CanalZoneKid
Member
Greetings, All!
This is my first post and I have to send out a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have taken the time and put out an enormous effort to make this Heartland Owners Forum such a resounding success. It's important to have support and feel like you belong when you are faced with something new to you, whether it's owning a travel trailer, or, having a baby, or, getting a pet, etc. In my particular case, it's all about being new to the travel trailer scene.. something I've worked hard for, and looked forwards to, for quite some time. Thankfully, at least in my case, it's not about a new baby.. whew!
A little about me.. as my moniker suggests, I'm a proud product of a former US Territory known as The Canal Zone. I'd love to hear from any other 'Zonians' out there. The name's Jim (James) Rybicki. My father, Frank Rybicki, Sr. worked for the FAA there for over 40 years. My mother, Cecilia, is originally from the city of Colon, Panama. My oldest brother, Frank Jr. ('44), graduated from West Point and went to Viet Nam in '67. Unfortunately, he is a casualty of that mess. An older sister, Annette ('45), tools around South Caroline where her daughter and 3 granddaughters reside. I, also, have an older Brother, Bobby ('55), who is handicapped with Cerebral Palsy. I was born there in '56 and lived/attended school there until I joined the US Army in '74. Spent most of my time overseas in Germany where I met, and subsequently married, a pretty little Fraulein. Honorably retired from the military in '96 and settled in Seminole, Florida. Retirement got pretty boring after about 3 weeks, so, I jumped into the construction trades, eventually becoming a Certified General Contractor. My pretty little Fraulein and I amicably went our separate ways some 16 years ago. Since then, it's pretty much been all about taking care of my elderly mother, my handicapped bro and rescuing large breed dogs. Oh, yeah, and working, too.
I recently arranged for my brother to be placed in a nursing home where he's having the time of his life. Mom will be next, so, I'm beginning to see a bit 'o light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. That being the case, I was fortunate enough to come across a great deal on a barely used Cyclone 4200 earlier this year with less than 250 miles on her. She was intended to be used as a permanent residence for the former owners; however, as luck (mine) would have it, they were only able to stay in the 4200 for under 4 months. Couldn't believe it! Absolutely zero wear and tear and she still smells brand new. And big, too! I've nicknamed her The Taj Ma Hauler. It wasn't my intention to go this big to start out with. But, my goodness.. the luxury! So, I ordered a B&W 20K Companion hitch for my beefed 2011 Diesel 4x4 Ford F-250's factory-installed B&W Turnover (Gooseneck) Ball hitch system. Man, I couldn't believe my (continued) luck that the truck I had purchased already had a system installed where all I had to do was drop in the new 5th Wheel hitch and torque it down. The B&W Companion is nice, too, with superb machining and tolerances and a great finish. Let's hear it for American made!!!
Now is where this great forum comes into play. As everyone already seems to know, the factory manuals don't educate you quite thoroughly enough on the day-to-day how-tos of trailering and trailer life. I can honestly say that, by reading through the myriad owner's posts in this well-organised forum, I'm just about ready to hit the open road. Ready, that is, once I find an Assisted Living Facility cra.. I mean.. willing enough to accept my feisty 96 year old mother as a new resident. Then, all I have left is to do is activate my additional insurance and Good Sam membership, load up my Harley-Davidson Street Glide, fire up the 6.7 and begin my newest adventure.
Looking forward to crossing paths with some of you out there,
Jim Rybicki
This is my first post and I have to send out a huge 'Thank You' to all those who have taken the time and put out an enormous effort to make this Heartland Owners Forum such a resounding success. It's important to have support and feel like you belong when you are faced with something new to you, whether it's owning a travel trailer, or, having a baby, or, getting a pet, etc. In my particular case, it's all about being new to the travel trailer scene.. something I've worked hard for, and looked forwards to, for quite some time. Thankfully, at least in my case, it's not about a new baby.. whew!
A little about me.. as my moniker suggests, I'm a proud product of a former US Territory known as The Canal Zone. I'd love to hear from any other 'Zonians' out there. The name's Jim (James) Rybicki. My father, Frank Rybicki, Sr. worked for the FAA there for over 40 years. My mother, Cecilia, is originally from the city of Colon, Panama. My oldest brother, Frank Jr. ('44), graduated from West Point and went to Viet Nam in '67. Unfortunately, he is a casualty of that mess. An older sister, Annette ('45), tools around South Caroline where her daughter and 3 granddaughters reside. I, also, have an older Brother, Bobby ('55), who is handicapped with Cerebral Palsy. I was born there in '56 and lived/attended school there until I joined the US Army in '74. Spent most of my time overseas in Germany where I met, and subsequently married, a pretty little Fraulein. Honorably retired from the military in '96 and settled in Seminole, Florida. Retirement got pretty boring after about 3 weeks, so, I jumped into the construction trades, eventually becoming a Certified General Contractor. My pretty little Fraulein and I amicably went our separate ways some 16 years ago. Since then, it's pretty much been all about taking care of my elderly mother, my handicapped bro and rescuing large breed dogs. Oh, yeah, and working, too.
I recently arranged for my brother to be placed in a nursing home where he's having the time of his life. Mom will be next, so, I'm beginning to see a bit 'o light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. That being the case, I was fortunate enough to come across a great deal on a barely used Cyclone 4200 earlier this year with less than 250 miles on her. She was intended to be used as a permanent residence for the former owners; however, as luck (mine) would have it, they were only able to stay in the 4200 for under 4 months. Couldn't believe it! Absolutely zero wear and tear and she still smells brand new. And big, too! I've nicknamed her The Taj Ma Hauler. It wasn't my intention to go this big to start out with. But, my goodness.. the luxury! So, I ordered a B&W 20K Companion hitch for my beefed 2011 Diesel 4x4 Ford F-250's factory-installed B&W Turnover (Gooseneck) Ball hitch system. Man, I couldn't believe my (continued) luck that the truck I had purchased already had a system installed where all I had to do was drop in the new 5th Wheel hitch and torque it down. The B&W Companion is nice, too, with superb machining and tolerances and a great finish. Let's hear it for American made!!!
Now is where this great forum comes into play. As everyone already seems to know, the factory manuals don't educate you quite thoroughly enough on the day-to-day how-tos of trailering and trailer life. I can honestly say that, by reading through the myriad owner's posts in this well-organised forum, I'm just about ready to hit the open road. Ready, that is, once I find an Assisted Living Facility cra.. I mean.. willing enough to accept my feisty 96 year old mother as a new resident. Then, all I have left is to do is activate my additional insurance and Good Sam membership, load up my Harley-Davidson Street Glide, fire up the 6.7 and begin my newest adventure.
Looking forward to crossing paths with some of you out there,
Jim Rybicki
