Friday, March 7, 2014

What's wrong with this picture?


Other than being in an RV park, a rather unusual occurrence for us in the last two months. Other than heading for Buenos Aires NWR and ending up in the Tucson Mt. area, a scenic and circuitous route indeed.  Probably all for the best tho, giving us much more time to shop for the Jeep replacement, and then deal with getting it hooked up to the MH.




Yes, I'm having second thoughts, tho I had a love/hate relationship with our jeep.  This shiny, white, clean, spacious little 4-door is a 2010 Toyota RAV 4, 4 WD, though you can bet she won't climb rocks and looks exactly like a gazillion other SUVs.  We'll never find her in a crowded parking lot.  We were seduced by having back seats that fold down,  plus a huge "trunk" area with all kinds of nooks and crannies for all the stuff us full-timers have to tote around, like a case of toilet paper from Costco!  And the fact that we can actually drive our friends and family around in total comfort, with car seats for the grandkids.

Of course, this can't be easy since most of you know that 4WD Toyota automatic transmissions aren't supposed to be towed with 4 wheels down and require major modifications.  We told the dealer, as we prepared to walk out the door, that we needed to check with Remco regarding their lube pumps, cost and installation, plus price a new Blue Ox tow bar.  Oh no you don't, as they lassoed us in and quickly said "we'll take care of everything".  Well, that everything is costing them about $2500 and we personally went to Tucson Driveline, an authorized Remco service facility, to double check the procedure, as it involves installing a pump to keep transmission fluid cooled and circulating when the RAV is towed, as well as a monitor installed on the MH dashboard that is wired to the car....Lots of internet research, forums, and such have allayed my concerns somewhat.  Bottom line is the work gets done next Monday and Tuesday.
















We're staying at the Bar J RV park in west Tucson, close to local friends and some good Tucson Mt. Park hiking. We stayed here for 2 1/2 months last year, two of which involved trips out of the MH; Roatan, Honduras in February 2013 and San Carlos, MX in April 2013.  This allows us to get our carpets, upholstery, ceilings and valances steamed-cleaned.  We had planned to go on to Benson after visiting Buenos Aires to have Kyle at Complete Carpet Cleaning do his annual fantastic job of keeping this 14 year old rig looking like a teenager, but thankfully he also services the Tucson area!  Tons of wind-blown dust and sand have now been sucked up and we are looking spiffy again.  And laundry is another plus...plus the washing machines are free and the weather perfect for line hanging!  




  





Enough talking, let's get out of here!  But wait, what's wrong with this picture?