Departure’s Eve

Tomorrow I depart on my adventure.  At the moment, I’m so exhausted, well, creativity is lacking due to fatigue.  I have no doubt I’ll have some exciting adventures in the coming weeks, but at the moment, the guest bedroom is looking really inviting.

Yesterday I installed the Andersen weight distribution and anti-sway hitch system.  The black and decker power tools I recently picked up handled the job of cutting and tweaking a hole in the trailer quite well.  I’m sufficiently satisfied that they’ll stand up to most tasks I can throw at them.  It took pretty much the whole day to get it installed, including a run to Home Depot to pick up some more tools.

This morning I tweaked the tension on the system and got everything aligned perfectly even.  I was able to take some measurements of the weight distribution effectiveness, and I’m pleased to say that it’s working.  It’ll be interesting to see how it handles highway winds with the new system installed.

The measurements, for those that are interested, here are the measurements of the body height in the front and rear wheel wells:

  • Without the trailer hooked up:
    • Front: 36.75″
    • Rear: 37.25″
  • With trailer, without weight-distribution:
    • Front: 37″
    • Rear: 35.75″
    • (Notice how the front goes up and the rear goes down by 2″)
  • With trailer, with weight-distrubtion:
    • Front: 36.75″
    • Rear: 36.25″
    • (The front stays at the same point and the rear only drops by 1″ instead of 2″)

I still have more tweaking I can do with the WD system, but for now the numbers are looking pretty good.

I purchased a 12×12 section of carpet at Mills Fleet Farm the other day, at 80% off, and I finally had a chance to unroll it and cut it to size for my trailer.  I figured it would be a whole lot nice to be walking around on some carpeting instead of on the unfinished wood.  In the top image above, the carpet is still rolled up and you can see the hole for the weight distribution brackets if you look very carefully.  It’s in the front center, right next to the wall.  I was pleased with how small the hole is.  In the bottom photo, the sides of the carpet are up in triangle shapes against the walls.  When I get some more energy, I’ll cut them to fit the v-nose shape, but for now, they’re not hurting anything.

I got the couch, coffee table, and bed all loaded into the trailer this morning as well.  After a break for lunch and a nibble on my car, I spent the rest of the afternoon loading the trailer with gear.  This shot was around 3pm when I still had good light.  Since then, a lot more stuff has been added, including my bike.

16,086 steps.  That’s what my Fitbit says.  7.06 miles of lugging equipment and supplies back and forth over the driveway to the trailer.  The Fitbit app says I’ve burned 3,027 calories so far today.  That might be accurate if I was just walking.  I have no idea what it actually is, considering I was carrying something just about all the time.  And I’m pretty sure it’ doesn’t know how to count the calories correctly for carrying a queen size mattress on your back, hunched over, with your hands above your head holding the handles built into the mattress sides.  Somehow that particular exercise just isn’t listed in the Fitbit’s repertoire.

The plan for tomorrow is to send out invoices, finish loading all the stuff I didn’t get to today, prep the townhouse, purchase a big bag of ice and some minor groceries, and head as far south as I can.

2 thoughts on “Departure’s Eve”

  1. Looks like you are in final prep moving away. Did you spray some water proofing on both sides of the new bolt?
    Exciting to see the trailer loaded and ready to go. I like your rugs. You may want to get a smaller welcome size mat for the door area that can be shaken or washed. I expect the ice bin will be in the bed of the truck for the intiial part of the trip and then inside the cab in warmer areas?
    Bon voyage!!!!!

    1. “Water Proofing”? No, I did not add anything to the bolts. The directions did not call for anything.
      I already added a smaller welcome-mat sized rug in front of the door, it’s just not visible in the photos posted thus far. ($2 at Menards.) There’s also a plastic mat, about 2’x3′ designed for muddy shoes that sits next to it as well. ($3 at Menards.)
      The cooler will be in the trailer for the duration of the trip. The trailer temperature is the same as the outdoor temperature most of the time, so there’s no need to keep it in the truck. It also prevents any theft issues.

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