| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Boondocking along Left Coast?
Mattole Beach Campground is right on the beach and is pretty close to boondocking. Long drive to get there, but worth it, I think.
|
profdant139
|
06/18/13 12:23pm |
Roads and Routes
|
|
RE: Brrr.
We were in West Yellowstone in mid-October and it hit 10 degrees. We did not run the heater at night -- hurray for the down comforter! But when we took the coffee-maker out, the cord was frozen -- this is not a trick shot:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dtW7wd3cENA/TNiQhFnDiZI/AAAAAAAACYA/ZYvj4QMLTHI/s400/2010+10+12.JPG height=400 width=400
|
profdant139
|
06/18/13 09:35am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
|
|
RE: SF Bay Area to Bridgeport, CA
Mark, what's your tow vehicle? I have done 120 (Tioga), Monitor Pass, and 50 with no problem, using a Pathfinder to tow a small trailer. Do not take 4 or Sonora Pass. Sonora has some 25 percent grades -- amazing in a passenger car. Downshifting is your best friend.
|
profdant139
|
06/17/13 12:08pm |
Roads and Routes
|
|
RE: Tetons In Late September
We were there in October of 2010 -- just phenomenal. Here is our blog entry -- lots of photos:
Yellowstone and Tetons in October
Bring warm clothing and a camera:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dtW7wd3cENA/TNjas1YCeZI/AAAAAAAACdo/VSPIzEUhoK4/s640/2010%2B10%2B19%2B%25289%2529%2Bfall%2Bcolor.JPG height=600 width=400
|
profdant139
|
06/17/13 12:02pm |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Problems with bears and cougars....
Add this to your list of things not to do:
Man feeds meat to bear, ends up as dessert
|
profdant139
|
06/17/13 11:51am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
|
|
RE: Trip Report: Kodachrome Basin State Park, Utah
Great report, Mike! Those sand pipes are pretty weird -- my DW was just fascinated by them, for some reason -- that's her standing at the base:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AhgEF9XgabY/T8AySpEvDnI/AAAAAAAADb8/Arv1yIdG8fs/s512/sandpipe2.jpg height=600 width=400
|
profdant139
|
06/17/13 11:48am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Problems with bears and cougars....
Ideally, take it with you each day as you roam around and then throw it in a trash can. Some items (like paper plates) can be burned in a campfire -- I have never done that. Or, as a last resort, hang the stuff from a tree branch, far from the ground and from the trunk:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_TCAlCgExYHQ/SEi4xR6TlaI/AAAAAAAAAXE/iRcyZva7fsM/s320/Keeping+trash+away+from+animals.JPG height=400 width=400
|
profdant139
|
06/16/13 08:19pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
|
|
RE: Heavy Duty Trailer Jack Caster Wheel
Airstreamer, a pneumatic tire would be perfect -- is there a "swivel caster" mount for such a tire, with a thousand pound capacity?? Small aircraft have them, so they must exist -- probably pretty expensive. I wonder if there is a "small airplane junkyard" where you could get one?
Here is one with 250 lb. capacity:
250 lb. 8 inch pneumatic tire
|
profdant139
|
06/15/13 08:41am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
RE: Heavy Duty Trailer Jack Caster Wheel
It's easy to remove the wheel! For example, let's say you bring some blocks of wood (which I always do, in case I have to fill in a deep rut in a dirt road). You pile up the blocks under the tongue, lower the tongue till the frame rests on the blocks and the wheel comes off the ground, take off the wheel, install the foot, and crank the foot down so that the tongue lifts off the blocks.
The whole thing takes five minutes, maybe less.
|
profdant139
|
06/14/13 08:06pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
RE: Heavy Duty Trailer Jack Caster Wheel
Len -- must everything have "at least one other use?" Well, maybe I could use my new big heavy wheel to crack walnuts? Iron my socks? Training wheel for a unicycle?
|
profdant139
|
06/14/13 04:05pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
RE: Heavy Duty Trailer Jack Caster Wheel
Barney, yes, I do move the trailer by hand -- on a level campsite, I sometimes move the trailer as much as ninety degrees to take advantage of a better view or a breeze or to improve privacy (in campground).
|
profdant139
|
06/14/13 03:10pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
Heavy Duty Trailer Jack Caster Wheel
The little stock plastic wheel was not doing the job for me -- we camp on soft dirt and rocky soil, and the wheel would either sink in or would be unable to roll over pebbles. So I decided to make my own -- here is the final product:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1s9qeY9-Gic/Ubtlz-yXKfI/AAAAAAAAEh0/YawxcaC3ojk/s400/IMG_5494.JPG height=400 width=400
And here is a blog entry with more details:
Blog Entry: Custom-Made "Boondock Style" Heavy Duty Jack Caster Wheel
We'll see if this "improvement" is really an improvement, but I had fun doing the project, anyway.
|
profdant139
|
06/14/13 01:08pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
|
|
RE: Wanted: CA 190 information
We were in Stovepipe a few days after a rental motorhome had burned up in front of the general store -- apparently, the person renting it did not know about downshifting and had ridden his brakes on the long hill over Towne Pass. Uh-oh.
|
profdant139
|
06/11/13 12:37pm |
Roads and Routes
|
|
RE: Hwy 50 across Nevada
Not bumpy. Wide two lane road. Not too twisty, but it goes up and down and up and down over the mountain ranges -- the road runs east and west, and the mountains run north and south. No problem -- the grades are not steep at all -- but your mpg will suffer a little.
I liked that road. Desolate valleys, green mountains in the distance, great views of the countryside. Almost zero traffic. No radio reception -- few gas stations.
|
profdant139
|
06/11/13 12:34pm |
Roads and Routes
|
|
RE: Boondock Location Search tool
Also, I recently discovered that forestcamping.com has just added user reviews. It'll be interesting to see if folks are willing to post -- the format of the reviews is very limited, though. If the reviews start flowing in, this would fill a big gap -- rvparkreviews is great when it comes to RV parks, but the coverage of Forest Service campgrounds is pretty spotty. The forestcamping people have visited hundreds, maybe thousands, of campgrounds, and their info is very valuable.
|
profdant139
|
06/10/13 05:30pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
|
|
RE: Trip Report: The Burr Trail, Utah Scenic Backway
Great blog entry, Mike!! You probably already know this, but those shots of the Navajo Sandstone also captured "fossil dune" formations, much like the one at Checkerboard Mesa in Zion. Very cool!
|
profdant139
|
06/08/13 11:41am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Axle flip question for those who have done it.
Or else just buy DW a gym membership, so she can more easily run alongside and lift that heavy lumber?? ;)
|
profdant139
|
06/08/13 11:37am |
Travel Trailers
|
|
RE: Problems with bears and cougars....
Horsedoc, they have a designated area in the park for the dumping of road kill? That sounds like an invitation to disaster -- a buffet for large carnivores! Plus it habituates the animals to associate food with human activity, which makes campgrounds much more entertaining, I'm sure.
Out West, the parks make a huge effort to seal off trash cans and dumpsters with animal-proof closures -- some of those darn latches are so tricky that you need a PhD to open the flap!
|
profdant139
|
06/08/13 11:34am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
|
|
RE: The Emotions in a TC
Although we are TT'ers, we have been right on the edge of switching to a TC many times, for all of the reasons given above. We do boondock a lot in our very small TT, in some fairly crazy places, but a TC can get even further back into the boonies.
Interior space (and the shower!) have kept us in a TT -- our dinette benches become very comfortable couches for reading in the evenings. Yes, we spend a lot of time outside -- but it does rain now and then, and it gets very cold at 9000 feet in the Sierra. So it is nice to have a place to sit, especially when we are camping in late autumn or early spring.
We use the TT as "home base" for our daily activities, using the unencumbered truck as our daily "exploring" vehicle. But really, a TC could do the same thing, if you unload it.
I must add, though, that probably almost every RVer has some of the same emotional attachment to the RV as described by the OP (perhaps not as powerfully, though). To all of us, our RVs trigger thoughts of camping and fun and family and friends. Very few inanimate objects carry that kind of baggage! (For example, I don't think of my computer very fondly, or my passenger car, or my household appliances.)
|
profdant139
|
06/07/13 11:52am |
Truck Campers
|
|
RE: Home Theatres in Caravans
That's pretty cool! I also have a big theater-thing on my trailer -- we call it a "window" -- and here is the type of stuff I like to watch -- it uses almost no electricity:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SW2Y7SKBJNY/UaA86K9eoRI/AAAAAAAAEbc/a1JFLZqDq3I/s640/IMGP0196.JPG height=400 width=600
|
profdant139
|
06/07/13 11:35am |
Travel Trailers
|
