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Silvertwinky · 07-06-2003, 02:32 AM

You can tell when most everyone goes camping; the activity on this board really slows down!

Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend!

Don in E Texas · 07-06-2003, 05:12 AM

Nope - busy removing my old carpet and getting ready to install some new, 18" sq commercial-grade tile carpet.

Off the subject ---- I've toured RV factory's before and noticed that they install carpet THEN install walls, etc. Bummer if you want to remove the carpet. I see that Airstream installs carpet as the last item to install in their RV's. A tip-of-the-hat to Airstream - made my job easier, for sure.

j54mark · 07-06-2003, 06:24 AM

Camping this weekend? No way! Unless we get a chance to go back to the mountains, we are parked until fall and cooler temperatures.

Mark

Ken J · 07-06-2003, 07:10 AM

Of course the only ones responding to this are those who did not go camping............

I've spent the weekend under my trailer - refinishing the frame - from what I can tell water got in the front section of the trailer and started rusting the bottom of the frame - I'll be coating with POR 15. Should be great then.

Also trying to replace the holding tank valves which in my case are glued in. Probably will replace the who thing.

Ken J.

InsideOut · 07-06-2003, 07:19 AM

We're home polishing....

Getting ready for the Vintage Rally...

Shari

hhuber · 07-06-2003, 07:33 AM

It's been raining in our area every day for a month.
Last trip a few weeks ago I drove through about an hour of
hard rain to get away from the city. Packed the trailer in the
rain as well. No fun. We're quickly becoming the swamp everyone thinks we are!

Heidi
New Orleans, LA

john hd · 07-06-2003, 07:38 AM

had to work due to the weather...

thunder and lightning the sound/sight of money to a lineman!

cha ching

john

Pahaska · 07-06-2003, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don in E Texas
Off the subject ---- I've toured RV factory's before and noticed that they install carpet THEN install walls, etc. Bummer if you want to remove the carpet. I see that Airstream installs carpet as the last item to install in their RV's. A tip-of-the-hat to Airstream - made my job easier, for sure.

Not on my brand new International. One piece wood floor, one piece carpet stem to stern. Walls and other furniture on top of carpet. The only spot in the entire trailer that is not carpeted is the mechanical area under the dinette seat.

Pahaska · 07-06-2003, 07:49 AM

No way I will ever go camping on a holiday weekend. I hate crowds with a passion. The best part of being retired is the ability to use camping areas during the week and during off-seasons when they are relatively empty. On occasion, I'm the only unit in the campground.

Pick · 07-06-2003, 08:42 AM

Just got back this morning. A few folks coming back from the International stopped in for an overnight stay, so we had 3 A/S including ours at Virginia's Beach Campground, on the shores of Lake Erie, in NW PA. We all left at the same time so we had a 3 A/S caravan going for 50 miles, until we got off at our exit, 2 trailers and 1 345 motorhome. I post a few pix later, got to go unpack!

Chas · 07-06-2003, 08:44 AM

I'm with Pahaska on this one, went camping this last Memorial Day weekend, what a zoo!! Nevermore!

The goofy city-run park threw all the tent campers in with the RV'ers, we had to create a neighborhood watch program to watch out for one another. There were like 20 or 30 people per site, "borrowing" our chairs, invading our spaces, drinking too much, yelling, loud music and the list goes on. We did feel good when on the last nite a good hard rain came down and soaked them all good! The group next to me left their boombox out and I heard them turn it on the next morning, nothing but static and popping!

Sweet!!

Thought I would get some things done on my Overlander but the wife had other ideas, landscaping the front yard. I have a flexible enough job that I can get off for 3 or 4 day weekends most anytime. A good way to skip the crowds.

Chas

Pick · 07-06-2003, 09:07 AM

Chas, sorry to hear about your horrible experience.

The CG we spent this holiday at, was a wonderful place, full of nice people. We had some greenhorn tent campers next to us, from "Philly" and they had stove trouble, so I lent them our portable propane hot plate. No loud music, just a good quiet time.

85MH325 · 07-06-2003, 11:00 AM

We were some of the foolish ones who went out. We avoided the major campgrounds like the plague. I had to work on the 4th so we couldn't go too far. There is a county campground with electricity and water about 11 miles from here for $7.50/night. There are probably twenty-five or so sites with hookups, and another 40 without. My folks who are full timers, stay there most of the summer if they're not off camping with their club. We went over Thurs nite, and just got home at noon. Other than my folks' motorhome, there was only one other small 5th wheel. Local folks too, as it turned out, who only ended up sleeping there.

The daytime temps were high, with high humidity, but it cooled down nicely at night. This morning was about 75 degrees until 11 AM when the sun finally broke through the clouds.

We saw dozens of birds, cardinals, thrushes, swallows, and both gold and read-headed finches. The striped gophers and rabbits were a ball to watch. The place was noisy with bird songs.

I talked to two other campers using the dump station in our town when we got back this morning, and they both said they had camped in popular state parks on one of the larger lakes in the area. They both said that it had been a miserable time there.

Other than the storm watches and warnings all weekend including tonight until 6PM, we had a WONDERFUL holiday campout. It's pretty nice when you get lucky and pick a place that few folks know about! It was like it was when I camped as a kid (except for the satellite TV and NOAA weather radio of course...

)

Roger

Pahaska · 07-06-2003, 11:10 AM

Quote:

We saw dozens of birds, cardinals, thrushes, swallows, and both gold and read-headed finches.

Reminds me of my stay at Lost Maples about a month ago. A male Cardinal spent all of 3 days tirelessly attacking my truck. He attacked the tinted windows, the mirrors, the chrome fronts of the mirrors, and the shiny wheels. When I went to hook up, I found that he had torn the stick-on convex mirror off of my driver's side mirror and it was laying there on the ground.

When I left, he probably thought he had won the day.

PeterH-350LE · 07-06-2003, 11:44 AM

On our recent trip out west, we stayed at Fort Sumner State Park, a small hidden oasis in the New Mexico desert.
A mockingbird decide to bless us with his repertoire in the early morning hours. He knew all the songs of the ones local to Austin, except he did a beautiful duck call and a car alarm.

We did get up fairly early that day.

Chas · 07-06-2003, 12:02 PM

Geez,

Talk about some clearcoat damaging crap from that bird!!

Say Peter, is that a roof top a/c or a pile of bird doo-doo?

Chas

garry · 07-06-2003, 07:44 PM

Traveled from OK to TN for family get together and did not see one AS !!!
We didn't take our AS due to holiday crowds and traffic. The biggest surprise was being passed twice in TN by SOB campers when we were doing 72 mph !!! Saw several others I felt were going to fast for traffic conditions.

Garry

joe hall · 07-09-2003, 12:35 PM

having just brought it back from a two-wwek excursion to Amelia Island, Florida. With only an Expedition, we drove down to Melbourne, Florida, on June 30th, and returned on the 3rd, staying in a little resort hotel for a change of pace. In a 792 mile round-trip over Interstates 75, 10 and 95, we saw 3 Airstreams and one big Avion. However, there were about a million SOB's (both "some other brands," as well as those representing the traditional meaning of the acronym), and they were all going faster than we were in the Expedition. Crazy, crazy pace, and very crowded highways due to the July 4th weekend and Pepsi 400 race at Daytona.

Silvertwinky · 07-09-2003, 01:03 PM

I also find that the parks are more enjoyable during the off peak days! I was just fortunate that by working a rotating shift I could choose the off peak times a lot more.

It is very crowded on Holidays and it can be a "white knuckle" experience just driving through the campground. You need to be very careful for so many children playing.

Now I have nothing against children, we've raised two of them. Our youngest is now 18 and she will still go camping with us as long as we don't make it too boring for her. Her desire is to own a silver Volkswagen Beetle and a Bambi; however, I don’t believe that it would be a good towing combination.

Pahaska · 07-09-2003, 01:05 PM

Last year, on about my second trip with the new International, I went to Lost Maples SP during the week. I was almost alone in the campground of about 35 sites. That's my kind of camping.

Wednesday, the 23rd., I take off for Lost Maples (with wife and cat) for 2 nights. Then on to Bandera, Cowboy Capital of the World, for a night of CW dancing and rodeo. Then on home because I foolishly took a shift at my volunteer gig.

This is how I like to use the trailer in the summer months; well away from the "madding crowd".