My Country Peanut – 39 Days and Counting ROAD TRIP

The moment I have been waiting for is coming up! The East coast bubble has opened up which means in 39 days I can go to Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and hopefully Nova Scotia. I will be done work and have a couple days to clean the house, do laundry and pack up my life (and the dogs) into a 9′ x 6.5′ trailer. I can’t wait!

I practiced backing up to the hitch (can’t lie I have a backup camera – so much easier) the hardest part was once it was lined up and you put the car into park the car would fall forward… happened about 8 times before I went back far enough without hitting the car / hitch together. I consider that a win! And I disconnected and hooked up the trailer myself. Mind you I did have a seasoned transport driver and family member Richard do a safety check on my work before heading out.

In preparation for such a long journey I’ve brought Peanut to Deejays Trailers in Havelock Ontario to have her roof sealed (there was a water leak happening the last month each time it rained), to have the brakes and bearings safetied, gas line checked (since I removed the furnace myself) and to replace a bulb in the back marker light. I decided to go the route of having professionals do this work since I have no knowledge or time to do the work myself. And I want to feel perfectly safe on my very first solo trip.

Last weekend I resealed the back window as there was a small leak it was an easy enough fix. $7.99 tube of the correct caulking did the trick and I already had the caulking gun.

I should mention that Peanut’s parking pad was complete a few weeks ago and has been settling. Once the work is complete in a couple weeks she will have her own space in the yard to land on. This was a cost of $2500. I did this for two reasons; because I couldn’t access the garage on the right as she has to be tucked up very close to it and it helped to eliminate a large section grass which is one step closer to a drought tolerant yard.

Since I had not driven the trailer around in almost a year I felt it was important to do some research on the tires. Did you know that the tires have a total weight capacity on them? I didn’t – but I do now. Did you know that you should calculate your tire pressure weight? This ensures that the tires have the correct amount of air in them. Too much or too little can cause big issues down the road. I have two tires on a one axle rig – each tire holds 50psi/1360 pounds. Here is how you get the correct PSI for your tires:

Tire weight capacity: 1360 x 2 = 2720lbs

My trailer weight: 1800lbs

PSI rating on the tire: 50psi

1800lbs divided by 2720 tire weight = 0.66 x 100 = 66%

now multiply 50psi x 66% = 33psi

33lbs is the total psi that should be in each tire to carry the 1800lb trailer.

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I am having a great time learning new things that will help me along the way; including how to avoid and/or correct a trailer swaying. I will travel with a tire pressure kit/pump and small tool kit so I can make any adjustments while I’m on the open road. There is also a fire extinguisher onboard for safety. And I’ve ordered trailer tow mirrors so I can see safely down either side of the trailer while I’m driving. One thing that will take some getting use to is not using my rearview mirror.

In the next couple of weeks I will have a Peanut update and some new pictures of some small projects I’ve done in preparation for the trip. Thank you for following along!

🙂