weekender

19 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

Turbo is wrapping in foil. Right?

No.  Wrapping in foil is called crutching and helps you get through the stall the meat goes through as it breaks down between 170 - 195ish.  Turbo is cooking it at or right around 350 degrees.  The idea is to speed up the process of cooking so it does not take 12 - 18 hours to cook a pork butt.

I have not done the turbo pork butt yet on the egg, but find the best route for me is to cook it with a dome temp around 275 degrees.  I let it cook at least  6 hours and must have the internal temp to at least 165 - 170.  When I hit that mark I wrap the pork butt in tinfoil to finish cooking.  Once it hits 195 internal temp I start checking the tenderness by pulling on the bone.  Once the bone pulls out easy and clean I foil again, wrap in a towel and put in a cooler for at leat 1 hour to rest.

Using this method I cooked a 6.5 # butt this weekend and it took right at 8.5 hours of cook time.  The only downfall some people have with the foil method is that the "bark" does get soft, but I am not a huge fan of the hard bark on the pork butt.   

I 2nd River Plantation as it is right on the edge of Pigeon Forge with great things to do.  You are close enough to go all around town, but do not have to fight the traffic just to get to your campground.

If you want something a little out of town check out Anchor Down RV resort.  It sits right on Lake Dandridge and is absolutely beautiful.   Only downfall is that they do not have large trees so it can be very hot in the summer.

In my opinion both are great.  It will be a matter of who has availability as I am sure both places are booked full for the 4th!

My sister and some of our friends have stayed at Skidaway Island as well we have driven through it and it is a nice campground.  You reserve your site type (pull through or back in) then are assigned your site when you arrive based upon first come first serve.  The pull through sites are HUGE!  

Everyone I know has really enjoyed it as it is such a pretty location and close to Savannah.  Just make sure there are no marathons going on when you go as they close alot of the roads into and around Savannah at that time.  Also pack lots of bug spray as the no-see-ums will eat you alive.    

Thanks for all the advice and feedback on the rides that will be closed.  We have decided to go and have our fligths and room booked.  We chose to stay at the Park Vue Inn for 3 nights and do Disneyland 2 of the days.  We also want to go see the beaches, Hollywood and a few other places while we are in the area.

We are so excited to get to see Disneyland since we probably wont make Disney World this year!

We have not stayed at it, but also check out Destin West RV Resort.  It is not on the beach, but supposed to be very nice.

http://www.destinwestrvresort.com/

Thanks to all for the quick feedback.  This is exactly what I was looking for so now I can start my research and planning should we decide on this trip next year.

We are considering taking a trip to Disneyland in April of 2016, but since we have never been there I have some questions from those that have.

• Where is the best place to stay near Disneyland?  I am a Hilton Honors member and can use points for rooms unless an onsite property is comparable in price.
• How many days should we plan to stay so we get to see both parks?  1 day for each park or more?
• Are there any discount tickets for Disneyland?  We have a ton of Disney World tickets, but I understand those are not accepted at Disneyland.
• Do they still utilize the paper fast pass or can you plan ahead?
• Any other tips, advice, etc. is greatly appreciated.

We are in the same boat and of course will try to meet you guys at Stone Mtn while we are there next week. 

Since we live just north of you for peace of mind I drained our lines and hot water tank and then pumped the antifreeze through the lines.  Given that you have a newer trailer you should have a water pump somewhere and it should have a clear tube attached to it.  If you find your pump that is the easiest way to pump antifreeze through your lines.  

Drain your water heater

Drain all your lines and low point drains if you have them

Do not forget the outside shower

Close all faucets

Stick the clear hose from the pump in the antifreeze

Switch the valves so it pumps from the antifreeze jug and not the tanks

Turn your pump on

Go to each faucet and turn on the cold until you see the antifreeze come out then do the same for the hot

Do this for each faucet, toilet, shower and even your outside shower (this will be the most likely one that might freeze)

When doen turn the pump off

Pull the tube out of the antifreeze

Turn your pump valves back

This should be cheap insurance for this weekend.  Even though your trailer may be "4 season" I can bet that the only thing you have is a plastic covered underbelly then all the wiring, water lines, etc then the bubble foil insulation in the floor.  The way most trailers work is that one of your air ducts will flow into the covered underbelly so when you run the furnace it will put heat in there to prevent the pipes from freezing.  Also if you have tank heaters never run them with the tanks empty as you can damage the tanks.     When you are ready to camp hook up to city water, flush each line including the outside shower and low point drains.  Once everything runs clear you can switch the valves onyour hot water tank and fill it back up.

Good luck and safe travels next week. 

Glad we have our own private cart now.  Hope they do not outlaw those in the future.

You are going to get mixed feedback on this subject. 

While the idea of covering appears good on the surface it can actually create more issues than you are trying to prevent.  The biggest issues are the moisture that some covers will allow which can lead to mold and rubbing of the cover on the RV.  The second one is the bigger concern because when the wind blows the cover will "flap" in the breeze depsite how well you think you have it secured.  This constant rubbing can cause issues with the roof and the side gel coat. 

If you have access to outdoor cover (barn style) that would work well and is less expensive than indoor storage.  Ultimately indoor storage is ideal, but can be very costly per month.  remeber there are many full time RV's out there and they do not cover them.  The roofs and sides are meant to take the sun as long as you do some routine maintenance (cleaning the roof and waxing the sides) from time to time.

Good luck in your decision.

I have not stayed in that particualr site, but we enjoy the 1700 and 1800 loops the best for full hook up. Have you looked at the site info on this site under the info tab?  They have videos of each of the loops so you can see what it looks like.  Also you can download the Fort Fiends site app as well.  In looking at the app the site appears to be plenty large enough in length, but is rated as very hard for back in. 

I know for a fact it can get tight in the loops when other camps do not respect space and park right on the road.   The one sight I would avoid in that loop is the one right before the path to the bathhouse.  The area next to the site will flood if it rains hard.  Also you get alot of foot traffic from the bathhouse.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

I made mine that way also.  The top mickey globe portion comes off, the pole comes  off and then I have a base.  It makes it easier for me to travle with it that way.  The top portion fits perfectly in the box they shipped my globes in and all I had to do was add a little bubble wrap. 

As bhall states check your weight on a CAT scale to see how you are loaded.  Your tongue weight should be 10% - 15% of your total loaded weight.  Once you have this number look at the weight rating on your hitch to ensure the bars are not too large as that can cause some excess "bounce".  In addition if you have chains look at the set up as compared to how much the rear end sinks/raises when connected as there could be too much tension as well.

Now after this you will most likley prove that everything is set up correctly, but you will still have the bounce on the expansion joints on the highway.  I wish I could tell you that you can make this go away, but depending upon your tow vehicle, speed, lenght of your trailer, and a few other factors you will not.  You may improve it by slowing down over these sections, but you will still feel it.  Airbags can help to dampen this as well, but you will still have some of this.  We curently have a 2013 F250 with ride rite air bags and tow a 2011 Jayco 29QBH and we get this especially on concrete roads.  Chattanooga TN, Knoxville, TN and 1-16 between Macon/Savannah are some of the worst roads I have encountered and almost make me sick with all the "bounce" feeling everytime I go over an expansion joint.

Good luck in finding a solution.

Okay!  Sent you a PM with my cell number.  We're in site 333 and Adam and his family are somewhere around 400.  Hopefully we can coordinate a time for all of us to get together! :)

Sounds good to me.  As we get closer to that date I will touch base with you.

Party! we are on site 400 for now, hope to find a site with a full hookup that we can swap too but for now we took whatever we would find. 

Awesome!

Not correct.

 

Preferred sites still have the sand/coquina pad, and are perfect for tent camping.

 

TCD

My bad.  I had premium in my head!

I have seen many people on preferred sites tent camping.  Just remember that the pad will be all concrete instead of having the back area with the sand.   

Ohh.... haha, I just remembered that we too will be there for Thanksgiving! :)   I'll PM you and we'll see if we can get together.  Another Fiend (stockboys10) and his family will be there as well :)   

 

Sorry...I said Octoberfest, but meant Eggtoberfest.  Yes, this is the Eggtoberfest at Stone Mountain (I think in one of their large parking lots??).   Tom is really looking forward to it.  Don't think we'll buy an Egg, but we'll definitely eat several samples of items cooked on one  

 Great.  We will be in site 88 from Wednesday - Sunday over Thanksgiving and will hopefully have our new 5th wheel by then.   Stop on by. 

Enjoy Eggtoberfest.  My only suggestion is to get there early as the crowds really build by the afternoon.  Also pace yourslef on eating.  That way you get to enjoy some breakfast items then the lunch items.  The coolest thing we saw where people carrying the little trays that go aroundyour thumb/hand.  That way you can carry a drink and also some food. 

Great!  We camp at Stone Mountain too!  Have trips planned for next weekend (9/25/15) and then again for Octoberfest (10/10/15).  Hopefully next year we'll be there at the same time!  Do you ever get a chance to camp up near Helen, GA?  We LOVE Riverbend in Hiawassee, Ga. 

 Very good.  Our next trip there will be at Thanksgiving then maybe in February for Snow Mountain.  Enjoy Octoberfest.  Just curious is that the one in Stone Mountain or is this the Eggtoberfest in the park?  If it is Eggtoberfest enjoy.  We had a blast last year and got our first "Egg" there.  We have only camped near Helen once and stayed at Unicoi.  Not impressed.  I had to back up a steep hill and around a huge oak tree to park our camper.  Will check out Riverbend.  

Congratulations!!  Looking forward to seeing pics and hopefully meeting you at the Fort... or a CG here in GA!   :)

Hoepfully we will meet in the future.  For GA campgrounds about the only ones we go to are Stone Mtn and McKinney.  Have been to Jekyll.  We hope to explore some other ones in the future.  Given our location in NW GA we go to Chattanooga and Pigeon Forge area the most.

Thanks to all for the congratulations and the advice.  I am sure I will have to "relearn" how to back an RV up, but will hopefully figure it out pretty quick.

Well we finally found the unit we liked and got the price where we needed it to be!  Ordered it today, but now have to wait 6 - 8 weeks for it to be built and arrive!   Can't wait to get the new Toy Hauler. 

Now we just need to plan our next trip back to The Fort.  Also I will attempt to post pictures once we take ownership of the unit.

This will be our 1st 5th wheel trailer so any advice on moving from a 34' travel trailer to a 39' 5th wheel is greatly appreciated.

We bought our current RV when we were "just looking." That trip could be dangerous.

That exact reason is what has gotten us to the point where we are almost ready to order our new Toy Hauler.

After looking at all the features, floor plans, numbers, etc. we will hopefully order a 2016 Torque 321 this week.  The good news is that my local dealer has gotten a lot closer to RV Outlet's number, but we still have a little more to go before I order.  Hopefully they will get me what I am asking for so we can order this new unit this week.   I do really want to buy local if at all possible since this dealer has always taken care of us.

Good luck!

Once you decide what you want or need help deciding check our RV Outlet in Danville, VA.  They are the largest toy hauler dealer in the east and most likely in the US.  Their prices are unbelivable and they carry most brands new and used.  I got 2 quotes from them today and shared one of them with my local RV dealer from whom I have purchased my last 2 trailers from and he told me straight up that he could not touch the deal RV Outlet is willing to give me.  I used to be very loyal to a local dealer, but if someone can save me over $5000 for a RV and provide me good support I am willing to drive 7 hours to make the deal.

Just passing this along as this may be a good weekend trip for you and the family to take and explore all the options.   

We are in the process of researching 5th wheel Toy Haulers as well and have ultimately come down to the Heartland Torque or Keystone Impact line. Depending upon what floor plan you are looking for and all the options these lines have some models that could fit in the F250 tow range. 

First I am not the weight police so I am willing to play with the numbers slightly in order to see what my 2013 F250 can tow.  Jason will have to run the numbers and you will have to determine what you are willing to do.  I say this as there are many F250 trucks pulling very large 5th wheels and toy haulers even though they are over some of the weights.  Have you purchased a truck yet?  If not when you do look also consider the F350 line as well as it is not much more to upgrade so you are "legal" when towing.  I can tell you that my F250 is a F350 in every sense of the word except for a 2" block vs. 4" block and my rear axle is slightly smaller the an F350.  Everything else on my truck is exactly an F350.  With that said my door sticker only gives me 2080# of payload, but when I weighed my truck I have 2800# before I exceed my RGWR.  So given this weight and knowing that I will be over my truck GVWR of 10000# I am ok with it.  If you have questions on all of the weights and limits let me know as I have been calculating this over the past several months.

Now with that said if you look at the Torque line by Heartland and the Impact line by Keystone (there are others out there, but these are the ones we like for price, weight and options) you can get some very nice units with alot of options while keeping the weight below the limits for your truck.  My hard stop of dry weight is #12,500 and around 14,000# fully loaded.  One thing to look at is how long and how tall your golf cart is.  My cart is exactly 8' 6" and may not fit in some models due to cabinets in the garage. If you are looking for bunks in the garage area your cart may also not fit especially if you have a lift kit on the cart.  Double and triple check that.     

Good luck in your search and as I said let me know if you have questions as I am going through this right now.

Thanks for all the feedback.  I am sure there will be some campsites we will have to pass on due to the longer unit, but I think the liveable space will offset this decision.  If we can get the price right we will most likely go with the 39' unit.