The fulltime lifestyle is always a good time until something goes wrong. From spent brakes to getting stuck in the mud, if you’re going to make it on the road you need to be comfortable being self-reliant and making decisions on your own.

RVing lifestyle challenges can bring couples closer together if they learn how to navigate these challenges . . . or they will end up killing each other and calling the road trip done.

We have faced our share of road trip calamities. We’ve always survived, but oftentimes at the cost of out of control emotions, expensive repairs and a sad sense of feeling like we were all alone in the world.

At times like that, even this tough chick will admit it’s lonely being out there without friends or family to call and bail you out.

Up here in the mountains, we have neighbors, but they’re not close enough to see from our property. We get the impression that people live up here for a reason . . . they don’t want to have neighbors. They’re hermits. I guess that might make us hermits too, but really, we aren’t. We just like the scenery.

Stranded on the  Mountain

Last week our trusty Dodge died (which Jim will eventually write about). My worst nightmare came true; we were stuck on our mountain without a vehicle (other than Jim’s motorcycle). Although Jim made a valiant effort to fix the problem the previous week, it returned last weekend, leaving us stranded again.

We had two options; either fork out serious cash for the 80 mile tow to the great diesel mechanic we found in town, or call our newly relocated friends, Lisa and Sean Purcell, who just planted roots here in Fort Collins after fulltiming with their kids for nearly two years. Suspecting that we had an electrical drain on our batteries, we knew that their Ford F350 could jump our Dodge 2500.

After a quick text to Lisa, she and Sean and their kids were on their way without hesitation. Instead of enjoying their new life in town on a beautiful sunny day, they drove the 80 miles to get us started and escorted us back to town to make sure we got there safely.

The Purcells saved us the towing fee, but their help was worth so much more than that. They gave us the emotional therapy we needed to get through a stressful situation. They made us laugh, got our truck started, then saved our day from crumbling into catastrophe. The two of them, their great kids and their dog Sophie turned a lousy morning around into a really nice afternoon with friends.

Thanks guys!

Life on the road is fantastic, and we’ll still keep snowbirding, but this proves there really is a lot to be said about a place you can call home.

I know, everyone usually talks about how to winterize an RV. But for snowbirds like us, fortunate enough to have a home in the mountains where we spend the summer months, preparing your rig for the season is different.

For starters, it’s more important to keep the critters out than worry about keeping the water heater from freezing.

To summarize, the summerization of our rig entailed little more than:

• Plugging in, to keep the batteries charged.
• Emptying grey/black tanks and rinsing  them well.
• Removing all food items.
• Cleaning out fridge and turning it off.
• Covering the wheels to shade tires from sun.

After driving around for about a week I looked at the dust gathering on our hitch and decided it wise to summerize that too. After all we weren’t headed anywhere for a few months at least. As a side note, I’d prefer to remove it, but Rene has a point or two. It is heavy. And should we need to evacuate in a hurry, being able to quickly take our second home with us would be a good thing. But there i go digressing.

I love our hitch, enough to take good care of it. To prepare it for not being used, I took the following steps to tuck it in for the summer:

• Cleaned off all dust, grime and grease.
• Re-greased the slide tubes, both the top and inside of shafts.
• Released tension from catch spring.*
• Covered with plastic. (I used an old vinyl BBQ cover Rene had made since we have a shed now!)

*NOTE TO SELF: Remember this before hitching up in the fall!

It dawns on me now, that I never shared just how much I really do love our Pullrite Superglide fifth wheel hitch. And no, that’s not even an affiliate link! One of the biggest determining factors for me when it comes to complete product satisfaction is customer service. Pulliam gets an “A” in my book.

To make an already long story short… After a couple years on the road, we noticed out hitch had a lot of play in it and didn’t sit level. The top plate slanted so René often had to hold flat as I backed it into the trailer kingpin. This got old quick. Then I noticed what looked like piece of a small leaf spring in our truck bed one day.

While searching for our Colorado property last year, we paid a visit to RV America in Loveland. Upon looking at our hitch, the parts manager was very concerned and suggested we call the local Pullrite sales rep.

To make an even longer story a little but shorter… he agreed to meet us at the shop and have a look.

One look was all it took. Though it could have been serviced, he offered to replace the complete top portion of our hitch. Not just the receiver plate, but the whole rocker arm assembly too. No charge. Better yet, the kind folks at RV America agreed to install it free of charge. We left with a brand new hitch and a better understanding about how to disassemble it should the need arise in the future.

Upon inspection of our Superglide’s way tubes, the Pullrite rep asked about how and when I grease them. After explaining, he commended me for the good job, commenting on how they were in good shape for what we’ve put them through. I fully intend to keep it up so this love affair with our hitch lasts a long, long time.

NOTE: We use white lithium grease to lubricate the way tubes on our Superglide hitch, but Pullrite also recommends a graphite spray which we will be trying next season. Buying a can was the least we could do after getting a virtually new hitch from RV America!

It’s been a quiet week up here at Crystal Lakes . . .

Quiet summer is more like it. Usually. Our moutain abode is one hour from anywhere, and other than the times when weekenders come and inhabit their cabins and stupidly leave food out for the bears, there’s not a lot of excitement up here.

Oh wait, there is an occasional moose and rare wildflower sighting. Now that’s excitement!

We go to town once a week for Wyatt’s bad-boy dog schooling and stock up on provisions. The one hour trip to town is an all-day event.

Otherwise summer’s been spent working on projects for our other entrepreneurial endeavors that will bring in millions for us (hey I can always hope!).

And while the rest of the country swelters in blistering August heat, we are wearing sweats in the morning and long sleeves in the afternoon. A touch of fall is in the air and although afternoon temperatures are in the low 70s, there’s a chill in the air every morning. We are at 8,400 feet elevation after all.

It’s amazing to think how quickly summer flies by in the Rockies, but that’s what makes this place so beautiful. Nothing lasts long enough around here for us to take it for granted.

Including my best girlfriend Renee, who moved back to California a few weks ago. I’m so bummed that she left but we’ll see her again when we head to warmer climates in winter.

But, just this week, fellow road tripper friends Lisa and Sean have decided to lay down some roots in Fort Collins for a while, so that’ll be fun.

This is the first summer we’ve had in years that feels peaceful, beautiful and in sync with all that we treasure in this world.

The feeling isn’t so much because we’re staying put and getting into a routine (we are already talking about where we’re going to spend winter). It’s because we feel like we belong here. This is the first place we’ve ever lived where it feels like our hearts are meant to be here.

The Rockies are being very, very good to us and we are grateful. Thank you Jerry.