swimmarz

11 hours ago, keith_h said:

Doesn't Florida require  the title to be marked that it was repurchased as a lemon? I know a number of states do.

not sure, somone i know has access to carfax and it makes no mention of it per what they saw..

will TDC be there? for the beach bash?

Howdy Folk's!
I have been away from this site for a while, had  a little too much going on, some of you know due to being my FB friends but Id want to clue you all in as to what not to buy

this right here

http://www.covingtonford.net/used-inventory/details/?lang=en&make=Ford&vehicle_type=Truck&year_min=2015&year_max=2017&price_min=4000&price_max=56000&mileage_max=8000&sort_by=price_asc&view=list&vin=1FTEW1CP8FKE98464&index=3&count=10&offset=2&limit=1

this is my old truck that Ford purchased from me as a result of it being in the dealership for 77+ days for water leaks/ mold
I am still in a Ford as I had them replace the truck and used the Lemon Law's to their fullest extent and then some.

Initially I purchased the grey truck in January of 2016, had no issues till june/ july where i noticed it being humid in the truck after it rained 

the back window was replaced and the issue continued, then found a vent in the back of the cab that was leaking, this was replaced 3 times with no sucess hence the lemon law

I got over 100% of the MSRP, not what i paid but its sticker towards a new truck, so this time i got more packages and such
I went from a 2015 that i paid $33,000( $42,000 MSRP)  for after rebates and such to a 2017 that has an MSRP at $47,000 before rebates.

I had to come out of pocket to cover the 6% tax on the difference in value but that wasnt much considering i got them to waive the mileage charge on the truck being turned in

the new truck is still an F150 Supercrew with the 2.7, just in lightning blue and now has the sport package, the tow package, 36 gallon gas tank, Navigation, and ford connect( Cell phone built into truck for remote start/ lojack)
 

this truck will be making is maiden voyage to the fort next weekend ( memorial day) jsut need to finish up repairs on the pup ( sink drain hose, power converter replaced)

Howdy Folk's!
I have been away from this site for a while, had  a little too much going on, some of you know due to being my FB friends but Id want to clue you all in as to what not to buy

this right here

http://www.covingtonford.net/used-inventory/details/?lang=en&make=Ford&vehicle_type=Truck&year_min=2015&year_max=2017&price_min=4000&price_max=56000&mileage_max=8000&sort_by=price_asc&view=list&vin=1FTEW1CP8FKE98464&index=3&count=10&offset=2&limit=1

this is my old truck that Ford purchased from me as a result of it being in the dealership for 77+ days for water leaks/ mold
I am still in a Ford as I had them replace the truck and used the Lemon Law's to their fullest extent and then some.

Initially I purchased the grey truck in January of 2016, had no issues till june/ july where i noticed it being humid in the truck after it rained 

the back window was replaced and the issue continued, then found a vent in the back of the cab that was leaking, this was replaced 3 times with no sucess hence the lemon law

I got over 100% of the MSRP, not what i paid but its sticker towards a new truck, so this time i got more packages and such
I went from a 2015 that i paid $33,000( $42,000 MSRP)  for after rebates and such to a 2017 that has an MSRP at $47,000 before rebates.

I had to come out of pocket to cover the 6% tax on the difference in value but that wasnt much considering i got them to waive the mileage charge on the truck being turned in

the new truck is still an F150 Supercrew with the 2.7, just in lightning blue and now has the sport package, the tow package, 36 gallon gas tank, Navigation, and ford connect( Cell phone built into truck for remote start/ lojack)
 

this truck will be making is maiden voyage to the fort next weekend ( memorial day) jsut need to finish up repairs on the pup ( sink drain hose, power converter replaced)

On 2/24/2017 at 1:07 AM, mileshigh said:

I know this is an old thread but would like to know how's the Bak Roll X now? Been looking for a good tonneau cover but can't decide which one last longer or with good warranty just in case. A buddy here had to return the MX2 due to damaged parts maybe when being shipped, he seemed happy with tougher F1.

Its working as designed, even when installed on my new truck...( wait what?!?!?!)  the only issue i have is the glue holding the felt to the underside has started to come loose in a few places, they have a 8 inch wide felt strip on the underside of the cover near the left and right edges, it is so you dont burn your hand or pinch yourself... nothing a little glue and roller tool cant fix in 10 min.

 

gotta make money while you can!
on the yeti soft coolers were they the top zip or side zip?  AKA the hopper or the hopper TWO

I ask because the top zip is the old version and should be about $100 less than the newer side zip.
Personally i have the top zip and didnt want the side zip

for reference this is side zip aka hopper two

where as this is the top zip aka hopper

I got the hopper 30 on our last trip to Ft Desoto as we needed a beach cooler, I put ice and drinks in it on Tuesday, and on Saturday when cleaning up at home the Ice was gone, but the drinks were still in the mid 40's using my temp gun, I never added more ice, just the inital cold drinks we had:12 beers, 8 bottles of water and 6 soda's and 10 lbs of ice, we would replace the drinks as needed from the campsite at night but never any more ice.

I know you have a pop up like i do, so we use high performance coolers on trips as the fridge in the camper is just too small and sometimes hard to pack as you have to pop it up and slide a bed out to get to it. I have an Engel 35 but I am looking to get a 65 by engel or yeti.  we have had the same results with the Engel cooler vs the Coleman extreme, the Coleman ice lasts a up to 2 days where as i get 4+ out of the engel... now before anyone says they are overpriced let me tell you how i justify it... food saftey
I know my food will be in the safe zone in the yeti/ engel coolers much longer than any other cooler I have/ use... and not being sick with tummy troubles while camping is worth the cost.  food safety is under 40 or over140

 

hey lets not talk too much about rain... it can come after memorial day :)
 
Headed to the fort for memorial day with my pup and it has A/C, we dont have the solar bunk ends but its a 2016 trailer with a 13.5K btu A/C
at night when we used it in April at Ft Desoto the AC got it down to 68, mind you the highs of the day were in the mid 80's and during the day it kept it around 75 with noticeably less humidity 

I am expecting a hot memorial day weekend, I was able to score a site yesterday,  it took me 28 min on the phone to get the rezzie sorted out after booking it online
something i figured out for those wanting shorter trips but site shows no availability unless you stay 5 days Thursday to Tuesday... no place on their site does it say a minimum stay is required for the holiday weekend, I used that as my angle and got in modified to Friday to Monday... the CM agreed that when they have stated places with minimums its always been a 2 or 3 night rule and as i was booking 3 nights she sided with me... they had to contact 2 other departments to get the extra 2 days dropped

just an FYI, it shows up as a charge in NY state for Vac&Vend 

1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

  I've never seen them for that cheap on craigslist here in Atlanta... but I'll keep your comments in mind.  Thanks again!

we have acquired those over the course of 3 years, the last 2 were the Yamaha about 3 months ago and the EU 3000 Honda last month
because they are the "good ones" they go really fast and have a premium price unless they are not working, eve then some people ask for $400 and we dicker down to under $200 as its not working.

here is an example, most likely needs a cleaning... he says it works/ makes power so that's the important part.
honda EU  he is asking $600 but could be beat up for it due to cosmetics and such and get it for closer to 300... thats out CL works... you price things where you would like to see them go, knowing full well you may be accepting 1/2 of that posted price based on how long its been on there... you hit that 21 day mark and anyone is willing to make a deal

the number 1 issue with all gas powered items is fuel system problems, the honda's engine switch and fuel shut off are the same switch, so the carb never is run dry, so gas gets stale and starts to varnish and causes the rough idle or in some instances no starting as the jets are clogged.
Yamaha's have separate fuel and engine switch, you cut the fuel off and let the engine run out of gas, carb stays clean and never has the issue.
 

been busy but I am gonna revive this thing... 
My Father and I buy Generators and Mowers off craigslist to repair and resell, its a hobby for him as he is a retired mechanic.

Currently we have a 2000 W Honda inverter, a 3000 W Honda Inverter, a 2800 Yamaha Inverter, and a briggs 2200W ineverter
in addition to an Onan ONAN EMERALD III GENERATOR, 6.5 that came out of a camper.

I have heard all of them running with in minutes of each other, The 3000W honda sounds quieter than the others, then its a toss up between the 2000 honda, the 2200 Briggs and the Onan, and rounding out the list but not far behind is the Yamaha

my dad is keeping the 2 honda's, and i was the one that found the Yamaha so I am keeping that.

With that being said, the Yamaha YG2800i is a power house for its size
its 66 lbs, its an inverter like the others just not fully enclosed.  running watts is 2500 with a peak of 2800 
When compared to the EU3000 its half the weight( honda = 131lbs) for only 300 less running watts
the Honda beats it on sound as its running noise no load is 50 DB where as its rated load is 58 DB, the Yamaha is 60 running with 65 at its rated load
 

Standing next to them you hear the difference, but get 20 feet away and you cant really tell anymore

Ill tell you that the Yamaha when i picked it up was 100% operational and I paid more due to that, a whopping $275, its a 10 year old generator, and the guy had all the receipts for it, including when he had it serviced a few times by the local Yamaha dealer.  I took it apart and repainted the unit and it looks almost new.( if i replaced the decals it would look new)  I plan on using it to tailgate more than camping, but its a "nice to have" as it will run a 13.5 AC on the camper should it be needed (Hurricane)

I guess what i am trying to say is don't buy new if you know how to clean a carburetor on a small engine, most of the time that is the only thing wrong, and if you don't know how to clean it, they can be purchased for less than the cost of a new generator.  Most of the sets we pick up are in the $50- 200 range, and usually need $30-$50 in parts or paint.
in my Yamaha Example it was $275 for the unit, $12 in paint and $5 for an oil change, $292 on a unit that still is for sale new today at $1600

2800 yamaha

 

will there be kids?  
there is an aquarium and the museum of science
the aquarium is at the other end of the riverwalk so you could do both in the same day.

there are a ton of breweries in the area and most have free or cheap tours

I live 2 hours south so I am not an expert in that area

Lazydays RV is right there and they have a nice campground if your still looking for a place to stay, sites are small but lots of benefits like breakfast and lunch included ( not on sundays) 

Dino world is just up the road and its like $30 a person last time we were there, there is also the water ski hall of fame and a place called fantasy of flight

Saturday part 2.... the crock pot revival 

I should also mention that after dinner( pizza) our campers packed up the tent

My sister was not "feeling well" so they went to my BIL parrents house, she is a manager at a local Hilton hotel and they live 5 min from the fort.

ok we left of on day 2 around midnight
so I shredded the pork and unplugged the crockpot and went to bed.
about 3 hours later i hear some noise and i go invstigate, sure enough there are woodland creatures trying to chow down on the pulled pork.
I scare them off and assess the situation all is good, no pork was lost,not a drop, 

how?  ill tell you how, we have a take and go crockpot

the lid locks down and there is a gasket, even if its tipped over nothing comes out!  
so its back to bed, left the crock pot outside and all

now were on to Sunday Morning, Its October 30th, today is the day of all the Fort events for Halloween
I made some ham egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, used a nifty toaster thing for the camp stove that worked great

can toast 4 slices at a time, not too bad for $5
 

Were off To AK for the day, only have fast passes for the Safari so i wont bore you with those pic's

but if you have not, you need to see festaval of the lion king, its Awsome!!!!

we love this show and do it every time.
 

we did lunch at Rain Forrest Cafe, used my Disney rewards visa points to pay for the meal... free food is good food
then it was back over to the fort for the cart parade

a little video if you may from our viewing area

https://www.facebook.com/richard.marzonie/videos/10101605842426035/

Later that night was the beach bash and it was really fun, it was dark so not many pic's but I was soo happy to see the headless horseman out for a ride 

https://www.facebook.com/richard.marzonie/videos/10101606194041395/  video 

and that's all for now... tomorrow is Halloween!!!!!

25 minutes ago, caveat lector said:

Glado to hear about your positive experience at garden grill. I will be making my first trip there in the near future.

the veggies are from the Living the Land/ greenhouse that's below the restaurant, 
they had turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish, beef tenderloin, mac and cheese, green beans, sweet potato fries, a fresh house salad and strawberry short cake

all good!

31 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

This has an ominous undertone.  Did FortWildernessGuy get into your crock pot and steal the pork?

you'll have to wait and see, I like to let a few people read and comment before doing the next day...

Finishing up day one and on to day 2
after i put the kids to bed, well my wife did...  I heard something behind our campsite,  we were in site 225 that backed up to the stream and across the stream was a group of deer.  The pic's i took didnt come out well due to the low lighting

The next morning, Saturday October 29th I woke the kids up and unzipped the window so we could look out, around 7:30 we saw the deer again, they were crossing the stream from the 200 loop back into the woods

after that we got dressed, had our chocolate chip pancakes and then it was off to EPCOT

I am really not sure why but our first stop was 

the kids got their dinosaur fix for the day then it was off to Character Spot for some pic's, my wife has not uploaded them yet so we'll use this as a place holder 
Due to our late start it was about lunch time, well between that and the 37 min ride on universe of energy.... it was time to eat, we headed over to garden grill at Epcot
I had never been, the food was great, and the rotating restaurant is cool for 1 revolution 
there were tons of characters, we had chip, dale, mickey, and Pluto visit our table.

My oldest has had a Pluto suffed animal since before he was born, it was a baby shower gift from a family member, apparently the plush is only available on the Disney cruise ships and at this point ( 5 years old) he is missing an ear and no longer yellow due to washing, but the kid still loves his Pluto, and it shows

We hit Nemo next, as the kids love the aquarium

and then it was time to go on FROZEN we had a fast pass, i booked it 60 Days out and the earliest i could get was 3 pm
I thought it was a good ride, however you will not find me waiting more than 45 min to ride it, the wait time going in was 90 min and to me its just not worth it.  
I hit the Craft beer station at the old Odyssey restaurant and then it was time to head back to the camper and check on dinner

I had planned on eating pulled pork that night, however when i went shopping i picked up a Bone in Boston Butt, and well i forgot that it would take longer to cook, we got back to the camper at 5 pm, and i was expecting it to be all shredded, but alas it was only 1/2 done
Pizza to the rescue from Trails End Take out!
After dinner we headed over to MK to check out some of the night time decorations as a family and get some rides/ attractions in
 
It was a fun night, but again not too many pic's
we got back, got the kids to bed, I watched the World Series ( Go cubbies) and once the game was over around 11:30 pm I was able to shred the pulled pork... it was finally done.
I unplugged the crock pot, left it on the table outside the camper and headed to bed ( to be continued) 

 

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

A slight bit heavier... mine is about 900 unloaded.

my dry weight is 2627... 

10 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Welcome from another "local"

We are out of Tampa, about 70 miles from our driveway to the Fort check-in.

Mostly interstate except for about 7 miles in the beginning., I keep it between 55 and 60 and get about 22 MPG once I'm on the interstate. 

But them again we have an old small 10 foot square Coleman. I have to keep checking the mirrors to make sure it's still there since the truck barely feels it.

id be willing to bet my pop up is 3x the weight of the Coleman... I am just over 3,000 lbs loaded

Friday October 28th
it was time to load up and head out, The Brother in Law and I along with my youngest son set off at 11:30 am for our drive to the fort

we mainly take the back roads so speeds are 50-65 MPH, I had reset the trip/ fuel computer and took this pic about 20 miles in

I was gettin 19.4 MPG, however around Arcadia we hit some windy conditions and the trip up there netted me about 16.9 MPG when it was all said and done

Around 2:30 we pulled into the fort

we were 10 deep at the security gate, it was about a 5 min wait here and when we were directed to the check in, a new manager, i think Brandon, had opened up a lane just for me
after a few minutes we were on our way to site 225

I got the pop up set up in about 45 min and then helped my BIL set up his tent, he had never tent camped before so I basically had to do eveyrhitn but he was a good sport about it

by the time we got everything squared  away it was time for us to head over and use our fast pass's before the MNSSHP

we missed mine train due to the boat/ security lines but we did get a pass to use on it later that day, we did Buzz Lightyear, speedway and mine train
My lil guy is a pro on mine train, hands up and all, his uncle is worried too much to have his hands up


https://www.facebook.com/richard.marzonie/videos/10101602917747115/

 after that it was back to the site to meet mom, my other son as he was in school and my sister
Had grilled chicken and potato's for dinner and called it a night

 

I read somewhere they were currently bad, due to the rain from hurricane mat earlier this month, I am bringing a fogger/ yard control spray

yea those are most likely a copy of Rigid industries LED lights, they are expensive and super bright!
if money is no object check these out.... 

they make a kit where i can replace my fog lights on the F150 with 2 pairs of their LED lights
it will use less power and put out 10X the light
only draw back is the cost at $650+ for the set up

On 10/23/2016 at 2:05 PM, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Well, we will now have tickets!! With the 13 months they are offereing, and a little surprise from my previous employer, we are going to go ahead and get annual passes. We ordered some tickets from Undercover Tourist today, and will bridge them up on Friday. We're going to MK Friday morning, then stopping by TTC to upgrade the tickets, then going to troll F&W festival Friday afternoon at Epcot. Would love for Fiends to join us at F&W!!

Ill be setting up the camper Friday afternoon, and then trying to make it to a park with my youngest before everyone else gets to the camp site
mamma wont let me take our oldest out of school on Friday as he is missing Monday and Tuesday, but I am heading up before them to get camp set up in daylight hours( school lets out at 4 and it a 3 hour drive to the fort)

 my pop up came with LED's on the inside
I added an LED strip under the awning that does the job nicely for the pop up, its not "stupid bright" like some of the LED strips that run the full length of the awning but it does put out at 350 Lumens and its angled down towards the ground, where you'd want the light

Outdoor LED strip

I have not done any brake/ turn/ marker lights, I have read that if you do those you may get "Hyper Flash" and that can be corrected using a load resistor, so while the light is bright, the efficiency part is gone due to the load resistors

Personally on my vehicles I have used leds from http://superbrightleds.com. and have not had an issue with them, I am looking to do some to the F150 for headlight/ fog lights and I am keeping an eye on diode dynamics as they are built and designed in the USA

I have always done on line check-in and only 1 time out of 10+ trips did i get a text message saying my room was ready( it was at the all star resort)  but i have used it at wilderness lodge, PORS, and Coronado springs 

were going to the fort on Friday, and i have received 3 emails this past week about my online check in and telling me to make sure everything is correct so they and expedite my check in process
I plan on getting there by 1 pm so we shall see how it goes

5 hours ago, Andrew Roberts said:

I just booked Christmas 2017 at 163.00 a night

thats crazy, I bet one could stay at a resort for less now... this makes me sad, I got my camper to camp at the fort and now it appears i made the wrong decision I should have gotten a boat

I just booked our Spring break trip, snagged 5 nights at Ft Desoto for a grand total of $228
there are still plenty of sites 4/10-4/15 if you change your mind