We pulled out of the Pin Oak Creek Campground around 10 am with lumps in our throats. With the campground disappearing in our mirror as we headed east, we realized how much we miss the girls already.
As usual, the alarm on our instrument panel sounded off, and the gauges worked intermittently. The wiring harness issue is still waiting to be fixed by Freightliner in Gaffney, SC, whenever we can get there, should be September. In the mean time, I can monitor my speed via the GPS and my information bar on the dashboard. I also have the resettable odometer, so I know when I need to fuel up. Thank goodness for a CD player with music to help drown out the alarm a bit.
After driving with a wind hitting us broadside, and many construction zones, as well as rush hour traffic around Indianapolis, we still managed to see fuel mileage bounce between 7.7 to 8.2 mpg. Not complaining, if I did, I’d probably find myself saddled with a headwind the rest of the way to New Jersey and mpg in the mid sizes.
We stopped for the night at a Flying J in Indiana. Can’t beat the price and we’ll be able to fuel up in the morning. We start the generator, close the curtains and we could be anywhere, the a/c is keeping us cool and we hardly notice the noise outside as the blowing air gives us a nice white noise.
Our distance covered for the day was only 333.7 miles, I might be losing my PDD driving talent. Tomorrow, we’ll be driving even less as we’re stopping for a couple of days at Marti’s sister’s house in Ohio. A little “Moochdocking” in front of her house on a dead end street.
We made reservations for our NJ stay at the Navy Base campground in Earle, NJ. We’re planning on being there for about sixty five days. Along with spending a bunch of time with our granddaughters Anabelle and Lizzie, we have many friends from our old stomping grounds to visit, a several day motorcycle trip with two of my brothers, a 7 day cruise to the Bahamas with my dad and Marti’s sister Gail, plus some necessary maintenance projects on the Journey. It might not be enough time…
As I walked around the Journey tonight, I noticed the front of it is looking really bad.
It’s not bug splatter, but mold growing under the clear plastic protective coating on the front. It’s really bad in some places.
Many folks that have had this problem have removed the plastic. Some have paid to have it done, while others made it a DIY project. I’ve heard horror stories that some people have had removing it, others saying it peels right off.
I tried a little spot on one edge and it peeled pretty easily.
Yep, another project to add to this summer’s list.
Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.
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Sixty-five days in one spot? I'm wondering if those wheels will be able to stay in one spot for that long. We'll be staying at a Wal-mart tomorrow night so I understand what you said about not being able to beat the price. Of course, Wal-mart provides shopping opportunities so it might not be as cheap as someone might think.
ReplyDeleteThat happens a lot to the plastic coating but the plastic coating sure helps deflect dings while it is there.
ReplyDeleteWe enjoy Flying j's as well as Walmart's, for a convenient overnight stop. can't beat the price, but then we give them our business while there, its a win/win.
ReplyDeleteIts much nicer to take the time to relax along the way with shorter travel days, have fun in NJ.
Have fun
Paul, I've heard the same about the plastic removal. Some folks have taken there time and were able to remove it. Other folks had the paint peel off with the plastic. Ouch!
ReplyDeleteI never even thought about what's under the plastic in front.
ReplyDeleteI guess I have no 'touch' to lose. 333 miles is too much!
Have you tried disconnecting the alarm or putting padding around it? We have one that goes off anytime the jacks are down with the engine running. Ron found it under the dash and put a variable resistor in the line. It's nice and quiet now.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching for that #^&(%#@! alarm for a while, now and it's buried deep down in the wiring jungle of the dashboard. So far it remains undiscovered.
DeleteHave you tried disconnecting the alarm or putting padding around it? We have one that goes off anytime the jacks are down with the engine running. Ron found it under the dash and put a variable resistor in the line. It's nice and quiet now.
ReplyDeleteThat mold doesn't look like any fun, hope you can get it taken care of with out too much trouble.
ReplyDeleteI forgot all about that alarm. 333 miles that's not too bad at all! You sure will enjoy your time in New Jersey.
ReplyDeleteYou have a higher tolerance for that alarm ... it would drive me bananas with no amount of music dulling the sound.
ReplyDelete