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Topic: New LD Mid Bath Ordered (Read 3 times) previous topic - next topic
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New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Yahoo Message Number: 58747
Just got back from LD. We ordered the 2006 MB in Red/Crimson with the new teal interior. I just sat back and let Ed & my wife go about the purchase. Since they are both type "A" personalities, everything worked out fine.
Looks like the unit will be ready for delivery in late January.
We will be taking I-10 to I-5 all the way to the Seattle area. Just wondering about the folks that made this route also. How's the passes at that time of the year? What's the best time to leave the factory? I was watching the traffic reports, and it looked like the freeways are always jammed! I only want to drive a maximum of three hours the first day, what would be the best place to pull off for the night? Thanks for any info.
Best, Jim & Alane Pappas Tacoma, WA
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58748
Congratulations on your new LD.  I'm curious though.  Doesn't the "pick it up at the border" still apply if you live in Washington?  In that case, looks like you would have to pick it up in Ashfork or Medford and you would already be over the passes.  I thought you would need to take possession in some place like Nevada, then work your way back over toward the coast.

Dick
Re: New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58750
Quote
"We will be taking I-10 to I-5 all the way to the Seattle area.
How's the passes at that time of the year?"

Quote
"...want to drive a maximum of three hours the first day, what would be the best place to pull off for the night?"
Jim & Alane Pappas Tacoma, WA

Jim

The only pass I'd be concerned with is the Siskiyou Pass north of Redding and of course that would be dependent upon the weather at the time.
 Concerning your "three hours" you have two options. First west bound on I-10 to I-5 and north to Bakersfield and stay at the Orange Grove RV Park. The second would be to take I-10 east bound to the I-15, go north to Hwy 395 and take it to Ridgecrest and spend the night at the Tireman's so you can have a set of his extended valve stems installed the next day.

Just MHO.

Steve S.
Lazy Bones
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58751
Quote
"...want to drive a maximum of three hours the first day, what would be the best place to pull off for the night?"

Concerning your "three hours" you have two options. First west bound on I-10 to I-5 and north to Bakersfield and stay at the Orange Grove RV Park.
We have also stayed in the Camping World Parking Lot in Bakersfield, free and easy.

Kate (in Albuquerque-in Serenity the Red 30TB, loving every minute)
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58752
Hi Jim and Alane

Quote
Looks like the unit will be ready for delivery in late January.
We will be taking I-10 to I-5 all the way to the Seattle area. Just wondering about the folks that made this route also. How's the passes at that time of the year?
You could have snow in the Siskiyou Mountains in S. Oregon. You probably won't have chains, which could be required. I would be taking US101 entering Oregon it there was any chance of snow. If you must take I5, and you can't chain up, you must be prepaired to do some waiting for the snow plow, if that  becomes necessary.

What's the best time to leave the factory? I was watching the traffic

Quote
reports, and it looked like the freeways are always jammed!
We picked ours up in the winter, and we were done at the factory about 3:30. After getting propane, we hit the freeway about 4:00.
I don't know what would be the best time to leave the  factory, but I don't think it is 3:30 pm! If I was doing it again and had the pm pickup I would exercise other options. One could stay the night in the LD locally. You could stay in the factory parking lot, at a nearby Wallmart, or perhaps you could drive about 10 minutes to the KOA at Fairplex in Pamona. If you don't have bedding you could stay at a nearby motel. Or you could get dinner and hang around until about 9:00 pm, until the traffic is a little better, and then head out. Another thing you can do is make sure you have a morning pickup. Bottom line: any option is better than heading out into that freeway traffic at 4:00, IMHO. Good luck, it will work out fine, and you will have a fun day to talk about for a long time!

Tom Johnston

Red 23.5 TK, Whidbey Island WA
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58753
Dick wrote:

Quote
Congratulations on your new LD.  I'm curious though.  Doesn't the "pick it up at the border" still apply if you live in Washington?
Nope. If you are from Washington, you just pay the CA sales tax and drive off. When you register in WA, you just pay the difference between WA tax and CA tax, and the state collects the remainder from CA.
Tom
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58754
Jim and Alane -
 We drive that route often.  Assuming your pickup is in the morning, you should be through by noon.  You should be able to get through the worst of the freeways before rush hour.  If your pickup is in the afternoon, I would stay overnight someplace and not try to drive those freeways in rush hour.
 We don't take I-10 directly to I-5, but try to stay as far north and east of the LA area as possible before hitting I-5.  Others have suggested stopping at Bakersfield, and we second that.  We usually stop there, but we park in front of a friend's house.

As for passes, the one to worry about is the Siskiyou.  Check the weather before you head for it, and try to get there in early afternoon rather than first thing in the morning.  Any ice or snow will have had time to melt off by then.  Since this is a major N-S hiway, it is kept plowed when it does snow.  Just try not to cross during a blizzard - hole up someplace and wait for the storm to pass.
 One of the advantages of a high sales tax in Washington is being able to drive the rig right off the factory lot.  I think ours had something like 26 miles on the odometer when we drove it off.

We look forward to seeing your LD at some of the NW LD gatherings.

--Al and Anna in Bremerton --2002 26.5 MB
Re: New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58755
Jim, You are getting excellent suggestions, and I'll just throw mine in for what it's worth.
I worked most of my life in Los Angeles, and now live north of you and I've made the trip you have planned.
First, be prepared to encounter a very bright light in the sky during the day in California; it's called the "sun," and we in Washington state by January have sometimes forgotten it even existed. I second Steve's advice in getting out of Los Angeles, and the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield is a fine choice. Every site has a fruit tree which at that time of year should be loaded with ripe oranges. There is also the large Camping World store fairly close by, with free overnight parking as noted (no oranges, though). As for the East Shore RV Park, I stayed there once and would not do so again.

Personally, if I were taking delivery again, I would opt for a morning checkout to allow enough time to get away. Barring that, overnighting at a decent motel would be my choice.
After signing off on the vehicle, I would fill the propane tank at the nearby facility on Mission Blvd., go up Central Ave. towards I-10, get groceries and stuff at a shopping center along the way, gas up at the Costco just before getting on the I-10 freeway (and maybe pick up a nice Costco rotisserie chicken), and then head toward the nearby Palm Desert area and stay for a few days at a good RV resort with a pool and free Wi-Fi. I would use the resort time to relax, work on my tan, and go over every inch of the coach and check every system to pick up correctible defects. If I found anything that the factory needed to correct, I would call and arrange for the work to be done on my way back to Washington. That done, it's a nice drive to Ridgecrest, if one is so inclined, to get valve stems and chat up the Tireman. Free stay over is offered, as Steve mentioned.
 While I have made that trip in January, and have had dry clear roads the whole way,  I see three potential areas for snow and ice between LA and Tacoma. The first is the Grapevine (I-5 north out of Los Angeles), which you will avoid if you take the Antelope Valley freeway to Ridgecrest. The second on I-5 is the Mount Shasta area north of Redding, and the third, again as Steve noted, and potentially the worst, is the Siskiyous between Yreka and Ashland. There are plenty of weather and road reports available on TV, radio, and the Weather Band if you opted for the CB radio. While it used to be fun to prove my manhood by challenging any weather there was on the road, I now tend to find a nice spot to park and wait it out. I would especially do this with a brand-new motor home.
My only other suggestion might be to take Rt. 99 north out of Bakersfield, and linking up to I-5 at Stockton or Sacramento. I have found it to be a little less teeth-rattling than I-5, especially with the 80# of tire pressure you will be probably be carrying out of Ridgecrest.

Will 2004 23.5 TK
 PS This whole thing sounds like so much fun can me, wife, and dog tag along??!!
Re: New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58757
Quote
Dick wrote:

Congratulations on your new LD.  I'm curious though.  Doesn't
the "pick it

Quote
up at the border" still apply if you live in Washington?

Nope. If you are from Washington, you just pay the CA sales tax and drive off. When you register in WA, you just pay the difference between WA tax and CA tax, and the state collects the remainder from CA.
Tom
Same as Arizona....the states have a reciprocal arrangement.

John in AZ 2005 30' IB Teal
 
Re: New LD Mid Bath Ordered
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 58834
Quote
Just got back from LD. We ordered the 2006 MB in Red/Crimson with the new teal interior.
Congratulations.  You're gonna love it

Quote
Looks like the unit will be ready for delivery in late January.
We will be taking I-10 to I-5 all the way to the Seattle area. Just wondering about the folks that made this route also. How's the passes at that time of the year?
Lots of other sound advice on this topic.  Here's one mild caution to consider:  winter "tule" fog in the valley (pronounced "toolie")
 If there have been a couple days of heavy rain in the valley between Bakersfield and Sacramento, and the air is cold, the "radiation fog" can be very thick at ground level, especially in the morning.  You do not want to drive into one of those fogbanks!

John