February 1....Retired!
February 5...Hit the road from Massachusetts to SanFrancisco
This is just a quick bullet pointbreview of my trip so far...The GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY
I left Mohegan Sun Casino in CT after watching the Patriots lose to the Eagles...UGH!
Uneventful travel to Harrisburg PA. I joined the Pilot/FlyingJ PLUS club and stayed at P/FJ truck stops until Dallas. Discount on Diesel, easy in and out. Great RV parking. Great APP on your phone to find P/FJ with RV parking.
Second night, Memphis P/FJ. Trailer is still not dewinterized so eating in restaurants and using restrooms there. Cold nights and the trailers furnace is very loud turning on every 20 minutes. Stopped at Campers World and bought a Olympian WAVE 6 catalytic heater. They didn't have and accessories to actually use it so next stop was Cabelas and found Heater Buddy parts that would let me hook it to a 20g propane tank. Off to Lowes to purchase 20# propane tank on sale for $15! Love the WAVE 6. One of the best things I've added to the camping experience in years!
Third night...Texarkana AR.....Once again, P/FJ...Sleep/Eat/Drive
Fourth/Fifth night...Lavonia Lake army corp of engineers campground just north of Dallas. Excellent place to camp near dallas. Stayed two nights so I could dewinterize camper and get ready for more leisure travel.
Sixth / Seventh night...KOA in Abiline TX. Wanted to spend some time in Abiline area. The "Fromtier Texas" museum is an absolute must visit. Easily the best representation of the history of texas during the Indian wars and the Buffalo harvest. Amazing!
Eighth night....Van Horn TX...P/FJ...Sleep, eat, drive....Now that the camper is dewinterized I'm easting and showering in camper..Nice!
Tenth through 17th night....Hidden Valley Ranch RV Park, Deming NM...Visiting friends that winter here. Quail Hunting, target shooting, exploring. Great park and crazy inexpensive. Seven nights with WiFi was only $88! Drove back to ElPaso to pick up my wife to join me for 12 days (she's still working)
18th to 28th night....Ben Avery Shooting Facility north of Phoenix. My wife and I shoot Cowboy Action and the largest shoot in the world is hosted here. Over 800 shooters and hundreds of spectators. Great time. The RV facilities at the range are first class. FHU at many sites if you reserve early enough. Love it here! Karen flys home from Phoenix and I stay an extra day to install and Easy Start on a friend camper
http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/micro-air-easy-start-rv-ac.html 29th to 32nd night....Off to Quartzsite...Always wanted to experience this whole scene. Camping for free at Hi Jolly 14 day area. Very easy, pull in, sign up with very friendly host, find a spot, set up, camp! Tons and tons of room. HUGE area and this is just one of many free camping sites. Great fun going through the fea markets and then a trip to Parker and across the Colorado River to CA.
Today I head to Anza Borrego desert for more boondocking....
Observations....
Desert Camping is very inexpensive but DUSTY!
Love the CAT Heater. Quiet, sips propane, even heat, no dust blowing around
My solar is working fantastic. Nothing like southern sun! Have not touched generator yet. Running Kureg, making toast, TV and hotspots on every night for hours, charging cell phones, digital cameras, laptops etc...two group 31 AGM batteries are back to 100% by 1PM.....Only time I needed to plug into shore power was for wife's hair dryer.
The BD Diesel exhaust brake I installed on my truck last year is fantastic. A few mountain roads from Prescott AZ to Yarnell AZ really gave it a test. Can't imagine what my brakes would be like without it! The road was so steep and winding that my Garmin RV GPS would not route me over it. It decided heading through two track dirt roads would be safer. After being lost on dirt roads for a couple hours I exited at the Bill Ruger Ranch and found my way back to Rt 89. Adventurous day to say the least!
So far, have had great cell service everywhere. Either AT&T or T-Mobile hotspots have worked great . In Deming I needed to use my 16' Painters Pole with a Yagi antenna hooked up to my WeBoost cell booster to get over the mountains...But I had DirecTV Now! Otherwise just the HotSpot or the WeBoost with its little mag mount antenna have given me full service everywhere.
My truck has Air Bags and a leak developed during the trip. Truck really doesn't need them with this trailer, but it is sooo much better with 40 pounds of air in them. The leak required that I inflate with onboard compressor every 15 to twenty minutes. Yesterday I put on my Big Boy pants and decided to find the leak. Got some cardboard so I could get under the truck. Inflated to 70 pounds so I could hear the leak.....Got lucky, leak was in tubing that ran under the drivers side door sill. Easy fix with some "Rescue Tape" (BTW, Rescue Tape is a sometimes trip saver...Get Some!)
So, that's the trio so far....
After Borrego I'm off to Malibu to visit daughter and family and then to San Jose area to visit son and family. Not sure where I'll go after that. Need to be in Missouri the third week of March and home by April 1 to deal with the Tax man.....
Safe Travels!
You can read all about the tons of modifications I've done to the truck and trailer here:
http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects
RoyB
Dartmouth, MA
2021 RAM 2500 4X4 6.4L
2011 Forest River Grey Wolf Cherokee 19RR
520 w solar-200ah Renogy Li-Epever MPPT
