Butch charged the middle (kitchen) A/C and topped off the rear (bedroom) unit. The front unit probably also needed refrigerant, but was difficult to access through the bay below the driver’ seat, so we let it go for now.
The Iowa 80 Truck Stop
We departed on our westward trek shortly after 10:00 AM EDT taking IN-16 E to US-31 S to Gallahan’s truck stop at US-24 where we topped off the tank. We have used this truck stop a lot when visiting Twelve Mile or traveling through the area. It has a specific lane for RVs and wide loads, and a free RV dump station with good access. We then took US-24 W to Illinois where we picked up I-39 N to I-80 W to Iowa. Our destination was the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, and it is definitely a destination.
The truck stop itself was fascinating. It’s a 24/7/52 operation, and trucks came and went constantly. It has room for 800+ tractor-trailers, and by night fall it was filling up. We found the variety of products being moved to be particularly interesting. One truck, which was moving a vertical tower section of a wind turbine, had 50 tires on the ground and was oversized in length, width, and height.
A 50-wheeler behind our coach!
We walked through the truck accessory store, which has more truck accessories than any other retail store on the planet. If you need bling for you truck (or RV), this is THE place to shop. We didn’t buy any bling, but we did buy a Rand-McNally Truckers Atlas and a copy of The Next Exit, both of which provide relevant information for anyone traveling in a large vehicle. Our coach is 13 ft tall, 8.5 ft. wide (not including the mirrors and awnings) and 40 ft. long, with three axles (steer, drive, tag). The Honda Element and tow bar add about 20 feet to the length, making a 60 foot long, articulated vehicle. The coach weighs about 41,000 pounds with full fuel and fresh water, and car adds another 4,000 pounds. You don’t take a vehicle like that just anywhere. Safe travel begins with good travel resources and continues with attention t
o road signs.
We had run our refrigerator all day on the house battery using the inverter, and would be doing so again during the overnight, so we ran the genset to recharge them while we had dinner. We spent the night parked amidst the big rigs, our first overnight at a truck stop and our first boondocking experience in the coach. We did not sleep well due to bright lights and idling engines, but it was still an interesting experience and now we know we can overnight at truck stops if/when we the need arises.
Today was our daughter’s birthday, and we exchanged Happy Birthday text messages with her. (We are very “with it” for being in our 60’s.)