FIRST JEEP HILL CLIMB & FIRST DRIVE WITH THE RIG & WRANGLER (Jeep Wrangler that is)

FIRST TEST RUN WITH THE JEEP HOOKED ON TODAY

70F at 8 a.m. at this time of year is rather unusual for our area but it was nice to have the warmer air except of course for the accompanying humidity.  Not as bad as the summer time but still a bit on the energy draining side.

IT'S THE SANDY SHORE THAT MAKES THIS BLUE/GREEN WATER A BROWN COLOR

Spent an hour at Deer Park Lodge this morning doing nasty battle with a couple dozen huge out of control wild grapevine plants that have grown 20 & 30 feet into the air completely covering dozens of cedar trees.  The trees are on a steep slope with a lot of underbrush & needless to say, by the time I got home I was ready for a much needed power nap in my recliner.

   

DEER PARK'S WEBCAM THAT GIVES YOU THIS BEACH VIEW...DPL BEACH CAM (Remember it must be during daylight hours here in southwestern Ontario, Canada)

Deer Park Lodge sits atop a cliff overlooking Lake Huron.  It's probably close to a hundred foot drop to the wide sandy beach below with a fairly steep incline.  Four wheel drive vehicles are able to traverse the slope so I figured it would be good experience for the Jeep & I to take a couple runs up & down the hill & get to know each other better.  All went well as I familiarized myself with things like 4 wheel drive high & 4 wheel drive low.  Managed to figure out my gears & transfer case shiftings alright & the sure footed little Mountain Goat Jeep took me up & down that hill with no problem at all.  At one point I contemplated driving out onto the soft sandy beach but figured I had better not push my luck until I have more experience under my belt & feel comfortable with the Jeep's workings & the Jeep feels more comfortable with the driver's workings:))

 

ALRIGHTY ALREADY, IT'S TIME TO LEARN A LITTLE HILL CLIMBING 101

MADE IT DOWN TO THE BEACH

  

OK, WHATEVER GOES DOWN MUST COME UP

YA, YA, I KNOW IT'S JUST A BABY HILL, BUT WE ALL GOTTA START SOMEWHERE:))   

Ron from FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE phoned about noon saying our Motor Home was done so Kelly & I headed off for Grand Bend to pick it up.  Ron had some good & bad news for us.  New solenoid switch works fine but the rear passenger side leveler will not retract under it's own steam.  We had that same problem 2 years ago when it stuck down at Oliver Lee State Park in Alamogordo New Mexico.  Had to dig a hole under the leveler & use a jack to jack it back up.  Ron recommends we stop at the HWH Hydraulic Leveler Company factory on our way south this year & let them have a look at the problem so that is what we plan to do.  Ron had made phone calls to HWH to troubleshoot the problem & it was determined it should go to the factory. 

I can't begin to say enough about Ron Krauter.  We liked him from the day we met him 4 years ago when we bought the Motor Home.  Ron is one of those guys who goes waaaaaay out of his way in customer satisfaction.  He replaced the leveler solenoid switch, (at cost) changed the oil & filter in the generator & re-installed an electrical plug we had carelessly pulled out.   Those were the original things we needed done to the coach.  But Ron did much more than that because it's just his nature.  He greased our sliding step plus all levelers, power washed the whole coach plus the moldy underside of the TV antennae which I had missed.  He also threw in a couple sliding step mats & armoraled all the tires.  Painted the tailpipes plus the generator tail pipe & gave the generator a cleaning.  Also added a clamp to the generator muffler.  Checked the underside of the coach plus gave us reams of advice on tires, brakes, recalls, etc.  Not to mention all the phone calls he made for us.  And I know I have missed things.  Like I said.....just can't say enough good about this guy.  But, then to top it all off........Ron gave us a 'HUGE' break on the bill.  In this world of rip-offs, over pricing, scams, corruption & greed, what a treat it is to meet a rare individual not only with personality plus but a true sense of fairness, common decency & a guy who treats you like his best friend.  Thanks big guy, very much appreciated by the Bayfield Bunch:))

SUMMER AT DEER PARK LODGE'S BEACH IS OVER FOR ANOTHER SEASON

First thing I did when I got home with the rig was to hitch up the Jeep.  I had read the Jeep's manual a few days ago on towing procedure's & wrote myself out a checklist.  Having a 4 wheel drive vehicle with transfer case was not something I was familiar with so I had to get everything right including the position of the ignition key for traveling.  The hitch-up went well & all the lights checked out but I did not move the Motor Home with the car on back.  No sireeeee!!  I know myself better than to assume everything was hooked up correctly.  After supper Kelly climbed into the Jeep with instructions to keep hands & feet off everything.  Her job was to just sit there & listen for anything unusual or if the Jeep jerked or lunged she was to hit the horn immediately.  I climbed into the rig, opened my side window, turned on the rear view camera, pulled it into gear & slowly inched the Motor Home forward. 

No panicked horn blowing so I eased it up to 5 MPH & still no horn blowing.  Was it possible I got every thing right?  Nawwwww!!  10 MPH & a corner!!  Around the right hand turn we went & all was still quiet behind the Motor Home.  Stop sign & another right turn put us onto the paved road outside our Park.  20-30-40 MPH & still no horn honking...... or screaming!!  A couple miles from the Park I pulled over & slipped back to the Jeep to see a beaming smiley face sitting prettily behind the steering wheel.  Our test drive was a big success & the Jeep towed like a charm.  Kelly said it was a bit unnerving being that close behind a moving vehicle without jamming on the brakes.  A few minutes later we were back home & I unhitched the Jeep.  Another RV mission successfully checked off our list:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER

1. Sag, you're It.
2. Hide and go pee.
3. 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
4. Kick the bucket
5. Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over.
6. Musical recliners.
7. Simon says something incoherent.
8. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy.

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