June 24, 2021

Have you ever noticed that if there is a right or wrong, good or bad way for things to happen, invariably they go in the bad direction?

For me, my most recent occurrence started during my trip to Waco/Georgetown in search of a new RV a couple of weeks ago when I damaged the right hand mirror on my F250 King Ranch truck. This was not really my fault as there was a dumpster parked in the underpass ramp as I exited leaving barely enough room to get through. With traffic behind me, I could not turn round or back up so I had to keep going. As it turns out, there was not enough room although if I had been thinking and not quite so confident in my ability to judge the distance, I could have brought the mirrors in. But that is water under the bridge so to speak as the damage was done.

At the same time, the check engine light was on and had been for a couple of weeks. I figured it was something to do with the 60 gallon diesel tank that I had installed as it leaked when they first installed it. They fixed that problem but the light remained on. Long story short, the diesel pump to the auxiliary tank was failing causing the light to show.

Because I want to trade in the truck, I had to get both items fixed before I could make the trade and took it to a local diesel repair shop right next to the Henly RV Park who fixed the diesel pump problem by replacing the parts. When they turned their attention to the mirror, firstly the parts had to be ordered directly from Ford which caused a slow down. Then it turns out that the cap at the top came in primed and ready for a matching paint job. The diesel shop does not do spray painting so I am left with mismatched mirrors.

For those of you that follow my blog, you know that I am in the process of getting a brand new Class C Coachman Leprechaun and am also trading the truck along with the Eagle. I thought seriously of keeping the F250 as my toad but it is really way too big and heavy for that so I went out and bought a 2017 model Jeep Cherokee for that purpose. Unlike Crestview Buda where I purchased both of the other RV’s, the Georgetown group require that I have an appointment when I take the RV and the Truck up to trade. I guess that is so that they can do an inspection of both vehicles before us completing the deal.

Sooooo, tomorrow looks like it will be a busy day as I have to walk the dogs, eat breakfast and drink coffee, drive to the Malone’s Diesel Repair which is about 4 miles away, pay my bill which will be in the region of $5000.00, hitch the Jeep up to the truck and drive both back to Henly, unhook the jeep, stow the hitch parts in the jeep, hook up the RV, finishes preparing the RV for transportation by making sure that everything is stowed and safe to travel, bring in the slides, raise the jacks and remove the wheel chocks after uncoupling the hoses and power chord, put the power chord in the RV, put the dogs in the truck and drive to Georgetown. On the way, I will pick up my good friend BJ who has offered to make the trip and help unload the remaining items from the Eagle into the new RV which will be named Eagle Two.

Then the drive back to Henly dropping BJ off wherever she left her car, back in Eagle Two to the same site, level it by using the self levelling system that it is equipped, set the blocks, hook up the hoses and power set out the slides and we are ready for business. Apart from making the bed and cooking something to eat after feeding the dogs who incidentally, have to make the trip with me as they have no place to stay with the Eagle their home. Luckily for me, BJ can watch the dogs while I am doing the business part of the day. If it is not too late, maybe I’ll try the TV to see what adjustments I will need to make to get it to work the way I want it to and then we will probably go to bed after a very busy day. Hard to believe that tonight will be my last in the Eagle which I have really enjoyed.

The real work will start on Saturday when I get ready to reload all of the stuff that is currently packed in boxes alongside the RV at my site. I have spent the past few days packing anything that I could to save having to transfer too much in Georgetown. This is all stacked under a couple of blue tarpaulins and is all of my worldly possessions believe it or not. A whole lifetime in a few boxes which at first glance appear to be way to much to fit into Eagle Two. Hard to believe that 85 years worth of a lifetime can be contained in a few plastic containers. The one saving grace is that there is a large overhead bunk area above the cab that I can use which will take a lot of the surplus stuff. Anything left over and deemed as surplus will be given away. It is hard to foretell the future but I have no plans for other humans to occupy any of the space inside of Eagle Two on a permanent basis. An extra dog or two maybe but nothing of the human variety.

Depending on how well the new floorplan works out will determine if I need to make any changes. The desk that I installed in the Eagle is where I spend most of my time except in the evenings when I watch TV. Will I need to remove the couch/bed in Eagle Two to make a similar arrangement or can I get by with the U shaped table. I will definitely need to increase the counter top space somehow, something for the future. So much depends on how much travelling we do. Here’s looking to the future.

This is Part One of this story.

Written 06/24/2021

Check out my old blog at https://pondblog2011.com