Preparing to Depart

We have spent a lot of time on our itinerary and getting reservations at RV parks.  You can see how well Terri did in using Google Maps to document each driving day in our blog below (distance and times for each leg), but she has also prepared a 3 ring binder with all the routes and RV park and National Park info.  It is broken up into weeks so it is easier to find what we are looking for.

We also bought a National Parks Passport binder to get dated stamps at each park we stop at.  We bought a complete set of yearly stamps and they are in the binder waiting their visit.  The Garmin has been updated with all the newest rest area locations, Walmart Stores,  and more.  The iPhones are up to date and have links to find diesel gas stations.

I finished installing Steady Fast RV stabilizer bars on our Montana 3400RL 5th wheel.  They are used when parked, and are supposed to stiffen up the front landing gear and rear stabilizer scissor jacks.  We are looking forward to seeing how well they perform in windy conditions and in minimizing vibrations as we walk around in the RV.

We got the oil and filter changed in the GMC Sierra.  12 quarts!  Did not change the fuel filter as it still has 30% life in it and is fairly easy to take care of when travelling if necessary.  We also had them replace the front end parts that appeared to be loose and worn.  Upper and lower ball joints, idler arm, pitman arms, tie rod.  Terri had complained about the play in the steering (178K miles on parts that should be good "indefinitely" with proper care), but it is much better now.  The muffler had a broken clamp that had to be welded back on, and the rear air bag on the driver's side had a broken bracket that had to be repaired.  We removed the Back Flip cover over the truck bed as it will be open most of the time anyway due to pulling the RV.  Only 4 knobs to undo and it lifts off.  Nice.

When we travel with dogs, they both stay in a metal cage in the rear seat.  The stiff suspension of the truck makes the cage rattle and squeek. I came up with a simple way to get rid of most of the rattles.  I hooked a bungee cord to one side and up over the top and down the other side.  That takes out almost all the rattles, but leaves the squeeks as the doors slide against the sides.  I think I have a solution for that too.  I have some 1/2" foam insulation cord that I slit half way through.  I used zip ties to attach it to specific points between the doors and sides where there was rubbing.  Seemed to make a big difference with only the 1st two so I will continue with more.  The dogs are groomed and will get a bath (Annie's 1st full bath in her 4 year life.)

We plan to get a vinyl sticker at each park to display on the RV exterior somewhere.  Kind of like bragging about where we have been.  Most RVers have been to many more places than we will have been on this trip, but you have to start somewhere.  There are also vinyl US maps (like in the top right of our blog) that allow you to add states as you camp in them.  (There is some argument about the "proper" use of this in RV circles.  Some mark off the state if they drive through it.  Some only if they camp in it.  Some only if they both camp and have a destination in it where they spend more than just an overnight stay.  We choose "camped".)  The old style of these had solid colors for each state.  The only ones we can find now use an icon that represents each state, mostly from what is on the license plate for the state.  We prefer the older style, but will compromise on the new style if we don't run across one on our travels.

Right now our dining room table is getting filled up with things we are gathering to take.  We plan to pick up the RV tonight and park it in front of our house to plug it in and chill the refigerator and load it up.  We decided to leave Friday afternoon (before rush hour) and get 5 hours driving in instead of having a very long drive on Saturday.

It snowed in Glacier this week and will probably hit 100 degrees in Palo Duro Canyon, so we have to pack a wide variety of clothing and coats.  All the laundry is done, so it should really come down to take the clothes we want on hangers from our closets and just rehang them in the RV.  Nice to have lots of room!  Lots of lists of things to turn off in the house and people to notify about things.  Our son David has agreed to come by the house and water plants and check on things.

The excitement builds.

Tom