Having driven Topper home
from the dealership, I quickly realized that the pickup was going to
need some rear axle spring assistance. I had great luck with AirLift
spring helpers on the front of our motor home, so I got online and
found the proper match for our pickup and ordered a set of AirLift
5000 air bags.
It took me most of a day to
install the air bags, because I don't own a lift or even jackstands.
I spent several hours rolling around under the unraised truck on a
creeper. This is not as easy as you might think for a 67 year old
man. In the end, however, it was well worth it. The air bags lifted
the rear end of the truck back to a normal, level ride.
Jill had emptied everything
out of the motor home in order to get it cleaned up and ready for
sale. We piled it all on a table in the garage. When the airbags
were installed and we had tested the ride in the new configuration,
we sorted through the pile on the table. Obviously, some things had
to go. You can't fit a 31 foot motorhome worth of stuff into a 10
foot camper!
Once the decisions had been
made about must-haves and wanna-haves, Jill did a magnificent job of
stowing things aboard Topper. Best of all, she reported that we
(meaning she) would be fine with what we had kept. All the
necessities of life were accounted for. We began looking for an
opportunity to go camping. We can legally call it that now, since we
will be doing it in a “camper.”
I found a website for Linn
County parks, and the more I read, the more intriguing the parks
sounded. I chose to make a reservation for two nights at River Bend
County Park. Although we had had three vehicles listed on Craigslist
for sale, God smiled on us and gave us buyers for two of them the
very night before we were scheduled to take Topper out for a trial
run. Hallelujah!
We took off from home
yesterday afternoon. I was a little bit nervous, a lot excited, and
anxious to see how everything went. To my delight, the truck
performed very well. The water temperature stayed steady at about
200 degrees no matter what terrain we encountered. The transmission
temperature varied between about 175 and 190, depending on how much
shifting was going on. Interestingly, it seemed to heat up at slower
speeds, as in going through towns, probably because the changes in
speed and acceleration required more shifting. Suffice to say, I was
very pleased with the overall performance of the truck.
We arrived at our campsite
about 3:30 PM. It is gorgeous. We are nestled in among a stand of
Douglas fir trees. Our site is level with a nice big concrete patio
and a fire pit. There is water and electricity, and plenty of
privacy. We took the dogs for a hike along the South Santiam river,
which gives the park its name. The river is low, so the water is
crystal clear, and there are some beautiful swimming holes and
fishing holes. 
The dogs were pretty
confused about why we are staying in this little-bitty, foreign
house, instead of that spacious motor home. But as the afternoon and
evening progressed, they began to settle in. At bedtime, Lulu was
pretty concerned about being way up in the air on the cab-over bed.
Eventually, she settled down and we all got a good night's sleep.
As people our ages will do,
we each had occasion to get up in the night to use the bathroom. On
my visit, I noted that upon flushing, a little water came out from
under the toilet and ran down the floor into the shower drain. I
hadn't worn my glasses, so I couldn't tell for sure what was going
on. I made a mental note that the toilet would need to be repaired
and went back to bed.
In the morning, we got up
and had coffee. I walked the dogs, and then Jill used the bathroom
again. She let out an exclamation, “The black tank is full!”
Why had that not occurred to me? I instantly went to the dark place,
thinking a repair was called for. I guess wearing my glasses would
have helped.
Jill stowed everything, and
we put the dogs in the backseat of the truck. Off we went to the dump
station. At least at this time of the morning, there is no
competition to get to the dump! Upon dumping, I noticed that the
contents of the black tank were mostly clear, blue-green fluid.
“Aha,” I thought, “the dealership must have filled the tank
with cleaner/disinfectant and forgotten to empty it before delivery.”
I was relieved that the rest of the camping trip would not have to
be spent doing toilet repair!
So, now the sun is out. We
have had breakfast. The dogs are snoozing on the sofa between us. I
am writing this post, and Jill is writing letters to her brother and
our daughter. The day is full of promise. Let's see, I think
another walk along the river is in order. Perhaps, I will start that
new novel Jill brought home for me. Life is good. Topper is going
to be a great addition to the family.
My beautiful bride as we sat down for our first meal in Topper.
Notice the lovely tableware we chose! We were concerned about
Conserving water. Topper's holding tanks are smaller than Sadie's.
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