Unseasonably Warm Weather Makes Me Wonder

The elleventh month of the year is there and with it we would see cold and nasty weather patterns taking a hold in our area. 

Not so this year. 2 storms have blown in over us, one from the Northeast, the other from the Southeast, but the ocean is calm again and the sun is out almost every day, getting us nice temps during the day. Of course, nights are chilly, but that doesn't affect me other than that I have to start a fire in our old trusty wood stove every morning. And that is OK as it provides a cozy setting for having our breakfast. But the nice weather made me wonder whether going south makes sense. Mind you, it can come to a sudden brutal end with snow and ice making your days into a steady fight with the elements.

I did not produce a whole lot of firewood this year as I was gambling on a get-away this winter. And lucky me, it worked out well. 

This week I got the trailer wheels checked out and the diagnosis was both good and bad. The good: Our brakes are in excellent condition. The bad: We had to order 4 new tires. :-(  Yes, the tread was still looking good but cracks have shown up on the side and we would have been lucky to make it 500km down the road before we would have a disaster on our hands. So better to swallow the cost for new tires now. Besides, our mechanic told me that the load rating for the tires being on the trailer was not good enough. They seemed very weak and bulgy. When I heard him say that our previous tire-adventures came to mind. Our first 5th-wheel had all 4 tires replaced within the first year.  When they blew out, causing a lot of damage on the trailer, we were sitting on a very busy 2-lane road in Alberta. The tire brand was KENDA from Korea, and they were faulty products. KENDA US covered all the costs of the accident. They had many claims at the time.

More tire damages followed later with our first Flagstaff Super Light in 2013. 

This time we want to play it safe. New tires with a higher PLY-rating on the trailer, and even the van got new AT-rated tires this year.

If you are a snowbird you would know what kind of preparations have to be done before getting on that long trip. My head is spinning and some nights I wake up and think of things I MUST NOT forget. Afterwards it's hard to find sleep again.

Bea has a generic list of things and we go and check off what has been moved into the rig.

And it's only one more week until departure.

Wow!