[A/S] First overnight stay and delivery

[Jack Canavera <jpcanavera@xxxxxxxxx>]

Last night was our "campout" on the dealer's lot.  The
purpose was to get acquainted with our new
Safari,spend the night, check out everything and make
any adjustments the next morning.

We got to the dealer about 3:30 PM and were greeted by
Leroy who had prepped the Safari.  Upon arrival we got
two surprises.  The first was a bottle of champagne in
the fridge and second, the trailer had been
Walbernized (I had planned to do this once I got the
trailer home).

It was a very warm day so we were happy to find that
the air conditioner was turned on.  That air
conditioner being on was much to our benefit since our
dealer sits at the end of the runways of the airport. 
To make it more interesting we also sit next to a
railroad track.  To say the least it's very
interesting to hear the muffled roar of a landing jet
while at the same time feel the vibration of the
passing freight trains.

I poured though the manuals and pretty much ignored
the chaos that went on outside.  Bedtime came and we
continued to stay awake now trying to adjust the
airflow from the air conditioner to stay cool in the
bedroom but not freeze from the draft.  Needless to
say with new beds and all, sleep didn't come till
sometime after 2:00 A.M.

Morning came too early and after showering and
breakfast we went out to find Leroy.  He asked us if
we slept well and we gave him the story.  He noted
that we were lucky the dumpster hadn't been emptied at
its normal 4:30 A.M. time.  That surely would have
been a wakeup call.

Other than a small leak in the caulk by the shower
door, the trailer was perfect.  We did our walk though
going over everything inside and out.  The next task
was to mount the hitch components.  The Reese dual cam
sway control required some modification to the gas
bottle base to allow for the mounting brackets to fit
properly.  

We hitched up and pulled away from our neighboring
trailers to allow us clearance to test the awning. 
Once done we moved inside to complete the purchase
paperwork while Leroy emptied the holding tanks.

While waiting to see the business manager, we
witnessed an elderly couple selling their A/S trailer
back to the dealer.  Apparently the wife seemed to be
in poor health.  After exchanging hugs with many of
dealer's personnel, the couple left thanking everyone
for taking care of them through the years.

The business manager later told us that he had
witnessed quite a few sad occasions where folks had to
give up their trailer due to declining health or death
of a spouse.  Sometimes a lot of tears, diarys of
travels and stories of travels are shared at these
times.

But we finished our business and figured we were now
heading home.  Not yet though we were told.  At that
point a service person took us out for a drive.  We
went out and about, checking the trailer handling and
adjusting the brake controller to make sure all was
ok.  

Back to the dealer and then off to home.  Wow does
this trailer tow great.  Not only do we not feel the
wind or the trucks like we did towing the square sided
trailer, but the van rides much better.  This is fun!

We back into the driveway and out comes the neighbors.
 We spent the balance of the evening giving inside
tours and engineering inspections.  

Needless to say it's been a long night and day.  That
silver bullet sure looks great in the driveway.

More later.

Jack Canavera
STL Mo.