August 19 - Days 64 - 67 - Harrisburg Rally and on to Seattle

The Freightliner Chassis Owners Club rally started Monday morning with breakfast (biscuits and gravy, cereal, toast, coffee, etc.) . This was followed by seminars, but we were scheduled for more important tasks - Dixie was to be groomed in Eugene! We dropped her off at the PetSmart shop in Eugene at 9:00 am and were told it would be 3 hours, so we headed back to Harrisburg and I attended the Freightliner seminar.

Then it was back to Eugene to pick up Dixie - after another trip to Walmart for some coach washing equipment. When we went to PetSmart to pick up Dixie, she was in the last stages of grooming. She didn't see us through the windows, and looked like a forlorn, lost puppy. With a: "Where have they gone, and why have they left me here?" look on her face. With the grooming done, and Dixie back in the car, we headed back to Eugene and more seminars.

The four days of the rally were filled with seminars, coach cleaning, happy hours, dinners and socializing. We met some very nice people - most from California, but some from Florida and other parts of the country as well. Of particular note were Jim and Marlina Rutherford, owners of a 2008 Phaeton 36QSH like ours. Jim is a fanatical cleaner and set the standard for a sparkling coach! We very much enjoyed meeting and socializing with them. I also found some more blackberry vines and picked another bowl full, which we have frozen for future breakfasts and ice cream servings! The last evening was filled with happy hour and a dinner of presentations and drawings.

Thursday morning, we were ready to go at 7:25 am (a new record!) since we had to have the coach in Portland at the Freightliner dealer for the 15,000 mile service by 10:00 am. We made it with no problem - other than the fact that we went to the wrong dealership! In any event, we finally got the right one by 10:00 and the service was done efficiently and at a very reasonable cost.

One thing I learned at the rally was to drive the coach in "economy" mode and to set the cruise control three or four miles per hour above where the transmission shifts int 6th gear. That turned out to be around 60 mph. Driving in this fashion from Harrisburg to Seattle yielded 9.2 miles per gallon!! The best I had achieved before was 8.4 mpg. Rallys do have value.

I also attended a seminar by Silverleaf on their engine management system. It is an amazing system that gives you access to all the data that the coach's computer puts out. Loaded onto your own laptop, the system connects to the coach's data port and displays an amazing array of very useful information. I am sold and will be getting the system installed ASAP.

We are now in Seattle (Bothell actually), set up in the Lake Pleasant RV Park. It is a very nice park, and is rumored to be the best park in the Seattle area. Over the next week, we will be visiting family and friends and generally relaxing. I will post from time-to time. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie (the well groomed) Wonder Dog