The Adventure of buying a used Motor home

I had been looking at purchasing a different RV for over a year and doing lots of research.  I had also asked questions of everyone I know.  Decisions decisions decisions.  Nearly everyone I talked to said "Joy you need a class A motor home".  Well, after much thought, prayer and troubles with the Travel trailer I decided it was time to do some serious looking. It was late September and because I only had a few weeks before I had to travel out to my winter job in Arizona I had to either find something quick or forget it for another year.  I had stopped for a night near Lori and Brad on my way to Mexia and they took me to look at the Tyler RV dealers.  I did not fall in love with any of the RVs we saw there.  So I made a trip up to Lisa's house in the Fort Worth area!  Lots and lots of RV dealers up there.  We looked at a bunch but the only one I found that I really liked sold before I could get back to Mexia to talk to the loan officer at my bank.  That was just as well because I would not have been able to trade my travel trailer in there and would have had to sell it myself!  I had been doing online research and had found several down at PPL in Houston I thought might work. Johnny and Carol decided to take me down there to look.  It was an interesting trip as it had only been a short time since Ike had hit the area!  We saw lots of Hurricane damage.  The RV dealership did not even have full power.  They were running off of generators. We had a good time looking but nothing there was up to my standards!  It is not that I am that picky but I don't want my home to stink or have serious damage to the sidewall!  I don't expect perfection in a used RV but no major repair problems either!  When we were traveling back from PPL we stopped at several other RV dealers along the way but still nothing.  I mentioned to Johnny that I had seen a motor home sitting on a used auto dealership lot in Fairfield on my way to Mexia from Lori's house.  Johnny and Carol said they did not mind going a little out of the way to check it out.  When we arrived the dealership was closed for the day.  We walked all around it and other than a few scratches and small dents it looked good.  Of course we tried the door and found it locked.  We discovered that the driver's door was not locked.  So we hauled ourselves up and walked through.  It had possibilities.  Carol told me she would be happy to return on Monday with me. So that is what we did!  We did another walk through with the dealer then went on a test drive!  I was nervous because I had never driven a Class A before.  We took a left out of the dealership with the dealer driving.  A few miles out of town he pulled over and said it was my turn.  I must admit I was scared but it was not as hard as I feared!  We traveled the 8 miles or so to Teague then turned around and I drove back to the dealership.  I could do this!  I got the dealer to work up the details so I could take it to the bank loan officer.  The price was right and he was willing to give me what I had hoped for my travel trailer. Well in a few days I found myself the owner of a 2003 Itasca Motor Home!

Bless her heart Carol helped me make the move! It was not easy and the motor home just does not have the storage my travel trailer did!  So I had to do some clearing out!  I would take stuff to the motor home and Carol would put it away.  She did a great job!

The next step was to find a towable car!  One problem solved but I could not tow my F250!  Once again I was a little ahead of the game as I had been doing research on which cars could be flat towed. Alas no Ford could be flat towed easily. No way was I going to add towing a dolly to my learning curve!  After talking to Johnny and Carol they decided to buy my F250 and that we would trade their truck in on my car. Well it turned out that Johnny had to buy my car then we did a swap after the title came in!  I got online and looked at cars that could be towed in the area.  It was not fun searching for a car!  I don't like dealing with car dealers!  Some are pushy and some won't give a woman any serious attention!  Maybe the fact that I don't look like I have a bag full of money has something to do with it!  After diligently looking and making several trips to Waco I finally found a 2007 Chevy Malibu. We made the deal and Johnny paid the difference between the value of my truck and his. I ended up only having to pay $250 for my car!
My next problem was getting a base plate installed on the car and a tow bar for the motor home!  I found an RV dealership in Waco that could do the job. Once again Carol helped me out.  I drove the motor home over and Carol followed me with the car.  It took about 5 hours for the base plate to be installed! We hung out at the dealership and walked down to the nearby Dairy Queen for lunch!  It was not a fun way to spend the day but we got through it together.  They matched the wiring up with the wiring on the motor home so the lights would work on the car while in tow.  I did not tow the car back to Mexia.  Carol drove it home and I drove the motor home. I wanted to stop and get my propane tank filled. So when we got to Mexia I took a little side trip to get propane.  I wanted to have a full tank when I headed out to Arizona. I also stopped and filled up the gas tank!  Finally after several weeks I was ready for my next trip!

Wow, what a change in my life!  I would later decide whether it was better or not.  Sometimes you just don't know until you live with your decisions for awhile.



Home from New York

On the 6th of September I pulled out of the Niagara Falls Grand Island KOA!  It was bitter sweet.  I sure hated to leave those beautiful water falls behind!  Maybe some day I will get back there!  I planned my first day to be short because I wanted to go through Cleveland on a Sunday!  I only drove about 136 miles that day.  I always prefer my first day on the road to be short!  I spent the night at the Evergreen Lake Park.  I discovered after I arrived that most of the sites were permanent. It was an okay park but the entrance was narrow and I had to take a tour down some narrow streets to get to my site which was near the office.  The main reason for the tour was it was too tight a turn to make from the office area. 

This was our site!  Ellie and enjoyed a good walk after I set up!  It was a pretty level site so I did not have to put the jacks down!  It is always nice when I don't have to do all that work for just one night!

The next morning Ellie and I got up and headed out early because I was worried about driving through Cleveland.  I was really shocked at how easy the drive was!  I got on Interstate 90 and followed it all the way to the Elkhart Co/Middlebury KOA in Indiana.  I drove a large part of the way on the toll road.  It was nice because the traffic was not too heavy on a Sunday!  I went around 300 miles that day.  I got into the KOA early in the afternoon.  It was nice to get settled in for a few days.  Uncle Elmer and Aunt Betty live near Sturgis Michigan which was only a few miles up the road.  The next day I drove over to visit with them and they took me on a tour around the area and out to eat.  It sure was nice to see them.  One of the good things about my on the move lifestyle is that eventually my travels will take me near people I really want to see.  While I was in the area I also was able to go to the Shipshewana flea market.  There are a lot of Amish in the area and it was neat seeing some of the unique items at the flea market.  I could also hear the clip clop of the horses passing near the campground.  It is such a neat area and I loved visiting.  I will have to return one of these days.  One evening while I was there Uncle Elmer, Aunt Betty and Shirley came over and took me out to eat at Essenhaus a well known Amish restaurant in the area. The food was great and the atmosphere was wonderful.  I am so glad I got to spend a few days in the area.

I had planned to take Highway 13 down to Highway 24 however because of construction I ended up going over to highway 15 and taking it down to highway 24.  It was a little congested going through Goshen but after that these roads were pretty much mine to enjoy!  I hit Interstate 57 in Illinois.  I spent the night at a little private campground on a small lake just off of the interstate.  It had been a long day of pretty slow driving but I did not have any troubles so it was a good day!  It was interesting when I stopped for gas and pulled in behind a Fleetwood Motorhome.  The gas cap was in the very back of the motorhome!  Hmm...interesting placement I thought! 
The next day I took Interstate 57 down to Decatur where I hit Interstate 72. From there I hit Us 54 and headed into Missouri.  I made it through Osage Beach Missouri and stopped for the night at The Ozark Trails Family Campground.  It was really nice and right off of the Highway! I was on my way to Branson.  After several days of travel I was looking forward to spending a few days  in Branson.  I took Highway 54 down to US 65 which took me all the way to Branson.  Of course I planned to stay at ABC.  It felt like coming home when I pulled in!  It was great to see everyone again.  While I was in Branson Hurricane Ike decided to make landfall.  I stayed a few extra days so I would not hit it while on the road!  The night Ike came through Branson was pretty wild.  There were several tress knocked down in the park!  Including a small one in my site.

I got out and pretended I still worked there and helped clean up the mess!  It was great working with the gang again even if it was cleaning up all the debris. I was amazed at how fast we managed to get things back to normal.  Other than a few trees down there was no other major damage and no one was hurt in the park so things were great! I also managed to go to my favorite places to eat and shop while I was in Branson.  I went to one show Clay Coopers Country Music Express.  I don't think I could go to Branson without seeing that show!  Clay and his family are really neat people and the show is great.  It was kind of sad to leave Branson but I was looking forward to seeing my family. So on to Texas I went.  I headed south out of Branson on 65 and followed it all the way to Interstate 40 where I headed into Little Rock.  From there I took Interstate 30. I stopped for the night at the Arkadelphia Campground.  It was a nice park and had easy access to the Interstate.  I enjoyed the night and then the next day hit the interstate again.  The next night I spent in Texas!  It is always nice to get back "home"! 

Next will be adventure of buying a used motorhome!