Ready For Towing

We are now set up for dingy towing, which is great since Misty and the kids can now ride with me in the RV and not have to follow behind.  Our "toad" is ready for the road.

Just so you know the vehicle you tow with your RV is referred to as a toad.

We came from WV to TX driving two vehicles, which was not fun and will not be missed.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, we had to have a drive shaft disconnect put on our Yukon since it had a single stage transfer case which could not be put into neutral.  So the only way to tow it all wheels down was to disable the drive shaft so the transmission would not turn.

We had the job done at Smitty's RV and Welding located in Houston, TX.  They are a family owned business, very friendly, and answered all of my questions.  They made it easy to get the Yukon set up for dingy towing and installed one of the best combinations for the job.

 Tow brackets.

The drive shaft disconnect is manufactured by REMCO and was the answer to how we would tow the Yukon.  The Yukon user manual states that our model has to be dolly towed with the rear wheels up and the front wheels down.  First off, I could not find a dolly big enough for our Yukon.  Second off, our steering column does not lock, so the vehicle would sway back forth if we did not find a way to stabilize or lock down the steering wheel to keep the front tires straight. 

Drive shaft disconnect at the rear of the drive shaft on the Yukon. 

To use it, you have to either pull out on the control knob (located in the driver's compartment) to disengage the drive shaft and then push it in to engage the drive shaft.  Pulling it out is pretty easy, but you have to have some coordination to get it to engage.  After some practice though, it becomes pretty easy. 

 Drive shaft disconnect control knob.  Pull it to disengage and push it to engage the drive shaft.

Smitty's RV and Welding also installed an air brake system on the Yukon that is one of the best available.  All you have to do is hook up an air hose from the RV to the Yukon and your brakes are enabled.  You do not have to put a brake buddy or anything in the driver's compartment and hook it to the brake pedal.  

The brake system they used on the Yukon is manufactured by M&G Engineering out of Athens, TX.  It is their air brake system with a patented air cylinder that applies the Yukon's brakes the same time the RV's brakes are applied.  It is very efficient with the manufacture claiming that it will reduce the towed vehicle's stopping distance by one-third.

   

Air hose hookup on the Yukon for the air brakes. 

Air cylinder installed on Yukon.

Vacuum cylinder used with air brake system.

Another option that was installed on the Yukon was the wiring of its lights so that I could hook up the Yukon to the RV through its seven pin trailer light plug and have the Yukon's tail lights work off of the RV's tail lights.  This way I do not have to have the removable signal light systems used on some towed vehicles.

Tail light plug on Yukon. 

Now that all this is done, we can easily tow our Yukon using our Blue Ox Aventa LX tow bar and know that we are doing it safely.  It will also be nice for all of the family to travel in the RV now, rather than being split up between two vehicles. Our son Ethan said, "Now, no matter where we drive, we are always home!" 

Blue Ox Aventa LX tow bar, air line, break away line, safety cables, and wiring harness. 

Of course I was a little nervous about driving the RV with the Yukon being pulled behind, but it really is not that hard and the only time I feel the Yukon is when it hits a big bump or something similar in the road.  Other than that I can not tell any difference in driving the RV with or without the Yukon.  I do have to allow for more room when changing lanes on the highway, but I will get used to that too.

Yukon viewed in rear view camera from inside RV.

Another thing that I learned very quickly when unhitching your vehicle from the RV or tow bar is to make sure you either set the emergency brake or re-engage the drive shaft so that the vehicle does not roll away.  Luckily we were not on a hill and there were no other vehicles close to us.  I just hope there was no one else watching.

Don unhitching the Yukon for the first time.

We will finally leave Houston on 14 June and drive over to Galveston Bay RV Resort and stay for a week.  We are pretty excited since we will be on the bay with our lot facing the water and there will be plenty of sites to see to include the Space Center Houston. 

I hope you enjoyed today's blog and that you keep coming back to see what we are up to next.

Don

Home is where the slides are out.

Sunday Dinner

As I stated in my last post, Misty was going to make pan seared tilapia covered with a lemon basil butter sauce for dinner tonight, so I though I would share it with everyone on-line.  It was very delicious!

Pan Seared Tilapia

She also made a strawberry walnut salad, which also tasted very good.  Between me and the kids, there were no left overs of the fish or salad.  

Strawberry Walnut Salad

Don's 1st bowl of salad

When it comes to food, both Misty and I are pretty good cooks with my speciality being grilling, while Misty does most of the indoor cooking and baking to include cookies and cakes.  She made some banana nut bread this morning, which also did not make it past lunch.  If I had been on the ball I would have taken a picture of it, but was too late.

Misty could grill if she wanted to, just like I can bake when I really want too, but if you do not like doing it, then you probably will not be as good at it either.

Today has been a very lazy Sunday for the most part with Monday creeping up around the corner.  I have May end-of-month processing to work on first thing in the morning, which will take up most of my day, so will be pretty busy, but that is better than not having anything to do.  That makes for a very long and boring day.

I am really hoping that I get a call from Smitty saying everything has been ordered and that they will be ready to fix up our vehicle Tuesday or Wednesday.

Well Misty took the kids to the pool, so I thought I would get on the laptop and do a quick post, but my time is running out because I still have to clean up the mess from dinner.  Sometimes Misty cleans up after she cooks, just as I will do, but then other times I clean up if she cooks and vice versa.  I need to get off of the laptop and start cleaning or I will run out of time.

Dishes to wash

Don

Home is where the slides are out!

Galveston Island State Park

Friday evening we made our way down to Galveston Island State Park and enjoyed a stroll on the beach. The water was muddy out to around 100 yards or so, but was warm to walk in with your shoes off. 


The sand was super fine and felt good on our feet.  In places there was a good bit of vegetation washing up on the shore, but it was easily avoided.


The kids had a great time and got to see some wildlife including a clam and hermit crab.

Tia holding her clam.

Hermit crab.

It was about 70 miles from Houston to Galveston so the drive was not too long.  We did get held up in traffic leaving Houston since it was during the evening rush hour, but nothing like you would hit when traveling around D.C.

We may still try to stay at a RV park along the beach in Galveston for a week or so, but it looks like we are stuck in Houston a little while longer since Smitty did not order everything we needed for our driveshaft disconnect, the first time.  Now it looks like it may be Wednesday or later before we get out of here.

This evening I grilled a couple eight ounce filets I bought from Whole Foods along with asparagus  and baked potatoes that I rubbed with olive oil and sea salt.  

I drizzled olive oil on the asparagus and seasoned it with sea salt and pepper then grilled it too.  There is nothing quite like grilled asparagus, but then almost any grilled food is better tasting.

The kids had hotdogs along with the asparagus and baked potatoes.  Everyone liked it so much that they gobbled everything up except for a couple of hotdogs.

I think tomorrow I will let Misty pan sear some tilapia fillets and drizzle it with a lemon basil butter sauce she has a recipe for.  It is very good and really adds to the taste of the fish.

Don and Misty

Home is where the slides are out!

Hot In Texas

Today in Houston it is 95 degrees, but it feels like it is over 100.  Also today the power went off for about six hours, which was not too big of a deal for us since we have a generator and could still use the air conditioning, but our neighbors had to run out an rent one, to keep their fifth wheel's air conditioning running.


I took the Yukon to the shop this morning and had them measure the drive shaft to order the new one that will be used with the disconnect for dingy towing.  Once it comes in, in a few days, they will install everything we need for towing and we will be on our way.


I think before we head to Alabama, we will try to get a place on the beach around Galveston, TX and stay there a week or so.  That is the good thing about living in an RV is that we can pick up and go to wherever we want, when we want.  It is not always as easy as that, but we do have a lot of options.


Something I forgot to mention on our trip from Arkansas to Texas is that I think both Misty and I will be getting tickets in the mail for traffic violations.  


While I was driving through some small town in Texas on the way down here, I could not stop the RV in time for a yellow light, which turned red by the time I got under it.  I saw the flash of front and rear cameras and so assume I will be getting a letter from that town's police department soon.


While Misty was driving the Yukon on the tollway in Houston, she used an EZPass only lane exit, without having an EZPass, and so did not pay any toll.  She saw the flash of the camera too, so we figure she will be getting a ticket also.  I am to let you know though that she was following the GPS which told her that exit and by the time she realized that it was an EZPass only lane, it was too late to get out of it.  I do not think that a judge will care about that though.


Avery asked me to also show you his angry face in the blog, so here it is.  He is such an angel!

The power is back on and all I have eaten today is a banana, so I think it is time to go find some fajitas to eat.


Don

On The Road Again

Yesterday we left Little Rock Arkansas for Houston Texas.  It would have been a seven or eight hour drive, if we had driven straight through, but we stopped at the Crater of Diamonds State Park  in Murfreesburo Arkansas to see if we could find the big one so I would not have to work anymore.  Well I guess I'll keep my job a little while longer since all we found was sweat and dirt.

Of course the trip could not start without some type of hitch, so we were not deprived of one.  The RV has both backup and side view cameras that assist you when driving, especially when changing lanes.  Well for some unknown reason, probably due to a certain three year old pushing buttons when our backs were turned, the cameras do not respond when I put on the blinkers.  I also noticed the images were reversed along with the menu text.

After trying everything I could try and even calling CoachNet technical support, I had to drive without my cameras.  Of course the RV has trucker mirrors which are more than capable of doing the job, so I guess I will just have to use them until I can get the cameras fixed.

We have finally made it to our Houston destination and will settle here for a week or two so that we can get a driveshaft disconnect installed on the Yukon so it can be dingy towed.  Right now I am driving the RV while Misty follows me in the Yukon, which makes for a boring trip.

We are staying at Traders' Village RV park.  All of the reviews I have read about it, say it is a very nice and affordable place to visit and has great places to shop and eat.  We shall see.

Don

Picture Window View

This evening I'm watching the kids swing across from us in the playground while Misty bakes a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. 


We are staying at the KOA North Little Rock RV park in  Arkansas, which is pretty nice and close to Camp Robinson, where I'm working this week.  


The only complaint I have with this park is that the power fluctuates enough to make the Power Guard surge protector shut off the coach's power.  I'm sure it is not good for the coach and when it is 90 degrees, you need your air conditioning too.


Of course the first time this happened was about 10 PM our first night here and the park office had already closed.  I checked the breakers in the coach and did not see anything tripped.  I then checked the breaker at the power pole and did not find anything wrong there either. 


I was worried that something was wrong with the RV since the power indicator light on the power pole was always on but we kept losing power.  I could hear a clicking sound inside the RV both when the power went of and then came back on.  Come to find out it was the built in surge protector kicking off and on due to the voltage fluctuating so much.


The next day I asked one of the other campers if they were experiencing the same thing, which they said they were.  That made me feel better that our RV was not messed up, but doing what it was supposed to do.  It was still an inconvenience though.  


I have found that if I do not reset the digital clock on the microwave, the power seems to stay on much longer than when I set it.  


Don

Lazy K Campground

We finally made it to the campground and got hooked up.  This campground is still in its infancy and does not have a shower house or laundry facilities, but for the price and close proximity to the house, it will fit the bill.

We will stay here for three weeks or so until we migrate down to Little Rock, Arkansas for me to attend a course at the Professional Education Center for the Army National Guard.

We are starting to settle in with the RV lifestyle, but have a lot of work still to get all of our stuff out of the house and decide what to do with it.  Some of it is being given away to family while a good portion has ended up at Goodwill.

We also have some of it in storage, but I suspect some of that will end up being given away to either family or Goodwill too.

I feel bad though since I wanted to get some things fixed on the house before leaving, but just could not fit it into my schedule.  The time is going by so fast and we still have so much to do to be ready to leave in a few weeks.

Also, Jered, our sixteen year old, has decided that the RV life is not for him and is wanting to go back to live with his mother in Ohio.  Misty and I feel he is going to miss out on a great adventure, but will not keep him from going back home.

I have decided that we need some type of sign off or saying for our signature.  I think I will use, "Home is where we have the slides out."  Give me some comments on what you think.  I am also sure some other RVer has used this saying, but I did think of it myself and have not come across anyone else using it yet.

One The Road

Well we finally made it on the road on Apr 26 2012.  We still have stuff in the house that has to be moved out, but for all practical purposes we are living in the RV.  Yea!


We will stay at the Lazy K campground in Blue Creek, WV for a few weeks until we drive down to Little Rock, Arkansas to stay for a week. 


After that we will drive down to Houston, Texas to have a driveshaft disconnect installed on our GMC Yukon along with the tow plate, tow bar, and brakes so it can be dingy towed.


Then after that is accomplished we will drive back up to Montgomery, Alabama and stay for a couple of weeks or maybe a month while I do some work.


Once I am finished there, who knows where we will end up.

Two Weeks Later

Well it has been two weeks since the last post.  We have been so busy since then, we just did not have time.  As you can see from the picture, cramming your stuff from a 3100 sq ft house into a 40' RV is no easy matter.


We officially moved out of the house on 26 April 2012 and into the RV, which has had its toll on Misty and myself.  The kids are doing pretty well and have not complained about not having all of their toys, as of yet.


Poor Misty is doing most of the storing of our stuff in the RV, which is very time consuming and challenging.  She has switched items around a couple of time now trying to determine which is best place to store certain items.  Target's and Wal*Mart's stock has had to go up due to all the storage containers we have bought in the past few days.  Just today Misty is running to the store to buy some Space-saver bags to store some more clothes.


We still have a good bit of junk in the house that we need to either store or give away and to complicate matters even more, the new owners have moved in and some of our stuff is intermingled with theirs.  It is also weird walking into your old house, that is no longer yours, and seeing different furniture and decorations that are not yours.


So far it has been quite the shock with our lifestyle change, but we are still optimistic and know we are doing the right thing.


Until next time.


Don

Our New RV

This is the 2011 Fleetwood Discovery 40G RV which we will be living in for the unforeseen future with our seven children.  We are selling our 3000 square foot house and moving into a 41 foot RV to explore America and Canada and supplement our children's homeschool education.


There will be nine of us total starting with myself, Donald Lively, who is retired from the WV Army National Guard with 23 years of Active Duty, my wife Misty, who was in the WV Army National Guard for nine years and is now a full-time mom, our son Jered (Misty's step-son), who just turned sixteen, Ethan who will be nine tomorrow, Courtney who is eight, Tia who is six, Ian who is five, Avery who is three, and Chloe who is one.


Needless to say, it is a full boat, but we have no problem with it and feel the overall experience we have will outweigh the cramped quarters.


We will be leaving Elkview, West Virginia sometime late May or early June 2012 to start our adventure.  We will be moving into the RV early May, staying at a near by camp ground until we pull stakes and start down the road.


I hope to post something every week on our journey and experiences.


Follow along to see how well we do.  Some family members only give us three months while others give us six.  We plan on proving them all wrong.


Don