One more road trip to Indiana in 2024
Well, here we are on another trip to Indiana. This is the fourth time in 2024 that we’ve made the trek. And all for good reasons!
Summer Trips
Over the summer we came to Indiana three times.
In early June, we were here for a week or so writing RV reviews for RV Trader. Then we went to Michigan for a Mini Lite rally, and to Illinois to teach a Girl Camper College. We had originally planned to head home from there, but an accident in May tore a hole in the sidewall of the Mini Lite, so we returned to Millersburg to drop off the trailer for repairs.
We returned in August. We picked up the Mini Lite and attended the Forest River Owners Group (FROG) international rally. While there, we discovered the new-for-2025 changes to the Mini Lite 2506FK floor plan, and decided we really liked that floor plan better than our 2023 2205S. We also had pre-arranged to leave the Mini Lite in Indiana for a few weeks, so we dropped it off again and headed home.
In September, we returned once again. We attended the dealer open house event, and reviewed a whole bunch of RVs, then went to Iowa for a couple of events and finally took the Mini Lite home. We had been talking to Rockwood during this time, but didn’t have exact plans for an exchange. Until we did. We would be returning to Indiana one more time in 2024, to pick up our new Mini Lite 2025 2506FK. In November. Which could easily be winter weather. Oh, dear.
Travel with a home on wheels
We made a lot of these trips without the Mini Lite, so we stayed in a lot of hotel rooms. While unlimited hot water is definitely a bonus, we still prefer to travel with our trailer so we always have our own bed, kitchen, and bathroom with us.
So, we were happy that we’d be traveling with the Mini Lite on this trip. This was the trade-in trip, so we knew our days with the 2205S were limited.
We spent the first night in Shamrock Texas at the Route 66 RV Park. We had stayed there before, and remembered the people being really nice. We remembered correctly. They are currently rebuilding the showers, so those weren’t available but we weren’t worried about that.
We got checked in and set up, and turned on the water. Tony had recently removed the RV bidet so we could keep it, and there was a slight leak but I was able to get it tightened before it made too much of a mess.
As much as I’ve always thought the Thetford brand was a sign of good quality, I really do not like the Thetford toilet that came with the 2023 2205S. It is short, and though larger around than some, it has a really shallow bowl. We also learned that reaching the seat bolts is nearly impossible. We lost several bolts between the sections of the toilet while installing and while removing the bidet.
Travel with a large closet
For a couple of reasons, we decided that Shamrock would be our last night sleeping in the 2205S. We were too concerned about freezing the plumbing. We also knew that there was only one location in the area of Shipshewana where we would be trading the trailer and working for the week. RV sites at the fairgrounds in Goshen stay open until the end of November, rather than closing at the beginning of of the month.
We knew that if we spent more nights in the travel trailer, we would have to get a site at the fairgrounds in order to trade in the trailer with empty waste tanks. We had to make a decision by Friday morning so we could make a reservation at the fairgrounds. We decided that we could make better time, traveling more miles per day, if we stayed in hotels instead of the trailer. So that became our plan for the rest of the trip.
Essentially, then, the Mini Lite became our heavy towable closet with a fridge, instead of a home away from home.
Oh, my aching back
My grandpa used to say this when he thought he was being lied to. I like the expression for that. I do not like when I have to say it for real, like I did this week. I think a disadvantage of the long hours oof driving each day and not enough walk-around breaks caused a bad pinch in my back by the third day. We splurged that night and found a hotel room with a jetted tub. Once we got settled in the room, I ran a bath and soaked in the jets for 30 minutes. It helped! Between that and the many doses of Painatrate that Tony put on my back, I finally felt kind of normal. Today, I made sure to walk around every time we stopped.
Gosh, in Goshen
Today was the last day of this part of the road trip. We checked into a hotel in Goshen. Tomorrow we will take the 2205S to Wana RV in Shipshewana and trading it for our new, 2025 2506FK. We will drop the 2506FK directly to ABC Upfitters for a solar and lithium upfit before we head home again, home again.
Jiggity Jig.
