We arrived at the border crossing at the Bluewater Bridge in Port Huron, MI about 4 pm Friday April 13th. Must have been our lucky day. There was a brief 5 minute stop to export the RV at US Customs, no lineup at Canadian immigration and only 15 minutes to complete the import formalities at Canadian Customs.
We stopped in London for dinner (mmm...pizza) and then joined 10 other RVs at the Flying J for the night. That is the only place with RV dump facilities open at this time of year on our route home in Ontario.
Saturday noon we arrived back at our home to be greeted by friends and family. We travelled a total of 7,572 miles this winter -- 300 more than last year due to our trip from Tucson to Phoenix and back to Tucson.
We are enjoying our newer RV. For short people like Bev, the 6-way power co-pilot seat, automated controls for the fantastic fans, the power visors, the electric awning all come in handy. We appreciate the metal containers over the slide covers and awning, especially in high winds. We're still getting used to the side-view cameras when changing lanes -- they can be a little distracting. Since the cupboard for the washer/dryer is just shelving, we have way more storage in this RV. The increased insulation and dual pane windows reduce the sound from outside and keep us warmer on cool nights.
Vic added a tire monitor system which will ease our mind after the blowout we had in El Paso on our journey south. Our Pursuit carried a spare but this RV has the larger 22.5" tires. Since each tire weighs 90 lbs without a rim, there is no provision for a spare tire as they are for all practical purposes not user replaceable.
Many thanks to our daughter and our neighbours for looking after our home each winter while we follow our dream!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The River Walk
We truly enjoyed our visit to San Antonio, Texas. We stayed at a lovely little RV park called Hidden Valley on the southwest side of the city. With our PA discount, it cost $66 for 3 days and we were only a 15 minute drive from the downtown area. The park was quiet -- no highway or street noise. Nice.....
We spent 2 days in the area. First we visited the Alamo and enjoyed the tour very much. Free unless you want to rent the audio tour devices which were just $6 per person. Very interesting historical site.
The River Walk is a beautiful area of San Antonio, and likely unique in the world. You stroll the sidewalks around a loop in the river located in the downtown area. We took a few photos but you have to visit there to truly appreciate it.
It is hard to believe that the River Walk area was first re-developed in the 1920's but most of the current hotels, etc were added in 1968 at the time of the HemisFair.
For further information, go to this link: History of the San_Antonio_River_Walk
After the River Walk, we decided to hike to the Mexican Market Square and passed some beautiful historical buildings along the way.
We spent 2 days in the area. First we visited the Alamo and enjoyed the tour very much. Free unless you want to rent the audio tour devices which were just $6 per person. Very interesting historical site.
The River Walk is a beautiful area of San Antonio, and likely unique in the world. You stroll the sidewalks around a loop in the river located in the downtown area. We took a few photos but you have to visit there to truly appreciate it.
It is hard to believe that the River Walk area was first re-developed in the 1920's but most of the current hotels, etc were added in 1968 at the time of the HemisFair.
For further information, go to this link: History of the San_Antonio_River_Walk
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| Tour boat passing by while we were seated at a restaurant for lunch |
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| Ducks join the noon time diners |
After the River Walk, we decided to hike to the Mexican Market Square and passed some beautiful historical buildings along the way.
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| The Court House |
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| Tiny house built in 1800s. |
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| note the faded Cocoa Cola sign advertising a bottle for 5 cents! |
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
San Antonio
After months of research and visiting private sellers and dealers in Tucson and Phoenix, we found a newer motorhome to our requirements. We got a good trade-in value and ideal price for a 37' 2006 Monaco Monarch motorhome in Tucson. The people at Pedata RV Sales were very nice in dealing with us. They responded promptly and accurately with our concerns.
It didn't start out well. On our initial test drive the transmission would not shift out of second (limp mode). The embarrassed salesman returned to the lot and could only apologize. We continued to look at other rigs in Tucson without find something that "turned our crank". We moved on to Phoenix for two days..and still didn't find anything that could beat the quality, features, price, and mileage of the Monaco Monarch at Pedata. While we were in Phoenix, Bob, the salesman at Pedata called to relate that the rig was taken to an Allison transmission specialist who found nothing wrong. The rig was ready for another test drive if we were to return. We did.
The second test drive went a little better and Vic even got a chance to drive the rig. But...it was "backfiring like crazy" as quoted by salesman on the service report. We were not frightened off by this set-back and bought the rig conditional on all out fixes being met. There were only 22 items to get fixed:
-Engine backfiring like crazy under full throttle (bad ignition wire)
-Levelers not functioning (took two tries but they added fluid which correct problems...still not 100% yet)
-Awning not extending properly (sticking on one arm (fixed)
-upper right corner of interior slide frame bent and facia cracked (fixed)
-convex rear view mirror on right side missing (replaced)
-seal on roof cracked on front driver's side (re-sealed the whole roof!)
-shower doors free to slide while underway (added strap to hold doors open)
-rearview camera not functioning sometime (claimed to have fixed loose connection but still an issue)
-cap on leveler hydraulic reservoir cross threaded ( re-threaded but not a long term fix...I will replace later)
-vinyl on dash loose (re-glued)
-fridge hinge loose ( repaired to our satisfaction)
-tires cracking on sidewalls, out of date (we paid for upgrade to Toyo tires rather than offered lower quality tires)
-light lens missing on main salon and bedroom (all replaced)
-missing bladder and air pump for sofa bed mattress (will ship to our Indiana address)
-AC/DC breaker/fuse panel loose in bedroom (repaired)
-ice maker not making ice cubes (replaced with new unit but still not sure working 100%)
-window valance loose (fixed)
-wires hanging out of rear upper right marker light (weird...removed)
-new chassis and coach batteries
-hitch electrical connector broken and painted over (replaced with new)
-small chip on windshield (repaired)
-Bonus...used 4" drop down hitch adapter included at no charge
Vic spent a day flying with stopover from Tucson to Toronto, a day to wire the money to pay for the RV and then another day to fly back to join Bev in Tucson. After the deal went through we spent 3 days to transfer all our "stuff" over and make sure everything worked properly.
We are finally on our route back to Ontario with target date to cross the border on April 13th.
We have booked into an RV park just south of San Antonia, TX to spend a couple of days visiting the Alamo, doing the River Walk and the boat tour. We are staying at Hidden Valley RV Park which is located about 15 minutes from downtown. What a great park! Quiet, secluded, wooded, friendly place, and well priced. Nothing special, no pool or hot tub, no showers, but good 50 amp hook-up, water and sewer connections. Free internet. Did I say quiet? Nice. And there were fireflies this evening which we haven't encountered for years at home!!!!
Here are the pics the dealer had on their web site:
Note the electric awing on the left slide. Cool!
Microwave convection oven will take some getting used to. No gas oven saves space that can be used for storage.
We are happy with the dinette setup as we saw some issues with separate table and chairs being bounced around while under way.
It didn't start out well. On our initial test drive the transmission would not shift out of second (limp mode). The embarrassed salesman returned to the lot and could only apologize. We continued to look at other rigs in Tucson without find something that "turned our crank". We moved on to Phoenix for two days..and still didn't find anything that could beat the quality, features, price, and mileage of the Monaco Monarch at Pedata. While we were in Phoenix, Bob, the salesman at Pedata called to relate that the rig was taken to an Allison transmission specialist who found nothing wrong. The rig was ready for another test drive if we were to return. We did.
The second test drive went a little better and Vic even got a chance to drive the rig. But...it was "backfiring like crazy" as quoted by salesman on the service report. We were not frightened off by this set-back and bought the rig conditional on all out fixes being met. There were only 22 items to get fixed:
-Engine backfiring like crazy under full throttle (bad ignition wire)
-Levelers not functioning (took two tries but they added fluid which correct problems...still not 100% yet)
-Awning not extending properly (sticking on one arm (fixed)
-upper right corner of interior slide frame bent and facia cracked (fixed)
-convex rear view mirror on right side missing (replaced)
-seal on roof cracked on front driver's side (re-sealed the whole roof!)
-shower doors free to slide while underway (added strap to hold doors open)
-rearview camera not functioning sometime (claimed to have fixed loose connection but still an issue)
-cap on leveler hydraulic reservoir cross threaded ( re-threaded but not a long term fix...I will replace later)
-vinyl on dash loose (re-glued)
-fridge hinge loose ( repaired to our satisfaction)
-tires cracking on sidewalls, out of date (we paid for upgrade to Toyo tires rather than offered lower quality tires)
-light lens missing on main salon and bedroom (all replaced)
-missing bladder and air pump for sofa bed mattress (will ship to our Indiana address)
-AC/DC breaker/fuse panel loose in bedroom (repaired)
-ice maker not making ice cubes (replaced with new unit but still not sure working 100%)
-window valance loose (fixed)
-wires hanging out of rear upper right marker light (weird...removed)
-new chassis and coach batteries
-hitch electrical connector broken and painted over (replaced with new)
-small chip on windshield (repaired)
-Bonus...used 4" drop down hitch adapter included at no charge
Vic spent a day flying with stopover from Tucson to Toronto, a day to wire the money to pay for the RV and then another day to fly back to join Bev in Tucson. After the deal went through we spent 3 days to transfer all our "stuff" over and make sure everything worked properly.
We are finally on our route back to Ontario with target date to cross the border on April 13th.
We have booked into an RV park just south of San Antonia, TX to spend a couple of days visiting the Alamo, doing the River Walk and the boat tour. We are staying at Hidden Valley RV Park which is located about 15 minutes from downtown. What a great park! Quiet, secluded, wooded, friendly place, and well priced. Nothing special, no pool or hot tub, no showers, but good 50 amp hook-up, water and sewer connections. Free internet. Did I say quiet? Nice. And there were fireflies this evening which we haven't encountered for years at home!!!!
Here are the pics the dealer had on their web site:
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| Front left showing main slide room. |
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| Front left showing bedroom slide, |
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| The arse end. Cute butt! |
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| Passenger side showing computer desk and rocker chair. |
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| Kitchen and dinette. |
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| Dinette and sofa bed. |
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| View looking forward. Both driver and passenger set power adjust. |
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| The bedroom queen walk-around bed. |
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| Lots of storage here but even more not shown. |
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| Bathroom is small but functional. |
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| Good size shower. |
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| Boy toys: Workhorse chassis, Chevy engine, Allison transmission, 22.5" wheels, less than 12,000 miles |
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