Packing. 6/11/17

Not something to try to do on the day before you leave. We put out 9 plastic cargo boxes, weeks ahead, on a table in the garage with a list on each: tools, spare parts truck and camper, fly fishing gear, camping gear, books and maps, footwear and the big food locker. We each had a duffle bag for clothes. Stuff sacks for rain gear, cold weather clothes. Stuff sacks for towels, bed linen and blanket (kept in camper). With the rear seats out and a carpeted plywood platform the plastic boxes stacked well. All light stuff on the drivers side stacked in the order of necessity.

In the rear seat foot space was the medical kit, three ton jack/stand. air compressor, tire repair kit, screen tent and poles. The camper sits up on a 3” platform in the truck bed. This increases the ‘empty’ space around the wheel wells accessed from both the outside (fly rod tubes, rear tarp awning, as well as through the inside turnbuckle doors: charcoal in big ziplock bags, ax, water tank white hose, and collapsable stainless hibachi grill and a tow chain. All out of the way but accessible. The two sand mats for extracting yourself from a hole are belted and locked to the back camper exterior wall. 

I had a conference in Connecticut so with camper mostly loaded I did a ‘trial run’ to get an idea of gas mileage and load feel. I discovered I needed a boost on the airbags on the driver’s side to compensate for the fact that the camper is made heavier on the that side, my diesel 21 gallon tank and DEF 5 gallon tank, is on that side as is the driver. The mileage surprised me. Going  seventy miles to the conference I got 27 MPG… nuts I know… on the way back which is up hill quite a bit I got 22 MPG. I am assuming without a severe head wind I hope to get 24 MPG on the way west with the cruise control.  We will find out.    

I am finding, that even though “I am waiting as fast as I can”, I feel like a horse at the gate.