We finally did it, we’re on the road, headed out for our shakedown cruise! We didn’t quite leave by the morning, but as of this afternoon, we are now officially on the road.
The day began with the final loading of the camper and Jeep. I have been having trouble finding the right hitch setup, and today was no different. I can’t use a normal style and length mount because the ball sits too low and is right under the spare tire with no room for the camper tongue. I tried a hitch extender from Harbor Freight, but it was too long, and the chains and electrical didn’t reach. This morning, I tried just an extra long mount from Camping World, but it was still a bit too far for the electrical, and it still interfered with the spare tire – looks like I’m going to have to just take the tire off the back and go from there.
I also needed to calibrate the electronic brake controller. A quick Google search told me what I needed to do, and the trailer brakes seem to be working as intended.
With the hitch, and the brakes all figured out, we hit the road. We’re heading west to the Apalachian mountains – where I’m told beautiful fall colors abound!
As we drive through the some traffic before leaving the town, we start to hear a “squeak squeak squeak” coming from the front passenger wheel. It only happens when driving slow, but it’s definitely there. Nothing short of a total breakdown is stopping us now though! Noelle and I look at each other and agree; the wheel will literally need to fall off before we stop this damn car!
We soon made it out into the country. The North Carolina countryside is beautiful, and keeping off the insterstate is really going to help us connect with the places we drive though. I did make one bad decision to stop at St. James Lake State Park before we arrived at the campsite – it involved a long windy road up a steep hill – not a great decision on my part.
We made it back down, and eventually got to our first campsite – Success!
This is the first thing I notice when I get out of the car – the electrical connector from the trailer has fallen apart and is trailing on the ground – uh oh. It looks fixable though, and another quick Google confirms that I just need to get the wires reconnected to the right terminals. A little bit later, we have working taillights and turn signals – success again!
We’re staying at a Yogi Bear campsite close to Marion, NC. The campsite is decent – but honestly at almost $40 for a night (and that is the discounted price), I was expecting a little more. I think camping might be a bit more expensive than people make it sound!
The ducks were actually really loud – like unusually loud – is that normal??
As I’m writing this post in our cozy little camper, we’ve had a great first night. It might be bad sign that I had to pull the tool bag out first thing, but we’re still here, and we’re still on the road! Onwards to day 2!
