Have to share

[rodsterinfl]

I made it home yesterday. I left June 25 ('15) headed for JC from south Florida. I recently added solar for boon docking and took the generator and scooter. I boon docked several times first times in GA and KY. It rained nearly the entire first week adding more of a challenge keeping the Gen dry (used it twice) and dealing with wet. Now here is the wild list. When loading up my new Vespa in the truck bed, the safety strap snapped loose and the ramp fell off the truck with scooter and me standing beside it. Luckily the scooter bottom was teetering on the truck bed door but a neighbor had to help me. The first day out I learned that my power inverter was burned up. In Tenessee a rock truck in front of me was throwing rocks. One hit my solar rock guard and cracked it and by the time I made it to JC my radio antenna was snapped off I assume by wind. Antenna $40, Window guard $575! I bought an escape sticker to put over the crack. While at JC for the tour I noticed that the edging on my nightstand was bent and partially torn off by the impact of my lafuma lounger I put on the bed apparently as it bounced into it and fell in the floor between the twins. Cincinnati was like driving through a war zone with chuck holes, etc. The trailer was rocking back and forth and bouncing along with the truck. The cat was hanging on with sprawled legs the entire time meowing loudly. The AS tour was nice. It rained all day and was around 59 degrees and windy! The next stop, Lewis Center, OH was about 80 min east near Columbus to visit family. I stayed at Cross Creek Camping Resort. It was ok but I did not think it was resort grade- no pads (mud and gravel) and no trees and very close spots and tons of rules. Unlike the Internet comments they were friendly and nice, not rude. I just did not find the open field on top of each other setup appealing. Oh, and on day two they cut all the power at 8:30am for upgrading the electric systems. Men were out digging with shovels the electric lines up and adding I believe 50amp service. That was not good. It was out I heard until about 2pm that day. Oh, The campers next to me came over while I was in the shower and yelled that they were afraid their campfire was going to burn my truck!

Later on in the trip I ventured through Wytheville, VA to boon dock. The next morning I had a 5 hour trip planned to Wilmington, NC via I-77. A few miles out (I left at 9:03 AM) I ran into traffic on I-77 and sat in traffic for FIVE HOURS!!! We moved a total of 2.5 miles during that time crawling. The rest was sitting. There was a tractor trailer wreck with fatality. Apparently it happened at just after 7am that day so for some reason it took them seven hours to clean it up out of the way. While I was sitting in traffic with the truck off. I had my driver window open. My cat, who was walking around in the truck (she cannot stand the carrier) got up on the back of my seat without my knowledge and jumped out the window! I jumped out of the truck and was running around after her. Understand that she never goes outside and is afraid of everything. So, I was running around for about 3-4 minutes chasing a cat between cars, etc. She finally got up under the truck and I snatched her.

Several hours later I arrived in Wilmington to discover that I could not get my AS into the reserved spot at the campground (see pic below). There was a large cement slab in the middle of the drive with a grate that was about 2 feet off the ground and not moveable (see pic). The distance between the tree and cement base was about 8' straight on and if I tried to park in front, there was no place for the truck. Nearly every site had that stupid grate in the way. Note this was a spot listed as a 100' RV site with no power/hookups at Carolina Beach State Park, NC. I was moved to another spot by the ranger only to be told later that I would have to move- someone had just reserved the spot online before they could tag it. The ranger came by and said that they would leave a note for the morning group to deal with it and I would be ok. In the meantime a couple next to me decided to leave early and wanted to give me their spot. The ranger said no (it was paid for and reserved already- strange) so I was left to their decision. I finally told them that they could make arrangements with the newcomers as they had my old spot or the vacated spot to put them in and I was already moved and there and did not want to spend my day waiting for someone to arrive. Awful. They were nice people but management was poor.
Not recommended. No generators allowed at night either. It was HOT.

Most everything else was uneventful but hopefully the post has some merit as there is some humor and a non-recommendation for parks. Stats 3000 miles, 11.5 mpg (even with 5 hour traffic- another confirmed 12mpg) and I averaged 73 mph on Hwy (16" michelin LTX) $661 fuel cost - $0.22/mile $2.64/12mpg cost avg fuel.

[Lily&Me]

Yikes!

What a trip, and how glad you must be to have made it home.

A test of your endurance......and, you passed.


Maggie

[Msmoto]

Having just come southbound on I-77 out of Wytheville, VA, on Friday the 10th, I understand your frustrations. A CB radio can sometimes be used and in the I-77 scenario, US-52 can be used as an alternate. Post #390 here: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...th-137509.html

Is about this I-77 and may be of interest.

Oh, if you came by on I-40, you were about a mile from my house which has 50 Amp, water and sewer for guests who need to stop for a night.

My recent pull was 3800 miles and my generator would not run the A/C but I was able to make arrangements to have power on all but a couple nights.

[rodsterinfl]

Ha, just don't take that US60 route before Wytheville in WVA. Wow, that was crazy for towing. Like an idiot I had my Garmin set to avoid toll roads and it routed me out there in booney ville climbing steep hills on narrow roads. I did not realize that part of I-77 was toll.

[Sbb]

Yikes.... My righte blinker just went out, a five hour ordeal and then my suggestion to run wire thru inside. I agree with roads, shakes the living daylights out of anything inside. They cat loss would have terrified me to know end. Traffic accident stop, Is reason I never let my gas go below half. Other than all thaat, hope you had a great trip, scooter sounds like amazing fun way to get around.

[moosetags]

Gee Rod, you have had five years worth of problems and issues in one trip. Hopefully, that means you will have five years of smooth sailing.

Brian

[John&Vicki]

After reading this it occurs to me that everyone with an Airstream needs to live in Oregon: great roads; great State Parks, USFS and BLM parks; boondocking available all over the state; no traffic jams. More mis-adventures on that trip than I've had in 45 years of camping in Oregon. You East Coasters put up with a lot! I admire your grit.

Cheers,
John

[rodsterinfl]

I know what you mean about good roads though I have not been to Oregon. Florida has great roads for the most part. It is smooth sailing compared to Ohio and West Virginia. The US 60 in WVA is really something as much was cracked off in curves. A few times my trailer got to the edge and bounced/jerked back onto the road. Its one thing to have hilly mountain roads that are narrow. Its another to have part of the road missing.

@MSMOTO, yeah, I was told by the state police to take 52 but they had been routing people on it for hours and it got clogged up. He said to just wait.

@Moosetags. Yes, I was at times overwhelmed as I could not deal with the problems fast enough. I hate broken things and I could not find solutions easily while on the road. It was certainly a lesson- take less stuff for one and plan where to put things especially when bouncing along, uncheck toll avoidance on GPS in unfamiliar areas and don't drive behind rock trucks. I ended up with a Go Power inverter replacement- highly rated. Ironically the dealer I called did not normally have them he had a mistake on a duplicate order. He even gave me a discount on it unused and new. They have a high rating so hopefully it will last longer than the Xantrex unit I put in a few years ago and rarely used. It was a lot more expensive.

@sbb the trip was great. I was somewhat disenchanted with a trailer as I seemed to be fighting all the hassle rather than enjoying the journey, at first anyway. I began thinking about what my father said about the advantages of motor homes- built-in generators, etc. I had just filled up with gas a few miles before the traffic jam. That WOULD be awful stuck out there. People did go cuckoo out there though driving through the median and other such stuff. The truckers (two of them) ganged up on a few car drivers at one point blocking the right side with their cabs to keep them from driving through.

[Msmoto]

This share has been helpful. Reaffirms my decision to sell my 44' Moho, return to the WBCCI and AS folks.

In the Moho, state parks were simply not possible as the turns were usually too tight. Then there was something always going wrong and this is generally true for Moho 's with the multiple systems running.

And the AC in a TV is usually far superior to the Moho where in order to fully air - condition the bus, one must run the 10,000 watt generator for power.

And on the subject of "issues" a couple years ago in Canada I had to have an oil change on the Onan generator, five quarts of oil, three filters and only cost me $468.00 this in USD. Avoiding the Cummins Eastern Canada shop is a priority now LOL.

I have had my struggles in traveling, as we all will if we are on the road much. But one thing I try to remember is to be grateful for the simple fact I am pulling an Airstream and have food to eat and place to stay each night.


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[rodsterinfl]

Great share, redemption talk is always helpful!

[shineybullet]

Originally Posted by John&Vicki

After reading this it occurs to me that everyone with an Airstream needs to live in Oregon: great roads; great State Parks, USFS and BLM parks; boondocking available all over the state; no traffic jams. More mis-adventures on that trip than I've had in 45 years of camping in Oregon. You East Coasters put up with a lot! I admire your grit.

Cheers,
John

No traffic jams you say ? I guess you never travel I-5 with in 20 miles of portland ? Remember Bend is totally different than western Oregon

[John&Vicki]

Originally Posted by shineybullet

No traffic jams you say ? I guess you never travel I-5 with in 20 miles of portland ? Remember Bend is totally different than western Oregon

Don't go to Portland, even though it's close to Oregon.

Cheers,
John

[angle]

Hey, You where up my way. I'm in between West VA and Wilmington. Closer to West VA. Covington VA. Next time free water, hook up and dinner. Glad you had a trip to remember...

[buddy24]

Originally Posted by rodsterinfl

I made it home yesterday. I left June 25 ('15) headed for JC from south Florida. I recently added solar for boon docking and took the generator and scooter. I boon docked several times first times in GA and KY. It rained nearly the entire first week adding more of a challenge keeping the Gen dry (used it twice) and dealing with wet. Now here is the wild list. When loading up my new Vespa in the truck bed, the safety strap snapped loose and the ramp fell off the truck with scooter and me standing beside it. Luckily the scooter bottom was teetering on the truck bed door but a neighbor had to help me. The first day out I learned that my power inverter was burned up. In Tenessee a rock truck in front of me was throwing rocks. One hit my solar rock guard and cracked it and by the time I made it to JC my radio antenna was snapped off I assume by wind. Antenna $40, Window guard $575! I bought an escape sticker to put over the crack. While at JC for the tour I noticed that the edging on my nightstand was bent and partially torn off by the impact of my lafuma lounger I put on the bed apparently as it bounced into it and fell in the floor between the twins. Cincinnati was like driving through a war zone with chuck holes, etc. The trailer was rocking back and forth and bouncing along with the truck. The cat was hanging on with sprawled legs the entire time meowing loudly. The AS tour was nice. It rained all day and was around 59 degrees and windy! The next stop, Lewis Center, OH was about 80 min east near Columbus to visit family. I stayed at Cross Creek Camping Resort. It was ok but I did not think it was resort grade- no pads (mud and gravel) and no trees and very close spots and tons of rules. Unlike the Internet comments they were friendly and nice, not rude. I just did not find the open field on top of each other setup appealing. Oh, and on day two they cut all the power at 8:30am for upgrading the electric systems. Men were out digging with shovels the electric lines up and adding I believe 50amp service. That was not good. It was out I heard until about 2pm that day. Oh, The campers next to me came over while I was in the shower and yelled that they were afraid their campfire was going to burn my truck!



Later on in the trip I ventured through Wytheville, VA to boon dock. The next morning I had a 5 hour trip planned to Wilmington, NC via I-77. A few miles out (I left at 9:03 AM) I ran into traffic on I-77 and sat in traffic for FIVE HOURS!!! We moved a total of 2.5 miles during that time crawling. The rest was sitting. There was a tractor trailer wreck with fatality. Apparently it happened at just after 7am that day so for some reason it took them seven hours to clean it up out of the way. While I was sitting in traffic with the truck off. I had my driver window open. My cat, who was walking around in the truck (she cannot stand the carrier) got up on the back of my seat without my knowledge and jumped out the window! I jumped out of the truck and was running around after her. Understand that she never goes outside and is afraid of everything. So, I was running around for about 3-4 minutes chasing a cat between cars, etc. She finally got up under the truck and I snatched her.



Several hours later I arrived in Wilmington to discover that I could not get my AS into the reserved spot at the campground (see pic below). There was a large cement slab in the middle of the drive with a grate that was about 2 feet off the ground and not moveable (see pic). The distance between the tree and cement base was about 8' straight on and if I tried to park in front, there was no place for the truck. Nearly every site had that stupid grate in the way. Note this was a spot listed as a 100' RV site with no power/hookups at Carolina Beach State Park, NC. I was moved to another spot by the ranger only to be told later that I would have to move- someone had just reserved the spot online before they could tag it. The ranger came by and said that they would leave a note for the morning group to deal with it and I would be ok. In the meantime a couple next to me decided to leave early and wanted to give me their spot. The ranger said no (it was paid for and reserved already- strange) so I was left to their decision. I finally told them that they could make arrangements with the newcomers as they had my old spot or the vacated spot to put them in and I was already moved and there and did not want to spend my day waiting for someone to arrive. Awful. They were nice people but management was poor.

Not recommended. No generators allowed at night either. It was HOT.



Most everything else was uneventful but hopefully the post has some merit as there is some humor and a non-recommendation for parks. Stats 3000 miles, 11.5 mpg (even with 5 hour traffic- another confirmed 12mpg) and I averaged 73 mph on Hwy (16" michelin LTX) $661 fuel cost - $0.22/mile $2.64/12mpg cost avg fuel.

Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[cwf]

Ready to head out again!!!!!!

[KrisE MN]

Great post. Thank you for the laughs.