First Week of July...Spartan Training

When last we spoke, your Captain and Tour Director foretold of a trip to Michigan.  A glance at a map will reveal that a journey from Maryland to our first Michigan destination (Charlotte...near Lansing) will take us through Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and into the lower third of Michigan.  See below:

Appropriately, our first state was Delaware....

Delaware...state motto: "We were the First State, we gave you Joe Biden and tax free shopping.  We think that two outta three ain't bad..."

We entered the First State about 20 miles after departing our home in Maryland.  At about the same time this little alarm went stark raving batpoop bonkers...

The Jeep's remote tire alarm

The reason that the little bugger went all postal on us was that EACH of the tires on the Jeep  (being towed behind us) had reached temperatures of 246 Degrees Fahrenheit or higher.  This, my dear reader, is well into the catastrophic range which could cause an exploding tire and all the excitement which could accompany such an event.

Your Captain quickly maneuvered the Beast to the roadside and literally ran back to see the Jeep engulfed in smouldering rubber smoke!  (Smelled as if a mad arsonist was on the loose in Akron, OH) Diagnostic genius that he is, your Captain determined that this was not good.  Bravely, he dove through the oily smoke and YANKED out the auxiliary braking system he had put in place 20 miles before...

This is the auxiliary braking system.

The Captain was able to determine that he had installed the system incorrectly and thus had dragged the recalcitrant Jeep the last 20 miles while the braking system above was trying to stop by depressing its brakes very hard.  The Beast being a 600 horsepower muscular brute, had paid no attention to the complaining Jeep until the cockpit alarm sounded...

Now back underway, the Commodorable took over the task of monitoring the tire alarm system to insure that the Jeep's tires were now cooling as we proceeded northward.  They finally settled in at 95-100 Degrees which is normal.

 

Next we re entered Maryland to proceed around Baltimore (city motto: "We are mad as heck so we gonna burn our own community down.") and westward to the scenic I 70 to...

West Virginia.  State motto:"We got indoor plumbing too". Locals call it  " West, by God, Virginia"

We quickly pass through the northern tip of WBGVA to enter...

Pennsylvania.  State motto ..."Our Quakers are NOT a breakfast cereal"

There we drove along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in beautiful weather, went on the north side of Pittsburgh ( the "H" it's entirely superfluous).  And continued into...

Ohio.  State motto: "At least we ain't Delaware"

Earlier your Captain had programmed his GPS to take the Beast to a small suburb of Cleveland called Streetsboro.  True to its name, the community had streets  We chose this destination because it allowed us to visit with some old friends.

We arrived at the Streetsboro KOA Park at about 9:00 PM and were zonked!  We had driven nearly 11 hours crossed several states , had an emergency, etc, etc.  

The next morning (The 4th of July) we made plans to meet up with our good friends from Pelican Lake, Rita and Bill Persch.  They met us on Saturday morning at the KOA and drove us to a nice brunch.  As is always the case with old friends, time flew by too quickly and we said our goodbyes, knowing that we'd see them again in winter in Naples, FL.

Leslie with Rita and Bill

We spent a few hours doing odds and ends around the coach and at 3:00 PM, we loaded the Westies and ourselves into to Jeep to drive to Cleveland and meet our good friend Debbie Fitzgerald and her really cool new hubby, Jack.

It is at this moment that your startled Captain determines that the trusty Jeep is now just a Jeep, having lost its title TRUSTY, as it quite literally has NO BRAKES.  A call to Debbie is made and we apologized for our non-attendance at the afternoon BBQ.  Note also that this is July 4.  Two birthdays are celebrated in our tribe on this day...the birth of our wonderful nation and the birth of our cute littliest Westie, Opie...

 Our wee birthday boy.

At any rate, undaunted we decided to delay our July 5th departure to Charlotte, MI to allow time for a visit from Debbie and Jack.  They came by the KOA Park about mid morning.  It had been at least 13 years since we had seen Debbie and she looked marvelous, and really happy.  Here she is in the Beast...

Debbie with the birthday boy...

We had a great time catching up and meeting Jack.  Your Captain really likes this guy!

Again, time passed too quickly and all too soon we said our goodbyes, assuring each other that we would reconvene in Florida in the winter,  here we are...

Jack, Debbie and El Capitan

Once again, we readied the Beast and the now crippled Jeep and continued our journey toward Charlotte, MI the home of Spartan Chassis Corp. it was after 1 PM when we finally departed Streetsboro, OH.

We skirted the south shore of Lake Erie, and after a few hours, entered...

Indiana.  State motto: "Hoosier Daddy?"

So far, on this trip at least, we think that Indiana has the most potholes per mile (PPM) on its interstate highways.  Your worried Captain kept glancing at the rear camera monitor to determine if the Jeep had been lost to the gaping maw of a pothole.  Brakeless, the Jeep soldiered onward...

After a short time in Indiana the Captain and crew entered...

Michigan.  State motto: "Great Lakes, Great Times, Great Shame about Detroit, though"

Here, we drove due north along I 69 until we reached the Charlotte exit.  We entered Charlotte, and disconnected the Jeep at the local Ford dealership.. We left them a note begging for them to heal our mistreated Jeep.  

It is now Sunday evening.  We had been told by the Spartan Training Manager to be ready to leave our coach at 7 AM on Monday, as the coach would be taken in to have a thorough 40 point inspection, covering lubrication, brakes, air systems, tires, suspension, electronics, cooling systems, engine and generator. 

We (and the Westies) were welcome to remain in the waiting room until the class started at 8AM.  

I won't give a detailed description of the class except to say that I haven't seen more comprehensive training since my early days in the corporate world.  Following are a few pictures of the class...

Your Captain (yellow shirt) inspecting the front brakes of a bare RV chassis

Tom & Mary from Louisiana.  They own a RV Park which we will visit on our way back to Naples in September/October.

Ken & Chris from Tennessee.  A great couple.

Jim & Diane from Illinois.  They are heading to Petosky, MI after the class to attend an Entegra Rally there.  They were at Pelican Lake last January.  Again, small world.

Betty and Paul.  We already knew them as neighbors from Pelican Lake.  They have a place there as well as a home in Hilton Head, SC.  Neither of us knew the other would be at this training...

Kim and Mike from Missouri.  They know our friends from Naples Carol and Gary.  (What a small world)

Here are Lorraine & Lloyd.  Get this...they keep their coach in Oregon, but live in Hawaii!!!  Lloyd retired from the Air Force and is a dentist.  (I bet he could get those Al Qaeda boys to answer a few questions...)

And of course, the class clown.  Leslie, naturally heh, heh.

I gotta tell ya, the Westies were good boys in class.  In all, there were 8 terriers in this class all week.  Even our Murphy was a good boy.

We were allowed to go over, under, around and through the chassis.  This one is the exact chassis that was used on our coach.

The rear view... They now use Cummins Diesel engines.  They are RED.  Our coach (The Beast) uses a Caterpillar engine. It is YELLOW.  Yellow engines are prettier...jes sayin'

After class, we were assigned a master technician (Brian was our guy) and he took us on a guided tour of our coach.  (This alone was almost worth the price of the class.  Leslie got right in there also, checking out each item.)

The Captain under the Beast...

The Beast's undercarriage "Mood Lights "...

The Captain check things off the "list"...

Notice the Commodorable in the bumper reflection??

Small space, Large Captain...

The Commodorable with booties over her flip flops...The booties were required shop wear.  These guys are neatniks !!!

The class had lots of working displays...

Principles of Air Brakes display.

Air Brake Adjustment display...

Various filters and air compressor dryer displayed...

Suspension display...

Not pictured here, but we're were given a great tour of the plant and saw a Spartan K3GT chassis being built with the new steerable rear axel.  This is amazing technology.  (The Commodorable says I can't have one, though.  I never get nothin'...)

The week was wonderfully busy...your studious Captain's brain hurt at the end of each day.  They fed us breakfast, lunch and most days, dinners.

Next we were given classroom and on the road driver training.  This, also was incredibly valuable.

Leslie checking her mirrors...

...approaching a busy intersection...

...on the highway...

And finally...

The well deserved diploma!!  Yay, Leslie.  You go girlfriend...

Later that day....

Leslie in the drivers seat...

My girl getting fuel in a tight spot to maneuver...

During the week, we grew fond of the other six couples in the class, and on the final evening, our Hawaiian buddy Lloyd decided we should have a goodbye dinner.

The food was so so, the company was great.

Kinda looks like the "Last Supper", doesn't it?

Well, friends, that was the first 10 days of July.  Wow!  If the rest of our trip is even one tenth as fun as this...

Tomorrow morning we leave for Hearthside Grove in Petosky, MI.  It is about 250 miles away.  Fortunately, the good guys at the local Ford dealer replaced the entire braking system on the Jeep and it too is ready to go.  Weeeeee.......