The visit to Jojoba Hills was a multifaceted revelation: if I rented a lot at the RV Resort, I wouldn't have to get an RV big enough to carry everything I owned wherever I went. In fact, I would have a small storage shed on the lot! Karin and I quickly cut out graph paper to represent shelves for banker's boxes, my Elliptical machine, my Meade telescope, and a lot more, and shifted the cutouts around to show that it might be possible to keep my exercise machine in the shed along with plenty of stuff I really didn't want to get rid of. Even hang my windsurfer from the ceiling,
The notion of keeping a travel trailer on the site and storing a small RV while I was not on the road meant I could get one of Phoenix Cruiser's smaller rigs, which I really wanted, but I would need to learn about travel trailers in a hurry. So back to Giant RV in Colton -- two towns away from Redlands -- for a crash course.
At Giant, we heard about the Eclipse factory in nearby Riverside. They make rugged "toy-haulers" and have a sideline of travel trailers. So another factory tour was in order:
Travel trailers are simpler than my Phoenix Cruiser -- they don't have a motor and driver's cab. They come in a bewildering variety of floor plans, most of which I could quickly eliminate: no need for a kids' bedroom or "bunkhouse", also forget about any plan that involved walking the length of the unit to get to the bathroom. Here's the one I zeroed in on:
The nomenclature is strange. You might think the "25" means 25 feet long. In fact it's almost 29 feet. Oh, that may include the trailer hitch... "RK" stands for "Rear Kitchen". The "S" might have something to do with the "slide" that contains the 'fridge, sofa, and a wardrobe. Anyway, our requirements echoed those for the the road unit: fixed bed, real dinette for eating and laptops, bedroom and bathroom adjacent. Here's what it looks like:
The notion of keeping a travel trailer on the site and storing a small RV while I was not on the road meant I could get one of Phoenix Cruiser's smaller rigs, which I really wanted, but I would need to learn about travel trailers in a hurry. So back to Giant RV in Colton -- two towns away from Redlands -- for a crash course.
At Giant, we heard about the Eclipse factory in nearby Riverside. They make rugged "toy-haulers" and have a sideline of travel trailers. So another factory tour was in order:
Travel trailers are simpler than my Phoenix Cruiser -- they don't have a motor and driver's cab. They come in a bewildering variety of floor plans, most of which I could quickly eliminate: no need for a kids' bedroom or "bunkhouse", also forget about any plan that involved walking the length of the unit to get to the bathroom. Here's the one I zeroed in on:
The nomenclature is strange. You might think the "25" means 25 feet long. In fact it's almost 29 feet. Oh, that may include the trailer hitch... "RK" stands for "Rear Kitchen". The "S" might have something to do with the "slide" that contains the 'fridge, sofa, and a wardrobe. Anyway, our requirements echoed those for the the road unit: fixed bed, real dinette for eating and laptops, bedroom and bathroom adjacent. Here's what it looks like:
I put in a special order through Giant, and one of my specifications was to have the graphics lady not put "swooshes" over any window:
My Milan will be ready around mid-to-late winter, good timing. Giant RV agreed to store it on their site if I didn't have my lot at Jojoba Hills ready, also to tow it down to Aguanga and set it up on my lot.
I'll probably never move the Milan; I didn't buy a spare tire for it. Legally, Jojoba Hills is an "RV Resort" and not a "Trailer Park". All units in the resort have to be movable on 72 hours notice, and must have current motor vehicle registrations. We're road-people after all, and can choose any state as a domicile. Most choose Florida, Texas or South Dakota; more on this soon.
Shortly after placing the order, I emailed Earl at Phoenix Cruiser and found that my RV was coming off the assembly line in Elkhart and was about to go into the paint shop. My last work day is January 9th; Karin's is January 15th. We have reservations to meet in Chicago again at the end of January and stay with Tex and Susan on Superbowl weekend. They've promised to drive us to Elkhart February 2nd to pick up the RV. More about our return trip plans soon.
