2022 Spring Western Trip (Epilogue)

We have removed most things from the trailer that we normally remove after a trip, like some clothes, some pantry food, etc. I have our F-350 diesel scheduled for service (oil/filter, the Works) at our local dealer. I have booked getting the entire exterior of the trailer washed. I opened all the slides and awnings and let them dry thoroughly since they came home wet from the rain. All the towels, sheets, etc., that came home dirty have been washed and are waiting to go back in the trailer. I have ordered a complete brake assembly to repair the left rear brake issue and the operator assembly for the bathroom vent to operate from eTrailer.com, but I will not receive them until late May! I will do the repairs myself.

A couple of days after getting home the free Valterra side twist-on valve for the sewer line output arrived to replace the defective one that kept falling off. This one fits nice and tight, but I did put a couple of tie wraps on it as a safety device in case it works loose. Thanks to Valterra Customer Service for taking care of this out of warranty issue for free!

When I removed my ebike from the trailer basement I discovered it had a flat rear tire, so I have a new tube ordered for it. One too many goatsheads at the convention I guess. I will fix it myself.

All in all, we covered right at 7,400 miles on what was an epic trip. Here are three pictures of the trip end Garmin RV890 GPS stat screens.

As you may figure out our total travel time was a bit over 228 hours. That is 9.5 24 hour days spent in the truck covering those 7,400 miles! As you can also figure out when traveling we spend around 36% of the time stopped at Rest Area, fueling, etc. While this percentage is probably higher than I might like it is a good thing health-wise that at our age we are stopping frequently and stretching our legs. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it. All told, interesting stats.

I have a few other minor maintenance items to take care of on the Montana, but all in all it did great on the trip and is holding up well after 35,000 miles or so of being towed over some very rough roads.

I am hoping to do a trip up North this Summer to escape the Florida heat and humidity. I want to stop for a couple of days or so in Illinois to visit my sister, check on our farm and see other relatives. At this point I’m thinking of either heading up to Michigan and doing the UP and down through Wisconsin or maybe heading to North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Not sure which way yet. I also have some cancer screening tests coming up, but expect good outcomes. I am not sure if Jeri is going to come on this trip or not, so it could just be me and Sugar Belle.