Ready to hit the road....

We ended up staying in Edgewood, NM for a few extra days to help a little with dad's packing. With the extra time that we stayed at dad's, I have been able to finish everything that needed to be done in the motor home. Everything is stowed, stored, Velcro"ed" (see previous post) and in it's place.

The maps came out the other night and we have our route planned. Everyone keep asking if I have a GPS. No... I don't. I have a really good sense of direction, and I can read maps really well. We plan out routes ahead of time and research on the computer if necessary. I may eventually get a GPS, but not at this time. My thoughts on that??? People depend on them too much, and they should know basic skills on how to get around WITHOUT a GPS.

One thing I did before heading out was to do basic maintenance on the vehicles. The car (which we will be towing) had an oil change. The tires were checked and rotated, fluids checked and topped off. The motor home had an oil change. It also had a coolant flush and a new thermostat installed. We recently had all new tires put on, and an alignment done.

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Don and the guys at East Mountain Auto and RV here in Edgewood, NM. They installed the Blue Ox tow plate on my car, and helped me get the tow bar onto the Motor home. We went over everything step-by-step so I could do it on my own... towing a car is all new to me. Last trip I towed a trailer, not a car! It will take getting used to, but I know I can handle it.

Stay tuned... the next blog should be from the road!

And we have more storage....

I mentioned in a previous post that we were going to get a car top carrier for extra storage. Well, we purchased one from Amazon.com. We had to get the mounting bars to put it on car, because "The Box" doesn't have a luggage rack. We also got extra straps to secure it on.

Kent put it together for me (in the living room). It was rather funny... he had to climb INTO the carrier to connect the hinges on the inside. I wish I had been able to get photos of THAT to put here! After it was all together, he connected it to the mounting bars. We took it out and put it on the roof of "The Box". We then tried to connect the straps to the door frame. The straps have metal hooks that connect to the ledge of the door. Guess what??? It doesn't HAVE a ledge!

So... we have put the extra straps to use, securing the bars onto the car. It worked out well except for one slight issue... the straps weren't long enough to secure without going across the roof of the car. The straps, when stretched across the roof, vibrate nicely when driving down the road. The vibration creates a VERY loud humming noise, which is then AMPLIFIED by the body of the car!!

We now need to purchase more straps (longer ones) that can secure the mounting bars by doubling back and not having to stretch across the roof. This should eliminate the lovely strap music and allow me to once again hear my radio.

Making my lists...

Well, our entire household has been packed up and is on a truck heading to Delaware.

I love lists... I think it has something to do with my personality (I am a virgo and can be JUST a little bit of a perfectionist). Lists keep me sane. Does anyone else make lists? I make shopping lists, to do lists, to remember lists, to call lists, for my honey to do lists, and lists of my lists!


So, here is my list of big things to complete in the next few days...

1. Connect the Blue-Ox Tow Bar to the RV.

2. Have Tow-Plate installed on car, so it can be towed.

2. Put car top carrier together and put on top of car. - As mentioned in items 1 and 2, this trip we are pulling the car behind the motorhome. I thought I would take advantage of the extra space and get a carrier. Right now the plan is storage for heavier clothes, extra home-school supplies, and things not being used on a daily basis.

3. Sort things in house that need to go IN the car top carrier. - We have WAY too much stuff to go in the motorhome. Time to sort and do another organizing purge.

4. Replace broken windshield on car. - Although I am sure it will get broken again being towed behind the RV, I need to replace it. I have had chips on my windshield for over a year now. I promised myself I would replace the windshield as soon as those chips (that turned into cracks) met in the middle... and they have. It's time.

5. Mount Bicycle rack to the car. - Yes, the bikes are coming with us.

6. Mount footlocker/storage box to the bumper - With two kids, a place is needed to store things like baseballs, balls, outside toys, etc... We are trying to utilize as much storage outside the RV as possible.

7. Renew registrations for both car and motorhome.

8. Get oil change on motorhome.

9. Replace windshield wipers on motorhome.


There is a lot more to do with the house and inside the motorhome, but these are the major things that need to get done before we head out on the road!