TN22.....Brady
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Posts posted by TN22.....Brady
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15 hours ago, bdm said:
Thats my thought every year at holloween when we go camping. People must bring a box trailer behind their class A to move all that stuff in.
This past Christmas we watched a 5th wheel toy hauler loaded with decorations, and then a second enclosed gooseneck trailer (like is used for hauling race cars), roll up to a site in order to haul all of their decorations. The crazy thing is they were not the most decorated site in the loop! But, they did have some rather large displays.
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Welcome to the forum. Those are some great questions, and there will be many different answers. Here are my general responses to those questions, with the understanding that everyone's preferences and experiences are different regarding brands and new vs old.
Ok, we had about an hour to kill and went to a local RV dealer. Wow!
Nice stuff!
But how do I know i'm getting a good deal? Typically you should expect 30% off of MSRP if buying new
Advice for first time shopper? - Look at all of them, without the salesperson in tow, picture yourself packing, unpacking - where will it all go, how easy is everything to get to. Stand in the shower - lay on the bed - open all doors -
(we've been renting up until now)
How may trips do ya'll make a year? (non-Disney included) - We use ours 10 months per year - at least one trip per month - some are weekend trips, extended weekend trips, and some are two week trips to Disney - really need to use it more than 1 or 2 times to justify the spend.
Is it like a car, should we look at brand new ones? I typically stay away from any rig 10 years old or older - two reasons - some parks don't allow rigs older than 10 years - and the roof is the most susceptible to time, has it been in storage, under cover, or out in the open - the sun is the worst enemy
Are there a lot of incidentals or hidden costs? (maintenance, repairs, etc.) - Just like owning a home that goes through a level 3 earthquake every time to you go somewhere - things will flex and move, sometimes resulting is minor repairs, tires should be replaced every 4 years at least, along with all the grease fittings tended to regularly
Are some brands better to stay away from? Dangerous question - I am partial to Jayco and Grand Design as the brands to consider, just because I have had really good luck with both brands.
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We are booked for Site 57.
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53 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:
Does Dollywood charge for parking
YES, unless you have a "gold pass" and then one of the perks for that level of season pass is free parking
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5 hours ago, shoreline99 said:
In the article the author said they though it was better than 2 buck Chuck, but hey.
Might be worth a try just to see...
I don't know about your Trader Joe' s but our "2 Buck Chuck" has evolved into $3.50 Charlie.
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21 hours ago, bdm said:
So last week we took delivery of our new Grand Design Reflections 28BH. During our final inspection the "delivery expert" was showing us the hot water heater and how to maintain it. Its an atwood 6gal gas electric unit.
This is where my wife spoke up. "6 GALLONS... BRIAN IS THAT GOING TO BE ENOUGH!!!??!?!?!"
So our current 5er has a 12 gal suburban gas only water heater, and my wife being who she is likes to take long, hot showers. I not going to lie, when looking at the camper I was very concerned at the size of the hot water heater. I did some research on tankless (on demand) hot water heaters. Looks like Atwood use to make one.. maybe... and Suburban makes one that has very mixed reviews. When reading over the reviews most of them could be install issues, or just not understanding how to use a on demand water heater, as the usage is quite different.
My questions are these..
1) Is a 6gal gas / electric enough for the demands of a long hot shower? Now long of a shower?
2) Any experience with on demand hot water heater in your camper? Whats the good, the bad?
When we bought our Reflection, I had the same issue and concern as you. All previous campers we had to wait in between showers for the water to heat back up. In the 3 years we have owned this rig, we have not ran out of hot water. If we are cold weather camping I will turn on the gas and electric if I know we are taking multiple showers in a row. When camping at the fort and most points south I only use the electric. I have been very impressed with the recovery time on these small water heaters.
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I am regrettably going to have to cancel our reservations this weekend. I am hopeful we can attend another gathering in the near future and meet up with some of you we have not met before.
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13 hours ago, PGHFiend said:
You are going to like the endurance. I just had mine mounted tonight and the sidewalls alone are near double the thickness of the westlakes I took off. Glad they are getting you taken care of.
x2 - You will not believe how much less the trailer wavers as it is goes down the road. I attribute it to the beefier sidewalls of the Endurance.
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3 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said:
There's a new station on Reams Rd that is fairly close. Go past the CR, through the backstage area, turn right onto Reams and the station is immediately on the left.
I have always used the SHELL station on the corner of Winter Garden & South Apopka. I think it is ~6 miles from the Fort out the back way. But, I am also unhooked and go fill up the night before departure. Plus you can turn right and circle back on East Buena Vista to the Fort. Two right turns in Orlando traffic is a plus in my book!
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What is everyone's thought on bringing their favorite local craft beer to share? 6 pack each, everyone brings a cup and we open one or two of each then pass and pour.
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Very good move on Disney's part, hopefully someone did not have to get injured for this change to happen.
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20 hours ago, DaveInTN said:
Correct. Plus, Pigeon Forge just approved liquor by the drink about 5 years ago. Sevier County has historically been a dry county.
There are several good local Craft beer stores/restaurants in Pigeon Forge, (Three Bears General Store, The Casual Pint, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Craft Center Liquor & Wine, Blue Moose Burgers & Wings, Lil Big Britches Brewing,) just not in Dollywood. Also, based on the advertising, you would think Gatlinburg is the moonshine capital of the world, the same "ol Smokey moonshine" they sell at the Fort is made and bottled just outside of Gatlinburg. So...if you are into commercially altered moonshine, Gatlinburg would be a good stop as well.
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46 minutes ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:
Endurance
Prior to our last trip to the Fort (December), I swapped my China Made Westlakes for the Goodyear Endurance (USA Made). I could not believe the difference, the sidewall stability provided by the GoodYear was very noticeable!. I wished I would have swapped sooner.
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Dave,
Thanks of the TR. This board is not the same without them. We are looking forward to meeting you guys in a few weeks.
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Okay, I gotta ask about the beer flight....Pilsner (yep), Wit (yep, ), Chili??????? (never heard of that one). Do you recall if you liked it?
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On 1/15/2018 at 4:54 PM, twiceblessed....nacole said:
Okay...we've been in Savannah, so I'm now caught up. Let's see: the water parks. We've never done those. Our youngest has just figured out how to hold his breath under water, so we're getting him some lessons before our trip to the Fort in June. I guess I've been waiting to spend the money on the water parks, until the kids were older and decent swimmers. As you'll remember, young kiddos and water = lots of stress ?
Holiday World...um, yes please! I mean, who wouldn't want to visit a town called Santa Claus??
I love your selfie pics with your girls. Such sweet moments.
The Nashville KOA...considering that, for a trip this year. Sounds like you'd recommend it? We'll either squeeze in a weekend there or Pigeon Forge.
The big a$$ flag is AWESOME. CW, is not ?
If you choose Pigeon Forge, there are several FF that consider that in their backyard, so maybe a GG in the area?
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Love the trip report, especially all of the food pictures and drink options. TS is definitely on my list now, we have tried in the past, however, both times we attempted they were at capacity.
Raglan Road is one of my favorite spots as well. During our October trip we opted for the counter service that is attached to RR, I forget the name. The Fish & Chips were good and as I recall the Guinness was tasty. Inside RR I really like the Charcuterie board offering, IMHO some of the better cheese offerings in all of WDW.
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We are booked into site 118.
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Restaurants that are my favorite: (not in any particular order)
Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge - for breakfast is a must
Blue Moose in Pigeon Forge - Bar type atmosphere with great selection of wings (all you can eat at lunch)
BullFish in Pigeon Forge - Upscale with some very good pasta dishes along with steaks
Buddy's BBQ - Pigeon Forge- Very much a fast food feel BBQ place, but a locally owned place out of Knoxville that has some darn good BBQ
Calhoun's - Upscale BBQ, must try ribs if you go.
Smoky Mtn Brewery has good beer selections and decent food - nice family dining area, as well as a bar seating area with several TV's for sports watching
Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg - very good breakfast, just expect a long line if you go.
If we are camping, we stay at Imagination Mountain (Formerly Jellystone Campground) on the back side of Gatlinburg in Cosby TN. Requires a drive into Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge but very much a quieter side of the smokies along with some activities for the kids.
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2 hours ago, shoreline99 said:
Tutto Gusto wine cellar
I did not know about this place. I must try on my next visit. Thanks for the tip.
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34 minutes ago, caveat lector said:
Mizzou is adding some JFL (12 and under junior football league) games to the schedule. Good news is that Vegas has them as the favorite by a field goal.
Tough to be a fan this year.....
If any of those JFL teams are looking to round out their schedule, the boys from Knoxville might be interested......
Yes, tough to be a fan this year.......
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The Flavors From Fire Pancake was my favorite F&W item. ( I specify F&W item, because my all time favorite anything at Epcot is the Cheese plate from inside the Germany wine cellar. )
The SPAM hash from Hawaii was excellent! (I know, excellent and SPAM don't usually go in the same sentence).
Pomegranate beer, although skeptical at first, turned out to be one the best beers of the day, so good in fact, we had seconds, and maybe thirds.
Friends of ours had the beer cheese soup and filet from Canada, and they agreed it was excellent this time around.
Lobster Roll from America was not drowning in Mayo, and looked appetizing, friends with us said it was very good.
Scallops from Earth Eats were not that tasty, they were chewy and overcooked in my opinion.
Wine & Dine Studio cheese plate was alright, nothing spectacular, so would not get it again. However, friends got the scallops from there and they loved them, they also looked much better than the ones from Earth Eats.
I have pictures, but no way to post them directly, so I guess this will be a review without pictures, but it did happen!
An Easter Weekend Trip on the Wonder with (most of) the TCD Gang
in Trip Reports
Posted
I was thinking in my head "how does he know that man's beer cooler is empty".....then I kept reading.