Five More Days before Shoving Off

Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana

This post and the two prior to it shows some of the planning and preparations before hitting the road. It is a little boring but I remember reading similar blog posts before I retired and found them interesting and useful. I hope these prove so for some readers. Experienced RV'er may get bored. Sorry.

Well, it's down to five more days before being on the road again. I've slowly but surely have been plugging away with the preparations. After sitting still for over six months, it takes a while to get ready to roll. I've went through all of the cabinets and storage places to see what is what and where it's at. Some of the stuff that I haven't used in the 4 years on the road, found its way into the dumpster or to one of the local homeless shelters. Some of the good stuff was set next to the dumpster and quickly disappeared. I don't know how I got so many extra clothes and shoes, but almost 3 full garbage bags went to the homeless shelter. Most of the shoes and much of clothes were brand new and never been worn. I don't know what happened because when I originally moved into Liberty, I made it a point to only take what I absolutely needed. Oh well, it's good to go now and it makes Liberty lighter by a hundred pounds or more. 

Freedom got her oil changed and tires rotated from the dealership where I bought her. They didn't recognize her since she has put on 100,000 miles since then. She definitely needs a bath but I don't do that very often. I purposely bought a dark shade of truck to hide the dirt easily. Liberty could use a good washing too. I plan to take care of both of them on my way out of town next Tuesday. There is a Blue Beacon Truck/RV Wash on the outskirts of Shreveport along I-20. I went by and saw their operation and talked to some of their employees and they assured me it would be safe for both Freedom and Liberty. They wash about 6 to 10 RV's every day. The local RV dealerships use them as well. They are super reasonable as to the price. I should get both washed and RainX applied for under $75.00. If it works out good, I'll be stopping by there on my way in and out of this area as well as looking for more along the road. I'll post a follow up on the quality of work and final price. I hope it is good. 

In the last post, I posted a picture of a bird nest on my back ladder. I finally saw it sitting on the nest and it turned out to be a Mocking Bird. After she flew off, I checked out the nest and there were four eggs in it. I knew it would be a week or two for them to hatch and then another couple weeks to fly off. I hated doing it, but I couldn't pull out with chicks in the nest, so I took the nest, with the eggs in it, and threw it in the weeds away from Liberty. I heard a mocking bird for a couple days afterwards, but nothing recently. Also, the bluebirds that nested in the void under the kingpin have hatched and all flown away. This is the second year in a row for them to use that nesting sight. As a result of another RV'er having bird problems under their slide-out awnings, I checked mine and they are all clear. I've never had any major problems with those awning and have only pulled my slides in once during a storm for fear of the wind destroying them. They have kept debris such as small limbs, acorns, gum balls, leaves and stuff from getting on my slides. If the slide is retracted with that debris on them, the debris can damage the seals on the slides. The slide-toppers are one of the better options I chose for Liberty.

Ladder without the birds nest. It was sad to remove it with the eggs but it had to be done. Also the slide topper on the left is bird and debris free. Good job.

 I also replaced the step covering on Liberty's steps. In the picture, the lower one is a store bought one that I bought a few years ago and the middle one is the new one I just replaced. The middle one is a cut-up piece of a cheap welcome mat I bought from Home Depot. It is held in place by two Velcro straps. The lower, store bought one, cost better than $10.00 while the home-made one cost less than $5.00. They help a lot witht keeping dirt and things out of the RV. The homemade one works especially well at getting ground stickers off my shoes. Some still find their way inside but I usually find them with my bare feet (ouch).

I also greased up the kingpin and replaced the lube plate. I haven't serviced the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of Freedom yet, but will get to it before leaving. I also checked the air in the Freedom tires by using the Pressure and Temperature Monitor. They are down about 5 pounds each, which is very good after sitting up as long as it's been. Apparently the batteries in the sensors are still doing good. They have been constantly working for 4 years and still going strong. They are another one of the good things I bought before hitting the road. I will also need to re-align my big patio awning so it closes all the way. I don't know if I'll pop a rivet to keep it in the proper position or not since I rarely use it on the road or during the winter months. 

An overall picture. The TV antenna on top picks up the local over the air stations. I get about 12 or so stations. 

To remind me the antenna is up, I tie a bright yellow plastic bag on the crank inside Liberty. It is always in the way, on purpose, so I'll remember it is up.

I've made a few changes to the route and campgrounds. I won't be staying at the Twin Bridges State Park and instead will be staying at the Whispering Woods RV Park which is an Indian casino just down the road from the state park. I'll also break one of my rules and only stay there one night instead of the usually 2 night minimum. I have reservations all the way through to Des Moines, Iowa. After that, I'm having some second thoughts about Minneapolis and may swing east towards Lake Michigan then north to Lake Superior. I'm not sure yet about the change in route. I guess you know you're a full time RV'er when you casually talk about "swinging east" and "turning at Lake Michigan", etc. I like it and it comes natural to me. I guess I was meant for this life. I'll also need to start planning for a place to camp for the Fourth of July. Most campgrounds are full on holidays. I'm hoping since the Fourth falls on a Wednesday this year, it won't be as bad finding an available campsite.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.