The Opening Salvo!

(Written by Josh)
Hello Everyone!
     For this first post, I will catch you up to speed with what happened the weekend of the April 19th up until now, and what our plans are from here. As many of you know, Morgan and I have been looking for a Toyota Sunrader RV for us to fix up/update and live in for 3-6 months, while I work out of the RV and we tour the country. :)
     The morning of Friday, April 19th, an older couple in Utah posted their Sunrader. I called and got the basic information: It is a 1985, Toyota Sunrader with a rear dinette. This was one of the two models that we were looking for, out of the five available. We were also very pleased that it was, indeed, a Toyota chassis (Nissan chassis were also used, and we didn't want one of those). After some back and forth with the couple, in which we found out two other people had called and set up appointments to look at the RV that day, already, Morgan and I prayed about it and decided that we did, in fact, want this one, if it was available and in the shape it claimed to be.
     So, when we called back, to see if it had been sold, we were ready. They informed us that it was still available and, in the husband, Ray's, words: "If you want to drive out from CA, we are happy to save it for you, til then."
     We called a mechanic in the area, so we could have it checked out before we bought it and drove it 700 miles home, and they confirmed that they were open on Saturday, and that they would be able to do the quick inspection.
     Morgan and I looked to see if anyone in the area could watch our dogs for a couple of days. Due to several factors, though, no one in our area was free, and it would not have been economical, or time efficient, to take the dogs to either of our parents' homes (both were in the opposite direction). As a result, we brought them with us.
     We set out at 7:00 PM on Friday. Google projected the drive to take 10.5 hours, and I had informed the couple that we would be there by noon, on Saturday, so we had about five hours of leeway. I drove until midnight, having such adventures as stopping to let the dogs out, once, and driving up to a Reno Starbucks 3 minutes after they closed. As you can see, it wasn't an eventful trip. Morgan took over at around midnight, and I slept while she drove, until 5:00 AM our time, 6:00 AM Utah time, at which point we got breakfast at McDonald's and slept at a rest stop for one hour.
     After our short repose, I took the wheel and completed the trek. We arrived well before the noon estimate we had given to the couple. When we drove up, they greeted us, and showed us the RV. We inspected it and found it to be in wonderful condition, as they had said. True, many of the seals and weathering were less than perfect and there was some minor water damage on the interior, leaks having been repaired, but, at 29 years of age, the RV looked great. After our brief inspection, we took the RV to the mechanic and they did a once over of the engine. It turns out that much of the RV was original, under the hood. Original belts, original spark plugs, etc. 29 year old belts were not expected to last until we got home, and, thus, the repairs would have to be done before we left. Aside from that, there were a few other minor concerns, and we returned to the couple with the estimate in hand.
     Now, while we were gone, another man had called, from CO, and begged them not to sell, offering more than their asking price if they would wait for him. Thus, while they understood our mechanical concerns, they were not willing to lower the price. Thankfully, though, they did not try to use that other person, or the several others who called while we were there, to raise the price. In the end, we paid what they asked for, which was far less than what many others were asking for, and, thus, it was a win-win.
     After Ray took me through some of the ins and outs of the vehicle, little nick knacks that I doubt I would have discovered otherwise, and we got the paperwork all squared away, the RV was ours! :)
     We instantly took it back to the mechanic and had them do the bare necessities to make it ready for its 709 mile trek back home. They decided that the only critical thing was the belts, and so we had those changed out, while Morgan and I ate lunch and took our dogs to the park for some much needed exercise. They had slept for most of the trip, and ultimately did wonderfully.
     With everything handled smoothly, we headed for home. I was unwillingly to push the engine, knowing that more work should be done on it, and, so, we averaged a speed of 50-55 mph on the way home, despite the 75 mph speed limit for virtually the entire span of I-80 through Utah and Nevada. As a result, our 10.5 hour drive turned into 12+ hours; Morgan stopped counting, because it became discouraging to her.
     We stopped at a rest stop, just inside of the Nevada border to sleep for the night. The dogs stayed in the back of the motorhome for the length of our return journey, and they just slept and explored, testing their boundaries; both tried to jump onto the dinette seats, and Calcifer frequently climbed onto the kitchen counter. We discouraged this behavior, and they learned, reluctantly.
     Even with a solid 8 hours of sleep that night, we were still tired, and, thus, we stopped every hour or two to get up and walk around, sometimes running with our dogs to try to wear them out as well as wake ourselves up. With all that, we arrived home around 7:00 PM on Sunday night. Of those 48 hours, we had spent roughly 44 of them in the car or RV (though we do include sleeping in that).
     April 23rd, I went to the smog station, where the attendant marveled at what a cool and clean little vehicle it was, and to the DMV (twice) to get the paperwork filed, and we can now say it is legally and proudly ours!
     April 24th, Morgan took a trip up to my parents with the first load of our stuff. (We will be storing all our worldly possessions that aren't coming on our excursion in their basement.) While she was there, I took a lovely jaunt to the mechanics. This particular mechanic was very highly rated and had some great yelp discounts. I had an appointment for 9:30, so I showed up at about 9:25. Roman, the man who owns and runs the shop, instantly loved the Sunrader. He raved about what great shape it was in, and we swapped stories about the trucks we had known or driven that had the same 22r engine. Those things run forever.
     So, 6 hrs later, the RV is ready. I, not having a ride home, was sitting in the office, listening to The Way of Kings, a wonderful book by Brandon Sanderson. I highly recommend it. ;)     Anyhow, there was still one issue left to be fixed on the RV, so I had to bring it back in on Friday.
     Friday, April 26th,after the appointment at the mechanics, the RV was mechanically ready for intense use. Well... except for the gas tank, which, apparently, is a custom 26 gallon one. It has a slight sweat along one of the welds, which, ideally, should be re-welded and sealed. Maybe, next time.
     Here is where things get interesting. On our way up to my parents, with a second load of stuff, in the RV, with the puppies, fun happened.
     You see, one of the main things we were bringing were a set of under the bed storage units, which are, basically, large, low plastic bins with wheels on them, and we didn't secure them properly. The first hill we hit sent the stack of three wheeling into our poor puppies, who, with nothing else to do, took to the high ground...atop the storage bins. Thus, for the next five miles or so, until we got over the humor and found a good place to stop, the bins were sliding front to back, with Cal and Naga surfing, happily, down the aisle of the RV.

     April 27, 30th, and May 1st: We did basic repairs all three of these days. My dad helped me figure out all the basic systems and ensure that they did, indeed work.
     The guys at Kamps propane informed us that our two, five gallon propane tanks are factory original, August, 1984 tanks, and that we might want to look into replacing them, though when he inspected them, and, kindly, our hookups, he said everything looked in perfect working order, and he had no problem filling them. (So, now you all know, if we die in a horrible propane fire, because one of the tanks explodes, some, please, sue Kamps.) ;-)
     We also had some haggling adventures at RV Doctor George, but this post is getting to long, as it is.

     So, to wrap up, we are so excited for our summer/fall/possibly winter trip, but, before we make any updates to the RV (mechanical necessities aside), we are going to go on a 5 day trip to just try living in it for a while. We will set off on that tomorrow or, at latest, Friday. That way, we can learn what we can live with and what things we should prioritize for change.
     We are continuing to pray and research, as well as pack up all of our house, amidst my working on several editing projects. Our lease ends on May 31st, so, by that point, we will be out of this house and hopefully in our RV. :)
     Future posts will, hopefully, be uploaded in a more relevant manner, and, as we progress, this will become more and more a story of our journey.
     We hope to keep you all in the loop and to have funny stories and fun adventures to relate to you all in the future.