Our First Adventure with an RV

We pulled away from the house, filled up with fuel (diesel for the truck, gas for the generator and propane for the heat and cooking tanks). Pulled out with high expectations of our first day on the road and immediately the tension of pulling this huge 32’ trailer became hauntingly imposing. I had to plan all routes to exclude hard turns because this truck had a short bed and couldn’t make sharp turns without punching out the rear windows of the truck. Oh, I almost forgot to add that I was bringing down a bunch of stuff for the kids, Daniel and Val. The big item that I’m bringing is the Harley. I had to spend a lot of time strapping it down because I didn’t want this busting loose on the trip to San Jose. We also brought down a queen mattress set and a lot of clothes and a treadmill.
After 3 hours of slow driving, 55 or less and bouncing all over the place, we arrived in front of Val and Daniels. We couldn’t pull up because of a low branch but Daniel was quick to saw it off and drag it into the front yard and we were able to pull all the way in front of their house…and the neighbor’s too.
Cindi and I and the kids slept in the trailer the first night. The next night I slept on the green bed in the living room. Cindi and the kids slept in the camper the next night. It slept okay but didn’t have TV access or computer access so I stayed inside.

On Tuesday, October 20th, we pulled out of San Jose to head to Pacifica to do our first RV campground. Again I was panged with the high tension and my drama of pulling this thing and needing diesel before we got all the way there. This damn truck only goes 150-175 miles on a tank when pulling this trailer. The truck has a very small tank and exacerbates the fueling. We had to go down El Camino Real to find a gas station that had diesel and then we had to maneuver all over town just to get the right approach on the station.
Finally fueled and back on the hunt for the RV Park. Here’s an angst. The GPS doesn’t route you for big rigs or bus routes. Another thing, this truck’s side mirrors SUCK. I can’t see shit down the sides of the trailer when going straight, let alone when turning. It has no convex mirrors or cameras or anything to make it easier to tow. If this was going to be my experience with living in an RV, I’d pull over and put a “For Sale” sign on it and look for a motel.
We arrived at the RV Park and I was temporarily relieved that we had arrived. After checking in, I discovered that I had to back this pig up into a slot. Remember the part about the no sharp turns. I had to get under the hitch and wack this lever with a crowbar to allow me to slip the 5th wheel back to allow sharp turns. 45 minutes later and with the assistance of another concerned RV owner (the one I was supposed to park next to) we were able to get this big fucker backed into a slot. Not the one that I was supposed to be in but two over (and further away from my helpers' RV). He says that he was aiming for another slot but somehow we put it 3 stalls over. I didn’t give a shit. All I wanted to do was get out of that truck. I had to make 5 trips around that RV Park to get into the right position to back up.
Finally, it was time to rest. Oh wait, I got to hook this pig up (for the first time) so that we can have power, water and sewer dump. I had to raise the jacks, brace the kingpin with a broken tripod. I fixed the tripod so that it would take the weight off the overhang and we wouldn’t bounce in the trailer. Finally, I get inside and turn everything on. Oh wait, I can’t remember how to get hot water. 1 hour later and a phone call to Mike, I have hot water. Now I can relax. No, I just remembered. We have to get online with the free WiFi. Finally, at long last, I can rest. Shit, I’ve got to raise the antenna and search for TV stations. When I finally did get to bed, I died.

Walt Disney Museum, October 22nd and Cindi’s birthday. With the truck detached, we were able to get to the museum with no problems. It was a good start to a good day and it was beautiful in the Presidio and the weather was wonderful. I expected to spend a couple of hours in the museum and then go have lunch. Five and half hours later we finally got out of there. It was a great and wonderful experience but once done, I don’t see us going back. It's a well spent $40. They have a cafeteria there but it was really expensive. We headed for a real tourist trap, Pier 39.

Start date October 16th, 2009

Dinner in San Francisco. Well we didn’t get there, we only got close. We stopped in this nice little place that was made up to look like a 50’s grill and we ate there. It was near Ghirardelli Square. When we were done eating we walked around the Ghirardelli Square and ate some free chocolate and left for the RV Park. We were in the city so long that we had to deal with the commute traffic. It wasn’t too bad since we didn’t have a timetable or a schedule to keep. I’m really getting into this retirement.

Go for a hike on October 23rd. This is part of the doing what the birthday girl wants. Yesterday was great and it continued today. We drove down hwy 1 a few miles and saw a sign for a farmer’s market. We pulled over but the market wasn’t opened yet so we went to the shore to go for a walk. There was this hill that went up about 2-300 feet. We climbed up and got a little winded but that was okay. When we got to the top, you could see that there was another hill further up that would give you a better view of the coast to the north. We climbed up that one, and the next one; have I ever mentioned how much I hate heights????! Fortunately, it was all downhill from there.
We were heading back and we decided that we'd drop a penny on the trail and on every trail that we take for the next few years. So we took pictures of the penny and continued back to the truck and then to the farmer’s market. Got some fresh fruit and vegetables and then headed back to our white trash home. When we got there, Cindi wanted to take the bikes to the store and get more food and rent a movie. Done and done. The movie sucked. The food was good. The sleep was pretty good.
Hitch’n Up on October 24th. Actually, this part went really well. I couldn’t get the trailer pigtail to hookup in the truck bed. I remember that Mike said that the bumper hookup was the same so I just draped the pigtail over the tailgate and plugged it in. Brakes and lights worked, time to go. Check out was 10 and it was getting on to 10:30 and I wanted to get moving.

Finding fuel (again with this small tank). This damn truck is really thirsty. I’m still in the Oakland foothills and I need to find a flat, easy access, large clearance gas station with diesel. I pull off the freeway where sign indicated a truck with big D indicating diesel fuel for truckers. I get down the ramp and there is no sign of left or right for the big D. I choose right and of course the big D is to the left. I did find this private brand gas station with some on pump out of service and that leave 3 others to work my huge load into. 30 minutes later, I finally get my turn.

Screwing up the pigtail. After refueling, I had to work my way out of the small gas station. In the process, Cindi noticed that the trailer pigtail was damaged. I pulled across the street to an open lot. OMG, the pigtail had been dragging on the freeway and removed about 1/3 of the cable. I checked and the brakes still work but turn signals and brake lights don’t fully function. So I’m able to continue home with minimal danger.

Finally back in Roseville. Now I’ve got to get the pigtail replaced. At least I’m familiar with the area and know where to go and hopefully I can do this myself without having to move the trailer. I’m guessing with my luck so far that I’m going to have to take it in to Camping World and leave it there for a while. Good! I hate 5th Wheels! I’m so glad we decided to go with the bus. It convinced me that we have made the right decision for us. While driving down the road, Cindi can move about and go to the potty, lay down, get me a soda, work on her computer (offline) and I can play big bus driver and blow my air horns and scare the crap out of everyone.