|
Guest
|
First post
Hi Everyone,
My first post. Well it has been a VERY long week. I have been scouting TMs for about a month, and felt the 2720 would be ideal, but also didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for our first RV. Found a 2000 2619 for $8K on this list, but thought Indiana was out of the question. Things fell together a week and a half ago when I found I had a business trip to Cleveland. So after talking to Don Hickman at Wetnight, talking to my boss about taking extra vacation days and driving to Cleveland, rather than flying and getting his OK, I called Don back and put down a deposit. It sounded like it was in great shape, and the deposit was refundable if it turned out to be significantly other than described.
I live in California, so this was a sizable travel adventure. But let me try to keep it short and sweet. After getting stuck on the side of US 80 over the Sierras (lost 7 hours with waiting, then driving 30 mph with chains on most of the way to Reno) my initial plan was to drive to Fernely, NV Friday night. I got to Fernely about 6 AM, so filled up with two mugs of awful coffee and breakfast and started eastward. As I went through Salt Lake City and up toward Park City, it started to snow, so I decided to skip lunch and just kept going so I wouldn't get stuck again. I finally pulled over in Cheyenne, WY checked in to a Super 8, had dinner, and was immediately asleep as my head hit the pillow.
I had a wakeup call at 7 AM and was on the road by 8:30, making it across a very windy Nebraska (tumbleweeds almost seem alive as they race you across the highway) and through Iowa, where tornado warnings abounded on the radio with warnings as to which counties were affected. Of course, I had no idea what county I was in..... But I made it through some pelting hail storms, incredible downpours where traffic almost came to a complete stop on the highway, and made it to Joliett, IL that night. This time a Motel 6. Got up in the morning, had only 400 miles to Cleveland, so went and got a Jiffy lube oil change before heading east.
Business meeting went fine, 2nd meeting cancelled, so I made it down to Terre Haught by 8 PM Tuesday, and out to Wetnight by 8:30 AM Wednesday.
Met a few of the REALLY nice folks at Wetnight, and start going through the TM. It was actually much nicer than I had expected. One thought I had just before I got to Cleveland was that I hadn't asked if the previous owners were smokers, and was kind of resigned to the fact that they probably were. I used the checklists from this site (thanx so much to all you TM contributors!!
I ended up knowing a lot about TMs from all the info I received. Everything checked out, and NO smokers!! They are sending me a new refrigerator locking knob once it comes in, and I need to get a shower curtain, but otherwise I'd say the TM is in excellent shape for a 2000. So then they hooked up the trailer electrical and the Tekonsha Prodigy I had purchased in California (they didn't stock it). Got it all hooked up, tested, leveled etc, and off I went. (The hitch I had with me was adjustable, but I had to invert it to get close to level and it dragged, so I ended up getting a new hitch adapter. And also a mirror extension. Back on the road by 5:30 PM a happy new TM owner, determined to get at least halfway through Kansas to avoid the latest major storm warnings for Thursday. (Especially since 27 people were killed the last time they had severe storm warnings). At about 4 AM, I finally pulled over at a rest stop and sacked out for about 4 hours. Woke up, drove a few more miles and stopped for breakfast, then headed west. Really a lovely day for most of it, with a goal of getting to Salt Lake City that evening. The drop into Salt Lake City was terrifying at night in heavy rain where just making out the lane markers was very difficult. I tried to latch on to big rigs to follow, and that worked for the most part. It stopped raining when I made it to Salt Lake City, so the GPS told me where the nearest KOA was, and I used the TM for the first time. Even though I'd never set it up completely by myself before, it was so easy to do. I had stopped at a WalMart in Wyoming to get a few things, like a hose, etc, so I just hooked up AC and water. Got the furnace fired up, hopped into the sleeping bag, turned on the DVD player, and promptly fell asleep. The next day it was also fairly easy to get ready to go, thanx again for the checklists. Only 700 miles to go, whooohooo. I ended up stopping in Reno for a quick visit and coffee with a friend, which almost got me in to trouble heading back over 80 where it started snowing. But it didn't stick, and the rain was tolerable. Home by 9:30. So about 5300 miles in 7 days, and now a happy TM owner. Sorry, I guess this was a little winded after all. Thanx so much, again, to all you TM'ers who provided so much valuable and useful information.
|
You deserve to be called a seasoned traveler and camper after all that.
Linear Mode
