Still more on RVing

[DianaCox]

What should one do the day before major surgery (Charles, not me)? Why buy a car, of course!

I've been perusing our local Craig's List for FSBO cars under $3K that can be flat towed behind Sallie (the RV). Yesterday, I found one, contacted the owners and ...

Meet Libby!

She is a 2003 Jeep Liberty with 207K miles - but seems to in decent shape. She is at our mechanic's shop for a tune-up, oil change, check out the brakes, tires, etc. We paid $2.5K for her. When C is up to it after he recuperates from his hernia surgery, we'll take her and Sallie down to CampingWorld to get the "toad" side of the tow hitch installed on her front bumper, maybe get her a bra to prevent road rash on her front end, and make sure the taillights work like they are supposed to when she is being towed.

Our insurance lady asked how many miles/year we were going to put on her (we have THREE other vehicles for the two of us) and I said - well ... DRIVEN miles, less than 1000, but the odometer will rack up the towed miles too - how do you account for that?? She is looking into it.

I am SO excited - the next time we go camping, we can DO something during the day besides cook, eat, and relax (not that there's anything wrong with that) - but I like DOING stuff outside the campground, and I forgot that one of the things we did when we camped years ago (different husband) was to set up the tents and then GO places during the day. That's what I've been missing.

Charles just got used to driving 30' long Sallie - now he's going to have to learn how to drive with a dinghy attached. Good thing we got the camera installed on the back of Sallie - he can turn on the camera while he's driving and make sure Libby is still with us!

 

[JackieOnLine]

it's adorable that you name your vehicles. I'm glad you two are having fun with this!

 

[DianaCox]

I love that emoji!

 

[DianaCox]

So, Libby is still in the shop (we were in no hurry since Charles was having surgery). They finally got around to going over her, and she needs brakes - pretty badly, actually (I finally drove her on Tuesday before the work started because it turns out I only had 10 days to get her registered after purchase, AND because she was last registered in Oregon, I had to bring her to the DMV so they could check whether it had the required emissions equipment - um, yeah, brakes, definitely). She will also get a tuneup, a "new" spare (they'll find us a proper sized used one without a nail in it and some tread), and a few miscellaneous things. ~ $900.

And then we called a few places about putting the car side of the tow hitch attached. OMFG - putting the brackets on the car involves much more than I thought (assuming we have all the parts we need, which I'm not sure - the RV place emptied the bins when they "cleaned" it before we picked it up, and although I tried to track everything down around the warehouse, I had no idea what I was looking for with respect to the towing system). There is also electrical work involved. AND - I didn't know this - we ALSO have to buy a > $1000 automatic braking system for Libby, so that when Charles steps on the brakes in Sallie, Libby's brakes also are activated. It's going to be another $2K to get the tow system up and running.

So, we may have to make do with a tube TV and no digital signals for a while longer. And the improved wifi system must come before that, so I can work.

But Charles and I spent part of the day looking for a few other, smaller things to buy for our next trip, including some outdoor lights to make a lighted patio under the awning (I've been cooking in the dark a couple of times), a new faucet for the bathroom that has a pull-out spray hose so I can use it as a makeshift bidet and to wash out the toilet, and THIS - because we ARE going to try to take the cats with us soon (after we get them used to it):

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Gear-Trav...qid=1412319692&sr=1-6&keywords=dog+playpen+46

I can't wait to take a trip with them! But I think I'm going to train them to wear harnesses too, in the meantime, so we have options for keeping them under control.

 

[jillc]

@DianaCox is the light system a integrated system or an attachment system? Because if it's an attachment system (removable exterior lights like this http://www.etrailer.com/faq-towing-a-vehicle-overview.aspx) it seems a bit dear to me. But I don't know that as a fact. Just saying. Removables are more work, but cheaper.

Btw, our neighbor across the road is a retired veterinarian and he takes his cat out on a lead daily.

 

[DianaCox]

Sent your link to the Boss of the RV. Thanks!

And I would love to be able to walk a cat - we have ONE that might be amenable to that (the other two are lazy lumps).

 

[JackieOnLine]

the playpen looks pretty cool. do your cats have ID chips?

 

[DianaCox]

the playpen looks pretty cool. do your cats have ID chips?

Oh yes, of course! Though if they got lost while we were camping, the chips would likely end up in puma poop ....

 

[JackieOnLine]

true, or coyote.....

well, life is scary and we don't get out alive. guess I'd better go pack some more.

my new landlady still hasn't closed on the house, but hopes to by the end of the day.

 

[kirmy]

Ohhhh Jeep! I like.

 

[DianaCox]

Oh, and a bike rack for the back too. We're going to get some exercise, dammit!

 

[DianaCox]

Jeep was ready today - $1300 (UGH!) and they forgot to replace the rear window wiper blade. I will go buy one. But they said it was in very nice shape, all tuned up, brand new brakes all around, fixed a transmission leak, and got us new keys - the keys are special, as they have a chip in them.

We drove it (Charles' first outing since surgery) to the hitch place - fortunately, the ONLY piece that was missing from the stuff that was in the RV when we bought it was the specialized bracket for the bumper of the Jeep that is specific to each towed car. It has been ordered. We left the Jeep with them, so they can put the bracket on as soon as it comes in. The braking system - YIKES!! $1200!! The whole thing, including installation of the system including in-line wiring, will be $2200. Getting a towable car was WAY more than I expected. OTOH, we will have it all up and running for:

• $2500: car
• $375: taxes, tags and registration
• $1300: repairs
• $2200: hitch installation, braking system and electrical hookup
• $6375

Wow - I was expecting about $5K max (because I didn't know about the braking system).

I saw that the hitch shop had a bike rack that mounts on the hitch between the RV and the car. That sounded like a good idea - once we are ready to ride our bikes again (I'm out of shape and Charles is still recovering). We'll see about buying it when they're ready to hitch the Jeep up to the RV. I also want a mount on the back of the Jeep so we can put the bikes on it and drive somewhere to ride them after we get to the campground.

We got the kitty playpen and set it up in the spare bedroom temporarily to let then get used to it. I also bought harnesses (I had to buy small dog harnesses for these beasts) and leashes for them, and I'm putting the harnesses on them for several hours at a time to let them get used to them. Loki is fine - doing so well I took him out on leash in the courtyard for 10 minutes this evening - silly boy was so used to dashing out and then getting in trouble for it, so he just crouched by the door trying to get back in. The other two fat cats act like they are paralyzed at first, and sit around pouting. Loki the escape artist is the one I am most concerned about having a harness on anyway, so I guess it's going OK.

I SO want to get to RVing regularly.

 

[Munchkin]

Loved reading this! Sounds like you are having fun!

 

[bearmom]

I love that you're going to take the cats. I have many fond memories of taking the family cat in the motor home on trips as I grew up, but I was stupidly trusting of my cat an let him roam loose and just called him like a dog, trusting he'd come back whether in a strange city, or the wilderness. Beyond lucky he was always OK. I love the playpen and the harness idea.

 

[southernlady]

I feel like a three ring circus with the three dogs...can't even begin to imagine adding the cats to the mix.