Delivery Day at last!

Five weeks ago I was driving a hybrid SUV, then I came across the orange VW camper that started the cavalcade of thoughts, ideas and action.

Four weeks ago I decided upon the Crossroads Z-1 travel trailer…

Three weeks ago I traded the aforementioned Hybrid car in for a GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 4 X 4 truck with a towing package.

And today I went in to pick my rig up. They installed the braking system, showed me how to hitch and un-hitch the trailer from the truck, demo’ed the rear view camera and sent me on my way.

Of course at the moment I was going to leave a gigantic truck pulled in with a huge RV for delivery. I gulped and said that I would give backing up, doing a jack-knife turn and see if I could get out of there.

I couldn’t, but luckily a service guy offered to do it for me and by barely a whisker he lined up the truck to go round the dealer to the other side exit. I pulled out on to the highway and headed to the nearby Walmart to pick up anti-freeze for my weekend no-water-allowed-because-the-RV-is-winterized.

Parking was a new world: it feels like the truck and RV are 100 feet long. I pulled in to double parking space, got out and saw half of the RV sticking out in to the parking lane. Then I decided to replicate the full trucks, found an abandoned section of the parking lot about a million miles from the door and parked.

Done shopping, I pulled out back on to the highway and began my 12 mile journey to the campground. It was an entirely new experience; the normal rev and speed of my truck was now replaced by strong, steady powerful torque. Going up a hill saw the RPMs rise, and the lower gear engage to supply the energy needed to pull that 4,100 pound mini-house behind me.

I pulled in to the RV campground and the proprietor took me on a golf cart to a space where I could just pull in and through. Back to the truck and rig I made my way there.

Lining up using the power pole as reference, and trying to avoid a nearby picnic table I parked. Checked the levels, pulled out the chock Lego-like support bricks and tried several times and variations to finally achieve a level set. Then I removed the portion bars and went to lift the hitch off the RV.

It went all the way up, but didn’t clear it, which meant I couldn’t pull my truck away. I asked a neighbor/fellow RVer and he couldn’t resolve it either. Since I had major unpacking to do and not planning to leave the park, I elected to save the fix for tomorrow and unload the truck.

It’s in the 40s so after hooking up the power, putting the items in the refrigerator I put on the heat furnace. It went on for a couple of minutes but then turned-off. Since everything else was running, I couldn’t figure out what the issue was. Then the ‘aha’ moment dawned on me, I went out and opened up a propane tank and voila, the heat has make my RV a cozy den this evening as I write this.

It feels good to but ideas in to reality, to not have to watch YouTubes but to be living the management of all the systems in this travel trailer, and carefully managing the water I pulled from the hose to use as needed. Got the Brita for the water I drink, and have the 7 gallon tub situated in the now-not-to-be-utilized shower tub.

The new mattress I bought is a massive improvement over the cardboard plank that came with the RV, and plan on piling on the blankets this evening. Tomorrow calls for rain, but that’s ok because I’m settling in to the new RV journey, it has begun, there are many things to learn and hopefully master and the experience is energizing and a new chapter of my life.

#rv