In 2003 we purchased our Freight-liner truck. We had a 35′ fiver that was too heavy for the F450 we had at the time. We knew that when we got the fiver, but it took a few months to find the right truck. We love the FL60 and it has served us well. It has many great features such as air ride cab, seats and bed. We also have an air ride hitch. Another great feature is the huge electric mirrors. They are heated and terrific for defrosting the ice which will occasionally accrue in snowy weather.
We try to avoid traveling in snow or ice, but occasionally we get caught. The first time with our current rig was going from Casper, WY to Apple Valley, CA in Nov, 2004. The weather dictated that we turn on the mirror heaters. The driver side mirrors worked well, but the passenger side mirrors would not heat. Darn…that air is cold when trying to scrape an icy mirror going down the road! Fortunately we did not need the heat for long.
The next time we needed the heated mirrors was April, 2007. Again, we left Casper and headed for Idaho. Snow….again…eeeekkkk! There was no place to pull over and the mirrors were icing again. Once more, the passenger side mirrors were not heating. Again, a frozen arm scraping it. We made it to a campground in Riverton and settled in. We have not needed the mirrors since, so it sort of slipped our minds about the problem.
Today, we were just messing around with not much to do. The weather is getting very cold and a storm is brewing. A good day to check those mirrors out. Terry tore the dash and door panels apart and started tracing wires. With both sides opened up he could compare. It turned out that the passenger side mirrors were never wired properly. No wonder they would not heat! He rewired and we tested…heat! Hurrah!
While in there he fixed a few more little things we had put off for years. Now we can head down the road in a snowstorm and at least we will have heated mirrors! We don’t even want to try to figure out how much it would have cost to have a shop do the work…..
Fulltiming can be a challenge for sure. If we had to pay someone every time something needed fixing, I doubt that we would enjoy it as much. It is wonderful to know that we can handle a majority of the issues that come up. Once again, it has paid to be handy. Maybe we should go look for a snowstorm and test those mirrors out……….