Home of Triple E - Leisure Travel Vans
April 19 - 20, 2015
Yorkton to Winkler in just under 5 hours and 479 kilometers
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| Yorkton SK to Winkler MB |
We were off from Yorkton in some windy and blustery weather. The temperature was sitting just above zero celsius but the sun was shining, at least for a while!
On our way, we found that we would be passing through, or at least close enough to, Gladstone, MB. It just happens that our son Andrew's girlfriend Zoe is from Gladstone having been raised on their farm which has been in the family for generations.
So it was a side trip to their "farm" where Zoe grew up raising 150 head of cattle and working 1500 acres in grain ~ well maybe Zoe's Dad Garry did that work! LOL
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| Manitoba Range Road enroute to the farm! |
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| Getting closer, road changed from packed gravel to more mud than gravel! |
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| Entrance to Zoe's Place. Got to love your GPS! |
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| What a nice home! |
We had a great visit with Garry & Cathy and friend Donna. Interestingly we have not even met Zoe, so this was a bit of a twist getting to meet the potential in-laws first! Zoe's parent's jokingly asked if we were there to check out the gene pool! We had a great time, even though it was calving season and they were expecting two of their "cows" to deliver at any time.
By far one of the highlights of our trip... thanks so much Garry & Cathy and Donna!
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So after a great lunch of fresh homemade spinach soup, pasta salad and buns we left Gladstone and headed to Winkler.
By now we were fighting cross winds, which were very strong and Jan was fighting the wheel to keep LTV Kozad in our lane and from going off the highway! Literally the wheel was turned 45 degrees toward the centre line to keep the Unity going straight in our lane!
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| Not quite at the 45 degrees but definitely not driving straigth! |
So we are driving along (Jan) and Craig is navigating (sight seeing) when all of a sudden two warning lights and messages start to flash on the dash!
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| Oh, Oh! Visit Work Shop! Doesn't sound good! |
So out comes the Mercedes manual and Craig starts to look up the warning lights. There is a mention of low battery power affecting the rear stability sensors so we start unplugging the rechargers for cell phones, iPad and the 12V electric seat heater for Craig's back.
We were not far from Winkler so decided to keep going into town, by the time we drove around town and found a place to park the lights reset themselves and warning cleared. Hmm, maybe unplugging those electrical 12V draws may have worked? More later....
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Once again there is an amazing amount of beauty to be seen along the way!
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| One of Jan's favourite sights - solitary trees along hi-ways and bi-ways! |
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We arrived into Winkler early enough, before dark, so that we had a chance to drive around and view the Triple E/LTV facilities as well as some of the town.
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| Winkler, Manitoba Home of Leisure Travel Vans! |
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| Plant A Triple E - now only producing LTV Products |
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| One of the "holding pens" Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500 DRW Cut-a-way Chassis |
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| Customer parking for the service department at LTV There is where overnight parking is available with power and water hook-ups LTV Kozad is parked for the night! |
The weather was not too bad when we rolled in to Winkler and settled down for the night. We put the slide out on our Murphy Bed Unity, put the furnace on and turned on our low voltage electric heated mattress pad. Cozy for the night with the temperature predicted to drop to minus 4 Celsius.
We slept well but woke up to the furnace cycling on and off and it was a wee bit nippy inside our motorhome! Craig checked the furnace and it appeared that the burner was not lighting and therefore maybe no propane was getting to the furnace.
The propane tank was filled up the day before we left home and still read 95% full, so Craig checked to see if any propane was flowing to the cooktop! You guessed it nothing coming through....
Well luckily, what better place to be sitting than the service centre at Leisure Travel Van in Winkler Manitoba. So in to the service department we went, surprisingly open at 7:45am in the morning!
We were treated excellent, they sent a technician to our Unity - who found out "yes, there is no propane getting into the coach"!
So, up went the murphy bed, in went the slide, out we went and away LTV Kozad went into the Customer Service Centre.
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| We awoke to -4 Celsius and snow flurries! |
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| Snow? |
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| Customer Service where our Unity was taken for repairs! |
LTV has a nice lounge area to wait while your unit is being serviced. Comfortable chairs and sofa, television, computer and Triple E Brochures from all their product line over the years!
Our Unity had an issue with the propane regulator, apparently LTV had a batch of regulators which could be problematic! So they swapped it out with the new stock which they have had no issues todate.
Interestingly though, while our Unity was in the Service Bay, the power went out. A transformer on a nearby power pole blew and the large electric bay doors, along with everything, was now not working.
So, we had to wait till the power company changed out the transformer before the Unity could be let out! Just our luck... ha, ha!
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You may have wondered how LTV transports their finished products to you, the customers! Two "Vans" are loaded onto a truck and delivered to the dealership(s) where they have been ordered. There are no miles/kms driven on your motorhome before it arrives at the dealership!
Nice touch Leisure Travel Vans!
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| Two LTV Unitys heading out for delivery! Looks like a U24MB and a U24TB or maybe IB? |
It was now approximately 12 noon by the time our Unity was delivered back to us so we could continue on our way! The propane was working as it should be and we were ready to head south on the next leg of our journey!
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But before we stopped Jan had to run into the store... unfortunately the weather had turned nasty!
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| Who said April was a good month to go camping across the country! |
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| As we left Winkler the snow had changed to rain! |
We will now be headed south, trying to out run the bitter cold, snow and wind!
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