The Orientation

We made an appointment to have our orientation.  That's when they walk you through the trailer and show you how to do all the things you have to do, to live in a trailer.  All the things you DON'T know how to do in the first place.  Which is just about everything.  We learned about how to put the pretty blue and white awning out and the sand-colored slide room out ... how to hook up the white water hose to the city water hookup ... how to dump the black and gray water ... this is such a colorful pursuit!  That appealed to the artist in me.

The bad thing is, we can only remember about 1/3 of what they told us.  It all went by so fast, and our memories aren't what they used to be.  I don't think.  I can't remember.  But we're finding out that the best way to learn is by experience.  And boy, are we going to get that, in spades!

While we were getting educated in Heartland Wilderness 101, the Trailblazer was getting a few little tweaks.  We had to have a trailer brake package installed and the part of the hitch you put the trailer on, too.  Oh and they installed an electric gadget to raise and lower the trailer tongue.

Then we finished up all the paperwork and the trailer was ours.  It had snowed really bad the previous couple of weeks so we asked if we could keep the trailer there for a couple more days until we could clear a place in our driveway to keep the trailer.  They were great about it.  In fact, the entire staff was super to work with and very helpful to a couple of real, honest-to-goodness greenhorns.

Two days later we went to pick up our new home-on-wheels.  After a quick stop at the insurance office to sign insurance papers, we went to the dealership.  I'm not sure about Andy but I was scared to death.  Neither of us were talking about our worries, in fear of upsetting the other.  It was like bringing home a huge, new baby and not knowing anything much about it's care and feeding.

After a very quick hookup tutorial by the mechanic on our fancy, complicated (or so it seemed) Reese hitch, off we went.  We immediately got onto the interstate and one of my first big fears was looming down on us.  Being passed by a big, scary semi-on-a-mission was one of my biggest nightmares.  Our little Wildebeest tracked like a champ, held it's own and stood up to those speeding semis with the bravery of a much bigger rig.

We made it home in pretty good time, even after it was drilled in our heads by every RV book we've read that you must NEVER go over 55 mph or your tow vehicle will suck gas like...well, it will really suck gas!

Facing us was another big bugaboo.  Backing!  Andy had made a narrow tunnel in the deep wet snow in our driveway but our snowblower picked a bad time to quit on us, so he did it all by hand.  He's got physical limits, imposed on him by the doc who did his surgery last fall and he can't lift much more than 20 lbs.  He took it slow and easy but did as little as possible to get make space for the trailer.  The snow was deep to begin with but it was even deeper on the sides right next to where the trailer would be parked due to snow being thrown no farther than necessary to get it out of the way.  Snow walls.

I got out of the Trailblazer and guided Andy into this narrow slot.  He did a great job for his first time.  The trailer was parked safely in the driveway and now we had to unhitch it.  All went well but for one thing.  The trailer's hitch wouldn't let go of the Trailblazer's hitch.  With some fiddling and poking and prodding, suddenly Andy hit the right combination and the trailer thumped down off the truck.  We heard something snap and I was afraid to look.  Andy went into sailor-mouth mode.  It turned out that the cover to the electric light receiver on the truck broke off as the trailer dropped.  The only place we could find the part to fix it was the car dealer parts dept.  It cost $70 but Andy saved the $170 labor cost by putting the part on instead of letting them do it.

The main thing was, the trailer was home, parked and unhitched!  We had done it!