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Forum
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RE: Boondocking in a small blizzard -- no problem
Tiger, the foam works fine, so far -- it is not chipping or shredding at all. We store the foam panels under the seat cushions when they are not in use -- a little extra padding never hurts!
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profdant139
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11/22/08 10:07am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Tahoe National Forest DEIS
Damone, two questions -- first, what is "DEIS"?
Second, what is your opinion of "annual pass user fees" in the forests? As strange as it may seem, I am in favor -- the national budget is a mess, and maybe fees would be a way to help keep more of the roads open (because we can pay for more rangers and more trail maintenance). Plus I have never understood why folks who do not use the forests should pay for my recreation with ordinary tax money. It is sort of a pay as you go theory -- just like the folks who cut timber have to pay for it.
The other thing about a fee is that it will hold down the number of folks who come into the forests and trash it -- people who have to pay for the privilege of using the forest tend to be more careful. But I know that not everyone agrees with me on this!
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profdant139
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11/19/08 02:26pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Boondocking in a small blizzard -- no problem
Damone, the interior does stay surprisingly warm. But this trailer is not designed for four season camping -- there is no enclosed "basement," and the floor is just cheap chipboard covered with a thin sheet of linoleum.
But heck -- we figured that if Eskimos can sleep in an igloo on a bed of ice with a bunch of sealskin covers, we could sleep in a tin tent with a thick comforter and lots of blankets and wool socks and ski hats. And sure enough, we sleep better in the cold dark silence of the trailer than we ever do at home!!
The only problem is getting up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or whatever. Quite a shock.
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profdant139
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11/18/08 06:56pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Lincoln City, oregon advice
Susan, when would this gig begin? If in the winter/spring, you will see a lot of rain -- not the greatest camping. If in the summer, there is so much to see -- for just a few examples, see our blog:
Oregon Camping Blog
In any event, be sure to enjoy the phenomenal seafood along the coast!
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profdant139
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11/17/08 09:51pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Has the Internet ruined any favorite boondocking spots?
greenrvgreen, the trick is to pour the drink so that the ice cubes are completely covered. Since they float, this takes a fair amount of liquid.
And kendas, the other trick is to get the DW hooked on boondocking so that SHE is the one who wants to scout for the gems.
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profdant139
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11/17/08 09:43pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Lassen National Park (nearby commercial campgrounds)
And to answer your question about hiking in the snow, it depends on a couple of things. First, the depth -- as soon as you get more than a few inches, it can be tough hiking. Second, the water content of the snow and the air temp -- the wetter and warmer it is, the more it soaks into your boots, even if you have Gortex boots. Whether you decide to hike or snowshoe, gaiters are a really good investment -- they keep your socks and the cuffs of your pants dry. As an added bonus, gaiters look really funny -- here we are a week ago in the high country of Sequoia National Park, hiking in about six inches of wet snow:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_dtW7wd3cENA/SRxug5Hc36I/AAAAAAAAAqQ/vu-1jTWfwjI/s144/03%20watchtower.jpg
(Edit -- as posted, the photo is not real clear -- the black leggings are what I am talking about.)
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profdant139
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11/17/08 07:01pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Has the Internet ruined any favorite boondocking spots?
In a strange way, boondocking in a really remote location makes my fairly Spartan 14 foot trailer seem luxurious. For example, our shower is less than 2 feet by three feet, and I have to sit down to shower -- the headroom is 5'10" and I am 6'3". Obviously, we have to take "Navy" showers, to save water. But just HAVING a hot shower in the middle of nowhere is a huge pleasure. In the same way, our tiny fridge/freezer can produce just one tray of ice cubes a day. But in the late afternoon, a cocktail with three real ice cubes is amazing.
We do try to keep "civilization" to a minimum, not running our Honda 2000 unless absolutely necessary. And we spend the daylight hours out hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing. But when you reach a certain age (late 50s!), it sure is great to have a little bit of civilization in the evening.
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profdant139
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11/17/08 01:37pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Lassen National Park (nearby commercial campgrounds)
If you like to hike, and it is snowy, you might want to try snowshoeing -- little kids can do it fairly easily. In Calif, it is not easy to find snowshoes -- REI might rent them?
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profdant139
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11/17/08 01:58am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Norcold shelf support lugs broke off -- any fixes?
I was going to just epoxy something onto the surface and hope for the best -- but BobbyGray contacted me offline and had two great ideas -- first, hollow out the foam a little bit before epoxying, to give the epoxy more surface area. Second, form the replacement lug in the shape of a T, with the stem sticking into the foam/epoxy area -- that will anchor the new lug much better than surface-epoxying. Very clever.
I will let you know how it comes out!
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profdant139
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11/16/08 02:22pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Cool Mods
I have a bunch of very minor mods with pix at this link:
Small mods for small trailer
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profdant139
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11/16/08 08:15am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Has the Internet ruined any favorite boondocking spots?
I will post general areas -- such as "Eastern Sierra north of Lee Vining and South of Bridgeport" -- but not specific sites with GPS coordinates. I figure that anyone can find the general areas just by talking to the National Forest folks, but then it takes some diligence to find your own site.
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profdant139
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11/16/08 08:12am |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Norcold shelf support lugs broke off -- any fixes?
This is a Norcold 300.3 -- and racefan is right -- this trailer is so small that I can reach the fridge from almost anywhere inside! In fact, we sometimes joke that the next smaller trailer in the manufacturer's product line is an ice chest with wheels. I have seen many walk-in closets larger than my trailer. But it is great for two very friendly people, it has a full bathroom, kitchen, and queen bed, it is easy to tow, it fits into some of the darndest campsites way out in the middle of nowhere, and it sits on a corner of my driveway. Plus it makes people smile -- it looks like a Fisher-Price toy.
Anyway, here is a picture of the problem area -- I think that I am going to make a replacement lug or stud out of solid plastic and then epoxy it into the socket where the original piece used to be:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_dtW7wd3cENA/SR9dZiJ4urI/AAAAAAAAAsY/O5JcKh5Wc1E/s400/fridge%20stud.jpg
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profdant139
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11/15/08 04:48pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Fluorescent lights...WOW!
Is it tricky to re-wire the fixtures? Is there a "how-to" posted somewhere, maybe with pictures? Thanks!
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profdant139
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11/15/08 02:10am |
Tech Issues
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Norcold shelf support lugs broke off -- any fixes?
The shelf on the door of our Norcold fridge broke off -- the problem is that the "lugs" on the inside of the fridge door frame broke clean off. The shelf itself is in fine shape -- but the lugs were constructed of very thin molded plastic.
Has anyone else encountered this problem? I am thinking of gluing some solid plastic nubs onto the door frame but am not sure this will work.
Thanks in advance for your advice!
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profdant139
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11/14/08 01:26pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Camping in the Snow... in October
We just got back from a little unplanned snow camping -- but it was a lot of fun, anyway. Here is our blog:
Unexpected Snowstorm in Sierras Nov. 2008
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profdant139
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11/13/08 03:34pm |
Travel Trailers
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Kings Canyon Trip Report: Snowy, but Fun
We just got back from Kings Canyon in the Sierra -- got hit with an unexpected snowstorm. No problem, except that we had to leave our boondocking site at 3 a.m. and then move to Azalea Campground near Grant Grove. Our blog includes some pictures of Azalea and the surrounding area:
Snow Camping in Kings Canyon
Since Azalea is not that high up (6500 feet), it usually does not get really cold -- which is a good thing, since we don't have heated or insulated tanks!
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profdant139
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11/13/08 03:29pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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Boondocking in a small blizzard -- no problem
We just got back from Kings Canyon in the Sierra -- got hit with an unexpected snowstorm. No problem, except that we had to leave our really great boondocking site near Big Meadows. We ended up "dry camping" (semi-dry and pretty cold) in a nearby campground, but that was fun, too.
Here is a link to our blog, if you have a few extra minutes:
Boondocking in a Semi-Blizzard
I have to add that our little "snow camping" experience was greatly improved as a result of all of the boondocking tips we have gotten from this forum, from battery issues to towing to insulation. (We put foam rubber panels up on the windows at night -- really cut down on heat loss.) As always, thanks for your collective wisdom!
Dan
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profdant139
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11/13/08 03:20pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Sequoia & Yosemite parks in June
If you are willing to boondock, there are lots of great places in Sequoia National Forest, between Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. The only question is whether the snow will have melted by June. Sometimes it does, and sometimes not.
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profdant139
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11/12/08 10:10pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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"Set screw" to reduce slop in hitch receiver?
For several years, I've been using thin metal shims to reduce the slop in my hitch receiver. But the shims are far from perfect, and I've been thinking about installing some sort of a "set screw" in the rim of the hitch receiver. Here's the plan: I could drill a quarter-inch hole in the rim of the receiver and use my "tap and die" set to thread the hole, so that it would accept a quarter-inch stainless steel bolt.
The tip of the bolt would take up the slack, thus preventing the "stinger" of the hitch ball from moving so much. I could even imagine installing two of these bolts, one in the top and one on the side, so as to limit the movement up and down and side to side.
But, naturally, I've got doubts, which is why I am asking for your advice: will the tip of the bolt be deformed by the pressure, thus causing the "stinger" to become jammed in the hitch receiver? Is there an easier way to accomplish the same result? Would the screw hole weaken the receiver?
Thanks in advance for your input!!
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profdant139
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11/12/08 01:41pm |
Towing
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RE: Camping in the Snow... in October
The snow is fun, if you are a flatlander from Southern California. Here we are at
Giant Sequoia National Monument, October 2007:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dtW7wd3cENA/SKjGCg6iMKI/AAAAAAAAAKU/xnQ3IZv_gRQ/s320/01+trailer+in+snow.jpg
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profdant139
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11/12/08 01:22pm |
Travel Trailers
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