Thursday – 9/13/2018 and Friday – 9/28/2018

Time to purchase a tow vehicle.  We started with an article found on Clark Howard’s website (thanks, Clark!) on the SUVs and trucks mostly likely to get to 200,000 miles or more.  Then, I researched the tow capacity and came up with a list which would fit our towing needs.

We did some research on the Car Max website and then off to the store.  While there, we found a 2010 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer with 62,000 at 19,998.  One owner who bought the car with cash.  No accidents.  It was rated to tow 9200 lbs which was about 2/3 of our max weight.  It had a sunroof and leather interior, and we were smitten again.  The car was in Irving, Texas, and we paid to have it brought to the St. Peters store.

We picked up the car on Friday, 9/28/2018.  As per Clark, we had it thoroughly checked out by an independent mechanic of our choosing, and we are good.

The whole experience with Car Max was very pleasant.  No pressure.  Very straight forward.  They even collect the sales tax and fees and go to the DMV for you.  We’ll pick up the license plates in a couple days.

We’ve got our insurances in order, and we have a storage facility arranged.  We saved for a number of years, to be able to do all this with cash.

We have 2 short shakedown trips planned in October to prepare for our adventures in 2019.