I passed the test

Wow - I passed.

Yesterday was the big day and to my surprise I actually passed the Professional Drivers and the Air Brakes written tests.

Now all of the practical things can start to happen. I have medical doctor and eye doctor exams scheduled for next week. On the assumption I pass them, I can then get my learners permit and they let me behind the wheel of a big rig. 40 hours behind the wheel and I then have to pass three practical test. 1) is a safety inspection of the truck and trailer. 2) is a complete air brake inspection of them and 3) is an actual 30 minute driving test in the city with a 53' cargo trailer. Once they are finished I'll get my licence.

Quite a process to go through. At 25 no problem but at this stage in life, just so I can tow a fifth wheel, it seems absurd. Not to mention _____ expensive.

I pushed the instructor and he tells me they are already enforcing the 10,00 lb (max tow on a regular licence) rules and will be out in full force on them this year. So I have to do it, no sense complaining. Beyond that I'm going at this from a safety point of view and this whole adventure will be a whole lot more fun if we're safe.

Last night and today we're just sort of taking it easy. I'm meeting with the instructor this afternoon so he can give me a cd of some kind on air brakes. We're going to take some measurements of the truck as well.

We've been toying with the idea of putting a Jeep YJ on there instead of the Smart car. The Smart can can be loaded sideways but of course the Jeep has to go lengthwise. We have to leave enough room for a full 90 degree turn of the trailer which leaves us wondering if we have enough length. Others have lengthened the frame to accommodate but we aren't anxious for the increased expense.

We'll keep you all posted on how this goes.

Have a great long weekend.

Found the truck

Have a look at the truck in the middle.

It's Friday today and we get to scratch one more thing off of the "to do" list. A big one. After weeks and weeks of searching we decided on a truck yesterday and did a handshake deal. It's the 01 Freightliner I mentioned before.

Bernie came back from Vancouver Wed. and we went to see it yesterday. She realized right away that it was far and away the cleanest, and we believe best maintained, truck we've found. The seller agreed to do a few cosmetic things to it, bargained some on the price, and we shook his hand. We're still going to get the oil tested in the engine, transmission and each of the differentials to be certain there's no issues. The transmission was just rebuilt and the engine seems fine so we're confident we have our rig.

It's sweet, a real trucker's truck. Chrome wheels, big exhaust stack, sleeper, 13 speeds, 435/470 HP Detroit diesel, all the things you want your truck to be, and CLEAN..............

I have my first class for commercial driver training next Monday night. Our new truck is one of the schools trucks so I think I'm going to do just fine. We both have allot at stake in my passing.

So that was the last of the big decisions, and now we can go after the dozens of little things that have to be done. We started a list of them and it was off the page in a heartbeat.

Yesterday on our way back to the city we stopped at a campground we had researched and we had visited before. It's called the "Arrowhead RV Park." We've decided to stay there, after we move from our home, until we head for the South. Nice place, smaller, very clean, friendly people, some other full time rvr's, and full services. With Internet access, $430 a month (power in). That was within our budget and being 7 minutes from the city will make for easy access to the kids and services.

I'm anxious to post some pictures of the new truck and will do so as soon as I get some.

That's all for now, have to go and work on the "To Do" list.

Air Brake Lesson

Happy Mother's Day to All Moms.

Yesterday's air brake lesson went very well. He walked me through a sample system he had in his training room. I was really quite a show. He has a complete air brake system set up, with compressor, tanks, gauges, air lines, valves, everything. In 1 1/2 hrs I learned more than I would have in a month of studying the book.

I've decided to go for a Class 1 licence, which in Manitoba allows me drive anything from highway trucks to school buses, anything I want. The class 3 that I need costs $1000 and is not tax deductible and the class 1 costs $3000 and is tax deductible. So my true cost isn't much difference and I don't have to worry about it again.

He doesn't have a class 1 program starting for awhile but after we talked he said he'll start one for me. They normally run 200 + hours but with the right students he compresses it to 40 and he figures I can do it in the 40. So here we go.......

Rob figures I'm way to old to get a driving job (stuff it Rob) but it does open that door if I ever wanted to. I am likely too old but ???????????????

The instructor then took me out to his shop where all the trucks are and I got to play in one he has for sale. OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH, nice truck. Once Bernie gets back from Vancouver we'll go see it together. It's a Freightliner Columbia with two rear axles rated at 40,000 lbs each and our rv weighs 20,000 lbs so I think I might :-) have enough capacity. With it's 450 HP Detroit diesel engine. I doubt I'll ever find a hill that would cause me have to downshift, oh ya, I forgot, 13 speeds and a nice sleeper.....

No fridge, tv, or microwave but I have that figured out already. We have a freind in Texas that makes cabinets. Should be a no brainer for him.

The Kenworth

The KW in Sioux City didn't work out so we're back to "0" on the truck part. The dealer was trying to pass the truck off as 335,000 miles when it was really 1,335,000 miles. Nice guy, not. My brother Rick in Regina helped me uncover a Volvo 670 up there and we're working on it now. I can't seem to get the dealer to react to my requests for pictures. If they don't act soon we're headed up to the Volvo dealer here in Winnipeg. Brenda, our daughter in law, knows some people through her work that can help us at that dealership and we should be treated fairly. Not knowing much about trucks is a bit of a hurdle but I'm finding many people that are willing to help so it's not "mission impossible" by any stretch.

I'll keep posting our progress here.The adventure has begun.

How we plan to do it

I thought a pictue of how we plan to do this would be in order. I robbed this picture of someone elses rig off of the internet. You can see from this how we're putting it together and where the car fits in relative to the truck and trailer.

It's Sold

We just had word that our home sale did go through, and we have to be out and in our 5r by July 20th. That means we're "Full Time RVrs" on July 20th. So now we can begin all of the next steps, like getting a commercial driver licence, and finding a truck, and selling all of our furniture, and having a garage sale for all of our stuff, and going down to Indiana to get the rv, and on and on and on. Sounds like a wicked pace for the next 9 weeks but in the end it will be worth it. We're so excited.

I have an appointment tomorrow with a commercial driver trainer in Steinbach who is going to give me an overview on the process and a crash course on air brakes. Then I have to study and write two exams and then I get behind the wheel of the highway tractor for the fun stuff.

We'll see how I do, I'm hopeful that our experience pulling our 5th wheel will help me some.

Home is sold

Last night we were successful in getting an offer accepted on our home. We're one step closer now. The purchaser still has a 48 hr cooling off period so we won't know for sure until Friday afternoon. I started work on the truck today so I can put that decision to bed on Monday of next week. We have our eye on a Kenworth T800 in Sioux City that will have to be painted to match our RV but otherwise it seems like a perfect puller for us.

Our New Home

In The Beginning

This is where it all begins, the "full time rv" dream is almost reality.

This is where we plan to post as much as we can about our adventure and plan to use it to keep in touch with our family and friends as we go.

It's now May 4th 2010, our home is on the market, we've purchased the 5th wheel and are looking for a tow vehicle. After we get the tow vehicle I have to go and get a commercial drivers licence, then we have to find a Smart car to load on the truck, and then we can go. Everything has to hold for now until our home sells; then we can unload all of our "stuff," and then we can hit the road. The excitement level is high, the "scared" level is just as high, and one of our friends asked us if "we're nuts." I guess that sums it all up, "hurry up and wait to find out if we're out of our minds." By fall we'll have it all together and by the end of October we'll be back in the Rio Grande Valley.

If you find us here please leave a note, we'd love to hear from you.

See you on the road.

Neal & Bernie