New Wheels!

I want to introduce you to some very special friends we have just acquired. Richard and I are trusting these to help us fulfill our dream of touring the USA in a most comfortable and safe manner.

We met Benny first.  Or rather Richard did.  I wasn’t introduced to him until all the paperwork had been filled out.  I didn’t need to see him beforehand either, as we already knew that there was a limited choice out there, and I was happy to let Richard choose the right one for us both.  Besides, I didn’t fancy any more of that wheeling dealing I mentioned in my last blog.  But as soon as I met him on the forecourt of the car dealership I fell in love with him and named him Benny.  He is strong and BIG, yet surprisingly manageable.  He may be a slightly more mature model, but there’s plenty of mileage in him yet and Richard and I were pretty impressed by all the bells and whistles that came with his pulling power.

 

And so on to Betty.  Betty is the brains directing the brawn.  That’s Richard, not Benny. I think Richard is delighted with the fact that he can switch off Betty’s dulcet toned American vocal instructions when they get too much for him.  I like the fact that I no longer need to tell Richard where to go, she does it so much better than me.  I’ll be too busy telling him to stay in between the white lines, to watch out for traffic lights so he can slow down in time, to stop fiddling with the buttons etc.

Ok! Ok!  I’m sorry.  That was in pretty bad taste wasn’t it?  I just find it difficult to write up the technical stuff in an interesting way!  And it's partially true.  When we were driving our new truck to Lee’s house we were filled with such delight that we did call the truck Benny because the dealer was Benny Boyd, and Blanco of course means white – if you read my previous blog you will know why that was funny for us.

Anyway, here’s the technical spec for the guys:

Benny Blanco is a 2012 Ram 2500 Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 6.4 box; if you are really keen you can check out the 2015 model on the Ram Website: http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/ram_2500/?sid=1037056&KWNM=dodge+2500&KWID=5788026734&TR=1&channel=paidsearch#laramie

Betty Blanco is, of course, the GPS on the fancy dash with lots of buttons for Richard to twiddle.  By the way there is a leather steering wheel, hot and cold air leather seating front, and cold air in the back which I thought pretty neat!

Now I’m sitting here waiting for the final addition to our little touring circus to be towed to me.  

Thank you Lee.  Richard continues to learn from his cousin, and will be practicing hard over the next few weeks on various sizes of trailers before he tries towing the real deal.

We had no hassle whatsoever with the salesman when we settled on the 2013 Heartland Sundance 2370 RLS.  

In fact, we had previously seen the same model almost new for an extra $10K but thought at 36' 11" it might be too large.  We had anticipated a 32’ would be long enough, but the more we looked at 5th wheels that size, the more we thought the storage space was just not going to be enough for all the things you need to take with you for everyday living.  All the experienced RVer's we had spoken to said that for full time RVing, 32' is too small.  So we jumped at the chance when we came across a 2013 model that was in really mint condition. 

This is the living room

You can see that there are two pop outs that contain the dining table and two recliner chairs one the one side, and the sofa and kitchen cabinets on the other side. Moreover, as Lee pointed out, you can stop when touring and still have access to the fridge and the toilet when stopping for lunch without having to open the pop outs, thus avoiding using batteries and making the vehicle much wider than normal when towing. 

This is the fridge/freezer at an angle in the middle of two large larders.  You can see that when the pop out slides in, the work-surface slide over each other.  Good design eh?  I just loved all that counter space.

There's plenty of wardrobes and drawers, with another pop out to make room between the drawers and bed.

And there is even a bath in the bathroom!

I’m really glad that not all buying in the US involves wheeling and dealing . Though, in this case, Richard did manage to bring the already low price down by another $1K and we both drove away very happy indeed!  

I’m still mulling over what to call our new trailer.  I can’t decide… despite the size, she is definitely feminine – don’t you think?

That’s it.  The Sundance model name is the clue!  Our new home on wheels will be called the androgynous name “The Kid”.

We are open to alternatives!