From Chilliwack to Southern California

[JaimeA]

New fridge performance was great! However, since it was so rainy, we did not dry camp and we were plugged in most of the times we stopped. We did not have a chance to run it on the battery or propane alone, but it functioned exactly as expected. Further experimentation required

[rbryan4]

That's encouraging - thanks. Of course, the real test for us will be South Texas when it gets hotter.

[LeonW]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

From the photos the u-shaped dinette is up front. They have the queen bed in back. Same setup we ordered.

You are right -- I goofed and looked at the photo of the dinette only. One of the things I like about our 21 is having the dinette in the back. Mostly because many of the campsites have the great view at the end of the back-in site. The town campground in Two Harbors MN is one example of that, where Lake Superior is right out the back window. So I was hoping to see a photo of a 19 with a rear dinette.

But it is still a nice looking trailer!

[JaimeA]

We are going to take the 19' dry camping in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how the new refrigerator holds up. It's cooler weather, though, so we may not have all the information until it heats up.

[46indian]

I'll bet you and your family were checking out Steve and Margarita's 19 the same day we were last May 4th!

Our 19 is done and we are going to pick it up on Dec 22.

My wife has relatives near Seattle that have full hookups on their property so we will have a chance to practice until we head back to Mission Viejo on the 26th.

[Scuba55]

My 5.0 TA will be ready on Dec. 15. I am debating on waiting until pick it up in the spring due to not wanting to drive in the snow or heavy rains as I have little experience with towing. But, part of me really would like to pick it up now, any advise would be appreciated.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

My 5.0 TA will be ready on Dec. 15. I am debating on waiting until pick it up in the spring due to not wanting to drive in the snow or heavy rains as I have little experience with towing. But, part of me really would like to pick it up now, any advise would be appreciated.

Hi: Scuba55... For me that's a "No brainer". If I could be using "Escape Hatch II" now that's where I'd be. A couple days of sloppy driving wouldn't put me off. We're tuggin' to FL. in Jan. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

My 5.0 TA will be ready on Dec. 15. I am debating on waiting until pick it up in the spring due to not wanting to drive in the snow or heavy rains as I have little experience with towing. But, part of me really would like to pick it up now, any advise would be appreciated.

Mike,
Of course, watch the weather, but I-5 in winter is kept open and is heavily travelled (i.e. lots of tires on the pavement).
The area of concern regarding snow would be in Southern Oregon/Northern CA, between Eugene and Lake Shasta. That's where I-5 goes over Siskiyou summit at 4300' + .

At Bakerfield you go east on CA 58, which is freeway all the way to Mohave, then on to Barstow, and I-15. CA 58 goes over Tehachapi summit at 4000'+, but only is a snow problem immediately after a cold storm.

If weather moves in, you can always wait it out in your new 5.0TA.

Congrats on retirement. I'm a year or so behind you.

[Scuba55]

Great advise, Don! Glad you can see the light at the end of tunnel on retirement. You'll love it! Thanks.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by Scuba55

My 5.0 TA will be ready on Dec. 15. I am debating on waiting until pick it up in the spring due to not wanting to drive in the snow or heavy rains as I have little experience with towing. But, part of me really would like to pick it up now, any advise would be appreciated.

I wouldn't hesitate at all to go for it. There's no cold weather (snow) forecasted for the next ten days up this way. The only concern might be if there are heavy rains while going through metropolitan areas like Seattle and Portland but you can avoid problems there by timing your transit times. That gets you down to Southern California which should present no problems. Watch the weather forecasts and, if necessary, hole up for a few days somewhere. Just do it!!

[OneOleMan]

Hi Scuba55 and congrats on your new 5.0TA. I’ll add a little to what KarenH said about travelling through Seattle; Time it so you’re heading south after the morning rush hour and before the evening rush hour, 80% of the Seattle inbound is from the south.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by OneOleMan

Hi Scuba55 and congrats on your new 5.0TA. I’ll add a little to what KarenH said about travelling through Seattle; Time it so you’re heading south after the morning rush hour and before the evening rush hour, 80% of the Seattle inbound is from the south.

h

Amen to that. When we came back from ETI in November, we hit traffic north of Edmonds well before 3:00 pm, and didn't pass the Tacoma dome until well after dark.

[OneOleMan]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

h

Amen to that. When we came back from ETI in November, we hit traffic north of Edmonds well before 3:00 pm, and didn't pass the Tacoma dome until well after dark.

Well after dark the following day?

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by OneOleMan

Well after dark the following day?

Yeah, it certainly seemed like it. My wife's brother held dinner in Longview for us until about 9:00 pm. More than made up for suffering through the traffic.

We decided that our next time going through the Seattle area would be, maybe, 0500 hrs, or so.

[techfan]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

Yeah, it certainly seemed like it. My wife's brother held dinner in Longview for us until about 9:00 pm. More than made up for suffering through the traffic.

We decided that our next time going through the Seattle area would be, maybe, 0500 hrs, or so.

I always plan to go through Seattle early on a Saturday or Sunday regardless of the direction we are headed. Even so... Not fun with a trailer. The only place we have found worse is going through the Salt Lake area on 15.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by techfan

I always plan to go through Seattle early on a Saturday or Sunday regardless of the direction we are headed. Even so... Not fun with a trailer. The only place we have found worse is going through the Salt Lake area on 15.

That's good to know. When we pick up our 17 next year, we'll plan to do northbound on the weekend, then to avoid I-5 southbound, use WA hwy 9 to US 2, then east to Montana, to visit our friends with the 5.0, then, who knows...

[gbaglo]

Got to love the GPS sounding all the way through Seattle - "Keep Left" "Keep Left".
I thought the left lane was for faster vehicles so I'd edge over one, hoping I wasn't supposed to be in the far left lane for some weird exit and hoping the lane I was in didn't exit right.

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

...then to avoid I-5 southbound, use WA hwy 9 to US 2, then east to Montana...

Just so you know...Hwy 9 can be very slow with a lot of stop-and-go (lights) traffic from Marysville through the Snohomish area connecting with US 2. Not a problem, but just have patience.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by KarenH

Just so you know...Hwy 9 can be very slow with a lot of stop-and-go (lights) traffic from Marysville through the Snohomish area connecting with US 2. Not a problem, but just have patience.

Thanks, Karen, for the info.
We had taken WA 9 from Sumas to WA 542 to Bellingham, and found the drive, scenery, and farms most interesting, plus, there was the railroad. Looks like next year when we finalize our trip to pick up our 17, we'll have to post the itinerary here for review.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by techfan

I always plan to go through Seattle early on a Saturday or Sunday regardless of the direction we are headed. Even so... Not fun with a trailer. The only place we have found worse is going through the Salt Lake area on 15.

No lie. I grew up in the SLC area in the 60's and 70's, and traffic on I-15 was pretty much nonexistent. How things have changed there.