Readers of this blog know I pay close attention to tire pressures. I check the tire pressure before each trip to ensure proper inflation. The other thing I pay attention to is lug nut torque on the trailer. Trailers have a way of loosening lug nuts – this can cause the loss of a wheel. That wouldn’t be good. I’ve read a few theories about why the lug nuts loosen. Some say it’s the lack of damping in the  trailer suspension. Most trailers aren’t equipped with shock absorbers – they just have stiff springs or torsion bars designed for the maximum load.

When we picked up the new trailer on Saturday, I watched the service guy tighten the lug nuts with a torque wrench set to 100 ft-lbs. The owner’s manual called for the lug nuts to be checked after the first 10 miles, then at 25 miles and again at 50 miles. We pulled the trailer 38 miles back to our site at Towerpoint RV Resort, so I missed the first two check points. After I painted the floor, I set my torque wrench to 100 ft-lbs and checked the lug nuts. Every lug nut needed to be tightened. A couple of them were so loose that it took half a turn to reach 100 ft-lbs. Checking the lug nuts on trailers is no joke – it needs to be done periodically. Once past the initial seating process, I usually check them every 500 miles or so.

The trailer floor paint was cured and hardened by Sunday. I was sore from bending over and painting the day before. I loaded our things in the trailer. I’ll work on finding the right place for everything over the next few weeks before I install additional D-rings to tie everything down. I hung my Busted Knuckle Garage shingle on the side door.

The Busted Knuckle Garage

On Sunday night, I put an ad on Craigslist for our old trailer. I had two inquiries almost immediately and arranged to show the trailer on Monday morning. By Monday morning, I had about a dozen e-mails from people interested in the trailer. I decided to wait until the first two people looked at it before responding to any of the others. One guy sent me three e-mails. He was from Quartzsite and wanted me to hold the trailer for him due to the long-distance drive. Another guy was all the way up in Flagstaff and wanted me to hold the trailer. The guy in Quartzsite said he would pay $100 over my asking price if I would hold it for him. I didn’t respond – it was a first-come first-served situation. I didn’t want to hold the trailer not knowing if an out-of-town buyer would actually come through.

The first guy came with his wife at 8am. He had a specific need for a trailer with a tall roof and door. He liked my trailer – his wife said it was the nicest one they’ve looked at – but it wasn’t tall enough for his needs. I haven’t seen many 6×12 trailers with extra tall roof lines. The next guy came a little before 9am. After five minutes, he said he wanted the trailer. He gave me $500 cash to hold the trailer while he went to buy an adapter to hook up to the trailer wiring. Just as we shook hands on the deal, another guy showed up. It was the guy from Quartzsite. He said he got up at 4am to make the drive to Mesa so he could buy the trailer. I told him I was sorry, but I had just sold it. He told the buyer he would give him $100 to walk away from the deal so he could buy it. I felt bad for the guy, but I didn’t tell him I would hold it for him. Once I made the deal, there was no way I would back out of it to get an extra $100 from the guy from Quartzsite – it wouldn’t be right.

I set up the hitch mount for the buyer and told him what type of adapter he needed. He drove off to Walmart. Then he phoned me from the store to describe the adapter he found to be sure he had the right thing. After I made several trips back and forth from our site to the lot the trailer was in, we got it hooked up and he paid me the rest of the cash. Done deal.

I spent the afternoon relaxing with a book. My hamstrings were still sore. Donna prepared wild Alaskan cod poached in tomatoes and saffron for dinner. This is a great recipe that she found on epicurious.com.

Wild Alaskan cod poached in tomatoes and saffron with roasted broccolini

This morning, we hit the pickleball courts early – thus the reason why I’m posting at mid-day. As I was getting the pickleball gear out of the basement compartment, I left the front door open for Donna. I generally don’t worry about Ozark the cat getting out. In the eight months she’s been with us, she’s only been out of the coach twice. Both times she was in her carrier for a trip to the vet. She likes to sit by the door and watch the world through the screen door, but she’s never been inclined to leave the coach even when we walk in and out. In fact, we usually have to step over her.

This morning, she was running around in a bit of a wild mood and bolted out the door! She went under the trailer. When I walked around the trailer she ran under the coach. Donna enticed her with some canned food and we put her back inside. I’ll have to be more careful about the door. I wouldn’t want her to run off and get hit by a car or become lost.

Towerpoint pickleball courts – Donna’s in the far court

There are four pickleball courts here. Most mornings, the courts are crowded and there’s a long wait between games. This morning wasn’t so crowded – I don’t know why. We didn’t have to wait long between games and got several games in.

The weather continues to be nice – sunny skies with a high in the mid 70s today. The forecast calls for 80 degrees tomorrow and warmer weather by the weekend.