Everyday we are in the Coachmen, we are thinking what needs to be done to live in it full-time 24/7. It would be difficult to just take a unit, load it up and pronounce ourselves full-timers waving our banner as we head down the blue roads.
As we have blogged in previous posts, I have been “camping” in some form since I was 5 years old. I lived on the road for 4 months with everything I owned bungeed to my Schwinn with 21 gears including a hyper granny gear that was somewhere around 10:1. Every time I pedaled one full revolution, the wheels turned 10 inches. I worked for almost 18 months to get the Schwinn, the equipment and myself ready for those 4 months 6,000 miles. Now Mary and I are going through the same process preparing the Coachmen for 24/7 living.
Mary was able to sit down and write out a checklist of what has to be done each time we break camp and pack up. We should have that up on our WEBSITE soon. We picked up some nifty Velcro &trade to strap the cabinets shut and keep them from binding in the slide. We have a 4-inch PVC pipe to store the sewer hose in while traveling. We have also realized we will need a 50 amp extension cord for those places we are just a bit too far from the power supply.
We left Brighton this morning around 9:30 A.M. Our first stop was a Sunoco station at exit 37A on US 23. It advertised diesel so we thought it could accommodate our truck and 5er---NOT. The diesel pump was at one side of the islands, the side we had to turn a tight right from the road to get into. Then immediately turn back to the left like an “S” turn. Getting out, we had everyone’s attention as the Dodge passenger side was up over the curb to keep the 5er from taking out the support beam. The 5er roadside was up over the pump island. Between the truck rocking and the 5er bouncing, destruction seemed imminent. But it all came out unscathed and we set off for our next stop.
We pulled into Cabela’s in Dundee, Michigan around 11:00 A.M. It had been a week since we dumped the tanks, and Cabela’s offered free use of their dump station. This is the first time I had been to this side of Cabela’s. They have a nice small lake with geese and small docks (not sure what they are used for as I believe there is NO swimming).
There is also a log cabin (the doors are locked) that adds to that home in the mountains feelings.
They also have dog kennels with a roof so your hounds or other dogs can rest outside while you shop.
After a snack and some water for the hounds, we headed out the back roads towards Adrian, Michigan.
Tim and Mary Johnson
Shipshewana Indiana
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