On Oct 14 we had the unit towed to a storage building. I want it in a building so that there will not be any snow, ice and all the crap that comes with winter. although it will be cold it is now in a safe place. We covered all the vent holes took the LP tanks out and removed the battery. I also leveled up the unit so in spring when I put the battery back in, it will be easier to program the level up, system, I hope.

Other wise that is it. It has been a very exciting experience getting to learn and get to know our brand new rig, and hopefully next year, will be easier.

Been a long time between posts. We have done a lot and had a lot to do in and around the Rv. Too many good things to say so will be a brief post. Got a lot accomplished and sorted out this summer. September although has been a month of a few health issues, which as of now seem to be sorting themselves out. Will be putting the Rv in storage come mid October. It will be in a storage building so it will not get any snow and all the freezing crap all over it. That is about it and may not be any updates for a while. It has been a very exciting spring and summer .

We have had a very exciting last two weeks. Have a lot to bring up to speed.

The Big Country was delivered to us on June 18th at @ 10:30. I kept going to the edge of the driveway to see if it was coming and then there it was. The first thing I thought of was Oh boy it’s big. The driver got it in and placed it where we wanted, unhitched, got her leveled and there it was. He said it drove like a dream.

Once he left we opened her up , got the slides out and just stood there a few minutes, both of us thinking WOW, here it is. I got the water and electric hooked up and tested the plumbing all again. Put out the awning, and as it was a hot day turned on the front air for the first time, we were not able to do that at the dealers, so I was a little worried. We have the new Dometic A/C system, and I let it run all day. There’s a lot more to this story, so i’ll save that for later. Melissa started cleaning all the cabinet’s and stuff, I was busy with rechecking all the electrical, propane and electrical stuff.

Before we knew it was about 4 our friend’s Beth and Fran along with her mother arrived. We had invited them for dinner. We showed them around for a while and then I cooked up steak and chicken on the grill and we had dinner. It was a great time and before we knew it, it was about 8 p.m. So after they left we got ourselves situated and geared up for going to bed. We slept o. k. , the mattress Is very hard. We got up about 9 or so and went out to breakfast in Newfane to a little place called Bob’s Diner. When we got back we kind of got packed up and headed back home, (The RV is at my brother Steve’s house in Newfane).When we got all unwound, we just looked at each other with smile’s, the Big Country is everything we had hoped for and more. It is now HOME.

What an experience we had last Friday at Ballards Camping Center. I was nervous and apprehensive for days before. When we got there the 3450 was set up on one of there camp sites. It was owe some to see, and big. We spent about 3 hours with a few of the tech guys, who showed us all the workings of the coach. I don’t remember any of it, it was too much to take in. Once they were done we were able to stay the rest of the day and overnight. That gave us a lot of time to get a little familiar with all of it. They hooked us up to water and sewer, and power, although it was only 110, so we could not use the air or heat. We were assured it all worked fine. I was deathly afraid of a water leak, all was good.  Had the hot water tank turned on, which worked well. As a matter of fact as hard as I tried I could not find a lot of issues, which we were very pleased with .The dealer prep work on the coach was really a good job. I did find a few nicks and other small items that need attention, inside.  There is one slide out that needs adjusting, a slide bracket that needs a screw tightened, and a front corner mold piece that is cocked. That is the biggest thing, done wrong right at the factory and missed by the inspector. Not sure how this is going to play out, leave it or try to fix it!!!!.

After all that Saturday morning we met with Daryl, let him know the issues we had,and finished up all the paperwork and such. It  went by so fast, the next thing we knew we were back home. We had hoped it would have been delivered this week, but so far no go, I think some of the work had to be approved by Heartland first to get done. Hopefully in the next few days we will have it at Steve’s and start to use it. I plan right now to be there most of the June 27 week to put it through all its paces. The picture below of Melissa speaks for itself. We are very excited and  happy with everything so far.

Now we are getting very excited. The big country has arrived and the dealer is doing all his prep work. He said so far no issues and everything looks and works great. We will see. This Friday we will be going in the afternoon for the walk through and they are letting us stay overnight. This will give me a good amount of time to do my pre inspection, which is a mile long. Any issues hopefully can be corrected  quickly. Looking forward to it.

Heard from the dealer on May 21st the big country is done and will be shipped to him by the 25th. It’s really happening. He has a lot of prep to do and I know he is very busy this time of year, so I am going to ask him to hold off a week or so and do the extensive prep work , then. This way he will not be rushed. We also will be able to stay overnight at his small campground , to do the pre inspection and stay in it and see how all things work, with any bugs he may need to fix. This looks like it will be the week end of June 11th.

Melissa seems to be getting very excited, me on the other hand , I am excited but I seem a little blah about it, work has been a major issue lately.

 

We heard today, the Big Country will be produced the week of May 16th, with delivery to the dealer the 25th or 26th. Doesn’t take long to make one I guess. Now we are getting pretty excited. We have been also putting in the water and power line to my brother’s barn in Newfane. Since we will have no truck it will have to stay put for awhile. We do have plans for a friend to move us to a couple nearby campgrounds during the summer for a week or so. But overall it will be at Steve’s where we will be keeping the rig for now. this is where we will start the transition of getting it all set up the way we want. For now that’s it.

Well, We did it, On April 2nd we went to Ballard’s camping out in Hamburg New York, sat down with Daryl the owner who we have been dealing with for over 2 years now, went over a few little details, and signed the paper work for the 2017 Heartland Big Country 3450ts. This time it feels right, both Melissa and I are very excited. After 3 plus years of research, more research ,learning and educating ourselves on RV types and the RV lifestyle, and a few disappointments along the way,we both feel relieved. The first BIG step is done. To say we have a lot to do and get ready for in the next 8 weeks, before delivery is an understatement. For now I will end here and will be updating as things happen.

Well its 2016 a new year. Trying not to look back at the last year and a half.

Looks like we have everything in place to make the big move. So come the end of March looks like we will be ordering the Heartland, Big Country 3450 ts, finally. Will be seeing the Rv dealer we have been working with the last few years at the RV show  later this month and kind of go over things. Then make the order late March. Pretty excited but not doing summersalts yet.

Also looking into a new phone. We really do not have a cell phone, so after much research, it looks like an iphone 6s will be the choice, and Verizon will be the carrier. Much more coverage than most. We  Hope to have that all done by Mid March.

For now that’s it and will update more in April

Good riddance to 2015, it was a terrible year. Still haunted by the passing of our big man Lee. We also knew of 6 other people that had to put there dogs down. We also had some other personal issues to deal with, and the loss of Melissa’s mother on Oct 18, she was 94. There really isn’t much else to say, but 2016 looks to be the year.