The Trip West 2016- Mass to Iowa

It was tough to leave Maine. We really enjoyed our time spent there, especially the Eastport and Lubec visits. Before we had even left, we both decided that we had to come back. But, it was time to set sails for Howe, IN and our appointment at the DRV factory.  We will have had our Mobile Suites Trailer a year in October, so we took this opportunity to schedule a factory visit and get some minor things taken care of. But first, we had to get there.......our first stop - Boston Minuteman Campground in Littleton, Ma. This was a nice park, conveniently located to I 495. We spent 2 days there resting up after an almost 400 mile drive from northern Maine.

Our first stop along the way

From Massachusetts, it was now off to Campbell, NY just west of Elmira / Corning. A one night stay there and it was off to Ohio and I 90. We spent the night in an Ohio Turnpike Rest Area for RV's. It wasn't bad, offering a 30 amp hookup. When we got there we had the whole place just about to ourselves, but when we got up in the morning, we found it almost full.

We got there pretty early in the late afternoon

The next day we found Howe, IN and the DRV Service Facility, which is brand new, and right across the street from the factory. It was so brand new in fact that we arrived on a tuesday and the day before was the first official day that it was opened. The mechanics were still getting adjusted to the new environment as well as having to keep running across the street to get parts and tools.

The new Service Center

We pulled in and managed to get one of their overnight spots - and were they ever nice. 50 Amp hookups, water, and sewer.

We were not alone

And this was our spot- pretty nice

On wednesday morning at 6 AM they were there to pick up our unit to bring it in to the shop. This was followed by a walk through with the technician who would be working on our unit to make sure that we were all on the same page regarding things that needed to be fixed.

Our rig going in bright and early

The rest of the day we were on our own, or at least until 2:30 when they brought it back out and set it on our pad. Definitely good to have your home back. At least for the night. To occupy ourselves for the day, we started out with breakfast in town at the local family diner. Good choice. At 10:00 we met a bunch of others at the DRV main office for a tour of the factory. What an awesome experience this was. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves......

First stop - axles

And then frames

And then to the line

Most of the workers here are Amish. So I had to be careful with the camera

Check the insulation that goes in to these trailers

Laying carpet

Up close and personal

The red writing are all inspectors notes/findings

Finished product after it comes back from painting

Duane, our tour guide. He was perfect. VERY knowledgeable about all aspects of DRV Suites MFG.

When the tour was over(it lasted about an hour and a half) a few of us got together and went in to town and had lunch - at the family restaurant. By the time we got back, it was almost time for our unit to be pulled out and returned to us for the night.

Pulling the rigs back out at end of work day

And then we were back on the road again after saying good by to all the new friends we made during our stay. This leg of our journey we would like to forget. We were supposed to get on I 90/ I 80 and look for  I 80 to break off and travel south of Chicago. The exit we were supposed to take for this was closed for construction. So we kept traveling looking for an alternative. Never found it and ended up going right through Chicago. Again. Something we swore we would never do again. It is not only frightening driving in this zoo, it is expensive. Besides being hazzardous to your health. Our toll bill when done exceeded $60. Going forward, I am allergic to Chicago. Well, we did manage to get through it(never again) and our target for the night was a Walmart parking lot in Altoona, IA. Altoona is just outside Des Moines.

All by ourselves. But not for long, as our corner filled up for the night with RV's

We got out of this area just in time- the day we left, Donald Trump flew in campaigning. We continued on I 80 through Iowa......

Rest Area stop in IA

Corn, corn, corn. Everywheree 

Traveling along I 80

Night stop in Onawa, IA at On-Ur-Wa RV park. What a pleasant surprise this was. A nice little park, convenient to the interstate, with long pull throughs, and all the amenities - 50 amp service, water, sewer. And they recycled. Did get a bit of a jolt though when checking in at being advised the county we were in should we get weather advisory, make that Tornado warning. Anyways, it was a nice park and we enjoyed our short stay here.

Definitely long pull throughs

When we left On-Ur-Wa, our next stop was South Dakota. But that is a whole story by itself. The next post will cover our time in our new home state - South Dakota.