RVing

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One Little Issue After An Other

I’ve been at the shop since about 8:30 this morning and it is presently 12:15. Everyone’s on lunch and there is about an hour of work left to do when they come back. So I will be going back to my mother’s for just one more night and leaving tomorrow morning.

One of the first issues encountered today is that I have a non-standard hitch. I’m not sure if this is the one I originally had or if Boisvert Ford replaced it. Thankfully, it was possible to grind down the tow bar safely to make it fit.

Second, the electrical wiring that goes from the rig to the toad was not inspected by Boisvert and was completely toast. I blame myself for this because I kept telling myself to ask for the wiring to be checked and always forgot to.

Needless to say, the costs keep mounting. I’m going to send Intact, the toad insurers, all the information tonight and hope that they will honour their written promise to make up any excess costs beyond what I was already given for the tow setup.

I’m now waiting for my lunch. As always on (semi) departure days, my stomach is in knots, but I’m trying to break the habit of landing somewhere with my blood sugar levels at zero.

If I didn’t have the uncertainty of the border crossing ahead of me, a 2:00 departure with landing in waning daylight in a familiar location would have been fine, but I’ll be glad to leave feeling more refreshed tomorrow.

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The Importance of GCVWR

A few people have expressed concern that my Ford Ranger is too heavy to tow behind my class C motorhome.

At about 13,500lbs, my RV is well within its GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 14,050lbs. But what about my GCVWR, or gross combined vehicle weight rating, which limits how much I can tow?

The GCVWR on my rig is a ridiculous 25,000lbs! That means that even if my rig was at its maximum GVWR, I could tow something weighing 10,000lbs!

My Ford Ranger weighs about 3,500lbs (at most).

So my rig is just below its GVWR (by about 550lbs) and well below its GCVWR (by about 8,000lbs). I am not even remotely overloaded.

While I am sure the extra weight will affect handling and fuel efficiency, my RV will do just fine towing my Ford Ranger.

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Supplemental Health Coverage

I always get supplemental health coverage when I go to the States, even if it’s just for a Walmart run. I buy my coverage through CIBC since I can purchase it from their website and have them debit my chequing account. But when I looked at the cost of six months’ worth of coverage, I decided I needed to shop around.

I used Kanetix to get a few quotes, which ranged from $313 to $650. The only difference I could see between the least and most expensive was that the least expensive one had a $250 deductible. So it made sense to buy that one and only pay the difference in policy price if I actually need to use the coverage. There was also the issue that policies are non-refundable, so it made sense to pay less in case my plans change.

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Decent Pulling Out Weather

This morning, I backed Miranda out onto the street so I could take her out for a spin. She was a little tough to start, but once we were under way, she ran smoothly. I had no trouble restarting her after each stop. I had a lot on my list, but the morning wasn’t stressful in the least and I felt very comfortable behind the wheel.

The weather is damp and cold with a promise of weak sun. Not ideal weather for outdoor activities, but better than the pouring rain I had in Lethbridge!

First stop was the dump station. An attendant came out to tell me they had turned off the water, but I could still dump. Thankfully, I had several gallon jugs of tap water on board for rinsing my hose and the dump site.

I let the attendant know that I filled up my truck there this week as a thank you for offering this dump site. The station isn’t that well situated for gassing up an RV so I had already decided to get fuel elsewhere.

Next, I drove to Richelieu to get propane, which cost $80 for a fill at almost 90 cents per litre. More expensive than out west, but still cheaper than in the States.

Then, it was time to find a gas station and the Esso in Chambly was the best choice even if fuel was just over $1.30 a litre. Gas in New York state is over $4 a gallon right now, so it wasn’t worth having to stress out about getting gas with my new longer rig the second I crossed the border. I’ll top up around Saratoga.

I got back to my mother’s and parked in front of the house, then borrowed her car to go to the bank. There, I deposited a cheque and took out 200USD.

This afternoon, I need to buy my supplemental health coverage. I got quotes for this ranging from $300 to $600 for the same coverage! I’ll write up a post about that once I’ve purchased a policy.

I haven’t heard from the shop, so I assume my baseplate installation is going well. I may get out of here tomorrow…

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Everything Is Going Off With a Hitch

I didn’t get Miranda out of the driveway today, but I’m otherwise on schedule for a Wednesday departure.

Three things delayed me today:

1) needing to figure out how to load my new toad (could be improved)

2) having to pass a wire from the back of the rig to the dash (will explain this when I show off the tow bar set up)

3) the shortness of the day (it’s dark at 4:00 here now)

The very warm weather was a real blessing. I would have liked comparable weather for my running around tomorrow, but I’ll take what I can get.

I dropped off my truck off at the shop at 3:30 and gave instructions for the tow bar stuff. Most of that will be done first thing Wednesday when the RV is there, too. They say the baseplate setup and electrical installation will take a full day.

If all the work is done by noon Wednesday, I’ll leave from the shop and head for Saratoga Springs. Otherwise, I’ll delay departure for Thursday morning.