9th Travel day/Canada

Where Are Today

We were on the road at 8:00 a.m. this morning, making our way to U.S. 420 which becomes I-280 through Toledo to I-75. The roads were good through  Ohio but when yo get to Michigan it changes. I will agree that the first few miles were on new pavement and there is construction underway to improve the drive, we did travel on some rough areas. I will rate the whole distance to the border at an 8 out of 10.

We were across the bridge and pulled up to the Customs Booth with one car ahead of us. Within 30 seconds it was our turn, being asked 5 questions before hearing "welcome home, have a nice day" and just like that we were on our way to the 401.

We took a detour to Wheatley, On. to visit friends Marlene and Benno who we haven't seen in some time. We enjoyed a very nice visit for about an hour before we said goodbye and made our way back to the 401. As it was approaching lunch time, we stopped at one of the Enroutes near Dutton for an A&W burger. From ther we made our to our destination at CanAm RV.

It wasn't long and we were set up in a spot until Monday morning when we will have a couple of repairs done. Don't forget to check out Pat's blog HERE. Until the next time, take care.

 

First Day of Our Winter Trek

Where Are We Today

CanAm RV Centre

 London Ontario

We have started our trek to Arizona, leaving “The Ridge” this morning at  9:15 A.M>     to our destination, here at CanAm RV just outside of London Ontario. Not a long day, but this is a necessary stop for a repair on the trailer before we go any further.

Set up the night

This trailer has independent torsion bar suspension with part of that being rubber blocks. One of them has started to separate so it needs to be replaced. This was discovered last fall but was not an issue then. When we came home last spring, we had it checked again and it was determined that it should be replaced, so the appointment was set up to have it done at this time. Tomorrow it will go in the shop for the repair. We plan on staying here until Saturday morning, at which time we will cross the border and continue on our journey.

Thanks for stopping by and following along, until the next time, take care. Be sure to check out Pat’s blog HERE 

Our Route Today

Our 6th Leg Home

Where Are We Today

Back In Canada

Today finds us back in our home country of Canada. The 6th leg of our trek home has taken us from Wapakoneta Ohio to Toledo Ohio to London Ontario, where we are set up at CanAm RV, (our RV dealer).

Exiting I-75 onto U.S. 582

We left Wapakoneta Ohio, heading north on I-75, which I will rate at a 9 out of 10. Exiting onto U.S.-532 to Luckey Road to the KOA campground, in Perrysburg Ohio, just outside of Toledo. Both of these roads are two lane and have seen lots of use. Although they were uneven and patched, there were no potholes. I am giving them a 7 out of ten.

Construction on I-75 between Munroe and Detroit

Leaving there this morning, we travel U.S. 163, a two lane road, I will rate at a 8 out of 10. Onto U.S. 420 to Bypass I-280 to I-75, which I will rate at 9 out of ten, while in Ohio. Once we crossed into Michigan, I-75 became rough, I am going to rate this section of I-75 at a 7 out of ten. 

Crossing the Ambassador Bridge into Canada

That brings us into Canada, and onto the 401 and finally Hwy 4. (Colonel Talbot Rd.) The 401 starts out very smooth, but as we traveled towards London, it definitely has it rough sections, so my rating for this is a 8 out of ten. 

Trucks at Canada Customs

The short drive on Hwy 4 is smooth, so gets a 9 out of 10.

That brings us home to Canada, but not quite to our summer place at "The Ridge". I will include that in a rap up post of mileage, fuel and costs of our winter travels.

On the 401 in Canada

Until the next time, take and be safe.

 

Working at CanAm and the People That I Meet

Where Are We Today

 (click on pic to enlarge)

Working At CanAm RV and the People That I Meet

Even though I officially retired last year, I do work part time at CanAm RV, if you count doing a lot of talking work. What do I really do? We call it "orientation", when a customer comes to take delivery of a trailer that they have purchased, we show them through it and explain how everything works including a hitch demonstration and test drive. Depending on whether it is their first time buying an RV or not, every customer gets an orientation. Whatever time it takes for them to understand all that we show them is the time we spend with them, there is no time limit.

CanAm RV, a very busy place this year.

I have a good basic knowledge of travel trailers and 5th wheel trailers, but there is always something new to learn and that is one of things that I like about this job. Before I do the orientation, I set the trailer up and go through it myself to make sure that I know where everything is and how it operates. Even then there can be something different and the new owner and I are learning something new. When it comes right down to it, there are only so many manufacturers of RV components but many different models of those components. That's where you need to recognize the different ones and familiarize yourself with them.

There is also a difference in the manufacturers of trailers. How they design each model of their trailers and incorporate each component is interesting. Each year new models come out and new technology in construction and the components becomes available. That is what makes this an ever changing aspect to the job of orientation.

Another part of this job is interacting with the techs, the guys that make sure your purchase has been gone over top to bottom and everything is in working order. There are over 30 techs and parts people that are behind the scenes that you never usually see. They have been a valuable source of information to me in explaining how something works in these trailers and also how to fix, repair and do preventive maintenance on our own 5th wheel. I am also able to learn some things that don't necessarily apply to the orientation, but help me understand certain processes, like how a hitch is installed so that the weight is distributed evenly to make the trailer and tow vehicle ride level.

Hitch Set Up in Progress

Water Heater Repair

Brake Job

Cleaning

There are also the gals that clean the inside of the trailer and the guys that wash the outside before you take delivery. As well, there are the service techs that take your calls and set up service for when you need it, the finance gals, the sales reps, receptionist that you see as soon as you walk in the door and all the people behind the scenes that keep a dealership running. There are over 50 people employed at CanAm.

I have often wished that I had gotten into the business at some capacity when I was younger.

The second half of this post is about the people that I have met, without them; I won't be able to do any of this. Since April when we returned from our winter away, I have done somewhere between 25 & 30 orientations and delivered 4 trailers to parks. Some of these customers are first time buyers, never owned, borrowed, pulled or backed up a trailer and there are those who have had more than one and have many years experience RVing.

I have tried to keep a list all of their names, but you know how that can go. I am now trying to take a picture of them with their purchase so I can remember them that is if they want their picture taken.

Here is a list of some them.

The Harris' and their 2010 Cougar.

The Fitzpatrick's' and their Northern Express

Taube/Smith and their 2016 Vista Cruiser

M. Harvey and her 2016 Airstream Sport

Christian and Reiner and their 1984 Airstream

The Saunders' and their 2017 Mobile suite

The Mudrys' from Albert and their 2017Airstream Flying Cloud

G. Cote and his 2017 Airstream Sport from Quebec

S. Elder from Victoria B.C. and her 2017 Alto.

The Boschs' from Tiverton and their 2015 Element

The Busby's' who asked for me to do their orientation. When I asked them how we knew each other, they replied that they follow our blog post and were not far away from us last winter down south. They have a 2005 Carriage.

The Howitt's and their 2018 Grand Design Solitude

The Grey's and their 2018 Airstream Flying Cloud

The Cadue's and their 2011 Heartland North Trail

The Greys

The Cardues

These are a few of the people who have kept me busy two days a week since we have returned this spring. Some of them, that have come from a distance away, stay overnight in the parking lot in their new purchase, we call this CanAm Camping. As I stay overnight also, we have got to know each other better over a glass of wine and traded stories of our experiences. RVer's are a great group of people who are always willing to lend a hand and share experiences. Thank you to all of you that I have had the pleasure to meet through this job and to all the others I have met along the way.

In closing I would be amiss in not thanking Phil, who I report to, and Andy and Kirk Thompson the owners of CanAm for asking, having the faith in my ability and teaching me new things in this industry.

I know this is long winded, so I thank you for following along. If I have mentioned you and you do follow along, please leave a comment or drop us an e-mail. Until the next time, take care and be safe.

Valve Replacement

Where Are We Today
Can Am RV

 (click on pic to enlarge)

Although we are back in Ontario, we are not quite home, home being our summer spot "The Ridge" near Durham Ontario. At present we are at CanAm RV, tucked in  at the back of the lot while I do a couple of orientations,  we get a couple of things fixed and do some visiting with family and friends.

Yesterday morning I went about replacing the fill valve on the trailer. It has been giving us trouble over the winter so I asked CanAm to order one before we arrived home so it be here when we arrived. There are actually two valves, one for the fill and supply to the trailer and one for the hot water bypass, both are connected and mounted on a panel.

New assembly with connections numbered

The first thing that I did, was to take the new valve panel and number the nine hose/line connections, second was to number each hose/line to match the number on the panel, I did this as I removed each hose/line one at a time from the old panel. Once all the hose/lines were disconnected, I could then remove the old panel/ valve assembly from the trailer.

Before starting to reassemble, I duplicated the numbers on the new panel to the old panel. This was done for cross  reference  between the two, as you cannot see the back of the panel when you install it and I did not want to cross connect a hose/line.

Two valves with the panel removed

There were four hose/lines that I could pull through the opening and make the connections on the back of the panel. I should mention that all of the connections are screw on, so that made that part easy. Next I fastened the panel assembly in place and proceeded to connect the remaining five hose/lines.

Nice to have a space to work on/from

Working from the front and back side

New panel assembly installed

All done and washing up

Turning on the pump to test for leaks and the correct operation of the valves, I found all to be good and working properly. The whole job took less than an hour to do and I'm a happy camper.

Today we are off to Stratford to visit my parents and then to Tavistock for supper and a visit with my oldest daughter and family. I have one more orientation to do Thursday morning before we head for "The Ridge" Friday morning. It will be good to get set up there and settle in for the summer.

That's about it for now, until the next time, take care and be safe. Feel free to comment if you like.

 

My Hobby

WHERE ARE WE TODAY

" The Ridge " Durham Ontario

Again it's been awhile since my last post, so will play a little catch up in this one. We have been enjoying our time here at " The Ridge " since we got here on June 25th. We have some projects on the go, one is the converting one of the sheds into a " bunkie " or little cabin for guests to use, but more on that in another post and will provide pictures. We keep the grass cut, Pat has her garden, ( not vegetable ) and I have my hobby. That's what this post is really about.

Last Friday, we hitched  up the 5th wheel hooked the cargo trailer to the back of the 5th wheel and off to the Chatham Airport we went. This is an annual event put on by the Chatham Aeronauts R/C Club called " Warbirds and Classics ". It is well attend by flyers from Ontario, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin. They have the use of the 5000 ft. runway or the grass on either side of it. We do have to give way to full size aircraft when they need to use it but that isn't that often. RVs and cargo trailers, get set up and fly. Most of the flyers here and their aircraft are way out of my league but I do enjoy coming here even if it's to meet up with these guys that I have known for a number of years, see what they are flying and basically have a great time. I also enjoy looking at their cargo trailers to see what they have and how they have set them up to carry their planes and equipment.

Our Rig

Welcome sign at Chatham Airport

B-17

B-17, one of my favorite aircraft

Ag Wagon

Just landed

Don, Chatham club member doing the announcing

All the way from Wisconsin

Jet, flys over 200 kmh

Motor home toy hauler

This one is mine

Under belly shot

Just landed

Sunday afternoon we packed up, said our goodbyes and headed to CanAm RV in London to have some service done on our 5th wheel. This was a scheduled stop as we knew we would be coming this way. We arrived around 1:30 pm and found a spot to set up until Monday morning when our 5th wheel would be taken care of. 

Parking lot getting crowded

Pat climbed the ladder to take this shot

Us set up

Tractor drivers getting trailers put away or in the shop for service

New friends from Florida and Ohio

There was a couple here from North Carolina picking up their new 30 ft. Airstream and shortly after two more Airstreams pulled in, one from Florida for service and one who was travelling along with him from Ohio. Before long there were half a dozen more being dropped off for storage as these owners do not have the space or city bylaws prevent them from keeping their rigs in their driveways. One couple were from Toronto and this was their first time out with their new 30 ft. Airstream.  Needless to say the lot was fairly full by Sunday night. However it didn't take long Monday morning to get all in order.

As I mentioned, we were there for service. We were having more batteries  and rear view camera installed and a couple of shelves reinforced.

For those who have followed along before, you may remember that I worked part time here showing people thru their trailer when they came to pick up. June 25th when we left the area, I left that job to. Low and behold, they had four trailers to deliver that day and asked me if I would do one for them. As it would be later in the afternoon, and we had some running around to do, I said yes. By the end of the day our trailer was done, it was 6 pm when I finished the walk thru so we decided to stay put for the night and head back to " The Ridge " in the morning, besides we had a couple of more things we wanted in London that we couldn't get to on Monday.

Tuesday we were up and off to do the last couple of errands, back and hooked up and ready to go by 11 am. Went in to say our goodbyes and was told if we wanted to hang around that I would be put to work, we quickly thanks but no thanks and got on our way.  We were home and set up by 3 pm.

I always like to rave about CanAm RV, not only because of the great service and the friends we have there, but also from the comments of the customers that we meet there. When I see that they come from all over Canada and the U.S. for trailers, hitch work and service, to me says a lot about the dealership. There are many great dealerships out there, I'm just biased to this one.

Well this has certainly turned into being long winded, as Pat would say, " you talk a lot ", so I will stop for now. Thanks for following along my ramblings, and  until the next time, take care.

Retirement Countdown