Pickup report 2021 RB with driver assist pkg (long)

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December 16, 2020, 11:06:49 pm

So I made it home to Michigan from my pickup. Somewhat uneventful, but not completely. Got 2 stone chips in my windshield in New Mexico. That state is just a bunch of stone piles and the stones like to attack people with shiny new vehicles. Oh well, I guess if I had to get a boo boo on my new LD, a repairable stone chip is the best. And the plan was to dump and winterize the night before I got home because Michigan won’t be above freezing for the next week at least. All the other days of the trip were 40° or better during the day. But did you know Cabela’s dump station in Nobleville, IN is seasonal? I didn’t. Had to do a scramble to find a dump station that was open and then I ended up winterizing as soon as I made it to my house.

My SIL and I flew to Ontario on Dec 8 and rented a car to get us to the hotel. Nothing in CA is open, so dinner was takeout Wendy’s. The next morning we drove to the Mothership where Todd and Lidia (my RB) were waiting for us. He took me through the whole vehicle and he explained the operation of all the systems. Only thing not working was the sound on the backup camera. That was fixed in the afternoon by changing a setting. Oh yeah, there was also a slight miss of the green paint inside the threshold of the passenger door. All taken care of before we left the next day.

There is a new brand of coach door they’re using and they changed to a thicker weatherstripping. It takes slamming the door to be able to deadbolt the door now. Todd said that will ease over time. I’m taking his word on that, and it does seem to be a bit easier to close after a week of use.

On Wednesday I took the rental back to the airport and Todd picked us up and took us to LD. Daniel from Interstate Transport met us there and drove us to Ehrenberg, AZ. He had a non-stop commentary on the scenery. Met a notary at the Flying J at the first exit. Apparently she sets up shop there and makes a good bit of money from all the people transporting vehicles outside of CA. She said that she had just finished up with someone who had 25 to get notarized. Daniel told us to skip the Flying J for gas because the next exit would have cheaper gas. He was wrong. All the gas from Ehrenberg through Quartzite was the same price. We left Montclair about 9:30 Pacific time and we were on our own at 3:40pm Mountain time. Gas varied from $3.399 in CA to $1.639 in Amarillo, TX. Most places it was near $1.90

We drove through Phoenix, Albuquerque, Amarillo, OK City, St. Louis, and Indianapolis, then home to New Hudson (a western Detroit suburb). We Wallydocked in Buckeye AZ and Gallup NM, then a hole in the wall RV park with electricity in Sayre OK. Next was another Walmart in St.Roberts, MO. The last night was going to be Cabela’s just north of Indianapolis, but they failed us on the dump situation so we decided to drive another hour north where we found an open dump station at a Loves truck stop. There was a Cracker Barrel the exit before so that’s where we stayed the last night. The next morning we dumped and drove home where we winterized. Mileage varied daily from 12.1 going down hill from Grants NM to Amarillo TX with a 28mph tail wind, to 9.9 with a hefty head wind. Average per the computer on the dash is 10.2. We were driving 68-71 mph, so slower driving should improve that mileage.

This mad dash back was so I could get to Quadra/Bigfoot in time for my Dec 17 appointment to install levelers. That is where I am sitting typing this, plugged in and getting snowed on waiting for my 7am installation. We only drove during daylight, so it wasn’t too bad. Since we got back early enough, I was able to get my stone chips repaired yesterday and today I went to the DMV. I was pleasantly surprised there. MI charges registration based on the base MSRP of the vehicle. The clerk listed my vehicle as a 2021 Ford Econoline with a motor home body style. MSRP $34,750! So I will pay registration based on that instead of Lazy Daze’s MSRP of $116,250 (although I did have to pay the 6% sales tax on the full sale price)

I opted for the driver assist package. I’m glad I got it, especially because I’m new at driving this big thing. Lane keeping assist can be turned on and off. It is a dingle bell when you get too near the line markers. If you hit it too many times, there is a message that suggests a coffee break. I was on a winding 2 lane mountain road between Phoenix and Albuquerque and discovered that message.

The adaptive cruise control just works, no messages. It took until we were in MO until I discovered how to change the following distance. Really obvious once you see it. You don’t have the option to use non-adaptive cruise. It is either adaptive or none. It tells you what number you have the cruise set for which I like. Also, if you’re behind a slower vehicle, as soon as you put on a blinker to change lanes, it steps on the gas.

There is also pre- and post-collision braking. I don’t plan on trying those out.

I don’t know if this is new, but the gear shift has P R D M 2 1 . In M you can manually shift the gears with + and – buttons that are on the gear shift lever. I haven’t seen the M before, only 2 and 1.

Oh, on the 2021, Ford insisted the factory radio had to stay when ordering the driver assist package. So the radio is wired into the chassis battery and will shut off after 20 minutes. Todd said Ford has figured out how to do the package without the radio for 2022, so LD can install their radio wired into the house batteries and it won’t time out.

I got Mollusk (grey tweed) upholstery everywhere and the light cabinetry, although there is still LD’s favorite beige on the cabinet head bumpers and the cab interior. I’ll take a pictures when I get settled. I have two days to acclimate my cats to this new home and then we drive to Austin, TX for Christmas with my son and his family.