On the Road With HaRVy- But, Which Road?

Just like you do whenever you get into your car to go somewhere, traveling with an RV requires you to decide what route you are going to take. In many cases, the route we take in our everyday driving to run errands, go out to eat, take the kids to school is pretty much predetermined based on our past experience of the best way to get there.

Driving an RV that is 38 feet long (even longer when we tow the car behind us,) almost 13 feet tall, and weighing up to (in our case) 22,000 lbs does introduce some variables that we typically do not need to consider when driving the family SUV. There are dedicated GPS systems for RVs as well as some phone apps like CoPilot that allow you to load in the dimensions of your RV and, those tools will do their best to keep you from going somewhere that you do not want to ever go in a 11 ton RV. Only utilizing roads that can safely accommodate a vehicle that large is pretty important.

But that's not really the topic I wanted to cover.

We currently live in the Tampa area and we previously lived in Augusta, GA so, we have already made a couple of trips to and from there. As you can imagine, there are many ways to drive from the Tampa area to Augusta. Google maps will offer the quickest route that basically utilizes the interstate highways as much as possible, provided that Google doesn't "see" any potential travel delays due to an accident on the route that would make another route faster. For us, Google says to use Hwy 54 to I-75 N, I-75 to I-10 E, then to I-95 N, then to I-16 W... then it is secondary highways from the Statesboro, GA area to Augusta. Google says we can get there in about 7.5 hrs using that route. I appreciate so much President Eisenhower's efforts to make the interstate highway system a reality. There is no denying that it is almost always the most efficient way to get from point A to B when traveling long distances.

But, I just don't like being on an interstate for 4, 6, 8 hrs. It's boring. It's a bit more dangerous (in my opinion) given the volume of traffic and the speeds of 70, 75, 80, and "how fast was that BMW going?" However, I do think that I am not really being honest when I give the reasons for not wanting to use the interstate (at least not for the majority of the trip.)

I like the old highways. As a kid that grew up in the 50s and 60s, my experiences going on trips and vacations preceded the building of many of today's interstates. We traveled on what are now considered secondary roads. And those roads went through the hearts of cities and small towns and I just miss that.

I have fond memories of the mid-century era motor lodges with their flashing neon signage that maybe boasted a swimming pool, air conditioning, TV, and other 1960s amenities that we just take for granted today.

There were roadside restaurants (Howard Johnson's and their iconic orange roof,) and gas stations (Stuckeys... where else can you get a pecan praline or log roll?)

and ice cream stands, and tacky tourist stops that looked like trading posts, or others that included some roadside attraction. There were often picnic areas right off the highway where we could leisurely gobble up the wax paper-wrapped sandwiches that mom packed before we left in our tank-sized Buick Special. This was the America I grew up in. No seat belts, windows down, me lying across the deck under the rear window without a care in the world (oblivious to Newton's law that says a body in motion wants to remain in motion when the brakes are suddenly applied.)

If you are over 50 and from Georgia or South Carolina (and ever traveled to Florida,) it is likely you are familiar with a road called the Woodpecker Trail. It dates back to the 1920s with that monicker. It basically is the route that includes Hwy 25 and 121. You would know about towns with names like Augusta, Waynesboro, Millen, and Metter. Cobbtown, Collins, Reidsville, Surrency, Blackshear, Waycross, Folkston, and St. George are towns you would experience before finally crossing into Florida. Sadly, you can only see remnants of some of the gas stations, motels and restaurants of that era that have long since been abandoned or re-purposed. Some prefer the more eastern Hwy 301 route. Others like the more western Hwy 1, 221 route to Florida.

We discovered that there is a pretty straight line route from our FL home to Augusta that includes FL Hwy 19, 129, GA Hwy 129, 221 and 1. This route adds about 30 minutes to the mostly interstate Google suggested route. With HaRVy however, we have modified that route to use I-75 through most of Florida, getting off near Jasper, FL and taking our usual "backroads" route from there.

We choose our roads for different reasons... safety, speed of travel, the view, and, for me.... I guess I just want to cling to some of those fond memories of my past. Happy motoring!

Adventures with HaRVy- Dump Your Tanks!

We experienced our first long-distance, extended-stay trip in our motorhome. HaRVy is our 2008 38ft Damon Challenger Class A. HaRVy pulls Dolly and Dolly carries Taurus (the Bull) so that we have transportation at our destination.

She must trust the driver- she's napping

Last week, we drove 420 miles up to Georgia and camped for 8 nights at Mistletoe State Park in Appling, GA on Clarks Hill Reservoir. The 71,100 acre lake was formed in 1954 when the dam on the Savannah River, now named for J. Strom Thurmond, was completed.

Back in our tent and pop-up camping days, we stayed at a couple of the nearby Corp of Engineer campgrounds-- Petersburg and Winfield but, I wanted to try the state park this time. We reserved a pull-through site which turned out to be an excellent choice. We have a 50 amp motorhome but, we were unable to get into one of the relatively few sites that have 50 amp service. That simply means that, with only 30 amp service, we would be unable to run both AC units at the same time. Fortunately, our AC is a ducted system which means that cold air comes out all of the vents even when only one unit is running. We also had water hook up but not sewer hook up (if we had a sewer hook up, it would be considered a "full hookup site.") By not having it, we would have to visit the nearby dump station when exiting the campground.

If you are familiar with bigger RVs, you are familiar with the terms "fresh water, gray water, and black water." This refers to the onboard holding tanks. We can carry 65 gallons of fresh water. This is water that is provided to the sinks, the shower, and the toilet (for flushing.) We also can hold 47 gallons of gray water. This is the water that goes down your sinks and shower drains. We also can hold 47 gallons of black water. This is the result of what goes down the toilet. Because we were hooked up to the campground's water supply (a drinking water hose connects to the motorhome essentially like your garden hose,) fresh water tank capacity was a non-issue since we had an endless supply of pressurized water. However, when camping for an extended period, you have to remain mindful and periodically check your gray water and black water tank levels. We have an electronic display on the hallway wall where we can check our levels. At some point, hopefully not before you are ready to leave, you need to dump your tanks. Judicious use of water down the sinks and shower is important since we don't have unlimited tank capacity. We take "Navy showers" (turn on the shower, get wet, turn off the water, soap up and shampoo, turn water back on, and rinse.) 47 gallons sounds like a lot but, over the course of 8 days, it accumulates fast. Using the campground's bath house for showering helps to not fill up your gray tank prematurely.


I'll save for a later blog the actual process at the dump station. I'm sure you will be on the edge of your seat waiting on that one.

Tank dump valves. The least popular compartment under the motorhome.

I was thinking about those three tanks while camping this past week and began to see an analogy (like all analogies... it is not perfect but, stay with me.) We start out life with that life-giving, crystal clear, suitable-for-drinking, fresh water. But, because we are human and imperfect, that clean water, which comes in contact with our life, turns gray. All the dead skin, soil, and grime that runs off of us as well as the soapy, decaying particles that go down the kitchen sink turns that clear water to gray. It stops looking like what we started with. You may say it is just soapy water but... that's understating the condition of the water. I think the gray water can be like the everyday mistakes and ways we are disobedient... no longer pure and no longer clean. Because it is like the water most people are producing, we don't consider it THAT bad. That's our take on it. But it isn't clean. You would never want to drink it. It's not the best water we have to offer. But we look at everyone else and say that it's not so bad. (Some campgrounds even let you drain your gray water directly to the ground in designated areas.) Then there is the black water. Sometimes, how we live our lives can be such that we produce something that is toxic. It can make things (and people) it comes in contact with sick. It stinks. Nobody wants to be around it. Throughout our lives, we are generating smelly, soiled gray water and even some really nasty, disgusting black water. Regardless of whether gray or black... both are bad water. And both have to be dealt with... it needs to go. Yes, my tanks can hold tens of gallons of gray and black water; but, why would I want to continuously carry that around with me?

God's intention for our lives is to live in the crystal clear, fresh water that He has provided. Our attitudes, our disobedience, and our behaviors (especially towards others) stinks up what God intends for us. But, there is good news.

Because of what God has done for us (because He knew we would disobey and soil and stink up what He provided) we are allowed to dump those tanks. Because of the saving work of Jesus, we get to eliminate all that gray and black water in our lives and let it go. As I live, I am going to continue to accumulate more gray and black water. Since God provides me the way to be rid of it, why would I want to hold on to all that nasty stuff when I have been given the opportunity to let it go? The ability to dump the tanks, leaving me with only that beautiful fresh water I started with. I need to dump my tanks. I need to start anew with a fresh start. Every day. I need forgiveness, I need mercy, I need grace. I need to allow God to take away all that nastiness that I produce. Dump your tanks.