OUR ROAD TO FULLTIMING
August 8, 2000: OUR TRUCK DELIVERY SAGA
Saturday, July 29, was D-Day or "delivery of the truck day". The day, however, didn't start out as planned; I had forgotten to set the alarm!!! We awoke forty-five minutes late, but we managed to get to the airport in plenty of time for our 615AM departure. Luckily, all the packing had been done the night before. We still wondered what else might go wrong during the trip. Little did we know!!!!
Larry met us at the Portland airport in OUR truck. What a sight!!! After driving back to Salem, we had a terrific lunch at Newport Bay, a small seafood restaurant chain. (Be sure to try one when you are in the Portland-Salem area!!!) We then were given a complete rundown on the truck and how it operates and drives. It's all very simple and straight forward!!! We were then on our own to drive the 1200 or so miles home.
Our first stop was right there in Salem. Our friends, Bill and Harriet Agee, were there because Bill had gallbladder surgery on Friday, so we stopped by the hospital to wish him well. Finally hitting the road around 330PM, we stopped periodically to change drivers, to get gas, to take potty breaks, and to eat a quick dinner in Grants Pass. By this time, it was starting to get dark, and Ron turned on the headlights. Almost immediately, we kept hearing a clicking, but we had no clue what it was. Pulling off the freeway just north of Medford, we realized that we had no headlights, but all the other lights worked. The clicking had been the breaker letting us know that something was wrong. We made our way cautiously to a motel, checked in, and called Larry. By this time, we were both exhausted!!!
The next morning, Sunday, we tried to find someone that might possibly be able to fix the headlight problem, but as we expected, that was to no avail. So, we headed south, after a quick breakfast. This truck just totally motored up all the mountain passes at 65 MPH without the least hesitation. Of course, with no trailer, this was expected. Also, without the weight of a trailer, the ride can was pretty bumpy, even sitting in the air ride seats!!! Some of the freeways here in California have so many bumpy stretches that we felt like we were riding a bucking bronco!!!! By the way, Ron and I pretty much split the driving because he is still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. For me, I just plain got a "kick" out of driving this "big-to-us" rig!!!
Late Sunday afternoon, we stopped in Galt, south of Sacramento, for a quick visit with our friends, Jean and Hal Cox, another fulltiming couple, before traveling on to Turlock to check up on my parents. The following morning, we traveled to Salinas to check on Ron's mom and take care of some family business. First thing on Tuesday morning, Ron went to the International dealer in Salinas to get the headlight problem resolved. It turned out that the body manufacturer had to take the dash paneling out to do the electrical for the body, but when reassembling it, they put one screw right through the wire for the headlights!!! So, we now have our headlights!!! Another unknown problem still lurked, however!!
We finally headed out on our "home stretch" on Thursday, but because we got a late start, and then decided to go down US101, we encountered traffic in Santa Barbara and Ventura, besides the normal slow stuff on I-210 from Pasadena on. We almost forgot that we had to retrieve our Dodge truck at the airport!!! When we pulled up in our driveway, the neighbors were in total disbelief at the size of our new possession.
OK, we thought that we had our headlights back and all electrical was working properly, right?? Ron found out differently when he took our grandson, Jeffrey, for a ride on Sunday. Around dusk, he turned on the headlights, which worked, but the left turn signal did not. Evidently, the electrical was not totally checked at the dealer in Salinas. Today, he went to another dealer trying to get the problem fixed, but it turns out that the body manufacturer, not International, has caused the problem. Larry has assured me that this situation will be taken care of by Highwayman.
Mind you, we absolutely love this truck, and working with Larry was a great experience!!! Now, we're chuckling about our "truck delivery" experience; after all, we have to keep our sense of humor, right????
November 1, 1999 THE BEGINNING January 25, 2000 THE DOWNSIZING BEGINS February 6, 2000 RECEIPTS AND TAX RETURNS March 12, 2000 THE FIRST "DENT" April 27, 2000 DUMPSTERS, DOCTORS, AND TRUCKS May 24, 2000 OUR TRUCK DECISION July 2, 2000 BITS AND PIECES July 21, 2000 MEDICAL CONCERNS July 27, 2000 STEPS TO A FULLTIMING BUDGET September 15, 2000 AN UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS October 2, 2000 SIX WEEKS TO GO!!! October 15, 2000 MORE HURDLES CONQUERED November 14, 2000 ALMOST THERE!!! December 21, 2000 ELKHART.....FINALLY!!! December 21, 2000 LET THE COMEDY BEGIN!!!