Busy, busy, spending money that is. With our new Jeep coming soon there are quite a few things we needed to get. Unfortunately the manufacturers make sure the item from one model year won't fit on the next! We have to get a new base plate for our Blue Ox tow bar. The base plate is the assembly that is mounted on the vehicle that you hook your tow bar onto. As I have done many base plates over the years, I mount it myself. That accomplishes two things; one, I know its done right, and two, it saves a bunch of money. Also we had to get a new wiring kit to install on the new Jeep. We use a system that does not tie into the Jeep's own wiring. We figure with all the electronic gobble-gook on the new cars its better to leave it alone. This kit is totally separate. We will mount a plug at the front of the Jeep and run it's own wire to the rear light modules. There is enough room inside to mount a separate bulb that will act as brake, turn signal, and light.
Next we ordered floor mats, cargo area mat, and a front air deflector. The Jeep, obviously comes with floor mats, but we like the more durable, rubber tray type mats that will contain water, mud, or spills. We've had a lot of luck with the air deflectors in the past. Maybe its just dumb luck, but we've never had a windshield crack or ding with the deflector mounted even with the thousands of towed and driven miles. So we don't want to mess with luck!
We have a Thule rack on the roof that we use to carry our kayaks, of course the new Jeep requires a different mounting system. At least we can still use our cross bars and kayak mounts. So we ordered the base and feet kit from REI.
We even ordered a new GPS. We had a Garmin Zumo that we used for the motorcycle and then would use it in the motorhome and my car, but that is going with the bike on Sunday. I'm kind of a geek or just nuts with the GPS. We've been using a laptop computer hooked up with a GPS receiver using Delorme's Street Atlas program for years and years. On previous motorohomes I mounted a Jotto desk near the driver's seat so I could see the laptop, but this motorhome has built-in GPS so didn't think we needed that. Turns out we really hate the built-in GPS so we don't use it. So since we had the Zumo anyway, I would mount it next to me in the driver's seat and then Jan would have the laptop in front of her as we traveled. Overkill, right? Well, we like this method a lot, so the new Garmin Nuvi will be taking the place of the Zumo right next to me.
Put my VW GTI up for sale yesterday, had a lot of interest so far, so hoping it will sell quickly over the weekend.
Its all coming together!
2 comments:
You are smart to run completely different wiring for your lights. The harnesses are so integrated with other systems you don't want to corrupt them, ever. We bought Elizabeth a Garmin Nuvi for graduation and living in southern California. It works great and I can't believe the differences from my four year old Nuvi. What G.C. did you get, Overland?
Yup, an Overland, Silver/Black with a 6. Got the Nuvi yesterday, like you say, quite a difference from the Zumo. We'll get to try it out Monday when we drive up to Kentucky to have the lift taken off.
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