Ready... Set...

Ahoy Mateys!  We're spending the evening collecting and sorting the things we're taking back tot he boat. We also need to pack the camping gear. A few weeks ago, we bought a Palomino Truck Camper. It fits on the bed of the pick-up and will be our home as we slowly migrate south to S/V SUNSHINE.

Our plan is to head south via the Skyline drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway through Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smokies. We expect to take about two weeks to get to the boat.

The Palomino Camper has needed several repairs. First, we had to have part of the lifting mechanism welded.  The roof "pops up" to give standing headroom, but closes down for easy and more fuel efficient transport.

Most recently, the several of the plastic "T" fittings in the plumbing developed leaks. All of the fittings are in cabinets under the sink and stove. The small access doors make reaching the fittings difficult. It is near impossible to get a tool in to replace the fittings. The only way I could work on one of the defective fittings was to remove the sink. After about 8 hours, everything was back together. No leaks were detected... yet!

I had to make a new dinning table too. The new table is a few inches bigger than the one it replaces. That should make it more functional at meal time.

Our Palomino does not appear to be well made. The manufacturer seems to have a reputation for poor quality. So, why did we buy it? Well, first and foremost, the price was right. Unfortunately, I found out about the reputation of the company after the fact. The unit is in very good condition. After the purchase, we found evidence that it had leaked at one time or another. It may have caused the wood to warp and that may have caused the lifting system to break. There was no way we could have know that the plastic fittings were suspect. We'll use it this year and if extended camping is in our future, we may look at a better quality rig. Right now, we're thinking about a trip to Yellowstone and south to the national parks in southwest and maybe even the Grand Canyon next September. We can do that kind of trip if we leave the boat in Florida again.

That's the story for now! We'll provide updates when we get going.