Paititi TT

[Balos]

My husband Mike and I are scheduled to begin our trial trip tomorrow, but we are already slipping. 

Our old Range Rover, which is our tow vehicle, front air shocks are going fast and were supposed to be replaced two weeks ago, but the dealer still hasn't successfully received the parts.   And once that is done, we will need to get the trailer brake controller installed by a different shop.  As we keep thinking the RR is going to the dealer tomorrow, we keep waiting one more day to make the appointment for the controller. so this could slip us out pretty far if we are unlucky. 

But as Don, our salesman at Apache Trailer says, "if it was easy, everybody would be doing it!"  We were supposed to pick up the trailer yesterday, but the RR wouldn't make it, it put us in EMERGENCY 30 MILES AN HOUR mode on the highway twice and the ride was so bad that we both got pretty car sick really quickly.    But the trailer should be all ready and inspected and licensed, and just waiting for us.  We are going to go inspect it tomorrow just to be sure that it isn't all torn apart or some other obvious surprise that we have to light a fire about.   

We are in Seattle supposed to be in Miami on Christmas Eve.  Bing Maps say it is 60 hours straight driving, so we figure ten days at a pretty good clip.  This is already not he educational slow trip we were planning, so we have changed our plans to research where we want to stop on the way back.  At first we were going to return a totally different route, but now I think we will keep very south and just really do  I-10.  As I said in my introduction, I really hope this means stopping by the RTR either direction, but we will see.  I really want to, but no promises. 

Thankfully, I am done with all the security and danger planning and can just focus on the more fun parts of the journey, namely the STUFF!!!  NEW STUFF!!  How awesome is that, even though this lifestyle is really the opposite of stuff obsession, we do seem to spend a lot of time thinking about stuff.  Still, I love an elegant solution to a problem and there are a lot of clever ideas and a whole new world to figure out, and that is a blast.  I worry that the affiliate income angle is just so sweet that it keeps us focused on stuff, but I'm not one to judge and I know nothing beside that.  I saw a documentary once that talked about choosing our specific stuff is one of the ways we exercise our creative outlets and flush out our identities, so from that point of view an early focus on stuff seems very logical.  Maybe that is why the old timers start talking about minimalism, they have worked through all of that and are ready to move on, something the landed rarely manage. 

Mike and I are both stressed trying to get everything ready and it is taking a toll on all of us, even the dogs get a little crazy when we are both crazy.   But our biggest problem is that we are both extremely comfortable at the bottom of this very, very deep pit that we've buried ourselves in and climbing out of the pit is not going to be easy for either one of us.   This trip is a little shock therapy, it doesn't matter what really happens, because we will be out of the pit.  Even if we decided to climb back down into it and recovery in comfort for a while after this trip, that's ok.  The escape will have happened and we will have grown and learned from the experience.  I don't want to ask more from either of us and I'm proud of us for doing this much. 

Larger questions I want answered on the road:
1.  Would I like to do this full time?  Would Mike? 
2.  Would I like to do this by myself or with an organized group or something if Mike doesn't like it but I love it? 
3.  If the answers to either of the above are a 'yes', what is the best rig/mode/etc for how we like to do things?
4.  Who are "our people"?  Do they exist? 
5.  How do I reconcile my selfish desires to spend all my time playing with my belief that a life of service makes one the happiest?  If I am to be judged by my actions here, it would be a "fail" right now.
6.  How much and how do I want to share my journeys?  Captain's logs here, but what about the rest of social media.  Should I make a hashtag to monitor?  Will I monitor it?  Maybe "#PaititiTT". I worry about being very open with my heart and the world.  If almost nobody looks at what I post, I'm good with it, but the exposure of success worries me.  Can you put that back in the bag?

Well, musing time is over and back to work.   "Soon, very soon" is the refrain running through my head.

Thanks!

Balos

{Hubby, RR, Nash 17K and two Czech Border Shepherds.}

 

[masterplumber]

It will be interesting to see how your journey fleshes itself out. I think you'll find that if you spend much time here, most of our journeys look different. And all are accepted. I can completely relate to what you said about stuff. I'm desperately trying to get rid of a lifetime worth of things, while at the same time looking for new things that maybe fit a function better than what i now have. I've learned to be very careful and to wait to buy, as many times something that seemed so important in the moment, really isn't needed as much as I thought it was.

 

[akrvbob]

I agree with you 100% that only a life filled with service can truly be called a success. I am tremendously lucky in that the thing I love is also a service to humanity.

My guess is you can make i the same as well, and if not you can most likely find a method of service on the road. Since I don't know you I can't even begin to speculate what form that would take. But, I'm nearly certain you could find something if you try.

 

[GotSmart]

Just my opinion, but I would go ahead and get the trailer brake controler done.  That way it is out of the way.  Take it easy on the road, and things will fall into place.

One of my professors is taking a sabbatical and touring the country to decompress.  He does not have a clue as to what method he will be doing it, so you already have a plan, a purpose, and now you are taking care of the details.   

Keep an eye on the long range forecast while driving.  Most of all, make at least one unscheduled "stop and look" each day. Life is not about others, it is about you and being able to sleep well each night. 

Collect digital pictures.  They do not take up room.    My favorites were from the unplanned stops, like my avatar.

 

[Balos]

Thanks everybody for your great wishes. 

Well, the brake controller is installed and tested and the RR is in the shop getting a new front suspension today and they **promised** by end of day or they are not going home.  That leaves pick up the TT with a three hour walk through.  I've got mail to the RV dealer to schedule that.  Otherwise we were done two days ago. 

I'm not feeling great about not having a test night or two here, but the dealer has a second location in Portland and that is about 5 to 8 hours south of here and so I think we may try and do our shake out night there and have the Portland dealer fix anything.  Not great, but I really don't want to lose another day if I don't have to.  The Seattle dealer hasn't agreed to this yet, but they've actually been a joy to deal with, and that surprised the hell out me!

I think we might take a DAY OFF and just relax.  That way we hit the road with a smile on our faces ready to deal with the first shake down. 

Soon, very, very soon.

 

[Balos]

Hello Winter Storm Decima!  https://www.wunderground.com/news/winter-storm-decima-forecast-northwest-rockies-midwest-east

Your timing is exactly wrong.  I don't know what we are going to do.  I'm still thinking I-5 to I-10, just I-10 is going to be busier now.  Anybody have any advice other than drive carefully and take your time?  Would driving during the day .vs. night make a big difference?  It seems like less traffic at night and visibility could go either way.   Any particular tricky parts of the drive from Seattle to maybe Redding CA that need special approach with a trailer? 

So, so much adventure and growth!  ;-)

 

[GotSmart]

I 5 should be good past Portland.  It will be warmer on Friday.  

Try this for cameras and up to the minute forecasting.

http://oss.weathershare.org/?Center...96875&Zoom=8&Layers=CCTV,traffic#.WFH6UrIrLZb

 

[Balos]

Thanks for the camera link, that is exactly what I needed!

So, I can already check off doing something stupid, but get points for figuring out I was being stupid. 

We picked up the TT yesterday and spent hours and hours getting everything set up and checked out and then it was about an hour before dark and we were finally ready to hit the road and I was so happy because I really didn't want my first drive to be in rush hour traffic in the dark.  Before we left I noticed that the master brake controller was reading "o9" and that seemed weird, but when I hit the breaks, it would show the numbers that seemed about right.  I have done a ton of hauling, but it was a two horse trailer and no fancy hitches or master break controllers of anything like that.  Well, when we left I thought "Wow, that feels like I'm hauling two huge warmbloods!" and it didn't dawn on me that it shouldn't feel like that.  I just thought, heavier trailer = heavier ride. 

That was on the flat.

Then we went down a big hill with a stop light at the bottom with cars waiting and I realized I didn't really have the brakes to stop us.  In the days before modern brakes I would have locked up the rig and squeeled down the hill, hopefully scattering everybody before me.  Except, what really happened was the old Range Rover buckled down and stopped in time.  We had like two feet between us and a car full of children when we stopped.  We pulled over and called the master control people while we diagnosed the "o9" to be an error code "0G" as a ground fault problem, which means I didn't have a break controller at all and was probably pulling double what they recommend without one.  Well, on the positive side I wondered if the Ol'Rover could stop the trailer by itself and it is good to know it can, as long as the hills are not much steeper than the one we were on.  NOT that I will ever do this again.

So we made it about two miles away from the RV dealer and then turned back.  Probably not the shortest first journey in the record books, but certainly good enough for a story! 

So, if this was a learning experience and it was, but I'm not quite sure what I should take away from it.  I shouldn't have driven away with an error code on the master brake controller, but I didn't know what it should have said and I didn't know what the trailer should have felt like.  It hits me this mistake can catch you once and only once, and that is exactly when it caught me.  I don't need a general reminder that I'm over my head, because I'm very clear about that.  I guess the biggest mistake was that we left the manual for the controller at home, neatly filed in a box that will eventually go into the trailer.  If we would have looked it up and figured out what they meant, we wouldn't have even tried to leave.  After soft-of, but not really nearly, killing a bunch of children, we managed to go on line and look it up.  Tired and rushed and ignorant: always a danger.   We were lucky, but we also made the decision all along the whole buying purchase to keep the trailer as light as possible and ultimately that is what saved us. 

Shew.  Hubby is with the master brake people now, or it could be the wiring harness that they put in the ol'Rover.   We've had everything else ready for days.  We sort of decided to start our vacation today, even if we are not gone yet.  We have already cancelled our "normal" life things, so it is kind of relaxing.  I believed all the people that said it will take you an extra week or two to get on the road but I hoped we get really lucky, but I'm not upset that we are still here.  We would have been in the heart of the winter storms or we would have postponed anyway.  It'll all work out.

Thanks.

 

[Balos]

We are still home. 

The guy who installed the brake controller installed it over the diagnostic port of the car.  So after fixing the ground, which they say (and probably was) that the RR didn't have a beefy enough ground system in place.  They said they saw that once on a Mercedes too.  So, that begs the questions why on earth they let me out of that shop not knowing if it really worked.  I think I'm going to leave a review where I talk about what it felt like to be baring down on a car full of kids without a working mbc. 

So, after getting them to install it right the second time, or at least not destroy diagnostic system of the car, we are currently chasing down errors in the RR electronics.  It keeps thinking that we are high centered or in some other off-road error mode as we drive down smooth black top.  Annoying, but a little amusing.  So it's taken a week before they could begin to address this issue. 

But, theoretically, they are sure they will have it all sown up today and then keep it overnight to make super sure because I'm sure they are very sick of us practically camping in their waiting room.  Of course they just called to tell us they don't have the parts yet, so the adventure continues!

After that, I don't know.  We are certainly not going to Miami for Christmas.  But that's OK.  My family is a bit lame and we were trying for the first Christmas together since my Dad died in 1997, which wouldn't have been lame if we had pulled it off, but I'm not the only one that ran into troubles.  But the political divide that exists in this country is a huge rip in my family and I really thought that this was not the year to push it.  Frankly, I have nothing to say to many of them and if pushed, I don't think I could keep the scorn out of my voice.  I think this was the best of all possible worlds, we made a huge effort and that mattered but we didn't actually have to all be in the same room, which I consider a blessing.

So we've been trying to have a Staycation.  And that has actually been pretty fun.  We've wanted to do that around Seattle for years, but always postpone.  Last night we went to the 10:45 showing of Rouge One at the famous Cinerama and that was beyond cool. I don't know why it made that whole sentence a link. 


Seems weird to keep posting here and not be on a journey, so I think I will sign off until we actually are close to being on the road again.  Soon, very soon.

 

[GotSmart]

Getting ready is a large part of the journey.  

Keep posting please.

 

[Balos]

It is ironic that I get around to updating this thread when we are just about back to this exact status!

On Christmas eve we thought we had everything in line, but then decided not to trust things and wait until after xmas so that we didn't get stranded and force a bunch of people to work.

Then we went to get the trailer the day after xmas and after much testing, the MBC (master brake controller) was working, but the car wasn't powering the running lights or the charging line on the trailer, but that was enough for us to driver her home. She handled very well. The only scary part was when we went down the same hill where the MBC had failed before and although we both remembered that hill as being long and steep, it was a very mild incline. A brain full of fear doesn't seem to remember things accurately.

So we got the trailer in our driveway, and this allows us to mess with things in it but the RR (Range Rover) went back into the shop for three days while they traced all sorts of wiring and finally ripped out the ground wire that the MBC people had installed the second time because it was shorting out the whole car when it engaged. The RR dealer ended up billing the MBC people for 6 hours of labor.

Then on New Years eve we got the word that the MBC people had re-re-done their work and we were good to go, again. Not trusting it AND deciding we didn't want to make anybody work on New Years, we just blew off the whole thing and was going to try the first business day after new years, EXCEPT the RR is throwing suspension errors again. Oh sometime during this whole mess the MBC people broke a part off of the RR and it had to go back to the RR dealer for that.

So, we have had the same exact problems with the MBC for almost a month now and are just circling between the MBC and RR people until both things work perfectly for more than a single drive. sigh. The other thing that happens when ever we get close to planning a new departure date is that the whole west coast will light up with Winter Storm Warnings. We have had snow in our yard for a week, we never get snow, it never sticks and we are lucky to have one winter storm warning a decade. This is just not our year.

Our new POA is to say "SCREW THIS!!" We haven't actually been able to plan past a few days for a month and our vacation time is almost gone and although the idea of a stay-action in Seattle sounds nice, it is freaking DEC/JAN and there is hardly any day light. And with the cold and the dark and the bad weather, we've just stayed home and lumped out like we generally do in Seattle in the winter, only this time we had cancelled out gym and other classes that keep us from going crazy. It was not a good move on our parts. And another issue we have is there is so few hours of day light that if we want to go anywhere, leaving and arriving in the day light, that gives us like two hours of non-rush hour day light hours to travel before it's time to find a camp ground because we don't want our first times parking/leveling to be in the dark and the cold. I know, this is easily overcome with just a casino parking lot or two whilst we drive like a bat out of hell, but I just do not trust our ability to EVER be able to actually drive this thing very far, and getting stranded doesn't sound like fun.

So, the departure date for a big trip has been moved to the Ides of March. We plan to do a weekender or two locally before that. I'm enjoying having the TT in my driveway, although it isn't really leveled enough, nor do we have internet access there, so we even have work to do to make it work where she stands. It is just time to start making plans and turning the page on this horrible vacation. It is our most expensive vacation ever and the worst! But I think that will turn around with time. Bad vacations are needed to make good vacations sweeter, but still -- I could have really used some down time and fun.

I am thinking of you guys having a blast at the gathering and wonder what the future will bring. I'm can't say that I am not discouraged, but I know this is pretty normal. Chasing down mechanical details is just part of the lifestyle. And I'm happy I got to do this from home and not stranded in southern Oregon or some place like that. So, every dream takes a few tries to get it launched. It is all part of casting away the chains that hold you down. It doesn't actually matter when we do this, when we leave or where we go. Second launch is a charm!