Thursday, June 30, 2016

Things are looking up...

Well, we are on the last leg of our Texas stay. The cargo doors have been replaced and FINALLY painted. We celebrated by having an outside 'parking lot' BBQ. See photos:

Final days of painting

All pretty again
 












Our celebration that FINALLY we were able to leave Harker Heights to go to Ancira RV in Boerne to trade out of this coach, which has brought us nothing but headaches and heartaches. BEWARE anyone considering buying a THOR product.
Isn't this also called a Tailgate Party (in a parking lot)?

So on Monday, June 20th we took our Challenger to Ancira RV in Boerne, Tx (a lovely town, sort of like Mount Dora but larger) to trade it in for a new Fleetwood Discovery 40E (a 41'-4" diesel pusher, 3'-2" larger than the Challenger). Given all the issues we have had and continue to have with this coach,not to mention that it has now also had an accident, we have come to the conclusion that we made a terrible mistake in choosing a gas coach to buy instead of a diesel, and worse a THOR (which despite all their allegations to the contrary seems a very poorly manufactured product, with little if any back-up manufacturer support) when we should have bitten the bullet at such time and invested in a diesel pusher from the get-go. Still, we both believe that everything happens for a reason, so perhaps we had to go through this experience to know what it was that we needed in a coach, and this new one has it ALL and it is all working the way it should be.

A gas coach would be OK for most travel but as we will undoubtedly be including many mountain locations, a diesel pusher is almost essential for climbing and descending steep slope and mountain roads. This new coach even has a 380HP turbo diesel with 1150 ft lbs of torque, and offers approx 8-8.5 mpg with its Cummins Diesel engine. With diesel currently about the same price as gasoline, and even LESS THAN GAS (as one of the photos below shows), which is expected to continue to trend, it made sense to trade out now before our coach continues to devaluate and the new diesel pushers continue to increase in price. Following are some photos of our new home: The Silver Bullet to match Ms. Edith...












The Fleetwood diesel pusher, by contrast with our Thor gas coach, had only a few items which needed correcting and even those were minor in nature. These included things like cabinet doors out of alignment, switches not working or inverted, etc., which were all corrected right away. The major problem was connecting the correct and compatible Dish Network Receiver to the Winegard RoadTrip Mission In-motion satellite dome.

Then, bored out of our minds we found out about a quaint German town that is well known for its character and vineyards, so we took a day to go explore it. If you find yourselves in the Northern San Antonio area Boerne and Fredericksburg are worth the visit. Then of course there's Lukenbach Texas (just like the song) which does not have much to offer other than saying you were there. Here are some photos of our visit to Fredericksburg:  








We shall be leaving Boerne Tx and Ancira RV and traveling back to Lone Star RV in Harker Heights to see our friend JT (the owner) and have them change the break-in oil on the Generator (@50hrs), and the engine oil, as the current oil has been sitting in it for over a year, and to add a black tank vent cover. Then the following day we'll head North on I-35 to I-80, and then West across Wyoming to Green River, where there is a campground with antelope in residence.

Our friends Rick and Trish (also in their motor home) contacted us that they are in the Badlands headed for Jackson's Hole and wanting to know if we can meet them somewhere in Yellowstone. We shall try to do so. 


By June 30 we want to be 'on the road again' (as the Willie Nelson song says) to drive straight through to Green River in Wyoming, staying at rest areas or truck stops overnight, and arriving there on July 5th, and staying through the 7th. If nothing else at least Bill will get to rest for his birthday. With unsettled plans as to when we might be able to leave we missed being able to get reservations at a campground for the July 4th weekend, (July 1-4) but we were able to get the 5th - 7th to relax with some decent wildlife (more than just deer, rabbits and squirrels). Then we'll try to hook up with Rick and Trish in Yellowstone thereafter. More to come as we get to Green River in WY.

More to come...later. See ya'!

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