Welcome to 2025, at least in Airstream terms.
Last week we extracted dear old Towed Haul from the dealer's Winter storage lot, and dragged her home to commence our fifteenth camping season. That said, actual Airstreaming will be suspended until we return from a mega-trip overseas in mid-June.
We'd paid for storage up until the end of April, and had planned to get the old girl out on May 1st. That didn't work for us, but as I tried to arrange a pick up date with the dealer, their service department was completely swamped and I spent a week trying to get someone to call me back, given that phones were not being picked up beyond the reception desk. In the end I had to resort to e-mailing the owner, which resulted in a call, and an appointment was made for May 9th.
We duly rolled up at the dealer's place, it's an hour's drive away, only to be told that they'd "dropped the ball" and the Airstream hadn't been prepped! Being retired now and therefore cool AF, we both dealt with this news in a surprisingly calm fashion and, when told it'd all be sorted in about 45 minutes, we repaired to the big city (London, Ontario), and made our way to the British Pride Bakery where we could pick up some British food items, including a nice Cornish Pasty (which obviously hadn't been anywhere near Cornwall), and a big sausage roll. If you're a Brit, you'll understand. I also picked up a Cadbury's Twirl chocolate bar for the hard pressed Peggy back at the dealer's place.
We weren't quite done with the problems, either, as we had a call from Peggy to say that they'd lost Towed Haul's keys, but they'd found a spare that would fit. DW explained what our keys looked like, and by the time we arrived back at the dealer's lot, not only was the Airstream ready to go, but Peggy had found the keys. The dealer adjusted the invoice in recognition of our trouble, I handed over the chocolate bar, and we were set and ready to go. All's well that ends well.
The first tow of the season is always a bit of a worry, especially given the state of the rusty old hitch receiver. But, the Toadmobile was duly hitched to the trailer, electrics and brakes connected and tested, and off we went. We usually take the old Talbot Trail home, an 80/90 Km/hr back road that runs parallel to Highway 401, and that busy Friday afternoon was no exception. It's easier on the Toadmobile, easier on the gas, and easier on my nerves to go that way, even if it takes about twenty minutes longer. The trailer followed us straight and true, though, no twitching about and no surprises. I drove at the speed limit and managed a healthy 18.1 Km/100 litres, which is almost exactly 13 miles to the US gallon. Sure, we were lightly loaded and we had a slight tailwind, but that's not bad given the stickiness of the rather excellent Michelin LT tires on the trailer, which do increase the rolling resistance.
Back at the ranch, I had to back the old girl onto the driveway while avoiding the eldest's broken down car which was occupying one side. Still, I did it in one go and was feeling very pleased with myself. Our four-year-old grandson was on hand to help unhitch and put the stabilisers down, and I have to say that it was very nice to have Towed Haul back on the driveway. Of course, she has a winter's worth of grime on her, so cleaning is due, but that that can wait until I get a cooler day.
We have a few trips planned later in the Summer, but right now our focus is on the mega-trip, which I will document here as it unfolds. In the meantime, welcome home Towed Haul, and happy (camping) new year.
