To Riviere du Loup

This is what the scene inside Dory looks like in “living mode”:

She is really very spacious and has a well thought out design inside. We lack for nothing and have easy access to all our stuff. Even when the roof is lowered, you can use most of the trailer except the back of the bed. You WILL bonk your head on the lowered crescent windows though when you go through the door, no matter how many times you’ve already done that.

Today was a perfect day.

We got ready to roll in record time (like an hour and a half) and started pulling down the bumpy, terrifying, dirt road around 8:30. We knew what was up ahead and the fact that whatever happened next could radically change the rest of our trailer owning careers. We had inched slowly down a very steep rocky hill to get to our remote campsite and we knew that physics suggested going up it would be more challenging. With big potential consequences.

Our hearts pounded. Richard asked if he should get out and I figured that would just make it more likely he’d be squished when I started rolling backwards. I repeated horse power and torque numbers in my head, and we dumped all the fresh water from Dory’s tanks so she’d be lighter. Bruce has traction control, I told myself over and over again. Dory is very lightweight as trailers go. Our backup plan was to go find someone with a truck to drag her out of there.

So we just went for it. Slowly…..

Not a problem.

Really, I don’t think Bruce’s wheels lost traction even for a moment. Engine didn’t strain for a second. It was awesome. I made Richard get out and take pictures.

So after making it up that, the rest of the day towing was actually a snap. Any intimidating pass was met with: “Phfft! It’s paved!” I highly recommend this approach to anyone new to trailering. Just pick a crazy, stupid, terrifying stretch of road to either die on or make it through and nothing else will seem daunting.

Today was the first day we started to feel the way we’d always thought we might feel doing this. The terrain was beyond beautiful, I was no longer nervous about towing, and we got to simply enjoy the day. Yeah, we’re pretty giddy happy.

Here are some shots of the road through the Grands Jardin and the stretch along the Saguenay fjord.

 

After a perfect morning drive, we got back to the St. Lawrence river where we caught a ferry to the the other side. Dory and Bruce got to go on a boat ride!

We got reservations for a campground on the other side and right after we pulled in and got set up, it started to rain. We are enjoying listening to the sound of rain rapping on our roof, which is probably the world’s best sound when you are not in danger of being outside in it.

All around great day. Fears overcome. Limits tested. Beauty properly enjoyed and appreciated. All that remains is for Richard and I to discuss some strategies for how to calmly back a trailer into a campsite.

Mileage and time will be updated later, cause it’s raining and that information is in the car. We were averaging around 26 mpg, even heavily packed, on the trip. When towing over nonstop rises and falls (some up to 14%), we were getting 15-17 mpg. Not as bad as I thought it might be. Aerodynamics is a good thing.