You might be able to guess where this post is headed, but first I want to give you an update on motorhome trip #1 for the Kortmans...
After a long day of running through the motorhome, learning how to operate its functions and then getting some minor repair work done we finally left the dealership around 3 in the afternoon. Not exactly the best time to drive two hours to Yosemite.
So we do what we're best at, we change plans and roll with the "punches." We grabbed some groceries and a couple pillows from a shop on the way and headed for a KOA just outside of Yosemite. We set up camp just before dark... Er well in the mountains dark falls fast, so it was perfectly light when we pulled in and pitch black by the time I came in for dinner (after hooking up electric,water,sewer etc.)
What we forgot to calculate was the jet lag factor combined with riding in a motorhome...
The kids (and us) were asleep by 9, only seconds after heads hit pillows.
But at 4am they started to rouse... They typically wake up at 7am eastern (4am here). So their body clocks started waking them up.
However it wasn't a great night...
We didn't have the temp set well so we all got cold in the middle of the night (we went to bed sweating). So in the middle of the night we had to turn on the heat...
Plus getting up with the kids a couple times....
Plus... Every hour or so the leveling jacks would shift up an inch... So a loud BANG followed by us all gasping for breath and almost sitting upright in bed (if we weren't so tired).
In my so-groggy-I-Don't-want-to-do-anything I determined that was just loose gravel under us shifting...
turns out by the time we woke up the leveling jacks were all the way up...
This is a problem because we had the slider out... It puts a lot of torque on the frame and the slide out gears....
PLUS the fact that our jacks didn't stay down through the night!
I think I know what I did wrong... But I need a whole night here to test it...
Tonight we're boondocking it at a Walmart in Bakersfield CA... Boondocking is dry camping, it's where you park somewhere with no electricity/water/dumping capabilities...
However with 100 gallons of fresh water on board, a generator and a wise wife we have everything we need.
When you're on pavement you're not supposed to put down the jacks as they put a lot of pressure on small spots on the pavement which creates warping/buckles In the pavement ...
So the next time we're in a campground overnight we'll test it out.
theres so much to write about but I'm quite sleepy and you want to know about breaking in the motorhome....
Well, we woke up early and went exploring. We had to wait until the office was open to pay our site fee.
And then we were off again.
However the hairpin curves, the rise in elevation and the tiny width of the road caused me to be 2 inches too close to the side of the road.
The mirror met a boulder at 40 MPH and like an updated version of the game Rock Paper Scissors. The rock won.
Shattered mirror fragments abounded and the shell of the mirror was now danglingout the side.
Yup so we found out how big it is and have put some temporary fixes in place. Driving a 37 foot motorhome in traffic without a side view mirror. Is not a good idea!
That's the news for now. More later
