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First Real Trip
Well, we are first time Snow Birds and, really, first time trailer haulers. Our maiden voyage went as well as could be expected.
Left SE Michigan on Sunday the 27th of December - destination: Williston, Florida. Myself, my wife and the dogs and cats. Got out one day ahead of the ice storm and were very thankful for that. Being my first time in over 20 years towing anything and first time ever towing anything over 21 feet, I travel slow and carefully. In decent conditions I run at 60-62 mph, tops. Had OK weather early on and then the wind and rain started somewhere in Ohio. Made Walton, KY (Oak Creek Campground) by 5:30 or so and stayed the night. Fairly uneventful trip and pretty nice campground. Got soaked once we arrived, as it rained for some time, but not a bad day.
Day 2 saw some worse weather with high winds and, at times, torrential downpours. Through Kentucky things were dicey, off and on, and I was slowed to 50 mph on some occasions but getting into Tennessee the drive got even tougher. I had driven through Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky without using Tow/Haul (mine is the old style where it simply locks out Overdrive) and got about 12.5 mpg…not bad. Shortly after entering Tennessee, though, I heard a funny sound (thought it was a flat tire) and noticed a real performance issue with the truck. I looked at my gauges, which I check quite frequently, and saw my EGT (exhaust gas temperature) up to nearly 1300. I immediately backed it down, though I was already going rather slow, and popped it into Tow/Haul. For the rest of the day, through Tennessee and northern Georgia, the temp never went over 800 and the truck ran fine. That’s not to say that the trip was smooth because as it got later in the day the rain really picked up. Could barely see for parts of it and also noticed that my gas mileage after switching to Tow/Haul was down slightly below 10 mpg…quite a drop. Made it to Harvest Moon Campground in Adairsville, Georgia about dinner time and it was pouring. Really nice campground with great people running the place. I was even wetter than the night before by the time I settled in for the night but I slept well.
Day 3 and the weather is nicer. Atlanta area was a debacle even though I went through it closer to mid-day. Actually hit northern Atlanta about 11:00 am but it took forever to get through. Later in the day the weather started to threaten again and we decided to stop one more time before hitting our destination. Made it to Jennings, Florida and stayed at Jennings Outdoor Resort right off I-75. Decent place with all pull-through sites but the roads are tight and most sites are pretty small. Clean facilities and, again, friendly folks. No rain to deal with so I stayed fairly dry and, again, slept well.
Day 4 was a short one as I only had about an hour and a half to two hour drive. Made it to our 4 month winter destination; Williston Crossings and couldn’t be happier. This place is beautiful with large wooded lots and really nice amenities. I would post pictures if I had a clue and I’m sure I will at some point.
Anyway, just a little synopsis of my first real trip with a TT.
Later gang.
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2016 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8329SS
2004 Dodge Ram 3500 (Sterling) Auto w/built trans, 4X4 Quad Cab 5.9L Cummins
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