Pullin' Chocks

2016 Loop Update

We started this loop by drawing a free hand rough map going through the cities we knew we wanted to visit and others in between that seemed interesting.  Then we started getting more specific and identifying roads that we would take and places we would park for the night or longer depending on where we are.  Because our rig is pretty large, 60 ft hooked up, 13' 6" tall and 102" wide we don't always want to take it on all the roads we can, and there are roads that we cannot pass period (mainly low overpasses - bridges, wires, trees, railroad crossing gate structures, and even stoplights!).  So we look at our final routing pretty carefully.

We have made several changes to our loop, even as we go.  We couldn't find a spot to park anywhere close to Austin, TX so we stayed a bit in San Antonio and that turned out to be a pleasure.  We made arrangements to stop in Livingston, TX at the Escapees HQ and get each wheel weighed as part of the SmartWeigh Program.  Unfortunately right after we made all the reservations and paid the deposits, Escapees called back and said the scales were out of service.  Oh well, we will try again at a later time.  We think we are in pretty good shape based on our last weight of each of three axles, Steer, Drive and Trailer.

Once we hit Houston we could really feel the climate changing.  The HUMIDITY of it all.  It seems that the moisture in the air really affects the stability of the atmosphere.  We knew for sure that we were entering Tornado Alley in this area we were about to pass through.  We made a change to our route based on weather and forecasts.  We were going to stay overnight in central Arkansas, but decided to push through Arkansas as fast as possible.  We departed Atlanta, TX (northeast) and drove straight through to Jackson, TN (east of Memphis), never stopping in Arkansas longer than a leg stretch break.  The Auxiliary Fuel Tank we installed has been a super upgrade for us.  We now have a range of over 700 miles, usually much farther than we will drive in a day.  Now we unhook at the end of the day and just take the truck only to fill up near where we have the trailer parked.

Those three changes, not going into Austin, TX, scheduling then canceling the SmartWeigh session in Livingston, TX and not stopping overnight in Arkansas were the big changes.  We did find a different RV Park in Houston than the one we targeted.  That also turned out to be fantastic.  We showed some of the Magnolia TX Park in a previous post.  Since we left we heard that the big rain event earlier this week in Houston was very bad in Magnolia, they called it a 500 year flood event.  I guess we got out of there just in time.

We have continued to work on our 2016 Loop plan and have some details worked out going into South Dakota.  We have selected a rough routing and camping or overnight destination targets.  We still have to confirm the roads will accommodate us the entire way to each destination and then verify availability or permission to park at each destination.  It remains to be seen how many adjustments will be made by the time we get that far north and west. 

Below is what details we have to date.  We are currently in Nashville at the "B" waypoint above the Tennessee state name on the map. 

Compare our progress and detailed forecasting to our original guess below.  So far no major malfunctions (health, equipment, weather) that have thrown us off of our goals for the 2016 Loop.