rcarpe06

They are letting people back in the 500 loop now. Apparently they used some sort of slip joint to repair the water line. They said they may have to look at it and put it in the books a few months from now to do a more permanent repair. For now, they consider it good to go.  Slip joint and bypassing the hydrant shutoff valve, seems like a shady repair and just swept under the rug to me. 

Water is back up and running at full pressure. Originally they said they would be bringing in backhoes and other large equipment once the permit went through. Instead, while they were waiting for the permit to clear, they had a few guys out there around midnight digging with shovels and had it done in a few hours. Something is fishy about their story. I saw exposed water line this morning right behind the hydrant. Now it's all covered back up. However I still don't see anyone new coming in the loop. Not sure if they're still not letting people in or if there just isn't anyone asking for this loop. I'm going to call the 'direct number' to Chris the manager and see what I can find out. 

Pressure is gone and still no permit. I think the problem is bigger than expected and the loop may get shut down from the phone call I just had. I have a full tank for now. But not the crap you want to deal with when you drive 21 hours to enjoy the fort. 

Just got an update and they said they can't dig 4 feet down to repair it until the permit comes through. At this point in the day, they said they won't start until tomorrow even if the permit comes through now. So if you are coming in tomorrow, please plan accordingly for another loop as no one else is coming in here. They offered to move me but with an 8 night stay, we have a ton of stuff out both inside and outside so no thanks. They did just now comp me for one night. I didn't ask, they did it on their own. We'll see what happens tomorrow. For now, the water just keeps spewing out from behind the hydrant. 

They are still waiting on the dig permit. I filled up my tank because the pressure is getting worse. Oh well. Time to pour a drink, relax outside, and keep job searching so we can move down here. ?

I'm in the 500 loop and noticed the water pressure went down significantly yesterday. I checked my gear last night and this morning to make sure it wasn't on my end. After I placed a concerning  phone call this morning, I got a visit this evening and they told me a water line break/leak happened at the fire hydrant near site 521.  Water pressure is getting worse all over the loop tonight.  They say that permits have been requested to get a team in tomorrow to dig the road to fix it. Just a heads up if you are checking in tomorrow.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Someone on a FB site said the same thing TCD did about not having anything other than charcoal with them.  They went to Wal-Mart in Kissimmee, and found a floor model Blackstone table top griddle for $60 instead of $100.  Those things are nice!

I was looking at that same Blackstone griddle.  I'm going to head over to Walmart after work to check it out.

Thanks for the info!  Sorry you didn't receive notice to make other arrangements.  We are arriving next Friday and I always cook with my charcoal grill.  Time to look at propane alternatives.

Touring the entire Fort on our bikes.

Can I get a hat please?

These two will be making the trip with us.  Adventure begins in 12 days!

Nice rig.  Unless I missed it, I didn't see it list the number of hours on the generator.  Too few hours isn't always a good thing.

Give yourself some extra time for the drive to see Winter.

 

Traffic in the Tampa Bay area came be really frustrating at times.

 

Thanks for the tip.  I appreciate it.  We have prepaid tickets for a photo op with Winter in the morning.  I will definitely leave earlier so we are not late for that.

We will be at the Fort next month.  We have one day scheduled to drive to Clearwater Marine Aquarium.  Our son wants to meet Winter the dolphin.  Maybe next year we will schedule a day or two and visit Legoland.  That's not too far either.

Do all Flyingg Js have them?

According to their website... yes.   http://www.pilotflyingj.com/rv-amenities

 

In case I am not the only person new to learning this, don't forget to travel with the propane shut OFF.

Follow the link above from Nacole, then download the travel guide.  I printed one out last week.  According to the guide, not all locations have bulk propane.

I'm being lazy and copied this from my unfinished "the turkey diaries" trip report.

"Back at the trailer. Before I forget I should report on how I am reporting! We brought along our own route and cables. We brought our old Apple airport and am happily sitting behind the camper well reporting! So you can bring your own stuff. We tried it last year too but didn't bring cable so just used all Disney stuff in the box. This year we made sure to bring it all. So the pup cam runs while we are out and about on property. If I leave property for say groceries we load everyone in. I worry enough while here if we go farther than the Magic circle than I just sit in the car with them. "

So we brought our own cable modem, wifi router and co-ax cable thingy. For us it was to use for checking the dogs while we were at the park. We watched Netflix and posted on the Fiends. No problem.

We left it all in the camper for next time.

This was Nov2014. Hope you have a wonderful trip! With very little time spent having to work ;-). I had to work on our Disney Oct2013 trip. Yuck. So I understand the need to have guaranteed access while at the Fort. Between the dogs camera and work. I had to be sure we had Internet.

I'm just curious.  Typically with Broadband Cable Internet, the cable modems are registered with their MAC Address to the ISP.  Without this registration, the modem only receives the signal but can't read the encryption, thus no Internet access.  The Motorola modem you purchased, was it new from the store and never used?  You just plugged it in and gained access without calling anyone for any type of MAC Address registration?

Has anyone else tried this and able to confirm that it works automatically and with various brands of cable modems?

It would be a nice time saver if we can just bring our own modem.

Last year we stayed in the 1400 loop.  We liked that it was within easy walking distance to the pool and also to the marina.  This year we are bringing our dogs, so hope to grab a spot in the 500 loop.  That way we can be close to the dog park and still an easy walk to the marina.  Although will probably have to bike it to the pools from that distance.

We use a hitch mounted bike rack with our MH now but when we had a travel trailer, we used a bike rack mount that bolted to the A-frame of the TT.  It has a 2 inch receiver that easily accepts any style hitch mounted bike rack.  It hung over the propane tanks and batteries.  Since we had no truck bed (3/4 Suburban), this was a great solution for us then.

Congratulations on the 25,000 posts!!

As someone on the other extreme with very few posts, I look forward to many more posts and the years to come!!

RC

I actually live about 30 minutes south of where the ProPride hitch warehouse is located.  When we purchased ours, I just called up Sean (the owner, formerly with Hensley) and drove up there and picked up my hitch.  We have since sold the hitch since we now have a motorhome, but it was a pretty nice hitch.  We had a 35 foot trailer with a lot of sway and this hitch helped tame the beast.  If there's any questions about the hitch you may have, I would be glad to answer them for you.

We bought our 2014 Class A model in September last year.  They were significantly reduced in price as they were trying to make room for the 2015's.  About a month or so later, we went to the local RV show and they had the new 2015 version of what we purchased but for a lot more money.  In my opinion, RV shows aren't necessarily the best time to buy a unit, but it's definitely a great time to see a wide variety of floor plans.

It really depends on your needs.  I have used an Equalizer, a Reese Dual Cam, and a ProPride hitch.  All of which are good hitches.  My old TT was 8200 pounds dry.  It pulled okay with the Equalizer but had a little sway.  I then tried out the Reese Dual Cam and it helped to greatly reduce the sway.  But once the TT was fully loaded, neither the Equalizer nor the Reese could handle it.  I had to step up to the ProPride, which eliminated the sway.  

If you can't get the sway or handling under control with cheaper hitches, then the Hensley or ProPride may be worth the higher cost, but otherwise you're fine with an Equalizer or Reese Dual Cam.

Hello all,

We just booked our next trip to the Fort in May.  Super excited!!  Our last trip there was in May this year.  We come from Michigan and take 75 all the way down.  By the time we hit the Florida turnpike, the front windshield is extremely covered with bugs.

Does anyone know of an RV wash near the Fort that is easy to get to in a Class A 35 feet long?  Or other possible options to clean it while at the Fort on the camp site?

Thanks.

We originally planned on staying at the I-75 RV Park, Exit 61.  However I just couldn't make it that far on that particular day.  We ended up staying at Twin Oaks RV Park, Exit 127.  We arrived at 10 pm and left at 8 am.  Place was nice and just what we needed.  Just far enough off the freeway and owners just wanted us to fill out form and drop a check or money in the after hours slot.

FWIW, prior to arriving last Friday, I did the online check-in (about 2 weeks ago).  When I did it, there was a place for me to choose a couple of selections on which loops I would want.  I only made one selection, the 1400 loop and that is what I got when I arrived.