Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana
I've been stationary for several months and the inside of Liberty looks like a mess. I've been living in Liberty full-time since the fall of 2013. Freedom has towed her a little over 50,000 miles and together, we've been to 46 of the lower 48 states with only Delaware and Rhode Island missing from that list. We have camped in over 300 different campgrounds and both have been reliable and only caused me a minimal amount of problems. But,,,,there's always a "but", uh? But, Liberty is clearly showing her age. Since I've been back in Louisiana, I've replaced the fill hose to her fresh water tank and patched a hole in the same tank. I've ordered her some new brake assemblies but haven't put them on yet. Her latest problem was her refrigerator stopped working. Instead of replacing it in kind, I ordered a small household refrigerator for a couple hundred dollars to get us by until I make some heavier decisions.
I need to decide whether to spend some money to get Liberty back up to par or sell her and get a new one. The amount of money to fix her up would be a 2 to 3 thousand dollars. Afterwards, she would still be an eight year old RV with more stuff waiting to go wrong. And of course, Freedom and Liberty has always been a pair, so if I sell Liberty, I would also sell Freedom. She has 150,000 miles on her so maybe a new RV and tow vehicle is the way to go. Whoever buys Liberty's will get a great, I'll guarantee that. It is my belief that both parties in a sell should feel they got a great deal.
I've been thinking about getting a smaller RV since Liberty is a little more than I need. At the time I bought her, she was the smallest fifth wheel I felt comfortable buying. Years ago, I downsized from a 4 bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment and then to Liberty. I guess that progression needs to continue. Let's see, Liberty is about 280 square feet with high ceilings and two slide-outs. The RV I'm looking at is 200 square feet and no slide-outs. It's a Forest River R-Pod model 201. At 25 feet in length, she is 5 feet shorter than Liberty and weighs in at a little more than half of Liberty's weight. We will see how things unfold. I'm in no rush. I'll post more about that in a future post.
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| Forest River R-Pod model 201 |
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| Model 201 floor plan and some specs |
I was going to talk a little bit about the return of some of my personal demons but have decided not to go too deep into it. But I will say they aren't alcohol or drug demons. We all have demons of different sizes and most of the time we have them buried or force them to go sit in a corner. Every now and then they decide on their own to come out and play. How frequently they come out to play is indicative of how much control they have on you instead of you on them. I've had mine under control for more than a dozen years but they have surprised me lately. I'm not sure what gave them the OK to return but I am sure I'll have them back in their place before long. After re-reading that paragraph, it sounds much more ominous than it really is. I learned long ago, in my late teenage years, how important it is "know thyself".
Surprisingly, making this post has given me a good feeling. I forgot how much I liked writing it.
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.
