The joys and frustrations of ordering a new RV!
We waited and waited. After 15 months of anticipation, we finally took possession of our new RV.

It’s a 2023 Gulfstream BT Cruiser model 5240. The colors are white, beige, with a bit of grey and blue on the outside. We named her “Oyster” because the colors looked like the oyster shells we collected in the Pacific Northwest. If we ever buy a golf cart, we want a white one so we can name her “Pearl”. It’s fun to be a kid again with a new toy!

In order to get to the dealership to pick her up, we had to drive several hundred miles to Lakeview, Ohio. We left Panama City Beach, Florida, in (of all things, a rented Penske truck because there were no smaller vehicles in this tourist town!) We loaded all the things we’d collected to make home on the road as pleasant as possible. On the second day, we arrived at the dealership to pick up our special order.

6643 miles, 21 states and 7 weeks later, we made it back home. It was a most memorable trip and one that we are very happy we made. People told us “that was a heck of a shakedown cruise”, but the clock was ticking, and we wanted to get past any snowy areas in mountain passes.

We covered the country, sometimes on Interstates and sometimes on State or backroads.   Sometimes blissfully content to just glide by the corn and soybean fields in the Midwest, and other times misreading our directions and making a quick “correction of direction”!
There were more joys than frustrations, but now we get to deal with those as we get the new RV in for Warranty work. “What??” you say! “You have to fix a new RV?” Yes, we do. Most folks who have bought a brand-new recreational vehicle will tell you that you get the job of Quality Control Manager after you buy a new RV. So, we are going in to the repair shop for a variety of items that are under warranty.
We are planning trips for next Spring and Summer and anticipate that will go smoothly with our “new” new RV.