Bad news and good karma...

A few days ago we learned from the very kind people at RVDirect (our Jayco dealer) that Jayco's warranty policy precluded owners from residing full-time in their vehicle. We've spent the past few days attempting to get a more complete answer, and are still waiting (kinda, sorta.) The latest information is that Jayco deals with such situations on a "case-by-case" basis, which, unfortunately isn't really good enough when you're planning your next 12 months around a bumper-to-bumper warranty.

We are exploring other options, e.g., heavier trailers which explicitly allow full-timing, and to that end had to re-evaluate our tow vehicle options.

We'd mostly settled on a 1/2 ton Suburban or it's GMC equivilant, the Yukon XL. The tow capacity 72-8400 lbs fit well within the range of a lightweight hybrid (the Jayco's GVWR is 5800 lbs.) Heavier year-round tow trailers tend towards the 9000 lbs+ range. So we knew we might have to look for a larger SUV.

When we were exploring the Airstream option, I sent out feelers for a 3/4 ton Suburban (2500 series), to no avail. The closest one I could locate was in New Jersey.

Yesterday, I was randomly calling dealers, still thinking that 1/2 tons were options, when a dealer informed me that the vehicle about which I was inquiring was in fact a Suburban 2500, 4WD to boot. Mileage was pretty good for a 2001, and Carfax.com indicated it had only one private owner. We looked over the car, liked what we saw, and today, bought it.

So where's the good karma?

When Grace was 18 months old, she developed an intussuception, a potentially fatal bowel blockage. Her care at Maine Med was overseen by a team of diligent and competent surgeons, led by a wonderful pair of experts, one known mostly by his nickname, Dr. D.

We learned today that the one owner of our new Suburban was the same Dr. D. who saved our Grace's life (it took three interventions to right the obstruction.) You can't buy better karma than that.

We have our cheval. Time to nail down the travois once and for all.