BigTom

My Mother used to tell us about a camping trip she took with her parents. There father furnished a new Model A and they traveled from central Florida to California in the mid 1930s. mmmmmmmy mother and her sister financed the trip as they had just finished teaching their first year a

t school and we not married at that time. Camped in a tent every night and visited a lot of places in between. She had  lot of good stories about that trip, I should have written them down, I can't imagine making that trip now in a model A even with the roads we have now. They too about a month for the trip.

22 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

Or a few people standing on the corner....Hope you have many enjoyable trips. 

After tearing up  few tires and wheels, you will not even think about turning too sharp on those corners. Good looking rig

10 hours ago, tim5055 said:

I will push the speed to 70 at times, but very seldom anything above that. Towing an RV is a “system” in my mind and all parts need to be operating correctly.  If anything is not right, the speed comes down to account for it.

 

First  in my book is the tow vehicle. I have always believed in overkill. I see too many people getting out a calculator to determine to the “ounce” what they “can” tow. I tow with a F-250 Diesel, single rear wheel. Even with this tow vehicle, I’m well below the limitations. Even with a substantial tow vehicle I know I have limits. I have had RV salespeople look me in the eye and tell me I was fine with a new camper. When I ran the numbers I was over 3,000 pounds over. 

 

Next is the hitch. After most people buy the camper they are looking to “save” on the hitch. They look at price over functionality. I did a lot of research on hitch systems when we transitioned for a pop up to a travel trailer. In my mind all roads eventually led to the two hitches designed by Jim Hensley. The original, the Hensley Arrow and the newer redesign, the Pro Pride hitch. I won’t go into the details here, bu there is a difference in a hitch that costs $399 and one that costs $2,000.

Following up on the hitch is making sure the safety chains and breakaway brake switch are in good condition

I then look at tires.  I covered that before, so I won’t repeat myself other than to say no older than 4 years, proper pressure, speed rated for 80 and a tire pressure monitoring system. 

The weather also comes into play  Rain, fog and high winds will slow me way down or even get me off the interstate. I’d rather be late than in the ditch.

 Maintenance - this is the one that is too easy to ignore. Repack the axle bearings, adjust the brakes

Storage - This is the hard one for most folks.  Both of our campers (we have a 35’ Coachman and a 15’ Aliner) are stored inside a steel building in the mountains. They are seldom too hot, seldom in freezing temperatures and are protected from the damaging UV rays of the sun. 

 

All of these are my feelings/opinions. Yours may be different and I respect that. 

I agree with all of these, especially with the storage, All campers need to be stored inside out of the weather. Nothing will destroy  a camper like the weather, always should be storied under a hard cover at least.

It's not that our trucks are larger, it is because the cars they are making are getting smaller. Even a top line family sedan is a small car, don't try to put 6 adults in a car anymore. I drive a truck because it is the only thing I can be comfortable in.

Hope you enjoyed the trailer, we had a lot of good times in it.

57 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Lol!

with my back and leg issues one day i might need one.   I have issues with standing or walking for long periods of time.  The waiting in Ques is the worst for my back  

I wonder if the VA will cover one???

 

 

Don't know if VA will cover one, but they are fairly cheap on Craighlist and replacement batteries are fairly cheap on Amazon. I have 2, a smaller on for indoor use and a larger one to take to parks and such, paid 300 for one plus about $70 for new batteries and $500 for the larger on with good batteries. Have ridden the small one all over Fort Wilderness with no problems, the larger have taken to Flywheelers and used for 4 days without recharging on dirt paths.

22 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Y’all missed out on the beauty of having a stroller. 

DD was 2 1/2 years old on her first trip. And we loved having a stroller.    It held her snacks, drinks, extra clothes. She took her afternoon nap in it. 

The stroller allowed us to enjoy the park for longer each day.  There’s no way a 2 1/2 year old could walk around all day nor my back could have handled carrying her for extended periods of time.  

Sometimes I wish we still had the stroller. I’m tired of lugging around a back pack all day. 😂 

Get yourself a handicap scooter, not only will you have a place to put your snacks, etc, you also can have a seat to sit down and a battering ram to get through the crowd .

10 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

My 80 yr old mom doesn’t use a scooter on a daily basis.  So she doesn’t own her own. As a matter of fact the last time she used one was at Disneyland.    She doesn’t need a scooter on a daily basis.  Because she’s not at a p.ark we’re she is walking several miles every day.  She needs a scooter at WDW.   So yes. Many peoples first time using a scooter is at WDW or other amusement parks.  I don’t think it’s a good idea to punish legitimate users of scooters because a few people abuse them  

 I think it would be best if Disney had a set of uniform standards that all scooter companies used. Speed, size, lights, etc. 

I also use a scooter at times, don't need one daily, but can not stand and walk all day, also near 80 myself. I bought my own, they are fairly cheap if bought used and the batteries are not expensive. You can get a good one for around $300 and a set of batteries are less than a $100 delivered to your house, making it cheaper than renting a couple of times. So I do not have any objection to anyone using one if they need it, but I have seen young healthy people renting them just so they don't have to walk and have seen kids being pushed in rented strollers who were healthy and old enough to walk all day. We use to take our grandkid when they were younger 3-4 years old and they walk with us until we would leave the park. So I agree, legitimate users should be able to use scooters, but if not a legitimate user they should not be able to rent a scooter. Just my opinion.

Another problem is they rent to anyone, it doesn't matter if they have never driven one or not. WDW is not the place to learn to drive an ECV. I think they should do away with rental ECV and strollers and require people to bring their own and enforce the rules about size and age to drive. Also the golf carts at the Fort could be on the same system, follow the rules or lose the privilege of having a cart.

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 8:58 AM, Memphis said:

It looks like 1504 backs up to 1630, 1506 to 1628, 1507 to 1626, 1508 to 1624 and as a last resort 1510 to 1622.  I agree your chances would be better to get close  if you both had FH sites.  Either way I would be sure to mark your resis as "traveling with".  Good luck 

I have been in 1504 with my son backed up to us in 1630. Small ditch between, has water in it during wet times, but small enough to step across. We liked the set up there, Had Jason set us up. Also have been in 2003 and son backed up to us in 2200 loop, but there is a large creek between the camp areas.

My thoughts on this matter. I have not camped at Fort Wilderness in over 2 year and even sold my camper, but I don't think anyone else will be much longer either. Think like a bean counter, take the 1500 loop, small loop, 30 some odd sites bring in app $3000 a night when fully booked in peak season. Replace it with a 6 story hotel with room on top 5 floors, 20 rooms per floor, renting for $300 each per room. Same piece of ground now bringing in #30,000 per night. Guess $5000 more expense per night so increase would be $25,000 per day increase X 365 days and potential income from small piece of ground has increased by 10 times over campsites. Fort Wilderness will soon be just a memory like River Country.  

25 minutes ago, Travisma said:

If anyone wants to rent out homes to vacationers part of the year, then you are correct about being near a beach area or Disney.

I personally don't like the Fort Myers, Cape Coral Naples areas.  They have really grown and traffic is bad just about anywhere in those areas.  And we won't discuss SE Fl around the Miami areas.

Vero and Fort Pierce are nice.  Haven't been there in a few years, so they have probably grown a lot since then.

Any of the beachfront towns are going to be $$$$$ to buy, crowded, and impossible to get around in the summer months.  Also you have a higher probability of storm damages.

If you want real Florida, look around the middle of the state, the areas around 27, 98, 33.  Zolfo Springs, WinterHaven Bowling Green, etc.  Not a lot around there, but still close enough to the bigger cities.  27 above I-4 has grown a lot.  

 

Check out the Auburndale area.

I agree, I live in the Fort  Meade- Bowling Green area would not even consider living in a tourist area, although we do get a lot of snowbirds in the winter time. Florida is narrow enough that I can get to either coast in about 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Check out Homeland, Florida, small community, close to Bartow, Winter Haven, and Lakeland, not far from Tampa and very friendly people. I live just south of there and if had to move would be my next choice. Also the center of Florida is close to it. (about 5 miles away) Disney World is only 60 miles away also.

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 7:16 PM, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

My mom doesn't. My sister keeps saying she needs one. She barely answers her flip phone. We laugh because she will call, leave a message and then turn the phone off. 

I just got a smart phone, my son thought I needed it and bought it for me and set it up. He didn't like my flip phone which worked part time.

I don't see the problem Sinead is having, you are camping and have to expect to rough it a little. She would never get invited to go with us anywhere again.

You have to show ID with Florida address for each ticket holder when picking up tickets

9 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

Also in Bradenton just s few blocks from DeSoto is Robinson Preserve there are nice walking paths and a observation tower. You can bring your own kayaks or rent them on Manatee Ave on the way to the beach and kayak back through the mangroves.

In Cortez is the Florida Maritime museum on 119th street it's small but worth checking out if you're in the area, gives a good idea what life was like in a small fishing village from when the first settlers came down from the Carolinas thru to the present day. Captain Kim is also worth checking out for boat/eco tours around Cortez. Tide Tables and Star fish Company are the restaurants I'd most recommend, both are very laid back/come as you are type places run by locals who were born and raised in Cortez. Star is located in part of a old fish house and located next door to a working fish house. Tide Tables is located right on the intercoastal waterway and actually occupies the building we ran our party fishing boats out of for 25 years before moving to the north side of the bridge and later getting out of the business. If you like to fish check out Captain Sam with Legend Fishing Charters.

On Bradenton beach Gulf Drive Cafe is a great place to have some food and/or drinks and enjoy the sunset or watch the kids play on the beach and in the water.

In Bradenton is the South Florida museum and Bishop planetarium. Formally the home of Snooty the Manatee. Nice little museum and planetarium. 

Also in Bradenton is Manatee Village Historic Park. Another nice little museum that is free. If you go here and they have any sugarcane syrup I definitely recommend buying some and not just because my cousin makes it. He grows harvests and processes all of his own cane and boils it down over a old fashioned boiler to produce the syrup.

In Palmetto is Gamble Plantation the only surviving plantation house in South Florida. The grounds are nice for a picnic and the tours give a good history of the area from that time. 

If you're not into the museum's and history Anna Maria Island ( which encompasses the cities of Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach, and Anna Maria Island) offers beautiful beaches, shopping, jetski and boat rentals all in a laid back atmosphere. There is a free trolley that runs the length of the island. Coquina beach offers a lot of shaded parking with picnic areas, restrooms, and RV parking (day use only) with a trolley stop close by. 

If you're coming to the area for more than a day there are a good amount of campgrounds/RV parks in the area and lots of hotels and rentals. Just remember the closer to the beach the more you pay and in the winter plan far ahead as most campgrounds fill up with snowbirds and the prices go up. 

This what I was thinking about when starting this post, just around here are a lot of small attractions that are not worth a full vacation, but are a good way to fill in days on a trip to break up the days. Just around here, and this is not considered a tourist area, we have Bok Tower in Lake Wales, Soloman's Castle in Zolfo Springs, Royal Lippizan Stallion ranch in Myakka City, Manatee viewing area in Sun City, air boat rides on Kissimmee River, you can take swamp buggy rides, and a lot of small towns give history tours and have history museums, Bartow used the old County Court House to house a museum. If interested in buildings, Florida Southern College has a large assortment on Frank LLoyd Wright designed building and offer a tour of them. A lot to see and do in central Florida and not in the center of the tourist areas, So not as crowded and expensive as other areas.

Excellent report, enjoyed the whole thing and think you are a super mom for introducing your kids to a lot of what this country has. I can't imagine my wife even thinking about a trip like that.

2 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Oh, to be young and fearless again!  Or maybe not.

You know there is something about being older and wiser. All so I worked for a company that was safety centered, main idea was think what might happen and don't take a chance.

14 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

 

We have tubed at ichetucknee springs many times and have never see a gator. Gators tend to stay away from people unless the have been fed or are protecting their nests or young. 

 

This is a horrible example to make but, a small child at night or even a lone person splashing around in the water looks a lot like a bird or other prey to an alligator. Where as a group of people, boats, rafts, lots of noise does not. 

 

I think the biggest problem we have with alligators is people feeding them. They then associate people with food. I actually sat on one of the Disney launches one day and listened to a family from up North talk about how they had been feeding a gator everyday at WL and how much the gator liked breakfast sandwiches. 

 

So far I have made it 36 years swimming in some very questionable water without being eaten by anything. Infact I'm much more scared of getting bit by a snake while swimming or on land than I ever have been about Gators. 

Gators do most of their feeding after dark and are wary of humans. I have been swimming in all kind of water in Florida for over 70 years and never been approached by a gator. Splashing in shallow water like that child in WDW at dusk is just calling a gator to come to supper, but you don't even see many during the day light hours, which is why most visitors to Fla will only see one. Go out late at night and you will be surprised by how many are swimming around.

  By to what I mentioned to start with, vacation are a good time to teach your children a little history about the places they visit.( I know you will have to research a little before hand, but you might learn a little to) For instance the Seminole wars were the longest lasting and the most costly both in lives and money of all the Indian wars. And you thought the West was wild. 

I know this board is mainly about Fort camping, but there is a lot of other things to do in Florida besides the Mouse, Harry Potter, Legoland and the beach. We have a lot of history in this state that is sometimes overlooked by theme parks. When visiting our state, check around and there may be something interesting close by. Check out Lighthouses, if you have never been in one, there are several that have been restored and made in museums you can go in and see how they were built and maned. How about a deep sea fishing trip, a tour on a glass bottom boat, or an air boat in the everglades. May a resort dive, (a short class and a shallow dive with scuba tanks). A lot of history, Oldest town, Saint Augustine, is very interesting and you will learn a lot of history on a tour.

    Maybe a week in the Keys, you can rent a house for about the same as a week at Fort Wilderness and stay on a tropical island and still be in the USA. Take a charter boat if you enjoy fishing and enjoy fresh seafood, it tastes different from what you get from the stores. A visit to Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas is unforgettable and worth the trip. Pigeon Key give a look into how the oversea highway was built.

    There is a lot to do and see, we have had Indian battles and civil war battles, dinasour bone museums, rail road and ship yards. You can find shark teeth and on beaches and Manatees in the wild, natural springs with glass bottom boats, and many other things that are interesting besides theme parks. Plus most of the people are friendly and are willing to share their knowledge about where they live if you just ask where there is something interesting to see or do.

Great report, enjoyed it very much, Thanks a lot. Tom

2 hours ago, Beckers said:

I think we are coming back in March if the new section of legoland is finished before our passes expire. That trip will be planned  with ahead and I’ll make sure I contact you before. My kids love farms and picking stuff.

In March, we should have oranges hanging on the trees with no problem. 

1 hour ago, Beckers said:

We took a walk around their boardwalk area. It’s right on the lake and really nice for an evening walk.



At night they also have a fire pit for s’mores. For $10 you get 2 Hershey bars, a sleeve of graham crackers and 10 marshmallows.

It was a really nice way to end our night here.

And of course more lego building


Our last morning there the Lego friends were waking around during breakfast. They remembered her from the day before and asked her about the water park and continued their conversations from before.



I saw a place on line where you could take yours of orange grooves, so we went there because it was on the way to the airport. Orange season was over but peach season was in full swing. It was $10 to fill this whole bucket. At home, all the farms charge you between $3-4 per person just to take a hayride to the field to pick and then they charge you for all the fruit. This place gave us a golf cart ride to the fields for free. So it was wayyyyy cheaper than doing this at home.






Oh and they make their own orange soft serve from their oranges, they change up the flavors depending what’s in season. They had peach, orange and blueberry. It was amazing.



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You should have come down and said hello, orange season is over, but I can always find a few they missed, we call them shiners, you could have picked. I am only about 20 miles south of Legoland.

2 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

Hmmm....not what I remember the Cypress Gardens ski show looking like, that's for sure. 

My memory is more like this.

I think they have a ski show on the lake in front of the hospital one Saturday a month with the skiers from  the old show for free. It is on a lake side and you need to bring your own chair.

16 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

This***

What age range would you say Legoland and their hotel setup for?

I agree 12 and under, but age is all in your attitude. I enjoyed going to Legoland with the grandkids until they go older and had passes for several years. (We live close by)

I enjoyed going through the gardens and riding the island in the sky while they enjoyed riding and other things. would not recommend it for older kids unless they were Lego crazy, but an enjoyable day without a huge crowded mess.