Maiden Voyage, Day 1: The Marathon Drive Day
After doing lots of research and price comparisons, we ultimately decided to purchase our trailer from Trailers of the East Coast down in North Carolina. Their reputability + the price they quoted on our trailer were more than enough to justify the trip down for pick-up. We also knew it would be a good opportunity to jump into RV life with both feet, as on the return trip, we would have no choice but to tackle the learning curve of getting to know our rig, and learning the ins and outs of RVing in general. When our delivery date kept getting postponed and the camping season’s end drew near, this “maiden voyage” ended up being the only time to learn everything before the Massachusetts winter set in, so we needed to take full advantage. We took a week off, allowing ample time to get down to the dealer, pick up the trailer, get any last repairs if needed, and make the drive back to Massachusetts. One thing that we also did, which was completely foreign to us, was hardly making any plans of where we would stay each night. We didn’t want to bind ourselves to traveling a certain distance until we knew our comfort level with the rig.
We headed out on October 6, armed with all of the necessities we could think of for our week-long camping excursion. We were prepared for traffic, since driving through major cities like Boston and New York virtually guarantees it, but to our pleasant surprise it was smooth sailing nearly the entire way. That was the small victory we needed, after so many battles leading up to our departure. Outside the truck, the roads were clear and breezy. Inside, however, we were on a series of emotionally-heightened phone calls, sorting out issues with our dealer in literally the eleventh hour before picking up our trailer. We were missing batteries that we had ordered and sent to them months prior, and we were having price discrepancies, both of which could easily mean a no-go with picking up the rig. So while I drove, Anthony frantically straightened everything out, and by dinner time, we had the solutions we needed, that included getting two high-quality Relion lithium ion batteries installed. Between these and the Onan generator that arrived just in the nick of time, we felt comfortable staying without hookups during some of our nights. This is a huge deal when going into a trip without accommodations planned in advance.
We made it as far as Roanoke, VA, about 2.5 hours outside of Mocksville, NC, where the dealer is located. We booked a room at the Comfort Inn and settled in for a night of battling nerves as we awaited our future, which was fast approaching the next morning.
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Nicole Anderson