You CAN get there from here!

[BirchyBoy]

The wife and I left last Thursday for our first long trip. Here's what we've done so far:

5/22 Aurora, Co to Ogallala, NB 213 miles
5/23 Ogallala, NB to Gretna, NB 308 miles
5/24 Gretna, NB to Joliet, IL 457 miles
5/25 Joliet, IL to Westfield, NY 492 miles
5/26 Westfield, NY to Scarborough, ME 615 miles

The trip couldn't have gone any better. I set the tire pressures before leaving, gassed up Guzzletron (my '99 GMC Yukon 4x4) and we left in the rain. I set the cruise at 62 after a few hours of getting the feel for the trailer and we were off!

The trailer pulled amazingly well. Very little sway or bounce and only a couple small quality issues. One of the stabilizer jacks is a real bear to use; it's sticking in a couple spots and I thought I broke my wrist when using my drill for the first time. I've sprayed it with silicon lubricant which helped a little but not a lot, and I'm now putting two hands on the drill when using it. The other issue is the lower shelf in the bathroom. Two of the staples have pulled out and the front trim is falling off. I need to look at that tonight to see what's up.

Guzzletron did awesome as well. I was concerned because it has 168k on the original drivetrain, but the PO took good care of it and I've had all the maintenance done as well as some repairs. I set the cruise at 62 and it stayed between 1,600 RPM's and 2,500 RPM's the entire way, getting 9.2 MPG over the 2,100 miles. I checked the transmission fluid at every gas stop and the engine oil every morning and if it had been sitting for an hour or so during breaks. The seats are comfy, the radio is great and the dog has lots of room to move around.

We've got the camper setup at Wassamki Springs until 6/7 and I'm working at my office during the day. The patio mat is out, the awning is extended and the grill is awaiting it's turn to cook us dinner. The weather has been terrible so far, but it's still fun being at a campground with a lake and lots of ducks.

[jsmith948]

Sounds like you're having a great trip. You really stretched it on the last leg.:D

[BirchyBoy]

Sounds like you're having a great trip. You really stretched it on the last leg.:D

Yeah, the wife wasn't too happy. Especially when we arrived at 9:00pm, dark and rainy.

[Kristi]

Glad you are enjoying the trip! Be careful out there! :thumbsup:

[BirchyBoy]

Glad you are enjoying the trip! Be careful out there! :thumbsup:

It's amazing how fast some people pull their campers. Overall, 90% seemed to be taking it "easy". One in particular scared me a bit; it was a Honda Pilot pulling the same camper as me (238ML) and he was doing about 80mph with it. They were nice enough to wave and smile when they went by.

[Kristi]

It's amazing how fast some people pull their campers. Overall, 90% seemed to be taking it "easy". One in particular scared me a bit; it was a Honda Pilot pulling the same camper as me (238ML) and he was doing about 80mph with it. They were nice enough to wave and smile when they went by.

We were headed out to dinner Sat night ( didn't camp this weekend :( ) and a truck pulling a TT passed us on I-35, don't know how fast he was going but we were going 75 in my escape, so he had to have been going at least 80- 85. We just slowed down & let him get way ahead of us. Figured he was maybe trying to make it to camp before dark? Hope they got there safe.

[GaryWT]

Glad you had a good trip and the weather is not great for sure. You are up the street from me a bit... Enjoy yourself and lets hope this weather improves.

[HappyCamperMN]

Sounds like a great adventure! Glad to hear you're enjoying yourselves.

[Andymon]

Did you spend the night in Ogallala? I grew up there and spent a lot of time fishing at the lake.

[BirchyBoy]

Did you spend the night in Ogallala? I grew up there and spent a lot of time fishing at the lake.

Yes, at the Country View Campground.

[Andymon]

Yes, at the Country View Campground.

That campground wasn't there when I was a kid. At that time, everyone camped out at Lake Ogallala or up at the Kingsley Dam area. Great fishing!!

[BirchyBoy]

I'm surprised. It looked like it was 50 years old!


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[BirchyBoy]

I noticed yesterday morning that the toilet was bubbling a bit when I flushed it, but didn't think much of it. Last night it was flushing (solids going down) but the water was remaining in the bowl. Checked the panel, only 1/3 full. Dumped it anyway and still no real change. I read a bit about pressing the flush lever slowly to try and equalize the pressure. Seemed to help until this morning when it happened again.

I'm going to try and fill/flush a few times, hoping that maybe the vent is plugged and this will help. If not, I might have to get a tank cleaner and give it a go :-(

[BirchyBoy]

Here's our site. We're on the man-made lake which is a favorite of ducks and geese. There is one duck that has 6-8 ducklings swimming around that is super cute.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_129800_0_b291e3f3042bcaafc396ef3180aaf9da.jpg

[hankaye]

BirchyBoy, Howdy;

I'm going to try and fill/flush a few times, hoping that maybe the vent is plugged and this will help. If not, I might have to get a tank cleaner and give it a go :-(

If you have a clogged vent you may be forcing it further into the vent pipe
with the water as you do the fill and flush routine. May be more prudent to
remove the vent cap and use something long enough to gently push what-
ever 'it' is back where is supposed to dwell. Only a suggestion ...

hankaye

[BirchyBoy]

BirchyBoy, Howdy;



If you have a clogged vent you may be forcing it further into the vent pipe
with the water as you do the fill and flush routine. May be more prudent to
remove the vent cap and use something long enough to gently push what-
ever 'it' is back where is supposed to dwell. Only a suggestion ...

hankaye

Thanks. I bought one of the cleaning rods and gave it a good spraying for a few minutes and it cleared the problem up. I told my wife that we needed to let the water run longer when flushing.

[Whitewolf]

Very happy you're enjoying you're epic journey. Also very happy you're running without much incidence from front bumper to rear wheel cover. :)

I'd like to know what kind of condition the transmission in that Pilot is. We had a Ridgeline and pulled a Passport 195RB. At exactly 62mph the transmission started searching for gears. It was not happy and neither was I.

[BirchyBoy]

Tomorrow marks our 2 week milestone for this trip. The trailer has been amazing so far. We picked up my 90 year old MIL from the airport this afternoon. She flew from Denver to Portland, ME today and is spending the rest of our trip with us.

Picked her up at 5:45 a and we were eating seafood in Caoe Elizabeth 45 minutes later!

The only negative so far has been a work-related injury that resulted in 3 stitches in my big toe. Nothing a beer and a pizza couldn't make fell better though.....

[gearhead]

Try just a little nickel based Never-Seize on the stabilizer threads. It will attract dirt, but it may help. A small can of it will last a lifetime.

[BirchyBoy]

We made it back this Monday. 25 days, 5,600 miles and only one instance of running out of gas. Luckily we were a mile before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and not on it. A short walk in the rain and a gallon jug of gas got us going again. I'm going to post a longer write up in a while, once I've caught up on some work and rest.