February 2016 Pre-trip and Trip Reports

[tiggerdad]

Hey, it's a long trip to the Fort and it will probably just get dirty again on the way there. Just wash it after you get to the Fort.

I swear I have seen a lot of people do this. I personally wash the front after arrival to get all the splattered bugs, birds, and other hapless critters off the front of it.

 

[jbrostek]

I have no issue washing all the grime off once I get there and usually do wash the nose of mine and the wheels while I am there. But I am not going to spend my vacation waxing the thing. That is when I miss the deatailers, what they would do for 250 I would be nearly 1k locally for the same amount of effort and product.

On the vacation front we started to gather up more of the non perishables to load into the trailer once we have easier access. They are calling for low 40's all day and really really hoping for some good melting to happen. There is a 50% chance of an afternoon shower today and that's fine as long as it is a light rain. Anything too heavy will definitely cause issues.

This afternoon I take the pups for their annual checkup and shots. It was scheduled for the weekend but well we know that did not happen around here. If the weather outlook stays the way it is predicted we should have some good weather and melt over the next week and by weekend I will once again feel ok opening up the RV and starting the real packing.

 

[PaHunter]

I have no issue washing all the grime off once I get there and usually do wash the nose of mine and the wheels while I am there. But I am not going to spend my vacation waxing the thing. That is when I miss the deatailers, what they would do for 250 I would be nearly 1k locally for the same amount of effort and product.

On the vacation front we started to gather up more of the non perishables to load into the trailer once we have easier access. They are calling for low 40's all day and really really hoping for some good melting to happen. There is a 50% chance of an afternoon shower today and that's fine as long as it is a light rain. Anything too heavy will definitely cause issues.

This afternoon I take the pups for their annual checkup and shots. It was scheduled for the weekend but well we know that did not happen around here. If the weather outlook stays the way it is predicted we should have some good weather and melt over the next week and by weekend I will once again feel ok opening up the RV and starting the real packing.

We washed the nose and wheels of ours upon arrival last year to get all the road salt off. Things are also coming along here today. Temps have moderated and are near 40, trailer slide is out and we have loaded up clothes and some of the dishes that had been brought out. We have also started with non perishables and have a stack sitting in the corner, as with more freezing weather coming, we don't want to load them too early. Pass thru is pretty well packed and ready to go, chairs, grill, ez up. Still some time to go, but getting closer.

 

[DisneyDad0f5]

Welcome to the show brother.

I would advise on calling them and seeing if you can secure the cart PTA if at all possible. There aren't that many of them, at least not from what I have seen on prior visits so I would say try and snag one in advance. There is always the chance that one may not be available on arrival but could open up during your stay so if that is the case put in a word that you would like a chance to upgrade your cart reservation.

Tiggerdad,

Thanks a bunch. When I called and reserved the 4 seater I asked about the 6 seater cart. The CM told me that the big carts could not be reserved but she would put me on a "waitlist" for the 6 seater at the time I made the reservation. This sounded odd and that is one reason I asked.

On a side note, it is really cool to see so many people from Alabama on this thread. Leaving Monday to pick up the rig. Cannot wait!

DDo5

 

[DisneyDad0f5]

We'll be down there then too, maybe we'll run across yall at the Fort. Hope yall like the class c.

SA5er,

Greetings from Baldwin County! Hope to see you all there. I will post our site number once we get there....

DDo5

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

SA5er,

Greetings from Baldwin County! Hope to see you all there. I will post our site number once we get there....

DDo5

Your right across the Bay from us! Small world! Have a safe trip down, hope we get to met you there.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

birds

"Birds?" I haven't had to many birds splattered on the camper yet, it must be a Mississippi thing or I'm not driving fast enough? Haha

Well today is my last day at home before I have to go to work for a week, so I need to wrap up my packing and preparing today.
I'll get home next Thursday night and I'll have Friday to do anything I might have forgotten. The only thing my DW will have to do is load her clothes up (I have to remind her not to exceed the cargo weight limitations of the camper) and the cold stuff in the fridge. So after my wife and son head off to school in a minute, I'm gonna get busy.

 

[peg110]

(I have to remind her not to exceed the cargo weight limitations of the camper)

Hmm, sounds like what I have to do with my DW. It must be a "Gene" or something.

 

[jbrostek]

I can say that with Caren I do not seem to have that issue. If anything I am the one that overpacks as she is trying to limit what she takes down with her to only some outfits plus a few extras. I told her pack for 3 seasons because its still winter and possible. Not to mention we are going down and returning in the winter.

Last night I did not get any packing done, but I did get the new seat covers for the golf cart ordered. They will be here Friday and I can start that venture. Thanks to the near 52F high yesterday and staying close to the 32F overnight we had some significant melting of nearly a foot on the non shoveled piles of snow. The slides won't come out till the weekend though as I have enough to do around the house first. Not too many days left and all the shopping that remains is stuff I need to pick up the week of departure.

Its another work from home day and some of my tax info came in so I may try to get things started on that front but I don't think my accountant friend can swing by till next week or so to roll through everything with me to make sure I did not forget something.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

Just rode over to Camping World to look around at the over priced stuff they have. Anyhow I found something pretty cool,

Reusable zip ties, if you carry extention cords, tv cable, or anything else with cords. Just something cool I wanted to share. Oh yeah they cost under $3.

 

[Teamubr]

They cost under $3.

That's the incredible part. I didn't think CW had anything under $3.

And if this is the first time you've seen reusable cable ties, you should get out a little more.

j

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

And if this is the first time you've seen reusable cable ties, you should get out a little more.

Come on now you have to cut me some slack, I live on a boat on th Gulf of Mexico 9 months out of the year! Plus I don't to CW too often, too rich for my blood. Haha

 

[PaHunter]

Come on now you have to cut me some slack, I live on a boat on th Gulf of Mexico 9 months out of the year! Plus I don't to CW too often, too rich for my blood. Haha

Yeah, not much need for reusable cable ties on a boat, now duct tape on the other hand.

 

[tltay2005]

Our Camping World here always has great sales & clearance items, especially if your a Good Sam member. Also, I get a $10 off coupon about every other month through email.

 

[PaHunter]

Our Camping World here always has great sales & clearance items, especially if your a Good Sam member. Also, I get a $10 off coupon about every other month through email.

Unfortunately, our CW is 2 hours away, and I have to get past Cabela's first. My vehicle always seems to detour in there for some unknown reason.

 

[Teamubr]

They finally built a CW in the St Louis area, but it is still 45 minutes from me and I'm not sure it is actually open yet. It wasn't at Christmas. I enjoy wandering through to look at everything, but the prices make me laugh.

And from the reviews on the quality of their service department at almost any CW, I'd resist using them for any kind of work. I'm sure there are exceptions, but It is one of the consistent "negatives" on the Forest River forum in the Service topic.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

The closest CW to me is 93 miles to Jackson. However, I hate having to load up the guns and ammo needed to fight my way through that crime ridden war zone of a city. Especially when one of ignorant city council members actually made a statement on national television that people should throw rocks and bricks at police who are chasing fugitives. Moron...

My next closest CW is the one Randy went to, which for me is 143 miles. I have stopped there before, intentionally left my wallet in the truck I might add, and went in. Was overwhelmed by the costs of most everything in the place, but still cool to look at. I do not recall seeing anything under $3, not even the coin operated gum ball machine at the front door.

Reusable zip ties...can't say I see any of them around here.

Yes Randy, birds. It was a hapless crow trying to get a last bite off a roadkill who apparently was previously trained in getting the last bite and getting up just high enough to clear the cab of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately for him I had the Jayco with me. Didn't hear anything, but saw the poor creature fall between the truck and trailer in the rear view mirror.

 

[jbrostek]

The last of the golf cart parts and pieces I need have been ordered, mostly dress up stuff. Since the cart is in great shape there are very few repairs needed. I still need to pressure wash it but it looks like I will have that change tomorrow with warm temps. Last night I started sorting through my warmer weather clothes, wind breakers, sweat shirts and stuff I generally would not wear around home to start loading them into the RV.

This weekend there is much on the list but I am hoping to get the body for the cart back from paint and start working on recovering the seats. After going down the list of stuff I think we are in a good spot to be packed and loaded up in time without issue!

I also plan to test hitch the RV soon to make sure there are not adjustments needed on the new truck or hitch.

 

[tiggerdad]

I had to make a 2" adjustment on my hitch when I changed trucks.

 

[jbrostek]

My friend brought that up that I should probably do that as I might need to adjust the hitch or the pin to keep bed clearance.