Boondockers Welcome (Harvest Hosts)

If our first experience with this program is any indication, spending the $99 for Harvest Hosts and another $40 for the additional Boondockers Welcome options will be worth every penny!

We requested a stay at East Estate in Cullman, Alabama for our second night on the road and we really didn't know what to expect. Well, Phyllis and Leonard met us at the road and even helped us back into the spot they have set up at the front of their property. They provided a hook-up to their water and 50amp electrical for the night. It was dusk and sprinkling so we didn't get to talk much, but the site was beautiful in the morning! They have a pond, several pet ducks, and a beagle named Biscuit. They even gave us a register to sign and took our picture for their scrapbook. We will be looking to stay with them again!

Escaping Illinois Snowmaggedon and Learning to Adapt

 The trouble with buying a motorhome in January is that you can't dewinterize to check systems. Does the water heater work? The refrigerator? The air conditioner? Water pump? We have been trying to load the drawers, line the cabinet drawers, make beds, and organize while slipping on the icy driveway and running the space heaters inside. So, when we heard the Illinois forecast for 10 days of below-freezing temperatures and 8-16 inches of snow, we decided to "get outa Dodge" and headed south. 

This is absolutely NOT motorhome driving weather!

For anyone who knows Mark, you understand that he is not at all impulsive. Leaving on a trip without a clear destination and lacking reservations is not his style. Mark is the read-the-manual, order-the-state-guidebooks, and plan-months-ahead type. I love that he is smiling through his stress and embracing this uncertainty with grace. For three days, he has been checking the weather app for updates on overnight temperatures everywhere from Dallas to Atlanta. It appears that Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama are supposed to have some of the best temperatures for the next week. So, that is where our trip will begin.

But, our first hiccup happened before we pulled out of the driveway! Our son's family has Covid, so we will be within one hour of them for a week and won't be able to hug any of them. And so we smile and adapt. Then we get out on the road only to see that the expected 1/2 inch of rain for the area has changed to 3-4 inches. Adapt again. Who needs a plan anyway? 

Then to top it all off, I made one night's reservation at Fern Lake Campground in Paducah, KY and the next night through Boondockers Welcome in Cullman, AL. No, the second night is not at a regular campground. No, there will not be full hookups. No, I have never met the people who are sharing their space with us. Adapt, adapt, adapt.

So, farewell, Illinois! Hello, warmer climates. We will be back when the snow has melted off the roads.

 

5 Steps to Prepare for Our First RV Trip

 We found our RV, but now what? Here are the first 5 steps to take before your first trip.

1. Cleaning

This is a no-brainer even for an RV that has been detailed by a dealership. But, the main reason to thoroughly clean is to find every nook, cranny, and hidden storage space in your RV. In our 2019 FR3 32DS, we learned so much from the cleaning process such as, finding 2 storage areas under the bed, realizing that the cabinet doors appear to be put on upside down, locating the fuse box, and finding a place to store the extra table cushion behind the jackknife slide sofa. 

2. Measuring

As you clean each area, carry a notebook and tape measure to accurately measure the size of each compartment and the opening dimensions. Planning how to use each of the deep spaces in advance will give each section a purpose and keep the small spaces organized. I watched several organizational videos including this one by Lyfe Untethered that were very helpful, and I lined all of the storage areas with shelf paper to reduce noise and vibrations.

Shelf liner for sound reduction in our pantry.

3. Functionality

How you plan to use your RV will determine the purpose of each space. Since we plan to boondock frequently, we need all necessities to be accessible without extending our motorhome slides. This creates 2 considerable problems in our model. First, none of the bedroom drawers will be accessible since the king bed butts up against the drawer fronts when slides are retracted. Everything below the kitchen sink is inaccessible, too, which will make the usual under-the-sink location for the trashcan hidden when we are traveling and boondocking. To solve these problems, our daughter needs to have space to store some clothes at the end of her bunk and we need a separate small trashcan for boondocking. We also need somewhere for laundry, cooking spices, and guest bedding. Outside we need storage for sewer hoses, chairs, fishing gear, grilling equipment, and a screen house. Our outside storage compartments are not water tight, so purchasing plastic containers will be necessary. 

4. System Checks

Against recommendations, we purchased our 2019 RV without an inspection.  In the winter Illinois temperatures, we have no idea whether the AC or water works properly in this winterized vehicle, and we already know that one of the slides has caused a gouge in the flooring. With less than 6000 miles on the unit, we anticipate that there may still be some manufacturer issues to fix. So, Mark called Forest River and Barry Hughes from the FR3 division provided us with a Vin Recall Search link, Interactive Owner's manuals, Helpful How-To Videos, Manual Slide Out Operation pdf, Forest River virtual plant tour., and contact phone numbers for support! He was amazing! We also located the Forest River site through Google Search here. We have now tested the jacks, furnace, cameras, slides, microwave, generator, refrigerator, manual overhead bunk, awning, and every door, lever, and drawer. Now if the ice will just melt off the roads we will head south so we can flush out all of the water lines and test the water heater, showers, faucets, etc.

Our floor gouge from the slide!

5. Electronics

And finally, since Grace is remote schooling, we needed to upgrade and test our electronics. We bought a Verizon Jetpack and upgraded our phones to an unlimited data plan, reset all of the TV channels, tested the satellite antennae, and tried out the GPS, backup and side cameras. 

Our Forest River FR3 32DS

 We finally found our motorhome! And yes, it has 90% of what we were looking for. Only time will tell whether the other 10% should have been more important.

So, here are 5 things we love about our motorhome and 4 things we aren't crazy about.

What we love about our FR3 32DS:

1. The Floorplan:

Roomy 2 slide model

We liked the roominess of this 34 foot floorplan when the slides were out and kept us under our maximum length of 36 feet. We should be able to maneuver in National Parks and have plenty of space for guests to join us. We also got a pantry, overhead bunk, and several roomy kitchen storage spaces.

2. The Mileage:

We loved that this 2019 model had less than 6000 miles on the engine. We had very few maintenance records to view since it has had little service except one oil change, new batteries, and a replacement air conditioner.

3. Seatbelts:

I never dreamed that RV manufacturers would create bunkhouse models that would sleep 8 and include only 4 seatbelts, but we found that in several models including the Tiffin 34 QBA. Although we will usually have only the 3 on our travels, having 8 seatbelts for keeping the grandchildren safe is a nice bonus. 

4. King bed:

We determined that this was negotiable, but having a King bed will be a nice extra luxury. We may need a mattress upgrade, but a walk around King is uncommon in this short model.

5. Price:

Finding a motorhome under $90,000 in this great condition sealed the deal!

What we dislike about this model: 

1. Small Walkway:

The area between the kitchen counter and pantry is narrow.

2. Hidden Storage:

When the bunk/bedroom slide is retracted, all of the storage drawers are inaccessible and you cannot walk around the bed. That means Mark will be crawling over me to get to the bathroom. The slide also covers up the kitchen sink area cabinets, so these cabinets will be inaccessible when we boondock.

3. Paint Scheme:

We really like full body paint motorhome exteriors that make units look unique, so the basic standard entry-level tan color scheme is not a plus.

4. Build Flaws:

The upper cabinets in both the bedroom and above the couch open incorrectly. The doors pull down and the doors hang open toward you making it difficult to access the storage spaces. There is also a missing piece of trim around the bunks that keeps the bedroom door from being flush against the wall when closed. All are fixable, but will probably remain as-is for awhile. 

5. Flooring Gouge:

The slide roller near the dinette left a floor gouge from a screw or object getting wedged between the roller and linoleum. We checked on Amazon for a repair kit that should help us to fix the space. The area will probably be covered with a rug most of the time, though.

All in all, we have seen so many similar models with more mileage in much worse shape. And this model was stored inside a heated garage making the exterior look almost new.

Good-bye MTZ, Hello Remote Classes

I requested transcripts and officially withdrew Grace from school today. We are hoping that James Madison Online will be a good fit for her, but she is apprehensive, especially since she is jumping into classes midterm. We are waiting on a transcript evaluation to join English 2, part 2, Biology part 2, Spanish 1, part 2, Algebra 1, part 2 and Vocabulary Studies. Those 5 classes will keep her eligible for Tennis in the fall if we choose to return for the season. Lots of new today.

She will miss her friends, I'm sure! 

Her locker

Till next year...

 

Friends