Category: Preparation & Readiness
Yosemite N.P. to Big Trees State Park, Calaveras County, California – Part 1
June 25, 2012 by Traveler8343 · 2 Comments
Our home away from home After eight months of towing our trailer across the country and leaving the idea of reservations in God’s hands, we ran out of luck – again. We had decided during the planning stage for this trip that we wanted to be free to stop and stay at whatever place caught our interest and not have to be bound to the calendar; having to be in a certain place at a certain time. What we did, though, was call Reserve America hours or days before our expected arrival time and try to pick-up on any cancellations or open sites that might be available. This procedure had served us well so far, although we did have to patch together several different sites in order to lengthen our stays at the more popular parks, like Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys and the Grand Canyon. This procedure didn’t work this time, though. We lost cell phone service shortly after leaving Las Vegas, Nevada and were incommunicado for over 200 miles of desert along Route 95 to Tonopah, Nevada.... [Read more...]
“Leaves of three, beware of me!” (Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac)
June 22, 2012 by Professor95 · 9 Comments
There are probably more stories, home remedies, and mistaken beliefs about Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac than any other plant found in the forest and surrounding countryside. I want to take a few paragraphs and explore some of the myths and facts related to these plants and their common allergen – urushiol oil. I hope you don’t mind if I tell a story along the way to get my point across. Jerry, Irene, there two children Kelly and Kenny along with their dog, Peaches, were camping near a wooded area. Jerry, the 2 kids and the dog decided to go on an exploratory hike through the woodlands. Irene stayed back at camp. Upon returning, they stripped off the kids clothes, did a through examination for ticks on everyone that was in the party and each took a hot shower in the bathhouse – washing well with Dial soap and then rubbing dry with a clean towel. Later that night Kenny, the oldest child, began scratching a red spot on his left leg. Before long, the itch and... [Read more...]
HOW TO ATTRACT BLACK BEARS (…and get a picture, too.)
June 10, 2012 by Professor95 · Leave a Comment
Even with the population of black bear increasing in Virginia, the possibility of seeing one is still an uncommon and exciting experience. These creatures can range from 90 to 500 pounds in weight and stand as tall as 7 feet when erect. Male black bears are naturally larger than females. Black bears are somewhat nocturnal, or crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn). Seeing one during the daylight hours is less likely as they are naturally afraid of humans and somewhat solitary animals. Black bears in Virginia are mostly vegetarian eating a variety of roots, nuts, seeds, berries, grasses, insects, and fruits. But, when given a chance to eat meats they will not hesitate. On our recent outing to Big Meadows campground in the Shenandoah National Park, the Rangers (now called Park Police) warned us to be careful, as there had been numerous sightings of black bears in the campground. This was exciting news to me – in over twenty years of visiting the park and campground, I had only seen... [Read more...]
WE ARE CHEATERS!
June 7, 2012 by Professor95 · 7 Comments
Yes, I admit it. We are CHEATERS! No, we don’t cheat on our income taxes or in a card game. Like thousands of other RV owners, we cheat on what is perceived as conventional camping. For the past week, we have been camping at Big Meadows off of the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. We have a beautiful pull thru site about 100’ long – more than enough space to accommodate our “big rig”. There is only one problem with our site – we have no hook-ups for electricity, water, or sewage. This, of course, translates to using our own on-board resources of water, battery power, and wastewater holding. It is easy to get by with no hook-up for a night or two, but if you have a conventional RV with a refrigerator, water pump, and lights, you will quickly learn that the small battery packs that come with your RV will not sustain your needs. The amount of water you can store and the capacity of your waste holding tanks will determine just how often you flush the... [Read more...]
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
May 22, 2012 by Professor95 · 6 Comments
Kevin and Debbie Clark own a 2011 Chevy 2500 pick-up with a full-length bed. The truck is used to tow their 2009 Cardinal fifth wheel trailer. Kevin is extremely proud of his metallic silver truck and is meticulous about how he connects to his trailer. The fifth wheel hitch is a Reese 22K set on bed rails bolted to the bed and frame of the truck. The set-up is strong and easily handles the trailer in both braking and hard pulling maneuvers. . Kevin’s checklist includes: ● opening the tailgate ● chocking the trailer wheels ● setting the trailer kingpin to the height of the hitch jaws ● releasing the handle to close the hitch jaws ● carefully backing into the trailer kingpin while watching for the actuation of the jaw handle to move out and then back in indicating that the jaws have latched tightly around the kingpin. ● Push the jaw locking lever down on the release handle ● Raise the front landing jacks about an inch off the... [Read more...]
WHY ARE GAS PRICES RISING? What is an RV’er to do?
April 14, 2012 by Professor95 · 18 Comments
With fuel prices surpassing the $4.00 a gallon mark, to say that there is “pain at the pump” is an understatement. Dropping 200 gallons of Road Diesel into the tanks on the Volvo while in Florida required handing the girl at the fuel desk $831.00. I couldn’t help but think of a time when diesel was considered “junk fuel” and was typically priced well below gasoline. While I could have completely filled both 150-gallon tanks on the Volvo in my younger days for less than $100, I know those days now exist only in memories held by our over 50 generation. The soaring cost of fuel (gasoline and diesel) has hit the RV travel market hard. With typical fuel mileage figures for towing a 8,000# trailer behind a gas engine 1/2 ton pick-up ranging from 7 to 12 mpg – even short trips can rack up a significant bill. For example, a 200 mile round trip will consume $80 of fuel, up $20 from last year. The Paradox is that by some estimates the sales of RV towables has risen... [Read more...]
Woodall’s Campground Data Now On Board Rand McNally RV GPS Devices!
April 10, 2012 by Guest Blogger · 2 Comments
Just in time for the spring RVing season, Rand McNally has added the Woodall’s campground directory into its top-selling TripMaker® RVND™ GPS devices. Woodall’s, part of the Good Sam family of RV clubs, community and publications, is North America’s leading source of campground information for RVers and campers. With the addition of thousands of Woodall’s reviewed campgrounds and amenities, the TripMaker® RVND™ devices now feature more than 250,000 RV-focused locations, such as campgrounds and RV service centers, as well as millions of additional general points of interest. “A year ago, Rand McNally introduced the first GPS device developed specifically for RVers and campers, and the response has been exceptionally strong,” said Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally. “The addition of the Woodall’s information provides RVers with a leading source of vetted campground data that no one else provides in a GPS device.” Two weeks ago at The Rally in Phoenix, Rand McNally... [Read more...]
AN ELEPHANT ON ROLLER SKATES – Taking care of E-Z Lube Wheel Bearings on Your Towable.
April 7, 2012 by Professor95 · 6 Comments
Can you imagine an Elephant on Roller Skates? Besides being able to actually stand-up and skate, the sheer weight of an elephant on the small axles, bearings, and wheels of roller skates brings images of frequently broken parts to my mind (Elephant on Roller Skates sketch by James Suhr) . Realistically, a large towable riding on a conventional spindle and bearing system isn’t much different than putting an elephant on roller skates. That is a lot of weight for such small parts to handle. Specially designed parts to handle the weight and suspension abuse our fast deteriorating highways inflict on our RV towables is a must. But, without proper maintenance, those parts will fail. Wheel bearings are constantly being exposed to water, dirt and heat – all enemies of even the best engineering designs. A ritual that is performed at least on an annual basis with our towable is inspecting and repacking the wheel bearings. Thankfully, two newer wheel-bearing styles used in the RV industry... [Read more...]
WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN – IT IS GOOD TO HAVE FRIENDS AROUND
March 30, 2012 by Professor95 · 4 Comments
Somewhere between Little Rock, AR and Carrabelle, FL two cross members that support the frame rails on our fifth wheel broke. Initially, I could not tell there was something wrong because the plastic belly panels covered the problem area making it impossible to notice the broken welds. Our first indication that there was a problem occurred when we attempted to open the curbside living room slide and it would not extend. My inspection of the problem resulted in a major shock – the axles under the camper had moved at least 3” toward the left side and the drive rod for the slide-out had been bent by the tire. The tire was ruined and all six spring hangers had bent to approximately a 75 degree angle – they should be 90 degrees to the frame rails. In case you haven’t caught on yet, this is a MAJOR problem that could easily result in many thousands of dollars for repairs and the loss of use of the camper for “who knows how long”. One thing for sure – we were not going to be... [Read more...]
IS YOUR HEAD IN THE CLOUDS?
March 24, 2012 by Professor95 · 3 Comments
I slept in this morning. The past two days had been rough on my aging body while fixing a problem with an ABS brake sensor on the Volvo HDT and replacing the blown A/C compressor on the GMC pickup. I was successful with both projects but they left me with sore muscles, painful hands and stiff joints that needed time to recover. Anyway, as I was sitting in the kitchen eating my Pop Tarts and drinking my morning coffee, the fourth hour of NBC’s Today show was on the TV. It really caught my attention when I noticed that Kellie Pickler was the cohost with Hoda. Now, if you don’t know who Kellie Pickler is you might as well quit reading. But, just in case you are interested, Kellie is a popular Country Music singer and former “American Idol” contestant. She is an extremely talented young woman that is apparently pretty doggone smart as well. OK – I’m getting a little off track so let me get back to my rant. Hoda and Kellie were introducing a segment on what may... [Read more...]
