Or, the ups and downs of Montys maiden voyage.
Well, we were finally able to take her out and see what was what. Between a bowling tournament in Burley, Idaho, and a working trip to Missoula, Montana, we covered over a 1000 miles in the last week.
What follows are a few observations and experiences from our epic journey.
We have discovered that we like the Reese 16K hitch very much, but the grease the previous owner used has to go. We had absolutely no problems hitching or un-hitching, experienced a little chucking, but overall, were very pleased. The grease goes away today and my new lube plate gets installed directly (which will not only be cleaner, but should take up a little slack in the hitch).
Monty (or the Hannas' Montana as the wife likes to call it), tows well behind the F350 dually, and since we still have the Missions on, we kept to a modest 65 MPH. No issues what so ever. The tires kept cool, we got about 11 MPG, and the slower speed got us to our destination taking only slightly longer than the usual 75.
When we arrived in Burley, our furnaced refused to work. I suspected the thermostat, but could never figure out the problem. Fortunately, the electric fireplace worked in fine fashion, so we had heat for the weekend. After returning to Idaho Falls to drop off a team mate, we opted to stay in a local camp ground before heading to Missoula. Well, the furnace worked great, and has continued to do so through the entire time we were in Montana. The fireplace on the other hand continues to look nice, but refuses to produce heat for any length of time. Go figure.
Some minor things that anoy Dave were taken care of while in Missoula. The switch for the light under the nose got replaced, so now it works when I want it to. The male plug on the 50 amp cable was separating from the cable jacket and exsposing the wires within. Hence, a new Camco plug with the handle was installed. A set of cheap Camco between the tire chocks stopped the rig shifting when we walked inside, so life was good.
Until the wind came! Les said it felt like a train hit the side of the trailer. She had no time to get the awning up before the wind hit again and took the awning, arms and all, off the side of the trailer and over the top. Awning destroyed, antenna destroyed, but no further damage and no body hurt. It's at the dealer for an estimate and pictures for the insurance, and should be fixed soon.
Aside from the damage, not a bad trip. They will get better, more numerous, and just as enjoyable. Overall, not a bad Monty experience.
Sorry for the long story.
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