April 15 2008

Flagstaff has become our official horse changing stop. The last time through we switched from the maroon mini van to a rental vehicle. This time we switched from our Suburbans to a newer Suburban. The trip from Phoenix to Flagstaff gains about 6000 feet in elevation. The old Suburban with its 5.7 liter engine didn’t have many nice things to say about pulling the trailer up those 6000 feet. The trailer weight is within the specifications of the older Suburban but it is right at the top of the specification. By trading in both of our Suburbans and getting a higher mile vehicle we were able to convert to an 2001 ¾ ton with an 8.1 liter engine without putting out a lot of cash.







Our new horse.


The auto dealer let us test drive with the trailer attached. I was amazed at how much difference the engine and suspension made. The difference was enough that it was pretty straight forward to seal the decision as a safety move. So far pulling with the new suburban seems almost as if the trailer isn’t behind us. I also really like the new roof rack. I don’t think we’ll get to do it this year but I have visions of how much fun it would be to load the rack up with gasoline and water and then disappear into the woods of British Columbia for a couple of weeks. For those of you who have heard about my Big Foot rantings, yes you have reason to worry about me.

We used today as a recovery day between the transfer of Suburbans and the heavy playing we did in Maricopa and Phoenix there was quite a bit of organizing to do. It is very nice to have both the Suburban and trailer clean at the same time.