Hi Guys, I'm not a make believe person, sorry for fallin off the edge of the map; I picked up my rig w/no problems thanks to everyone here. I enjoyed reading all th scuttlebutt, tho, you guys shuld write some novels, you'd make a mint, lol!
I meant to write back 1st thing, but w/in bout a wk, found myself in th crosshairs of that monster ice storm that hit MD w/quarter inch ice. Befor it hit, I hadta quickly finish emptyin my house I'm sellin, after repairs from 6 floods in Bmore last yr. So everything was sorted into 3 piles, throw out - done! Storage durin my 1 yr trial of fulltimin (compromise w/worried family - did I mention Im from a huge family, not countin my own kids & now grandkids?) - almost done & then th storm timeline sped up!
Soooo, w/a good 15 boxes stil not gone thru but dumpd on my back bed - Radar pulld me up my new stairs & we hit th rd literally w/th ice & snow on our tail! We drov 12 hrs stoppn only for gas & Radar potty breaks (seems I can't teach my SD to use th RV toilet, lol!), & then drivin off again as th temp guage on my dash showd th freeze catchin up & various real time weather alerts blared at me
On th merge to th D.C. beltway I had my 1st close call in an rv. Thankfully had bout 5 car lengths btween me & a driver in front in a small suv. It was snowin. All of a sudden I saw a rush of steam billow up from it like watchin a strange ied go. I slammd my new brakes hard, ended up 6 ft from his bumper. He had hit a small car in front of him. I didn't hav rm to go round him. Vehicles kept flyin by us (I was in a 2nd lane from right bc of th interesting exit setup for th 270 to th 495 & back to 95 S). I needed to bak up to get around.
My medic soul kept yellin at me to respond & triage but I knew I'd get clobberd. Worse, No one was movin & despite only 6 ft from th suv I culdnt see anyone at all! After what seemed forever, I had a clear rear & backd up & then swung round. I kept lookin for movemnt, or jus people, but saw nuthin. My fone had gone flyin somewher so I culdnt even call 911 for them. I felt guilty as all get out, still do, but I put me & my dog 1st & left them behind. At th next rest stop which was over th VA line near Alexandria,I found th fone & was routed from 911 to 911 & finally gav up bc th sno was turnin to ice so I hadta keep movin...
I finally lost th storm, spent nearly a wk at Lott Island Army Airfield near Savanna (only $20 per nite minus $3 a nite discount for accessAmer card! Learnd bout ACE toilet/blacktank issues, lol!
Went on to Daytona, 2 of my remainin 9 sibs liv there. Learned boondockin in Cracker Barrels & Wallyworlds. Daytona doesnt seem to like RVs hangin out much. & onw o my big bros said he's never had a hard freeze warnin since movin there till I brought it down w/me, lol! I went up to Jacksonville Naval Air Station for a few days, wulda stayed, but no rm at the inn, long term in winter needs rez's many mo's bfor, new lerning ther too!
Durin all this I had a leak growin ever bigger. When ther was a break in th wind & cold, boogied bak up to my newport news dealer. They fixed 2 leaks, but a few miles later found was stil leakin, even worse (I wrote bout it somewher on forum in a reply to a question bout bathrm leaks last nite)
Went bak up to Bmore to work on my hous repair issues. Got rid of half my boxes, but added 5 mor to sort on the rd! Returnd to dealer, they found & fixed it! I also changed my 2 12v hous batts for 2 6v agms, which xtended how long I can stay warm w/out gettin up to run he geni every coyple of hrs. I wil add 2 mor somehow bfor gettin solar at some point. Goin bak up to instal satellite & a wifi & cell xtender at end of th month.
My bloody MD tags stil havnt come in, so I cant change domiciles til then or leav East Coast winters behind. Was tol if I change to Fl or Tx bfor my tags come in, my new state wil want taxes I alredy paid to MD!
So, with another change in th weather, I'm jus South of the worse at Ft Bragg, NC. I really do exist, see, heres a pix's below!
P.S. I have an issue I need advice on re balncin the needs of my warranty, insur, & possible repair, but will start a new msg for that later - if y'all decide I'm for real & so is Radar!