The Shake Down Cruise

Last weekend we took our new RV out for its very first camping trip.  We knew we didn't want to be too far from home, in case things went wrong.  We also wanted to be in a familiar place.  We decided that Thunderbird Lake, which is also an Oklahoma State Park would be a great choice.  

As soon as I got home from work, Friday afternoon, we loaded our things into the truck and set off to get the RV from storage and then on to the lake.  We knew we would need to stop and purchase a torque wrench at Harbor Freight.  About 2 miles from home I realized that we had forgotten our bed pillows.  So, we decided a quick stop at Sam's Club would solve that issue.  

One thing we didn't not take into consideration is the terrible Norman traffic on Friday afternoon.  Alas, we finally were able to get to Harbor Freight to pick up the torque wrench and then we were on our way to the RV storage place.  

When we arrived at Floyd's RV, where our trailer is stored, the attendant told us that we had exactly 30 minutes to get hooked up and out.  Not a big deal.  

Since I tow a trailer daily, for work, I have a specific order of doing things when I hook up.  So, that all went very smoothly.  The only added thing with the RV is that we have to hook up the weight distribution anti-sway hitch.  That requires us to first hitch the trailer onto the truck, then raise the hitch up with the tongue jack so that the weight distribution bars can be attached to their saddles, on the tongue.  Then, we lower the hitch back down and raise the jack foot.  It is time consuming simply because we do not have an electric jack on the trailer tongue.  That is absolutely on our list of must haves.  That 550 lb tongue weight will flat wear you out!  

We were hooked up and rolling in under 10 minutes.  Thunderbird lake is about 30 minutes, drive time, from the RV storage lot.  Traffic wasn't too bad on HWY 9.  Soon, we were coming up on the Little River State Park, Clear Bay area of Lake Thunderbird.  

We drove through the park and decided to select a site in area #2.  These sites are referred to as unimproved sites. They have 30 amp electricity hookups as well as water.  No sewer hook up and the sites are not necessarily well defined, or level for that matter.  We decided on site #6 and I backed the trailer into the site and we began to hook up.  Yes, I'm a girl and yes, I can back a trailer!  But, that's another story, for another blog.  

We quickly determined that we didn't have nearly enough water hose to reach the spigot, which was roughly 60 feet away.  We also realized that we would need to level the trailer and didn't remember to pick up leveling blocks, or sections of lumber.  

We also had planned to go to the local grocery store for food items.  So, we hoped to find another water hose there, or at the very least get my brother, who lives about 7 or 8 miles away to bring us some hose.  We were in luck, as the grocery store had some pocket hoses and that got us through the night.  

The next morning my brother, his wife, and youngest son came by to see us.  We hung out with them for a bit and then left to go back to town to get more drinking water safe water hose as well as some leveling blocks.  

When we got back to the campsite, it was time to level the trailer.  So, we hooked onto the trailer with the truck and rolled it forward, placed the leveling blocks on the ground, then backed the trailer back onto them.  Viola!  The trailer was now level.  

Now, here's where it gets interesting.  Sadly, I wish I had a video of this part.  Because words will not do it any justice.  What I'm about to tell you is what we refer to as an adventure.  In our world, adventures are borderline disaster.  So, please keep that in mind as you read this!  

After the trailer was sufficiently leveled, we unhooked the truck, placing the jack foot on a nice thick piece of wood.   Notice, I didn't say anything about chocking the tires on the trailer.  That's because it never happened.  Well, as you can guess, the trailer rolled down off the leveling block, knocking the jack foot off the 6 inch tall piece of wood.  See what I mean about borderline disaster?  

Poor Marc was about freak smooth out, wondering how we were going to get the trailer hooked back up to the truck.  We extended the jack out as far as possible and it was still too low to hook onto the truck.  Our trailer has stabilizer jacks on the four corners.  However, they are not designed to hold the entire weight of the trailer.  I was pretty sure they could handle the weight of the front of the trailer long enough for us to get the jack repositioned, with that chunk of wood under it.  So, that's what we did.  Fortunately, it worked just fine and we were able to get the trailer hooked back up to the truck, pushed back onto the leveling blocks, tires chocked, and truck unhitched.  Lesson learned, make sure the tires are chocked before unhooking.  I thought Marc had chocked the tires, and he thought I had.  So, from now on we will make it a point to communicate better on this important matter.  

Later that evening, my brother, his wife and their youngest son came back for steaks on the grill and a nice camp fire.  

The next day we had to go home.  The wind was blowing really hard and so that made the trip back to the storage facility a little tricky.      

Our New RV

On April 24th we picked up our new Keystone Passport Elite Ultra lite travel trailer.  Some would say it's small.  But, we think it's perfect for us. We wanted something that we could easily tow with our Ford F150.  We also wanted a travel trailer that was well built and light weight.  This one fit the bill in every way.  

One of our requirements was regarding the bed and it's location in regards to walls.  Marc is 6'2" tall.  This fact narrowed our search some.  We quickly discovered that many of the ultra lite travel trailers feature a wall separating the bedroom from the living room area.  Many of them have very attractive entertainment centers on this wall including large flat screen TVs that can swivel to be viewed in either the bedroom or the living room.  We loved this concept.  Unfortunately, due to the close proximity of that wall to the end of the bed, which is about 2 inches, there was no way that Marc could comfortably sleep on the bed.  Those short queen size RV beds are not designed with tall people in mind.  

After looking at countless RVs we decided to go with the very first model we saw, a Keystone Passport Elite.  It is well made, with a welded aluminum structure on a standard steel chassis frame.  It has some high end features such as solid surface counter tops and a heated, sealed underbelly.  

When we arrived at Floyd's RVs, to pick up our new trailer, we were warmly greeted by our salesman, and the dealerships business manager.  Floyd's RV is the kind of place where everyone knows your name.  They are located just outside of the city and have been there since the 70's.  My dad used to do business with them when I was a kid.  He had a very large cab over slide in camper for his truck.  We had the best times in that camper.  But, I digress.  

Since we were having an weight distribution/sway control hitch installed, that was the first thing they did.  Let me tell you, that hitch system is worth it's weight in gold.  After towing the travel trailer in the Oklahoma 50 mph gusty wind, with the sway control hitch, I don't think I'd ever attempt to tow that trailer without it.  I'm experienced in trailer towing.  I tow a 14 cargo trailer, with a pet grooming conversion in it, on a daily basis.  I don't have a sway control hitch for that trailer.  And, the wind pushes it around.  It's smaller than the RV and I just can't imagine trying to tow any distance without it.  

Once the hitch was installed, and we were taught how it works, the next item on the agenda was to go through the operation of every aspect of our trailer starting from the outside.  The service technician was very knowledgeable about all the different components and even had some helpful tips for us.   

Marc was learning about proper bathroom operation and black tank maintenance in this photo.  

   
It turns out that the refrigerator in our RV is cooled with Helium.  The old style used ammonia as a coolant.  Those can be dangerous if they develop a leak.  Helium is much safer and has been found to be very efficient.  This fridge seems to have a lot of storage space and I was happy to see that there are veggie and meat storage bins.  There is also a nice size freezer above the fridge.  

After we learned about the operation of our new RV we picked out a parking space in the storage lot.  $30 per month for safe, secure RV storage is much less than most of the storage lots closer in the city.  All around, we felt like it was a great deal.  Once that was all settled, we were ready to hit the road and bring our new toy home.  

After a brief adjustment of the trailer brakes, we were on our way.  We decided to stop at Rudy's BBQ in Norman, just off Highway 9.  If you've never tired the brisket at Rudy's, I suggest you do so!  I took the photo below while we were sitting inside eating.  

Once we arrived at home we decided to park the new trailer in the driveway, rather than the street.  It's a little crowded since I also park my pet grooming trailer in the driveway.  Thankfully, we have a 3 car garage and an extra wide drive.  

Once everything was parked and unhooked we rolled out the slide and just sat in the trailer enjoying that "new RV" smell!  

Marc enjoying the new RV smell

 As you can see, there is no wall at the end of the bed.  The counters are solid surface material, similar to Corian.  It's not visible from this photo, however, the sink is stainless steel and the facet has a pull out sprayer head.  Very nice.  Above the stove is a small microwave oven.  At the far end of the counter is a bar.  There are actually 2 bar stools, which are stored under the bed.   

The TV is a 32 inch LED and it's mounted on a bracket that can swivel for viewing from virtually anywhere in the RV, with maybe the exception being the bathroom.  

Our hope is that we can train our kitties, Miley and Lenny, to enjoy camping.  This may be difficult at first. They were very skeptical about coming out to see it.  In the photo below Miley is keeping an eye on the AC unit in the ceiling.  

Lenny, in the photo below, searched and searched for a place to hide.  He wasn't able to find a hiding place, so he settled on the small shelf next to the bed.  

We can't wait to be able to take our new trailer out on the road.  We had hoped to be able to take it out this weekend.  However, the weather experts in Oklahoma had predicted some very severe weather.  So, we elected to just spend some time loading items into the trailer and making check lists.  

Late Saturday afternoon we took the trailer back over to the storage lot and tucked her away, safely, in her spot.

Weekend Adventures in Florida

A couple weeks ago I created a blog on another site.  I had no idea how unstable that other site was.  However, I am no unable to access it from any of my computers.  So, here I am starting over. Actually, I'm just picking up from where I left off.  Hopefully, at some point, I'll be able to access the old site and move those posts over here.

On April 12 we made the decision to purchase Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Elite travel trailer.  We couldn't be more excited about it.  However, we had planned a trip to Florida to help our good friends with their very large sail boat.  So, we knew we'd have to wait to take delivery of the new RV.

Marc flew to Florida on April 13 and I stayed home until April 19.  The trip out to Florida was very short notice and there was just no way I would be able to reschedule a weeks worth of work with that little time.

The trip out to Florida was not nearly long enough.  Our friends were moving their boat at Fishermans Village in Punta Gorda, FL.  I flew into Ft. Myers and Cindy came to the airport to get me.  With the help of facebook mobile chat, I was able to walk right out of the airport while she rolled up to a stop so I could hop in.  Flawless, perfect timing!

When we arrived at the marina Marc and Robert were just coming in from their trip over from the place where the boat was previously stored on dry land.  The wind was whipping that big boat around and they both seemed stressed.  Robert was not about to attempt to run up the sails in the gusty wind. So, they were motoring her in.  This boat is nothing short of HUGE!

It took some fancy maneuvering to get her safely in the slip the Harbor Master had assigned.  The process took a lot of time and a few different tries, but finally, with the help of the Harbor Master and one of his assistants they were able to get her in the slip and tied down.  Marc has no experience with large sail boats.  But, he did great at getting the appropriate ropes out to the guys on the dock to get the boat secured.  All this was despite his back hurting from trying to manhandle the 22 ton boat through a lock system on the canal out of the land storage place.  

After the boat was secured, we all agreed that food and beverages were in order.  Harpoon Harry's is located in the mall at Fishermen's Village.  Besides offering great views of the marina, they have great food and even better drinks.  

After a few drinks and some excellent food, all the stresses of the day were soon forgotten.  

The next morning we decided to make a trip to Key Largo.  Only a short 5 hour drive away.  The drive was actually very low stress and the time in the truck just seemed to fly by.  Before we knew it we were on the Over Seas Highway and as we rolled into Key Largo the skies cleared and the sun was as brilliant as ever.  We stopped at Shell World to see what they had to offer. It turns out that they have some really cool touristy items for sale and a huge Tshirt selection.  

Since this trip was all about spontaneous, uninhibited, wanderings, we had no plans on where we would stay for the night.  The first place we stopped at had a friendly squirrel who greeted us on the path to the office.  The little squirrel just came right up to us.  We later learned that it is friendly and they keep plenty of peanuts on hand for her.  Very cute.  Unfortunately, they had a room for us, but because we had pets with us they had to turn us away.  We were sad, as the grounds were absolutely beautiful.  

The next hotel we found was really nice.  It's situated on a canal with big beautiful sail boats, as well as motor yachts lining all the dock space.  Big beautiful palm trees, blue skies, calm waters with pelicans floating, scuba dive boats coming and going.  It was a perfect place.  We spent the evening floating around in the pool and then later had dinner at another lovely place called Sundowners.  

Sundowners has dockside seating and there are huge tarpons swimming right by the deck.  They have great seafood and even have a dedicated gluten free menu.  The table next too us brought in fish that they had caught that day.  The chef was happy to fry it up for them to a crispy golden brown.  I had grilled grouper and it was seriously the best tasting fish I have ever eaten.  Any one who knows me knows that I'm not normally a fan of fish.  I usually try to eat some fish when I'm on an island vacation.  I'm glad I took the chance on the grouper, because it was amazing!  

The next morning we decided to explore the area some and do some geocaching.  If you don't know what geocaching is you're missing out on a lot of free fun.  If you have a smart phone, then you have everything you need to get started.  Download the Geocaching app to your phone and then use the search or geocaches in your area function.  I guarantee that there are caches very near you.  You can read more about this fun hobby at  http://www.geocaching.com/.  It's fun for any age.  

We found a very trick geocache near the Amoray Dive Resort.  Just walking around the small resort made us want to stay another day.  

Soon, it was time to leave Key Largo and make our way back to Punta Gorda.  However, first we had a short stop to make in Ft. Lauderdale.  

Robert and Cindy were in the market to purchase a replacement dinghy for the sail boat and a consignment boat and yacht store had one.  As we exited the highway we noticed the huge mega yachts lining the canals and in the ship yards.  We arrived at the consignment store and the dinghy they had was perfect.  

After some brief negotiations it was determined that it would be making the trip to the West side of Florida with us on a borrowed boat trailer that the consignment shop just happened to have on hand. At first glance, this boat trailer seemed okay.  However, it didn't have working lights and the tires were low.  It was also not licensed for use in Florida.  However, Roberts truck has Oklahoma license plates and in the state of Oklahoma boat trailers are not required to be licensed.  So, off we went with the borrowed, unlicensed trailer, with no lights.  As we exited the highway, 160 miles later, we noticed that the trailer wasn't quite right.  After a brief inspection it appeared that the lugs were not tight, and one lug was missing on the left side tire.  This could have been a disaster.  Alas, we made it back to Robert & Cindy's RV safely.  The next day, after Marc and I left Florida, Robert and Cindy had even more adventures with the boat trailer as the wheel basically fell apart and the hub was ruined.  So much for the no cost borrowed boat trailer.  But, all's well that ends well.  No one was hurt and like I always say, "these things suck when they're happening.  But, they will make great stories later on!"