bdm

I don't think a 2011 with 114,000 miles is worth trading in on something newer.  I have a 2012 Ram 2500 diesel and it has 150,000 miles and other than some dings, dents its perfect.  Keep up with the maintenance and save yourself $20,000

If you must get a newer or new truck.  I'd try to find a gas 1 ton that was in a 2 or 3 year lease and buy it.   The used diesel truck market right now is crazy over priced.  I've considered selling my truck and getting a gas truck just to get away from the maintenance of a diesel.  With modern gas trucks you get just as much pulling power, at far less of monthly maintenance costs.  Diesel truck oil change is $150 gas truck is half that.  Diesel truck fuel filter replaced every 10k miles $60 gas gets replaced once every 100k $25

I asked the guy at the check in if he'd take the truck and camper to the site set it up and get dinner going so I could go into MK..  I even offered him $20.. nadda 

I was always told early October was a great time to go..  Guess I'll find out 

2 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you.  Funny enough.. I saw a youtube on a Honda 2000 and 3000...the 3000 actually sounded quieter (from what I could tell on the video).

I've done side by side tests with the yamaha and honda and there is no difference in the sound.  It would be my guess that any 2200watt inverter / generator will be just as loud / quite as the others in real world situations. 

3 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Which was quieter? 

Not really a fair comparison the yamaha was 3300 watts and the B&S is a 2200 watts..   Both when under full load are not loud enough to cause you to speak loudly at 25 feet from them.  When camping with our 5th the Yamaha gen is pretty quite, we only run it for a few hours to charge batteries in the morning, and evening so as to not annoy everyone.

On 11/16/2016 at 8:29 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Okay... all caught up :)

First, your little man is too stinkin' cute!  I love, love that age.  When they're so interested in everything, but still have their sweet, squishy baby rolls.  Oh... this mama's heart!  I will say, the rocks at the campground always make me so nervous.  Our little man turns 5 this weekend and I'm still holding his hand when he climbs on those things.  Of course, he runs into walls and trips over his own two feet often so, maybe I have reason to worry...haha :)

We went to Dollywood in September and enjoyed it as well.  It's a really nice park and the scenery is so pretty.

What camper do y'all have?

The boy does make me nervous but hes not really a daredevil so he calls for help long before I get nervous about what hes doing.

We are currently camping in a 2015 Keystone Cougar 333mks.  My wife has been hinting at the idea to get a mid bunk 5er

We purchased a B&S p2200 for our tailgate. It gets used 8 times a year for about 4 hours each time.  So far no issues, this being the generators first season its a short sample so far. 

We had a Yamaha inverter / generator before the B&S and it ran flawless for 5 seasons. Its the 3000 watt and it was primary purchased for camping.  We purchased the B&S because its lighter and easier to use for tailgating. 

So Saturday started and it was our final full day camping.  I woke up early 5:45 and the rest of the house was still fast asleep.  I stealthily snuck out of the camper and went for a long walk around the camp ground.  Several of the larger bus style campers were breaking camp and headed do Bristle for the race.  I was lucky enough to get a guided tour of one of them, and it was fantastic.  But heated marble floors really just are not my cup of tea.  

By the end of my walk around 7:45 most of the early risers were up and about and lot of campers breaking camp and headed out.  I strolled back to the camper to find mommy and Cody attempting to take a shower.  Most of the bathroom was washed down and a small, wet and naked boy was on the lose.  After getting him dry and dressed we got the camp cooking stuff out and started making breakfast, Pancakes and sausage hmmmm.

Funny story with keeping him in the pack n play.  He can climb out and did one evening while wife and I were outside.  He locked the door, and began flushing the toilet.  Wife panicked I simply knocked on the door and waited for him to open it.  Lesson learned, always have keys with you.

We then made the decision to travel around to some other camp grounds and get a fell for them and their location.  We loved Anchor down, but its a bit of a drive into the mountains and next spring we are thinking of coming back and staying in the mountains.  

At lunch time we met up with the rest of the family and had lunch then shopping at the outlets, because why not.

Hours later it was time to go see cousin 1 and 2 preform in the cheer competition.  

Thankfully there were thousands of kids around to keep him occupied and allow me time do just sit and do some good relaxing, something I didn't get enough of on the trip and never seem to get enough of.

After the competition, we headed back to the camper, cleaned up had an amazing dinner and sat watching the stars for a few hours as the cold really set in.  Sunday was going to be a relaxing travel day.  Our drive home was 4 1/2 hours + any stops and with how little sleep the boy was getting I knew he would sleep most of the way home.

Sunday morning came at 6:45 when the boy decided it was time to wake up.  The wife and boy headed off to find some donuts while I packed up the camper.  I was also going to winterized the camper before we took off so I didn't have to do it at home.  By 9am we had finished packing had everything ready to go and had gone to the comfort station to get our showers and ready for the drive home.  By 9:30 we were on 40 west and everyone but me was fast asleep.  Successful vacation.  

Ok its Friday and the cold weather moved in overnight I believe it was in the mid 40s when we got up but Dad did something right for a change and made sure the heat was on so it was warm and toasty in the camper.   Mommy isn't much of an morning person, and well Cody just wants to play in the morning and sometimes this causes conflicts. 

As I was making breakfast I kept hearing Cody say bumpy.  I went back to inspect what was going on and found the tractor trying to scoop Mommy's head from Cody's Pluto pillow.  I was amused, Mommy wasn't.

Well after a big hardy breakfast cooked over open, propane fire it was time to bundle up and head out for today's adventure, where we would meet up with Gaga, and one of the three cousins for a great day.

As we were loading up I noticed this beauty that somehow slipped in like a ninja in the night.

Turns out this person, and several others 7 figure RV were all headed to Bristle motor speedway Sunday for the race and camping near us for 2 nights before going to the race.  Peasants... 

BAM didn't see Dollywood coming, did you?  It's my wife's first ever trip and of, course my sons first ever trip.  I interrupted his jumping in puddles to snap this quick selfy and it put a damper in his mood.  But shortly after the selfy Gagga and cousin 3 showed up and EVERYTHING turned magical.

After entering the park it was time to eat as it was nearing 12:00 and Daddy gets crabby if Cody doesn't eat on time so we headed to Backstate Restaurant.  This place has HANDS DOWN the best meatloaf, out side my wives, I've ever had. (sorry no pictures was hungry and fending off a 2 year old who was trying to bogart my lunch instead of eating his soup),

Then it was time to ride some rides, If you've ever been with me to a thrill park in the past (20 years ago) you know the rule ride the big ones early and often.

So off to county fair land to ride Sideshow Spin.  Somehow daddy got sidelined to hold the bags while Mommy took Cody, and Gagga took Cousin 3 on the mega coaster.  

Well several other rides were enjoyed and it started to get damn and the train was due to pull out of the station and there was no way I was missing a ride on the Dollywood Express so I suggested we "slow things down" and enjoy a ride through the mountains.  If you've never ridden the Dollywood Express let me tell you something, you are missing out on an Amazing bit of American history thats being perfectly preserved and operated.  The Locomotive thats at the heart of the Dollywood Express is named Cinderella.  It was built in 1938 and used to move troops and goods along the White Pass Road Road in Alaska before and During World War 2.  I love all of Disneys steam trains but they are replicas burning diesel or propane.  Cinderella burns Coal, weighs in at 235,000 lbs  empty.  When it moves, anything within 20 feet feels its power.

So gagga, cousin 3, mommy, cody and I took our place and headed up the mountain on Cinderella, the world war 2 vet still working hard today.

The views along the way are nice, but feeling the power of this train pull all these people up a 6% grade and hearing the Chug Chug is breath taking.

At the top of the track is a huge loop where you get the see the train, and they do a massive whistle blow that I have video of but can't get it to post.  Never the less you turn around come back down they hill, around another big loop and back into the station.  Everytime i've had the privilage to ride White Pass #70 Cinderella its been a treat.

It was getting late, and we were due to have dinner with Cousins 1&2 and Aunt Amy so only time for one more ride, if my favorite land at Dollywood. 

Cody driving me on The Rocking Roadsters.  Upon beginning our journey it was beginning to sprinkle, by the time we disembarked, it was a full on monsoon.  So up went the umbrellas and to the cars we went.

No pictures from dinner due to far too much going on, and Cody being exhausted and wanting to be held by Daddy, and let's face it Daddy can't say no to a reasonable request.  The others were all staying at the Island in Pigeon Forge so we met there and had dinner at Timberwood Grill where cody and I split a really great chicken pot pie.  Then it was back to the camper, and direct to bed, it was after 8 and tomorrow was another long day of adventures. 

12 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

I'm in!  What a cute boy you have, love that you do hikes with him at his young age.  This camp site looks very nice with the fire pit.

I took a week trip to VA in the middle of October,  planning to enjoy cool weather and pretty leaves.  What a surprise, the sides of the Blue Ridge were still green. Though I was lucky enough to see quite a few tees that were in the process of turning colors. 

 

He's an amazing 25 month old Boy that's for sure.  He loves hiking, as long as he can start out on foot and move to the backpack once he gets tired.

7 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I just got a chance to read your report.  Great job so far! 

I LOL'd at Cody's mountain climbing.  Very funny.

Please keep posting.

TCD

 

Thx for the positive feedback!  

They don't let you wash at the fort?

22 hours ago, keith_h said:

Our hope is to make it out that way in the next year or two for a fall trip. Most waterfalls need to be seen in the spring and while they are nice to see we would rather go for the fall colors. 

 

Plan for a long stay.  The trees don't like to work on a schedule from what I've been told.

On 11/8/2016 at 9:07 AM, Beckers said:

Why doesn't your wife (or whoever isn't the main person on your reservation) book a site for them? That way you have it (unless you'd really rather them end up somewhere else haha). I'm not too familiar with the cancellation policy but would that work?

 

This is what we did..  Thx that makes life much easier.

Sorry for the massive delay in posting, The morning after posting this I was struck with the flu and just started to move around the house.

So day 2 (Thursday) we woke up and it was a beautiful day another 78+ temp and not a cloud to be seen.   The plan was to go into GSM National Park and do some hiking, then do lunch in Gatlinburg and shop the craft fair.

My wife loves to take nature photos so we stopped a several overlooks and snapped pictures of the trees changing color.  It was really beautiful.

We stopped at the visitors center and it was a mad house, so we checked out the museum for a few minutes then headed to the nature trail right out back.  It splits off and heads over to a waterfall and that was our destination for this hike.  I was in charge of keeping an eye on the boy and my wife was charged with navigation.  We ended up about 2/3 of a mile down the wrong trail and had to back track and so the boy was started to show signs of fatigue. 

We finally made it to was was described as a "Majestic waterfall"   I'm sure with enough rain its beautiful, but at the time we arrived it was far less majestic than expected. 

So we turned around and headed back down to trail to basecamp and to the truck to head into Gatlinburg for lunch.  Not with out Cody requiring several stops to export the wilds of Tenn.

We finally made it to the truck headed into Gatlinburg Parking in the first parking lot next to the parking garage for convienance.  Some reason neither my wife nor I have photos from Gatlinburg, mostly due to the boy sleeping most of it after his adventurous morning.

So after some shopping we headed back to the camper to make dinner and relax in what was expected to be the final night of warm weather.  After dinner there was some mountain climbing.

Some rock sliding, turns out its better than a real slide.

Then some gentle banter about what candidate would in the upcoming elections    Then off to bed, long cold day tomorrow!

October 13th 2017 we will be checking into the Fort for a 2+ week stay.  We will be traveling with at least a three-year-old ( his bday trip).  We hope to have a 2nd child adopted by that time and it will be less than a year old.  I'm not a huge fan of taking an infant into Disney for  a whole day but know it can be done with proper planning and proper gear.

So we've invited both sets of grandparents to attend for some, or all of the trip IN THEIR OWN accommodations....  My mother has committed to coming down for a week and staying at one of the resorts or possible a cabin at the Fort (she likes the idea of having her rental car close by).  My inlaws, on the other hand own a class A and have shown interest in coming down but are very reluctant to commit to anything for fear of loosing a deposit even after showing them the cancelation policy..  

So my question to you Fort AffiniFriends how quickly does the fort fill up for mid October?  I've hear it can be very tricky to book a campsite for an extended stay after 180 days from checkin for October?  Is this true?

The other thing im struggling with is they are sugesting they stay off property at a "less expensive" camp ground and commute in each day to spend time with the grandchild.  How do you sell value of the fort to someone who only looks at dollars and cents?

This will be my first ever trip report, and it may be a bit heavy on pictures so sorry...

My sister and her family lives in the Knoxville area so we decided to do a relaxing trip down to Great Smokey Mountains national park, and visit with the family.  Turns 2 of her 3 girls had a cheer function in Pigonforge that weekend, bonus.

So on Wednesday we packed up the truck hitched up the camper and were on the road heading south on 75 by 9am.  Traffic was light and everyone but me got to nap.  Five hours and a few pitstops later we pulled into Ancor Down RV park

Great place super friendly and very quite after dark..

Camp was set up quickly and dinner was started, Hmmmm chili

Cody made great use of the abundance of stones for his many, many, MANY tractors we had to pack..

After dinner, it was warm, around 80f or so.  The decision was made to head down to the pool and splash around a bit, Only one small problem. DAD forgot to pack codys swim trunks.  So we got to swim in a swim diaper and t-shirt..  He's 2 he didn't care, Mom was a bit annoyed.

As it got later, and the sun started to set we decided to head back to the camper, get showered up and try to get the boy to sleep.  We had big plans for Thursday.  Go into Gatlinburg, and then head into the mountains for some hiking!!

Day 2 posted tomorrow.  

I spent a week and change at3. Tropical Palm Rv Resort .  It's a nice facility but for the price not nice enough.  The bathroom / showers were very old and dated,  the washer and dryers never worked.  While there we lost power for several hours and lost water for about a day.   

This was in Jan of 2015 and it was under new ownership and they were trying to work through all of the maintenance issues associated with the park. 

Also they really pack you in tightly 

Thx, tomorrow doing a bulb count and then placing an order... 

Has anyone swapped out the lights in their RV to LED lights with success and if so where did you get them from? 

My last 3 trips to WDW we've done the online check in and usually as we get off the plane or are in line for the magic express bus we've gotten a text with our room number.  It's been great since we go drop our carry on bags and head into the park.

Several friends have stayed at the fort recently and all of them has used online check-in and said its worked great as long as you arrive after noon... 

12 hours ago, bhall said:

Did you do a screen shot of Justin Scarred's video from today?

https://youtu.be/QuwDX7PnuGQ?t=15m27s

 

That is, but i do know just where it was taken in the park.

On 9/9/2016 at 6:06 AM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Thank you, Derek!  Here's another one from the same area that I hope you enjoy:

Guesses are allowed!

 

Thats inside the living seas i believe?

This should be an easy one

My sister and her kids live in Knoxville and we camp in the Smokies a few times a year.  So far our favorite campground is Anchor Down RV park.  The sites are amazing, lots of good family friendly stuff to do at the park.  Not the cheapest park around but well worth the cost.  

http://www.anchordownrvresort.com/

It's also far enough away from Pigeon forge and Gatlinburg to not be in that mess, but close enough to get to it with limited driving. 

The haunted mansion with Eddy Murphy may be the worst ever Disney movie...

On 9/8/2016 at 11:01 AM, Duane said:

I agree with Nacole on this as well...  I know your kiddos are very young at the moment, but as they get older, the amount of "stuff" they want to bring along will grow too.  Another thing to think about, depending on how long you plan on keeping this new rig, the kids are going to want to bring their friends along with them on camping trips. Just something to think about.  "It's better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it!" 

We went looking on Thursday, and the wife said "In two years we are getting a mid room bunk room".   We walked through about 4 different models of midship bunk room trailers and the one she liked the most was the Grand Design 377MB.  She said by then our truck will have 250k miles on it and we can replace it too.  So mama spoke, and Daddy will have to do...

On 9/8/2016 at 11:36 AM, dblr....Rennie said:

Plus a bunk room with a pack n play makes a great nap room.

This is one of the reasons we have set our sites on the floor plan we did,  it has the extra bedroom for the kids and the loft if our son when hes old enough to sleep there.

I'd guess this timeline will be greatly accelerated to next fall if the addition of our 2nd happens this fall and we do some spring time camping before our 2 1/2 week trip to the fort in October 2017.