the key lots of people leaving and arriving. We circled twice but found a spot you do have to get creative. We did feel out of place being the only RV up there. We drove thru Gatlinburg about 5 times. No issues but a lot of traffic we parked at the Welcome center and the took a trolley. Big mistake. Almost a hour and a half. While on the trolley I noticed a place that had rv parking about 2/10ths of a mile from the action. Go figure oh well next time. So what did I learn as a newbie.
1: Campgrounds are ok but some spots are just to close for me. Don't get me wrong I like people. And we met some great people.
2: In the future I will pick spots that have stay limits to avoid the homesteaders. Not that they are bad or anything. And once again we met some great people.
3.New motorhomes are great but not put together very well, make sure you check them over good and I found its better to just fix the minor stuff yourself and avoid the dealers. Even if its warranty work. I had a weld break on a tail pipe guard. And after inspecting I removed the clamps at a rest stop and the welds were horrible so when I got home I cleaned them up at rewelded the shield. Also I found on the dinette set all the screws missed the backing studs. I installed a new backer. Also they wanted extra to install the GPS on my Jenson radio I found the antenna kit taped to the back of the radio unit. So I installed it myself it comes with the radio, they just up charge you to install it.
Over all it was a great week.
2019 Freelander 27qb over a Chevy 4500 chassis
