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In case you missed part one of this story, please read it here.
We stopped for the night in Clive, Iowa, at a Cracker Barrel and stayed for free. I went into the restaurant and asked permission to park for the night, and I was given directions on where to park our rig behind the store. We were the only ones there when we first parked our LTV, but it wasn’t long before other rigs began pulling into the parking lot to spend the night, giving us plenty of company. The winds continued through the night, shaking our LTV back and forth.
In part two of our road trip from Utah to Long Island, New York, we will return to Interstate 80 and continue east through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
We left Clive, Iowa, continuing on Interstate 80 east, stopping for the night for more free camping at another Cracker Barrel, this time in Joliet, Illinois.
We usually drive 300 – 500 miles a day, sometimes less, but rarely more. Depending on the circumstances, we rarely make reservations, which gives us more flexibility while on the road. Some other rules of the road for us include never getting in a hurry because when we get in a hurry, we tend to make mistakes, often resulting in damage. Rule two: Always park for the night before it gets dark.
A couple of years ago, I was in a hurry to move our Unity and forgot to disconnect the water hose. Consequently, I tore out the back of the service bay. We were in New York at the time, and I had to prop it up with duct tape and a piece of wood until we got back home to Arizona. Fortunately, the plumbing itself did not seem to be damaged, so we could still use it.
The last time we broke our rules, we were parking after dark and in a hurry. Not seeing a pole as we were backing into our campsite caused a dent in our passenger-side fender. The dented fender now serves as a reminder to always follow the rules of the road.
After Joliet, we continued east to a small town near the border of Illinois and Indiana called Morocco, Indiana, to visit a friend we knew while we were stationed in the Republic of Turkey in the Air Force in 1986. We met for lunch in a local restaurant and continued on Interstate 80 east to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The road through Illinois and Indiana needs a lot of repairs. Consequently, the front end of our LTV was clearly showing signs of being out of alignment, and the passenger front tire had uneven wear.
We stopped for the night in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at a city park called Johnny Appleseed City Park for $30 per night. This park is a great green oasis nestled within the city limits behind a stadium. It is a great overnight stop or a good place to use as a home base for exploring the area.
After leaving Fort Wayne, we continued on Interstate 80 east to Maumee, near Toledo, Ohio. We spent the night at another Cracker Barrel for free and got an early start in the morning so that we could be the first ones in line at Best One Fleet Service in Maumee to have the front end realigned and the front passenger-side tire flipped around to get a more even wear on the tire.
When it comes to tires, suspension, and front-end alignments, we prefer truck repair shops. If you’re ever in the Toledo, Ohio, area and need the front end on your LTV realigned or tires repaired/replaced, we recommend Best One Fleet Service, formerly known as Belle Tire Service.
We have had some bad experiences at a certain national chain tire service in the past, and we do our best to go to the local, mom-and-pop-type truck repair shops instead. We find the local, mom-and-pop type truck repair shops have better customer service, and the expertise is far better.
After repairs were complete, we continued on Interstate 80 east through Ohio, stopping for a couple of nights in the driveway at our long-time friend’s house in eastern Ohio.
From our friend’s house in eastern Ohio, we continued east on Interstate 80 into western Pennsylvania. Our average fuel consumption on this trip has been around 18.3 miles per gallon. Thanks to Cracker Barrel, our overnight parking stops have been largely free. We prefer Cracker Barrel parking over Walmart parking because Cracker Barrel is less crowded and much quieter.
We started this adventure in Zion National Park, Utah, on May 21, 2024, and are now in eastern Ohio on May 31, 2024. In part three of this trip, we will travel through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
Until next time, safe travels, my friends.
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