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Old 07-17-2005, 02:03 PM   #1
skcerny
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Thumbs up Our 2600 mile Maiden Voyage

Our family has just returned from our 2 week and 2600 mile maiden voyage with our 3023 TM. Our TV was our 2005 Grand Caravan with factory installed tow package.
We started out on June 30 from Wixom, Michigan, with heavy rain and thunderstorms all the way to our first stop near Pittsburg, PA - what fun! Our TM pulled like a dream. Set up the first night was almost as easy as in our driveway and such a relief! I saw a TM heading west bound on the PA turnpike, but with the rain and semi's, I didn't get a look at the TV. Anyway, before we arrived at the campground we took a little detour up and down the hills on the back roads of PA in the rain - was I nervous, you ask? I was very nervous, but the van and the TM were a great team and had no toubles at all, except of course, trying to find somewhere to turn around. If you have ever been or live in that area, you know it is hilly and there really aren't any shoulders on the roads to make a u-turn, and for us flatlanders, it made for some fun! We wondered if anyone would come up to us and ask us about our TM, as we have heard to many of you say has happened. Well, sure enough, as we were setting up and then again during tear down. It did stop raining finally when we got to Laurel Hills Campground, so we didn't set up in the rain, nor did we have rain when we broke camp in the morning.
As we continued on to the Williamsburg, VA area, more rain - did I mention how glad we were that we were not having to set up or tear down a tent, or pop-up? In Williamsburg, we had a little toilet trouble, since this was our first big trip, we were madly trying to remember how to do everything, and obviously we didn't get everything quite right.
By the time we arrived in Waves, NC on the outerbanks for a week at Camp Hatteras, we figured out the toilet. We had a very nice time at Kitty Hawk and on a deep sea fishing trip and exploring a small piece of Pea Island and Bodie Island Light House and then of course, the beach. At the campground there were two other TMs, a 3134 and 2619, my husband spoke to the owner of the 3124.
This is where the trip gets really exciting.
We then drove across the beautiful state of NC to the Great Smokie Mountains. Thanks to hurricane Cindy and a vehicle repair on our friends van, we didn't make our destination of Statesville, but had to stop in Carey, NC. When we took off from Carey, we took I40 across to NC74 to 441 into Cherokee Reservation to the KOA. Only at one point on I40, on a 6 mile incline, did our temperature guage move and that was only one little mark. We remained at a 45 mph speed and the van shifted gears when it needed to, but no overheating or struggles and there were other vehicles moving at the same pace or slower than we were. Our friends who were pulling a heavier trailer with a conversion van were near overheating when we reached the top of the incline, Thank God for our no wind drag TM!!! It is so beautiful there in the Smokies. We actually didn't get to see much of the mountain range because of the clouds from the second hurricane, Denis. We drove(no trailer) up to Clingman's Dome in the rain and high winds - can anyone say fun!?!! We were soaked! I think we will go back and do some more hiking. Again at the Cherokee KOA, we had the opportunity to show off our very comfortable TM.
When we left Cherokee, the men decided to take Rt.19 over to I40, more fun than my nerves could handle! The inclines weren't too bad, but it was the 9% grade going down that was the problem for our friends. Their brakes were smoking and the tires were hot. It was raining again. Our van and the TM brakes were alittle warm, the tires were not any hotter than normal on either vehicle. I have to say, my husband did a great job remaining calm, while I was crawling out of my skin. We made it down into Maggie Valley without any further trouble and made our way to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.
From Mammoth Cave we drove north to Dayton OH and stayed at Tall Timbers KOA, a beautiful restort type place. Then to home on Saturday.

We did stay at RV Parks with full hookups, and prefer it that way for now. We bought a plug in cooler at Wal-Mart and moved it from the car to the TM when we were at the campgrounds. We like that we could plug it in while in the car to keep lunches, drinks and snacks cold while driving. It was very nice not having to worry about ice!

Overall, we are more in love with our TM than when we first bought it. For our maiden vacation in it, all went amazingly smooth.
Some day in the future, we do want to purchase a TV with a bigger engine and gear ratio so we can go to the Rockies and explore the western part of our great country. We know fully well, that will not happen with our current TV. On this trip into the Smokies, our Grand Caravan surpassed our expectations greatly and know that for the mostly flat lands of the midwest, we will be more than ok.
I guess I should mention, we did not carry any water in our TM since we had full hookups at all of our locations, other than that, we were fully loaded with gear.
Most of my fears while driving came from no experience at ever having vacationed in this manner. Yes, we had camped in tents for weekends and had rented a pop-up and a hybrid for only one week each, while staying in Michigan both times, but not towing to this extent. Also, from all the wonderful information shared here on this site about tow vehicles and gear ratios and all that(thank you so much,sincerely), I wasn't convinced our mini-van could handle what we asked it to do, but it did!
I wish I knew how to include pictures in my posts, when we figure it out, we will. We LOVE our TM and plan on having many fun weekends and long trips in it!
Kelley Cerny
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Old 07-17-2005, 07:26 PM   #2
hal
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Wow! it sounds like you did it all. What a trip. But I bet you will agree that the best part of any trip is returning to the warm comforts of your TM each night. I can almost feel your enthusiasm.

Hal
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Old 07-18-2005, 12:20 PM   #3
calypso
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Glad you made it home safely and look forward to many future trips...that says it all !!!
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Old 07-28-2005, 09:28 PM   #4
skcerny
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Thanks! We really enjoyed our trip and our TM. It was very nice to have a very comfortable place to go back to each night. We have a trip planned to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan for Labor Day weekend and I am looking forward to it! We could not be happier with our decision to purchase our TM!
Kelley
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Old 02-13-2006, 11:23 AM   #5
Debian Dog
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That was a good start! Way more adventurous than I would have been first time out.
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