Preparing for the eastbound trip

We have been in Southern California for almost three months, and it has been another wonderful winter. We have enjoyed our rented lot in Rancho California Resort, and the weather has been warm and sunny almost the entire time.

It is time to prepare for our journey back. This year we will be staying in Naples, Florida for a week. It involves a 400 mile detour down the Florida peninsula, and it was a favorite annual destination before we became fulltimers. With diesel prices this low, it is quite inexpensive to cover the extra miles.

Our route to Ontario, which will cover 4200 miles (6720 km)

We have allowed 14 days to cover the Aguanga-to-Naples leg, and 7 days for Naples-to-Craighurst. This will allow for a relaxed journey. Average distance per day is 200 miles, although we will include some two-night stops, so actual daily distance on the driving days will be closer to 300 miles.

It is well into spring here in Southern California. Daily temperatures are consistently around 80F (27C). Everything has become very green here in the resort.

We will miss this buildout, with all the facilities. We are returning next winter to the same lot.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have performed some maintenance and preparation items to prepare for the trip.

-Sanitize onboard freshwater tank using bleach, flush and fill to 50% for use on route
-Adjust fifthwheel brakes
-Lubricate wet bolts on the leaf spring shackles
-Change oil in truck using Rotella T6 synthetic and GM filter (performed by Walmart)
-Check all other truck fluids
-Lubricate truck front suspension
-Check all tire pressures and adjust if necessary
-Check tightness of fifthwheel hitch mounting bolts in truck, and inspect entire hitch assembly

I will be posting to this blog daily as we travel, so please take a look every day to see where we are, starting on April 7.