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Old 11-22-2018, 12:14 AM   #4
PDX1953
New Member
PDX1953 is on a distinguished road
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Oregon
Posts: 9
5 yr Member
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Since my OP I spoke to the Segway dealer here in Oregon a few times & then took it to his place about 5 hrs away. Much to my amazement everything worked fine - for about 3 minutes. It went wide open again, threw me off & bent the crap out of various parts of the wheelchair base. He believes it's the Balance Sensor & swapped my base (approx 400 miles) for a used one he had (approx 2500 miles). He knew a professional metalworker who fixed the metal parts and everything cost me $2730.00.

I ended up taking a 6200 mile / 14 state trip beginning on 9/4/18 & put the trailer in storage in Mesa on 10/3/18. I was hoping to get 11 mpg but averaged 9.1 mpg overall & the last 1300 miles averaged 14.5 mpg b/c I wasn't towing. During the whole trip I never took the chair out of the truck (!!!) but I left home this morning & will p/u my trailer on Friday. The 6200 miles burned 700 gallons of gas for a cost of nearly $2100 so I seriously considered putting the trailer on consignment at the RV facility. I'm glad I didn't b/c they would have had a 90 day hold on it which means I wouldn't have been able to pick it up until early January.

After the initial shock of the mileage/costs sunk in I had plenty of time to think about how I really wanted to use the trailer & where I want to go. If everything works as planned I'll spend most of the time in AZ free camping on BLM / Forest Service land with the occasional stay at an RV park. I won't drive anywhere near the miles I did on the first trip and have found quite a few places with the help of some full-time RV friends & lot's of YouTube videos. Although the trailer is only 12' x 6' it's fully self contained with 50 gallon grey, black & supposedly 50 gallons of fresh water although I've only been able to get 35 gallons into it. It has a separate tub & toilet, A/C, a microwave, a very large fridge with separate freezer & lot's of other customization. I have an electric start, dual-fuel 3100 watt Champion generator in the back of my truck along with a dedicated 30# propane bottle so I'll never have to go to an RV park unless I want to. I'm planning on spending the winter in the SW & then take the trailer home in mid-late April. At that point I may advertise it as a 'tiny house' because a lot of hipsters in the Portland area are looking for them. Per Portland code if it isn't on a foundation it can be stuffed in a backyard & lived in as an ADU - "Auxiliary Dwelling Unit."

So - all's well so far & I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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