Monday, April 14, 2014

The “Lady Bug” is Home!

We took delivery of our 2014 T@B M@xx S last Thursday.

We drove the 2-1/2 hours to Miller Trailer Sales in Perkasie, PA and went through a bit of "training" as well as having the electronic brake controller installed. We were pleased to find that the rumors were true: we got many upgraded features including a sliding screen door, porthole window covers, LED lighting, etc.

There were two things that we did not expect. There was no small sink in the wet bath and the windows now work differently. However, these are small items that are just different from what we looked at earlier and have no impact on our joy of bringing the T@B home.

Susan (Lynne's sister) suggested the name "Lady Bug" and we like it. So, that is her name!

Here is a photo of our Lady Bug parked in the back yard with the dog fences set up. Oh, and the dogs are there too:

We had a bit of trouble with the brakes when we first started home. The break-away cable was too tight and we tripped the brakes on the trailer and did not discover it for a couple of miles (at which point we could smell them!) We pulled over, figured out the problem, let them cool some and then took off again. We are not sure how much we really need the brakes since we are towing with a Suburban. But, it is nice to know they are there and working in an emergency.

When we got her home we carted the stuff we'd been accumulating outside and staged it on the table. We then packed her and found a place for everything. And, we have storage room left over for clothes and infrequently used items.

Some of our storage bins: This first one has cooking utensils, salt and pepper, placemats, and the stove striker.

And, this one has eating utensils, paper towels, measuring cups and spoons, and it looks like some coffee.

We would be very interested to hear from other Tabbers about what they store where and any tips and tricks for maximizing the storage space. 

I don't have a photo, but under the sink are the pots and pans (stackable), dishes, drinking glasses, coffee maker, etc.

We spent Saturday night in Lady Bug. Rick, Lynne and both dogs! It was crowded and a bit of a challenge to get everyone settled. We had to reverse our normal sleeping positions so Rick's feet could hang off instead of being up against the wet bath. And, Bella had to sleep on the bed instead of the floor since there was not enough room for both her and Hailey on the floor. Luckily, neither of us needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and it will be interesting to see how that goes when the time comes.

The dogs just barely fit:

Bella

Hailey:

While we got decent sleep, the "mattress" formed by the cushions was a bit hard for us. So, we bought a king size 3" memory foam topper at Walmart and have cut it to size. It folds into thirds and slips into the storage under one of the side cushions. 

The refrigerator is not working on AC power. It works on propane and seems to work on battery. But, not on AC. So, we've contacted the Millers (who are fantastic and helpful) to figure out how to resolve the problem. When connected to shore power, we definitely want to use it for the fridge and not burn propane.

Please click on "More" for, well, more...

The fridge is fixed. We just had to toggle the breaker switch. 

Here is the T@B set up in the back yard, in prep for our second overnight stay where we also plan to cook dinner and breakfast:

And, with the cool awning:

Our, hopefully welcoming front door. Notice the tulips?

Lynne cooking dinner of "Trailer Spaghetti". It is an old standby for first nights in our previous trailer or motor home. Brown some ground beef, pour over a bottled sauce, cook up some spaghetti and serve with grated Parmesan.

Yum.

And, breakfast the next morning, served on our colorful plates.

The overnight went reasonably well. And, the dogs seem to adapt okay. Bella is fine, Hailey is a bit nervous in her old age. I think we are now ready for a real camping trip. We added only a few things to our provisioning list: table cloth clips, paper plates, plastic wrap, and pain killers.

Comments:

1. WOW! Look at my new little niece all dressed up and quite at home on the gravel pad.  Love the awning (it is way larger than I thought!) Hope it is easy to install.  Everything looks great and now I’m ready to move in!

   Great photos, by the way. And thanks for allowing me to be part of the journey.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  04/20/2014  at  01:08 PM

2. Each time you camp, you’ll find that you take something new along, and discard something else. I’m always amazed when we get home after a camping trip in our T@DA, how much stuff is actually packed in there.

   Your dogs will get the hang of it and get excited when they see you packing up. Our dog Jezzy just wants to go sit in the truck so she can’t possibly get left behind.

   Happy camping.

   Posted by Judy Crankshaw  on  04/21/2014  at  06:49 AM

3. I’d love to see/hear more about the ‘extra’ 2015 features you got with your Lady Bug.  We just got a 2014 Blue and White tab, with the wet bath & etc, and I think we got some but not all of the “new 2015 features”.  For example, we’ve definitely got full LED lighting, both inside and on the porch.  But the USB/12V combo outlet and external 110V outlet are both nice additions, I’d love to see how/where they added them.  I’d like to see the new AC housing and TV mount too, for curiosity’s sake.  I’m also really curious about what “new higher-quality side window” means.  (Our toddler is already adept at getting the screens out of their tracks.)  Anyway, any pictures of your inside would be really interesting.

   Posted by C. Scott Ananian  on  07/04/2014  at  11:21 PM

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