Welcome to Blog Post #1 for OnAndOffGrid — part of me says “Wow” this is really happening after years of planning and wishing and designing in my head. I am so excited. Over the past few weeks since we have gotten home, many people who ‘follow’ our trips have ask “Where and when are you going somewhere?”. The answer is probably after the beginning of the new year.
You see our new rig “Bear” went in for his first annual checkup and the docs found a few things that needed some attention. (Whenever you purchase a ‘used’ rig, you must accept that there may be unseen items that require attention. You can have a rig inspected — which is a very good idea — however, not everything can be seen.) When purchasing a used rig, we always change all the fluids in the motorized part and clean all the tanks (fresh, gray and black) in the RV part. It allows you to begin at a zero point in the maintenance schedule of your rig.
While Bear was having all his fluids changed, roller bearings came out with the fluid from the front differential. So, Bear is getting a new ‘chunk’ in his front differential because it was too costly to repair the old one. You might sigh and sigh loudly; however, we saw this as a blessing. We had traveled home over 3,100 miles with no issues. This ‘big issue’ was found once we got home and in a place where our local dealership can attend to matter and not be rushed because we are somewhere else far from home.
For those who travel, you know “things will break”. You just hope that first the break is in a populated area that has a mechanic or repair shop, second that your vehicle is drivable to that repair shop and third it does not take too long to get the parts. Sometimes, breakage can create some of your most memoriable moments — and we have some to share.
Here are few pics of Bear at the ‘doctors’ office. Hopefully, he will return home this week and we can begin to make a few other modifications to be ready to go in January.
We hope in the coming months that you will continue to follow us as we travel on this blessed adventure.
