We sold the house and hitting the road

Real-time updates from forum members actively traveling.
Xatlatc
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 353
Joined: July 14th, 2015, 6:40 pm
Location: Upstate South Carolina

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Xatlatc »

USS Cairo.
Attachments
USS Cairo bell- 400 lbs
USS Cairo bell- 400 lbs
F02585B3-F3E0-42CA-92A3-E1FE8A4C6477.jpeg
Side view
Side view
Xatlatc
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 353
Joined: July 14th, 2015, 6:40 pm
Location: Upstate South Carolina

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Xatlatc »

Finally arrived in St. Louis and boy is it cold! We drove slowly on the Interstate with wind gusts of up to 41 mph but the Chinook stayed right side up and the a/c shroud didn’t grow wings either.
We’ve traveled about 2600 miles with the cruise control not working but no more. A local Ford dealer installed a new “on” switch assembly and presto the magic of cruise is working again.
At times I don’t know what day it is, where we were yesterday, where we are today and where we’re going. And loving it.
Attachments
They throw these yeast rolls to you
They throw these yeast rolls to you
Cinnamon rolls at Lambert’s Cafe
Cinnamon rolls at Lambert’s Cafe
Just fits.
Just fits.
Xatlatc
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 353
Joined: July 14th, 2015, 6:40 pm
Location: Upstate South Carolina

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Xatlatc »

After Thanksgiving in St. Louis I felt the urge to put the feet in the Gulf again, so back to the Destin, Fl area. I waved goodbye to the arch and stopped in Metropolis, Illinois to boondock at a Harrahs casino for the night. Three hours of driving was enough for me. Ha. A giant Superman statue and a very nice Superman museum is in Metropolis.
Attachments
Gateway to the west
Gateway to the west
It’s a bird, a plane, it’s Superman
It’s a bird, a plane, it’s Superman
Museum
Museum
Xatlatc
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 353
Joined: July 14th, 2015, 6:40 pm
Location: Upstate South Carolina

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Xatlatc »

We drove 241 miles today and boy was I ready to find a place to stay for the night. So far the odometer shows we’ve gone a little over 3000 miles, a little at a time. Trying to remember to slow down. No hurry to return to a home to mow the lawn etc. This is very different and I’m still sliding into the the ‘ no hurry’ mode.
I found a very nice Alabama State Park called Frank Jackson State Park located near the Florida line. I hope to find a cancellation tomorrow at Henderson State Park near Destin but will gladly ‘ settle ‘ for Topsail Preserve State Park a little further east of Destin. I plan to to be back in the Upstate of South Carolina to attend a Christmas Parade with the grandchildren on the 8th of December. While there, I’ll get a couple minor repairs on the Chinook and probably a set of new tires before going to South Florida after Christmas.
Attachments
Ho, ho, ho.
Ho, ho, ho.
192CCE3F-1521-40CD-BAC5-4C2547C007B9.jpeg
Nice park with a view
Nice park with a view
User avatar
Blue~Go
Senior Member
Posts: 3716
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:01 am
Location: 1999 Concourse

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Blue~Go »

The lakeside site looks lovely! I can just imagine slipping the kayak in and going for a quiet paddle (or just enjoying it from a camp chair).

Perfectly sized tree :D
1999 Concourse
chin_k
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 2257
Joined: June 26th, 2017, 9:38 pm
Location: Southern CA

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by chin_k »

I can't wait when my retirement arrives, but it is still years away :|

I have not look into the price of tire replacement, but I think it will be more than a grand. How old is yours, and do you notice anything that warrant to get a new set? Most RV tires still have so much thread on them that it is kind of pity to replace them due to the safety issue of old tires. Maybe I will go for making some donuts on the street before I give the tires up :lol:
Last edited by chin_k on November 29th, 2017, 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
User avatar
Blue~Go
Senior Member
Posts: 3716
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:01 am
Location: 1999 Concourse

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Blue~Go »

I'm not the OP, but I'll put in my two cents worth:

General consensus is that RV tires should be replaced at 6 years old. I've heard that Michelin will say you can go up to 10 years with an annual inspection (by them? I don't know the details). Given the potential hassles of tire problems on the road (especially with a 10,000# dually rig), I replace at or before 6 years from the date of manufacture -- I don't care if the tread is perfect --- I just want peace of mind, and young tires give it to me.

If you want to see when your tires were manufactured, look for the DOT date code on each one. A catch is that each tire only has the date part of the code on one side, not both. At the end of the DOT string will be four numbers, such as "2712." The first pair of numbers is the week, the second pair the year. So the tire with "2712" was made in July of 2012.

One note is that I have had tire places try to sell me tires that were already two years old by the date code. Um, no. Now when buying them I specify that they be no more than 6 months old, and preferably younger than that. Luckily there are lots of places to buy tires (presuming one is shopping in advance) so if one place won't accommodate that request, likely another will.

Of course person can get lucky with older tires (or unlucky with newer ones), but I like to at least stack the deck in my favor. Then run with tire pressure appropriate for the weight on each axle (I have posted the chart on another thread).

It's weird about tires when rig shopping. I had one seller INSIST that the tires were less than a year old. When I pointed out that they were over five years old, and said that I still liked the rig but wanted to come to some agreement due to the tires being almost ready for replacement (like maybe take off half the cost of new tires from the price) he said "no, because I know in my heart they're nearly new." (Um, okay, never mind the DOT date code then.) I hated to give up on that Chinook, but it just gave me a bad vibe so I passed. I mean, no problem that the tires aren't new, but let's not act like they are. This "but no, they MUST be new" thing seems to happen fairly often to RV shoppers :?
1999 Concourse
Xatlatc
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 353
Joined: July 14th, 2015, 6:40 pm
Location: Upstate South Carolina

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Xatlatc »

Walked along the beach with my toes in the water as the sun was setting at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park.

Chin_k,
I have Michelin tires that look almost brand new but they’re well over six years old. No spider cracks or any other visual indication that it’s time to replace them, just the DOT date on the front tires. The rear tires have the date on the inside so I can’t read the date. Hmm? I’ve put about 15k miles on these tires and knowing that I’ll put maybe 8-10k more when I head out west in January I will feel better with new shoes on the Chinook. Peace of mind. I don’t want any tire issues out in the middle of some of these roads Google maps has put me on. In lieu of Michelin ( about $1350ish out the door ) I found very good reviews on Tire Rack with a light truck tire, load rated E by Sumitomo Encounter HT for about $105 per tire installed. My local tire guy says it’s a decent tire but I may spring for Michelin.
Attachments
11B02D5C-C03D-4AC6-B6D0-98779A3FE052.jpeg
9335ECC3-33DB-43BB-AB0E-77C86C7C0072.jpeg
Castles in the sand, until high tide.
Castles in the sand, until high tide.
chin_k
**Forum Contributor**
Posts: 2257
Joined: June 26th, 2017, 9:38 pm
Location: Southern CA

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by chin_k »

I think the best thing to make me feel better about spending is to get it out more often, to get the money's worth. I just wish I have more time to enjoy it more with my family. Maybe I will take a day or two out to the beach on the Xmas holidays, but still not sure if I have the time. Very glad that some of you are making great trip and having great memory with the Chinook.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
User avatar
Blue~Go
Senior Member
Posts: 3716
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:01 am
Location: 1999 Concourse

Re: We sold the house and hitting the road

Post by Blue~Go »

That last photo ... the aquamarine water and the creamy sand ... gorgeous!
1999 Concourse
Post Reply