RobMcClain
Member
- Joined
- May 21, 2012
- Messages
- 357
- Reaction score
- 0
- C Dory Year
- 2006
- C Dory Model
- 23 Venture
- Vessel Name
- Freedom
In late May we bought our beautiful 23' 2006 Venture from Dave in St Petersburg, Florida, and by mid-June it had been hauled to our daughters house in Abilene, TX, to await my retirement at the end of June and our trip there to pick it up. We arrived in Abilene on July 7 and then took a week to visit, explore a bit, and take the boat for our maiden voyage on PK Lake. The maiden voyage was wonderful! The only glitch was I had misread the fuel selector switch so after a few minutes the engine sputtered to a stop. After a few minutes we figured out the problem and were back on the move. If only most problems were so simple and cost free to fix...
On July 16 we began the 3-day drive back to our home in Las Vegas, NV, with our boat in tow. We headed up through Lubbock and connected to Highway 40 in Santa Rosa, NM. From there it was Highway 40 all the way to Kingman, AZ, before heading north to Nevada. We had never driven Highway 40 before and the scenery is spectacular to say the least. The boat sits on an aluminum Magic Tilt trailer and the tongue is a bit longer than most I've seen. The boat rides beautifully and our '08 Sequoia towed it effortlessly. While I had previously expressed some concern on this site about the proper use of hydraulic brakes on a downgrade, I followed the guidance offered by many of you and had no problems whatsoever. Thanks!
We did, though, have a rather novel experience about 30 minutes west of Santa Rosa. Before I describe it let me say that my intent is simply to describe a rather funny situation that was presented to us - one that seemed full of unique coincidences and timing.
As we were driving on Highway 40 Mary and I heard some sort of vague pop sound so I quickly took the oncoming off ramp - which oddly enough was for Las Vegas, New Mexico. (we had just moved to Las Vegas, NV) . We stopped and quickly saw a tire had blown out on the trailer - the entire sidewall had blown through. The joy of a dual axle trailer was that we were still able to safely navigate off the highway when it blew. We were parked to the side of the overpass ramp looking out at the freeway and countryside, and on what appeared to be rather major monsoon downpours in the distance. With a spare tire on the trailer it should have been simple to make the change, but the way the tire is mounted it spins and we couldn't hold it to get the lugnuts off. I am a member of the Boat US Trailer Club so I called them to see how it worked. They were great!! They were very communicative and promptly located a towing service that would come out and assist with removing the spare and changing the flat tire. For just a $15 annual membership fee that service is sure worthwhile!
So back to my story, while we were waiting for the tow service to arrive a guy in his early 30s riding a well kept motorcycle pulled up and we started talking. He looked very Hollywood, complete with a nice gold chain around his neck. When I asked where he was headed he just said "West." All went well till out of the blue he asked if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I told him not yet, and he then pulled off his helmet and said we could do it right then and there. He then explained that he was on a trip to save souls. I just had to repeat after him... Well, I keep my religious beliefs rather personal so I politely declined. He looked rather horrified and reminded me that there was no time like the present. I declined again and fortunately right then the guy from Boat US called me back to advise a glitch had occurred with the first tow company so a second one was going to be coming. As I took that call and the motorcyclist prepared to leave. We exchanged smiles and waves, and he then rode off.
It was then when it started to drizzle so I got back into the Sequoia. I asked Mary if she had heard any of the conversation and she had not. As I was describing it to her a big semi-truck drove by on the freeway with huge lettering covering the entire truck trailer and it read something like Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior. I pointed that out to Mary and said maybe someone was trying to tell me something. Then the light rain turned into a huge downpour complete with major bolt lightening and loud claps of thunder. As I watched it all I then noticed a white wooden cross glimmering in a green field across the freeway. Shortly thereafter the tow truck driver pulled up and when he did the rain began to lighten up. We got the tire changed rather quickly (and at no charge) and were then back on the road. Of course, after about 15 minutes another large semi-truck with the same religious message passed us, and then the clouds broke with bright rays of light beaming down.
No longer having a spare tire available, we planned to drive a bit closer to Albuquerque and stop for the night, and then get a new spare tire the next morning from one of their numerous tire shops. I know tires can weaken from constant exposure to sun and these had been parked out in the Florida sun for well over 3 years, so I had been a bit concerned about them. As we pulled into the motel parking lot in the tiny town of Moriarty, NM, I unfortunately clipped the curb with a trailer tire.
Not a big hit, but a hit just the same. Once we got out of the car to check-in at the motel Mary thought she heard something and sure enough it was air coming from the tire that had brushed the curb. I quickly positioned the car and trailer so it was safely out of the way and we then proceeded to check-in and ponder our options since the trailer was no longer drivable with the new flat. This motel was on historic Route 66 and a tiny tire shop happened to be across the street. I walked over to the shop the next morning, but he did not have the trailer tires I needed nor could he get them. I then went back to the motel and called a different tire shop in another town. That shop had 3 of our trailer tires in stock and could get more within an hour so I ended up buying 5 new tires from him. Additionally, he said he could make a service call and install all of them right in the motel parking lot. He arrived about 2 hours later and by 12 noon we were back on the road.
One of the things I am loving about my new retirement is the lack of stress from this sort of situation. Getting the problem fixed properly was the focus, not the amount of time it was taking. We had no rush... Once back on Highway 40 we drove till Flagstaff and then stopped for the night. We then drove the final leg on Wednesday, arriving home mid-afternoon. The next 2 days were spent getting the boat and trailer inspected by different State offices and then titled/registered, etc...
It was great fun seeing that area of the country, especially the area between Flagstaff and Albuquerque - and specifically around Gallup, NM. We found that scenery quite incredible! As a side benefit, I also love trains and you see a ton of them from Highway 40. Mary doesn't fully appreciate that interest and finally told me there was no need for me to point them out to her...
We plan to spend a day on Lake Mead this coming week. Our first C-Brats outing will be Lake Powell - and we can't wait.
Rob
On July 16 we began the 3-day drive back to our home in Las Vegas, NV, with our boat in tow. We headed up through Lubbock and connected to Highway 40 in Santa Rosa, NM. From there it was Highway 40 all the way to Kingman, AZ, before heading north to Nevada. We had never driven Highway 40 before and the scenery is spectacular to say the least. The boat sits on an aluminum Magic Tilt trailer and the tongue is a bit longer than most I've seen. The boat rides beautifully and our '08 Sequoia towed it effortlessly. While I had previously expressed some concern on this site about the proper use of hydraulic brakes on a downgrade, I followed the guidance offered by many of you and had no problems whatsoever. Thanks!
We did, though, have a rather novel experience about 30 minutes west of Santa Rosa. Before I describe it let me say that my intent is simply to describe a rather funny situation that was presented to us - one that seemed full of unique coincidences and timing.
As we were driving on Highway 40 Mary and I heard some sort of vague pop sound so I quickly took the oncoming off ramp - which oddly enough was for Las Vegas, New Mexico. (we had just moved to Las Vegas, NV) . We stopped and quickly saw a tire had blown out on the trailer - the entire sidewall had blown through. The joy of a dual axle trailer was that we were still able to safely navigate off the highway when it blew. We were parked to the side of the overpass ramp looking out at the freeway and countryside, and on what appeared to be rather major monsoon downpours in the distance. With a spare tire on the trailer it should have been simple to make the change, but the way the tire is mounted it spins and we couldn't hold it to get the lugnuts off. I am a member of the Boat US Trailer Club so I called them to see how it worked. They were great!! They were very communicative and promptly located a towing service that would come out and assist with removing the spare and changing the flat tire. For just a $15 annual membership fee that service is sure worthwhile!
So back to my story, while we were waiting for the tow service to arrive a guy in his early 30s riding a well kept motorcycle pulled up and we started talking. He looked very Hollywood, complete with a nice gold chain around his neck. When I asked where he was headed he just said "West." All went well till out of the blue he asked if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I told him not yet, and he then pulled off his helmet and said we could do it right then and there. He then explained that he was on a trip to save souls. I just had to repeat after him... Well, I keep my religious beliefs rather personal so I politely declined. He looked rather horrified and reminded me that there was no time like the present. I declined again and fortunately right then the guy from Boat US called me back to advise a glitch had occurred with the first tow company so a second one was going to be coming. As I took that call and the motorcyclist prepared to leave. We exchanged smiles and waves, and he then rode off.
It was then when it started to drizzle so I got back into the Sequoia. I asked Mary if she had heard any of the conversation and she had not. As I was describing it to her a big semi-truck drove by on the freeway with huge lettering covering the entire truck trailer and it read something like Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior. I pointed that out to Mary and said maybe someone was trying to tell me something. Then the light rain turned into a huge downpour complete with major bolt lightening and loud claps of thunder. As I watched it all I then noticed a white wooden cross glimmering in a green field across the freeway. Shortly thereafter the tow truck driver pulled up and when he did the rain began to lighten up. We got the tire changed rather quickly (and at no charge) and were then back on the road. Of course, after about 15 minutes another large semi-truck with the same religious message passed us, and then the clouds broke with bright rays of light beaming down.
No longer having a spare tire available, we planned to drive a bit closer to Albuquerque and stop for the night, and then get a new spare tire the next morning from one of their numerous tire shops. I know tires can weaken from constant exposure to sun and these had been parked out in the Florida sun for well over 3 years, so I had been a bit concerned about them. As we pulled into the motel parking lot in the tiny town of Moriarty, NM, I unfortunately clipped the curb with a trailer tire.
Not a big hit, but a hit just the same. Once we got out of the car to check-in at the motel Mary thought she heard something and sure enough it was air coming from the tire that had brushed the curb. I quickly positioned the car and trailer so it was safely out of the way and we then proceeded to check-in and ponder our options since the trailer was no longer drivable with the new flat. This motel was on historic Route 66 and a tiny tire shop happened to be across the street. I walked over to the shop the next morning, but he did not have the trailer tires I needed nor could he get them. I then went back to the motel and called a different tire shop in another town. That shop had 3 of our trailer tires in stock and could get more within an hour so I ended up buying 5 new tires from him. Additionally, he said he could make a service call and install all of them right in the motel parking lot. He arrived about 2 hours later and by 12 noon we were back on the road. One of the things I am loving about my new retirement is the lack of stress from this sort of situation. Getting the problem fixed properly was the focus, not the amount of time it was taking. We had no rush... Once back on Highway 40 we drove till Flagstaff and then stopped for the night. We then drove the final leg on Wednesday, arriving home mid-afternoon. The next 2 days were spent getting the boat and trailer inspected by different State offices and then titled/registered, etc...
It was great fun seeing that area of the country, especially the area between Flagstaff and Albuquerque - and specifically around Gallup, NM. We found that scenery quite incredible! As a side benefit, I also love trains and you see a ton of them from Highway 40. Mary doesn't fully appreciate that interest and finally told me there was no need for me to point them out to her...
We plan to spend a day on Lake Mead this coming week. Our first C-Brats outing will be Lake Powell - and we can't wait.
Rob
