Preparing to Head South

While parked in one place over the holidays, Storm and I made some needed adjustments to our transportation arrangements.  We sold our 20′ white box trailer that had previously been garage and carrier for the Prius.  We replaced it with an 18′ flat trailer that will be easier for Storm to load and unload and possible for me to load by myself if needed (heaven forbid!).  We were able to sell off or give away more extra stuff that after 9 months on the road had not passed the “needed badly enough to take up room in the RV storage bay” test.  An innovative solution for tool storage became necessary because even after our lower bay purging there was still not room for all the tools Storm wanted to transfer from the old trailer.  After several days hard work, Storm transformed a truck underbody storage box into the deluxe tool bin shown mounted on the front of the new trailer shown here.

As part of our plan to eventually sell the Prius and purchase a jeep so that we can thoroughly enjoy the many off-road pleasures that abound west of the Mississippi, I worked to clean up some of the Prius’s blemishes.  One troubling problem was the discoloration of the headlights caused by UV rays assaulting them from the top.  I scoured the internet and found many costly remedies but one lady  suggested that the lenses could be restored by polishing them with toothpaste.  After 30 minutes of brushing the right lens with my favorite brand of toothpaste, I discovered she was correct.  You can see from the photos below that my efforts made quite a difference.  Storm plans to sand each lens a little more and apply clear acrylic coating to complete the restoration. I also learned from the web that fingernail polish is great for removing pine sap from the roof and windshield and proved to be more effective than even goof-off which Storm had tried earlier with less success.

After a good toothbrushing

Before brushing

With our visiting, celebrating, purging, selling, cleaning and repacking complete we say our good-byes to NC and head for the untamed wilds of Florida.

• About the Author

About Sunny Weathers

Pilot, motorcyclist and full time RVer. Follow me as I travel all over the US in my Country Coach RV volunteering, making new friends and pursuing a constant outdoor temperature between 70F and 80F. I'll share the fun and the tribulations and any great survival tricks I learn!