On 7/18/2016 at 3:04 AM, Westcoastwild said:

Do pop ups have cooking space or are they pretty much glorified tents? How do you like having a pop up? I don't know anyone with a pop up- only rvs.

It all depends on the size, age, and ownership of the unit- as others said the smaller units people tend to remodel them and remove the cooking/ sink in favor of storage

I have a 12 ft box, king and queen beds, slide out dinette sink, stove, shower and toilet in mine, I also have heat and AC
I like my pup as I get good gas mileage towing, it fits in my garage when not in use.

We use ours about 6 times a year, if we camped more t'd look at a Travel trailer, but 1 week, and 5 weekend trips are fine in mine

14 hours ago, Travisma said:

Lots of people have made their own using Reflectix, or now using a survival blanket from Wal Mart

the cost savings really isn't there.
I would need 4 blankets( 2 king end, 1 queen end and 1 for the slide) 4x$15= 60

then  100 feet of bungee cord 2x 50Ft rolls at $20/ roll = $40

then 2 inch nylon webbing 25 yards for $17

then 3 x10 packs of shock cord terminal end hooks at $8/ pack= $24

Spool of thread nylon x 2 at $9 each= $18

60+40+12+24+18= $154 in parts to build the 3
or i can buy it from Pug's shipping included for 202.90

so the savings is $48.90 but then there is the labor of assembly, time costs money and it would be in my opinion a 4+ hour project and  and because of that they can get the extra $8.90 and save me the hassle of measuring, cutting, sewing( yes i know how and have the equipment) 

I didn't include Velcro mod cost as i would do it if i made or purchased them so no cost savings 

doing refletix i hear helps as well, I have not done that yet too but i expect costs to be less than 100 for materials and time

 
 

mine came with a 13.5K from the factory, still thinking about getting PUG's to help keep it cool during the day

Some of you know me on Facebook and saw the deal I was able to score

if this is in the wrong section admins please move

i am not sure why this store is putting them on a massive discount but here goes

i was able to purchase a weber q1200 gas grill for $60 ( had a coupon)

they had it listed for $79 marked down from $199

i got it from H H Gregg so stop in and see if they have them in your local area, they had 3 in Ft Myers 

4 hours ago, Avatab.... Steve said:

 

Still not sure if Alligator attack is considered an Act of God though. Especially when there doesn't seem to have been any real effort to remove the bigger ones from the lake?

 

I saw this and had to interject, according to Florida fish and wildlife, Sixteen of the 244 were removed this year so far, including six on May 10, 2016. One of those was 9 feet long and another was 8.5 feet long, records show. 

they are averaging about 25 gators removed from Disney property each year


 

I have a Coleman Mach 8 13.5K BTU on my 2516G, I will be buying PUG's if I camp May-August, currently I dont but that will change 
Its an absolute must have has July is average high of 93 with 90% humidity and the low is 85 at night

yea 4% of cases go against Disney, but how much are the legal fees at that point, and what is the person actually getting in the end?  is it more or less than the settlement offered

I always pay in full before i get there, for example when i booked Halloween last year i paid for 1 ( as you normally would) of the 4 nights at the time of the reservation, I just paid for 2.5 more nights
were 14X days out and all i owe is $50 still and ill take care of that next month, to me its nice to go on vacation and have no bills waiting for you
once I do have the final payment made, that $ i was using monthly now goes to a separate account as spending money while I am there

I have done a little research on Disney and its legal issues, 
I would agree that the signage change, and people fence( not animal fence as 3 ropes wont prevent any animal) was mainly reaction to media coverage as well as further prove no swimming is allowed in the waters on Disney property 

I have read that the family has no intentions of filing  lawsuits, and due to Florida Law's Disney can actually settle with the family and keep it entirely out of any legal system via NDA's 
Disney could( and probably will) offer a settlement of $1 million, if the family refuses that Disney then has to wait for a counter offer, or a legal proceeding from the family before making another offer, again this is if what i read is correct as I am no lawyer.

I also found that a vast majority of lawsuits do settle out of court, in most instances for $15,000 or less
and someone ran the numbers, if you do decide to take Disney to court, no matter the issue, one would have a 4% chance of winning

as already discussed they are intended to keep people out of the water, just as the no swimming signs were.
now if you cross the fence line Disney has more of a leg to stand on saying we told you so....

Personally I don't think Disney or the parents are at fault, it was a horrible incident that a wild animal took part in.

If this happened at AK then it would be a different story, but this gator was not under the care of Disney, nor did it escape from any Disney park

I hope the family will not sue, and I hope Disney doesn't have to pay millions of dollars 
at the end of the day If i were on Disney's legal team, I  would argue the no swimming sign was ignored and it was a tragic accident.
Tons of people comment online the kid was not swimming, however by definition he was

Ill be there 10/27-11/1
Just trying to get my plans in order as were inside of 180 days 
nsshp is 10/27, 10/28, 10/30, 10/31
I do not plan on going to that as it sold out/ too expensive, however on those dates we should be back at the site for dinner.
I am new to grand gatherings, so forgive me for trying to be proactive and plan

I saw people were talking smokers/ grills and such, just trying to figure out ( as we have plenty of time) as to what were doing and when.
Ideally i'd like to have a good idea of plans 60 days out that way FP+ planning can be done and i wont miss anything :)

I have been quiet on the boards for a while, very busy with the kids and travel, Headings to NH from Fl for the week of July 4th ( no camper just driving)

Just now, LONE-STAR said:

Couldn't you just use your mobile data on your phone?

its a legit desk phone that sets up its own secure connection, its a polycom and its programmed to work once plugged into the internet, for example when i go to a hotel i pay for premium internet and plug the phone into the port in the room and then my laptop plugs into the phone, I take 40+ incoming support calls a day so using my cell phone is not an option as i cant log in from the cell phone to take those incoming calls 

I work for a medical company with a secure IP phone, I need a way to plug it in... 
the old modems would work for me, not sure how to do it on wifi, and i am no expert in wifi,

I wonder how the cable modems will affect some of those that stayed a month or longer, IE those that work from home like myself, I would need the cable modem, so i cant work from the fort

I think the 30 day limit is great, however the part where you can renew it constantly really means its not a limit, its more of a loophole 

 

I did the math, for us to go haloween night and do the desert party for a family of 4 is $737, for just $90 more I can buy/ renew 2 silver annual passes vs 1 night in the park
$105 x4 = $420
$69 x4= $276
Add in 6% sales tax and there you have it folks!

Ill be staying in the fort on Halloween and not going to the park

as for the holiday light rule, I think it has more to do with the noise than the lights.

Don't get me wrong there are some awsome displays, but the buzzing of a blower motor for the inflatables, or the music that may be synced to a light show( not looking at you castle Dave as my kids and I  loved your display) at some point need to be turned off, and well setting the rule as seasonal decorations makes sense as it covers the music, the inflatables and lights.

put yourself in my shoes, I am in a pop up, and if its not cold or hot out I am not running the furnace or AC, I have very little soundproofing and would have the windows open, light pollution can be dealt with by using shades but i cant really block noise

well the headline got me, I am in

That contraption you mentioned it looks very similar to the mosquito traps that the CDC developed and is using all over Florida to track "zika"
It uses Co2 as part of the attractant, and when the mosquito get close enough a down draft fan sucks the bugs into a collection cup, because the fan is always running they cant fly out..

here is what a commercially available one looks like,
http://johnwhock.com/products/mosquito-sandfly-traps/new-standard-miniature-light-trap-with-co2/
I have experience with the mosquito magnet and it really did do a good job when it was working, the problem is it  used a tank of propane every 3.5 weeks and the bait packages were getting pricey and hard to find locally, combine that with have to always clean the unit out and then having issues refiring the unit made it not worth the hassle ( think about how hard it was to fire a water heater/ furnace after the camper was put away for 10 years but stored outside, constantly cleaning the jet ports, and electronic ignition clicked but rarely sparked due to the bug guts on it)

WELCOME BACK!  
I too was at the world this weekend, but alas no camping as they( Disney) didn't want to let me stay just Friday and Saturday, I could have stayed Friday to Monday but work gets in the way of that

I grew up in big bear/ little bear and that was the last loop we stayed in back in February 2016. 
Sadly  I think my pup is away till our October trip, just too hot to camp the next few months, and the black out dates for our AP's are starting soon.

4 hours ago, ependydad...Doug said:

VSTOL?

Vista Storage Trailer Overflow Lot, AKA the old runway?!?!

I pulled the pics from the FB post incase anyone was not on FB

just finishing up the report, 

got back to camp and did a little bike ride

then upstairs to the camp store

the view while eating ice cream

on the way back the big guy said he didn't want training wheels anymore, so off they come... he said he wanted to make them into skates

he did great, ill try to post a video

looking at the sunset from our site

everyone looking sad as were packing up

lil man making sure everything is clean

On 3/8/2016 at 5:02 PM, geoffdaddy said:

<sigh> Sunpass...

 

So, since we make enough trips down to justify this thing now, I sprung for it on the trip before last. We bought it about an hour before we hit the first toll plaza on Florida's Turnpike. According to all their documentation online, the transponder is active almost instantaneously after you set up an account. Well, first toll plaza we go through "TOLL NOT PAID." Great. so much for saving time I'm thinking. We looked through the website again and fixed what we thought was wrong, including the website putting our street address to a street in MADISON, FL, instead of... well, MADISON, AL like we put in. got off on 429 and went through the E-PASS which of course has no feedback at all.

Looking at the Sunpass account website, there's no indication that E-PASS worked either. I ended up calling up Sunpass and they did something to fix it and they told me to just pay the unpaid toll notice when I got it in the mail. Still haven't seen that and it's been well more than 60 days.

I'm hoping I don't get a nasty surprise one day...

I have a sunpass and used a toll bridge with out having it in the vehicle, I recognized that it happened and made sure to register the vehicle after the fact, never got a notice for toll violation, just a bill on the acct for a normal toll and it said toll by plate vs transponder 

so now comes the calm after the storm, and those beautiful sunsets

The next day the weather was great, breakfast was started by the lil guy

then a bike ride down to the playground 

then back to the Pier for some fishing

where they boys caught another fish

Kiss it for luck

after we ran out of bait we went to the beach next to the pier

got some fresh squeezed lemonade 

then it was back to the camper for lunch... more to come

Tuesday started off good, we went to the old fort

checked out the sights 

Played with some Cannons

Got in a lil trouble

Had some ice cream to cheer them up

and Caught my First Fish

we then heard a crack of thunder and it was time to get off the pier.

we headed off to lunch at a local crab shack just thinking it would be a typical storm

however we got back to the site as things got bad... I mean really bad

I had the awning on the pup deployed and did have straps to hold it down, due to the gusts of wind that were well over 45 MPH one of the legs came out from its holder and we had to put the awning away.
my Wife who is 100 LBs dripping wet had 1 job, hang on to the awning as i un did the straps that were holding it in place, the awning lifted her like a sail and i grabbed the rail just in time. 
no damage to her or the camper, or the awning for that matter.
 

The kids were shaken by this storm as was the pup, mom and kids huddled in the end pointed away from the wind/ water where as i was in the bunk on the other end as it was lifting with the bigger gusts.
about an hour later things start to die down.
Our poor neighbors site was a wreck!

thats a 10x10 dome tent that didnt fare the storm well, as did the tarp, it was new but now its ripped and not salvageable, things were littered across the entire campground, we found some of our stuff a few sites down( towels, pop up trash can)
just glad it was over and no one got hurt.

so we left off on day 1( monday)
finished setting up camp and then it was off to the beach

the boys love sand

and even made sand angles 

we went back to camp, had some steak and potatoes and hit the bunks

up next is tuesday, a day we will not forget for a while.....