ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm fairly certain that this is my first Trip Report. This is hard for me- I take a lot of pictures and usually am VERY wordy. The initial plan was that we would leave our house in Maryland and head straight to Key West, FL. But things change... first my wife wanted to be able to make one of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties. That pushed our departure timeline up so that we'd be driving on my daughter's birthday and she asked that she isn't stuck in the truck the whole day of her birthday. That pushed our timeline up another day BUT I also had to keep my time off of work to a minimum (luckily I work remotely, but a day in the truck isn't conducive to working). What started as a Friday evening departure turned into a Tuesday evening departure. The plan was to take a 1/2 day Tuesday, drive 1/2 way and as late into the evening as possible and then finish the drive on Wednesday.For the trip, it would be my family of 4 and my wife's parents joining us. We would leave before them and then they'd catch up with us. Down in Key West, my wife's grandmother and aunt got a hotel and came to visit us most days. But first, there's prep to get things ready.The weekend before the trip, my in-laws came down to pickup the kayaks. We bought a new roof rack for them and put my kayak carriers and boats on top of their car.(Bow and stern lines are required for highway trips.)Since our plan was to overnight without hookups for the first time, I also upgraded my battery to a Trojan 27TMH. My local battery place beat online prices by a good $75 and there was no shipping because I drove up for it. The first step was to make sure it got a good full charge:I learned a crap-ton about batteries and voltages and what full means and state of charge and all that jazz. Here I am checking it (with my brand new voltmeter):(Trojan's User Guide was paramount in my learning in addition to posts on the Forest River Forums.)A few weeks before we left, I took the hitch out of my truck and found that one of the lock-nuts for the U-Bolts for my B&W hitch had gotten difficult to turn. I took it off, later re-installed it, and contacted B&W to find out what to do. They sent out a set of 2 new U-Bolts and 4 lock-nuts to replace what was out there. I wanted to replace these before we left so that I could ensure the torque was correct on the hitch. First, I had to remove these lock nuts. Over lunch one day, I went out into a rare early December flurry and started working it.I never thought I'd be so happy to break a bolt in my life (my first one, too!). The work was slow going and oh-so-hard before it broke:We also had to load all of the gifts into the camper. Fortunately we have a u-shaped dinette with a lot of storage beneath it. Now you see it:Now you don't:The day before we left, I wanted to get the bikes hung on the camper with care. Over Thanksgiving, my father-in-law built me a pin-box mounted hitch that I put a bike rack into. This saved the bikes from going inside the camper and freed up our dinette during travel (which was important given our overnighting travel plans). Here's what the final product looks like:However, I wanted to keep things interesting. To hang the bikes on the camper, the truck has to be pulled up in front of it with the tailgate just ahead of the bike rack. That put my door right about where the storm drain is in front of our house. About 97 seconds after I thought, "Man, it would suck to drop my keys down there.", I did just that.As you can see, my brilliance told me to just lift the grate cover, jump down, get my keys, and re-place the grate cover. Reality had different plans. I managed to drop the grate cover down the hole (fortunately I didn't hurt myself in the process). I did recover the keys, but I ended up calling the police's non-emergency number (at 1pm) who put in a request with the utilities folks who left it this way until the next morning. But, here they showed up with a winch and chain.3 trucks and no less than 6 guys turned out. My only saving grace was that they almost dropped it down into the hole as they tried to put it back into place without the chain. And yes, I went out and fessed up to my stupidity. We all had a good chuckle.Being a family who adheres to a strict schedule is just not our way. I wanted to leave as close to 1pm as possible with an absolute no later than 2pm departure time. Well, we hit the 2 o' clock hour...But, the truck looked cute dressed up as Rudolph:My father-in-law suggested we try to make the front of the camper look like a sleigh. Great idea, but no clue how to implement it, so we didn't.On the road and on our way, there was nothing to do but stop for fuel and food and whatnot. First stop, topping up:Diesel prices being about $1/gallon cheaper than before made a nice difference in top-offs.The plan was to stop at the Camping World in Fayetteville, NC because some (many?) Camping Worlds will allow you to use their service spots for an overnight stop. We did it last year in Tallahassee. The nice part is, they offer 30amp electric and water sometimes. I ended up getting mixed messages when I called on the day we left and was found that we weren't welcome. So we moved on down the road and found a Walmart in Dillon, SC to spend the night.For those who do use smartphones but don't use the Allstays Camp & RV, consider it. It's $10 which is like a bajillion dollars in app cost, but it tells you of upcoming rest stops, truck stops (we were targeting Flying J and Pilots because we can pay at the pump in their truck lanes), Walmarts that allow overnight parking, and has the location of campgrounds. I can easily say, I wish I would have bought it earlier.I called ahead to Walmart to ensure that we were welcome to stay the night. The friendly lady on the phone said it was fine and to just park out away from the cars. When we got there, their were 3 or 4 other RVs and a tractor/trailer already. We parked near them and started deploying our slides.Our driver's side slide in the rear bunkhouse caused my camper to go back to the factory from October 2013-February 2014. Guess which slide would barely budge? Guess which slide design doesn't have an override mechanism outside of "push like heck"? There was no rain in the forecast and we have slide toppers, so we pushed it out enough for the kids to get through the door and figured we would deal with it in the morning.Previously, I've always been able to get that slides to retract without a whole lot of issue. The morning was beautiful for the fight that ensued:(Also notice the missing antler. Now that my son was turned around in his seat, he did something he's never done before and lowered the window on I-95. The antler was gone in an instant. We've since child-locked the door and now lock the windows.)Regardless of how much I pushed, I couldn't get the slide to retract. I called the Sabre Warranty Manager to talk me through some ideas and started watching Youtube videos to find out what the heck to do.I could reach the motor on one side:But, not the other. A small person would need to go on top of the slide. I knew just the woman for the job, introducing darling daughter (who is clearly upset at being forced to help):And now, when I said push like heck. I wasn't kidding. Here are blood bruises (aka hickeys) that I got from leaning into the slide:The Sabre warranty manager setup a mobile towing-slash-RV repair-slash-mechanic-slash-other to come out and help me retract the slide. Fortunately, I got it in on my own. The problem with this slide, when the motors are disengaged, they're free to travel on their own. We could only get 1 motor to re-engage and drove gingerly to the nearest Home Depot where we bought 2x4s to block the slide from extending itself.What should have been a 10am departure ended up with us leaving Home Depot at like 1:30. We still had 507 miles to go that day because I had to work the next day. BUT, I do believe that I'm at picture limit, so I'll stop here... Avatab.... Steve 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Wow!! that's a pain with the slide, but glad you got on the road!!! Can't wait to hear more! (Oh, and I think I'm first!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Yay!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in! This report is great already. I love how 6 guys came out from the city to fix that little grate. Classic. Looking forward to the rest of it! TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Memphis 105 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in. Your off to a great start....well on the report at least. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in! First page! Great start to the report... hope your luck gets better. All I can say about your arm is OUCH! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Northerngirl--Lori 5 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I can't wait to hear the rest! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Count me in. I have to read this while my wife isnt home so she doesnt see any pics of the Keys. Otherwise I know where I am headed to next. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in also!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Of course it takes six workers from the city to replace that grate. 4 to supervise, 1 to do the work and one to operate the winch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Trip report? Did someone say trip report? Sorry about the slide thing. That would the kind of luck we have too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parrothead7368 aka Norm 101 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I'm in and I like the travel part of stories the most I think. Best Regards,Norm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Wow!! that's a pain with the slide, but glad you got on the road!!! Can't wait to hear more! (Oh, and I think I'm first!) You are first! We fought with the slide each day until it magically decided to start working. But, by then we were headed home and I stopped trusting it so we stopped using it. I'll explain more later. Yay!!!!! My daughter is coming up to be a 10 year cancer survivor if my math is right. I love you signature line. I'm in! This report is great already. I love how 6 guys came out from the city to fix that little grate. Classic. Looking forward to the rest of it! TCD I literally walked out in time to see one of the guys ask the others "how in the hell did they do this?" I had to laugh as I walked up to them. Fortunately, the rest tames out quite a bit (except for the pig). I'm in too! Hola! I'm in. Your off to a great start....well on the report at least. Thanks. Fortunately, while we still had some issues- that first day was the worst. I'm in! First page! Great start to the report... hope your luck gets better. All I can say about your arm is OUCH! Fortunately it didn't hurt. It just looked bad. Both arms were that way, but I figured one picture of me topless was enough for a trip report! I can't wait to hear the rest! It's a good time. Count me in. I have to read this while my wife isnt home so she doesnt see any pics of the Keys. Otherwise I know where I am headed to next. Key West was GLORIOUS! The drive down was some of the most picturesque water I've ever seen. I'm in also!!!!!!!! Don't tell the others, but I like you more because we've met in person. Of course it takes six workers from the city to replace that grate. 4 to supervise, 1 to do the work and one to operate the winch. It did, but honestly I was more bothered that they left it like this overnight. My road is pitch black. I had traffic cones (fortunately I care 2 collapsible ones in the camper) around it, but it still made me very nervous. I publicly shamed them on their "Report a problem" web site which apparently helped me get to the top of the list the next morning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Trip report? Did someone say trip report? Sorry about the slide thing. That would the kind of luck we have too. We call it an adventure! It's always an adventure... I'm in and I like the travel part of stories the most I think. Best Regards,Norm Fortunately, we traveled a LOT. 2,500 miles round trip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seals 111 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Wow, you really know how to begin your vacation so you appreciate it when you get there. I'm someone who doesn't tow or carry anything outside my vehicle, and don't think I could manage it, so I'm amazed at the kayak mobile and your traveling home and garage. But my favorite part so far is imagining your son lowering the window on I-95 and the antler flying away. Looking forward to reading more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm in! Now let me go back and read it :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blm2003 2 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Wow, nothing like a little mechanical trouble to start out vacation! Glad you were able to get the slide back in, looking forward to more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm in! I hope your luck gets better!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm in. TR is off to great start I like your trip. Lol. I hope the rest of the trip was hassle free. Looking forward to read more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jengarynew adventures 0 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm in not certain which page, but glad to be along for the ride! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jengarynew adventures 0 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Sorry to hear about your keys, have thought I would do the same more than once. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Don't tell the others, but I like you more because we've met in person. Gee thanks!!!!!!! Which we will have to meet up again ..... how soon until Circle M opens? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'm in not certain which page, but glad to be along for the ride! Sorry to hear about your keys, have thought I would do the same more than once. You're the official start of page 2. :) And, I always had what I thought was an irrational fear of dropping my keys down one. Ironically, I was wearing a hoody with the big pocket across the front; that is what I thought my downfall was going to be. Instead, it was a good old-fashioned right hand to left hand switch and fumble. Perfect swish through the grate, though... Gee thanks!!!!!!! Which we will have to meet up again ..... how soon until Circle M opens? I think they open at Easter. But, if I know my wife- she'll try to get us down to Williamsburg again for our school's Easter/Spring break. In Circle M, we're close enough to be invaded by family; in Williamsburg, we'll be all alone. I'm in.TR is off to great start I like your trip. Lol.I hope the rest of the trip was hassle free.Looking forward to read more. It's mostly better, a couple of more hiccups- but nothing awful. I'm in! I hope your luck gets better!! We were on vacation- it had to be get better! Wow, nothing like a little mechanical trouble to start out vacation! Glad you were able to get the slide back in, looking forward to more! We like to keep things interesting. It's sort of a life mantra. I'm in! Now let me go back and read it :) Welcome! Hope you've enjoyed it so far. Wow, you really know how to begin your vacation so you appreciate it when you get there. I'm someone who doesn't tow or carry anything outside my vehicle, and don't think I could manage it, so I'm amazed at the kayak mobile and your traveling home and garage. But my favorite part so far is imagining your son lowering the window on I-95 and the antler flying away. Looking forward to reading more. The kayaks were the more manageable part of things except for the wildcard of them being on my in-laws car and not my own. I used to kayak guide for LL Bean and got pretty used to it. In fact, Bean was my introduction to towing- going from a lakeside parking lot, down a walking path to the lake side, and back. If we couldn't hitch up or park it, we just unhitched and rolled it into place. Went to a pop-up and then got stupid and bought a 40' fifth wheel. My how things have changed... As for the antlers... it wasn't funny then, but it's funny now. When we went through the MK gates later, we saw at least 2 or 3 complete sets on the ground (an antler here or there). So we definitely weren't alone! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok, so moving right along. This may be the quickest TR ever since I'm OCD and tend to be manic when I start something. (or, I'll get 1/2 way through and there will be a 6-month lull.) We were finally able to depart Dillon, SC and hit Home Depot. While I went in search of some long bungees and/or an alternative to cutting a 2x4, my wife and kids went shopping for Christmas decorations. I couldn't help but think of Lou as they came back with a Santa on a stick and our very first Santa inflatable. It's official- I'm a fiend. Pics later of that. Driving was pretty uneventful. I enjoyed another "less expensive" fill up: Saw some interesting things (most unphotographed): And finally, we pulled into the Pilot or Flying J in St. Augustine, FL. We were good for a fuel stop and it was dinner time. One, this was the worst laid out diesel fill up that we've experienced. Two, it was uber busy since it was 7pm and the truckers were starting to get off of the road. Three, this has the nicest RV parking lot that I've seen. And let me tell you, I wish I had taken a picture- it looked like a little campground out there! Easily 30+ RVs of all shapes and sizes, slides out, and a few generators running here or there. Our dirty travel secret is that we eat at Denny's. I dislike it a little less than I dislike Crackhead Barrel, but it's convenient and often in the truck stops. Here's my cute family while we waited: We got done with dinner at 8:30 or maybe a little later. We had 130 miles to go before we got to the Thousand Trails Orlando campground. I had called them earlier and was told that they had overnight spots in the parking lot for late arrivals (they implemented a rule this year of no check-ins after 5pm). I decided we'd boondock it for another night to save the hassle of dealing with my cord. I was feeling saucy since I bought the new battery and wanted to see how it faired. The problem is, I use a CPAP machine at night and my camper clearly isn't setup for the 12v side of life. My solution was to plug in a little power inverter in the kitchen's "Charging Station" and run an extension cord up to the bedroom. I did the same the previous night at Walmart, but didn't think to take a picture. But first, I assume that you all know the Elf On A Shelf. Just prior to it's sudden popularity, we went to a Christmas Tree lighting for the Candlelighters (now called the American Childhood Cancer Organization). There, we were given an "Elves from Catie" elf and we were told that this was a magical mischievous elf. Each evening, it would wake up and do some kind of mischief. When my son was born, we bought a boy elf and for 7-8-or-9 years now from early December to Christmas night, we've (ok, seriously- mostly I) have performed some kind of mischief with these dolls. This continues on in the camper. Here they're taking a nice bath in the kitchen: A quick throw-back, here is my daughter at her last radiation treatment on April 6, 2005. The nurses threw a party and Paige got her nails painted (while she was still asleep from the anesthesia) for the first time in her life. (Lots of anniversaries coming up and holy $hit, it really has been 10 years.) Again we fought with the slide to get it extended enough that the kids could get back there. Each evening I would sleep in shorts and I'd leave keys and shoes by the door in case something happened. We were awaken to a thump and a scream. Like a catcher ripping off his helmet, my mask came off and out of the bedroom I ran. Fortunately my son was coming through the inside door so I didn't have to go around. He says he fell trying to get out of bed. Who knows, he wasn't hurt. But, it was an omen. Try as I might- I couldn't get the slide back in. It was only extended 6"-8" and my wife finally convinced me to leave it that way and drive to our campsite. It was stuck enough it wasn't going to budge and it wasn't like we were going to hurt it more. Unfortunately, no pictures. So we got setup on our site. We were only there from Thursday to Sunday, so we did a minimal amount of work. Here's our decorations: And our camper: Notice the satellite dish/tailgater/orb-thing in that picture and the TV antennae in the next one. The dish belonged to our neighbor. Their son camped next to them previously but had to leave earlier than they did. This was where they found it worked best. But, they were polite and asked if it bothered us; if it did, they'd move it. Being a short stay with a lot planned, we said it was fine. My wife did watch the neighbor on the other side fiddle with his satellite dish for the better part of a day (visible in the top picture). Poor guy had bad knees and couldn't get up and down his steps well. While we were in Orlando, the plan was to meet up OldCoot from the ForestRiverForums. The guy has an amazing mechanical mind and I've bought a couple of his products. I got a tour of the many mods on his camper. Pretty neat stuff. We also some interesting things: This guy has a full marine/RV canvas shop in a car trailer that he pulls behind his motorhome. For travel, it all breaks down and he puts his car and golf cart into the trailer: No pictures, but I worked all day. :D Over the summer, we did a single overnight at the Fort. While we walked around, my daughter got it into her head that she'd like to see "the show there". So for her birthday, she asked if we could go to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. December 18 was her birthday and I was able to get tickets for the 6:15 show. So that's what we did! First, the obligatory gates shot: A question, there are signs that say "no stopping". I assume these are all bark and no bite since people stop all the time? Then we saw some decorated golf carts, here's one: We waited for what felt like forever (being ravenously hungry didn't help things): Again no pictures, but my son did get a time out while outside and had to stand in a corner. An older gentleman next to us seemed to enjoy son's antics to no end. Even chuckling when L got his timeout. Finally, we were inside! The worst bit to the whole trip was that my daughter started getting sick on Tuesday. By Thursday, she felt like crude. She put on a good face, but felt like JUNK. Just don't tell the actors... I'm awful at food pictures of kitties, so you get none. The food was OK. This is my second ribs experience at Disney (the first was Whispering Canyon over the summer) and let me say- I completely dislike them. Though, I'm not much of a ribs person. The cornbread was great and chicken good. The potatoes were lumpy (just like Momma used to make) so my daughter didn't like them. All told, we'd still go back but it wasn't great. But the show started and that's what we were here for. We did get an announcement for daughter's birthday- that was cute. She's still young enough to not be mortified by that kind of thing. And! She got picked for the show: The only problem with her in the show was that we were enthralled with the stage and barely got to eat the dessert. I really enjoyed it, though. The washboards were fun: See that beautiful white shirt? My wife somehow thought we'd be able to do some pictures afterwards. BAHAHAHAHA. After the show, we got on a boat over to MK. Since we lost our MVMCP tickets, we wanted to get that all fixed up ahead of time. We were literally the only people on the boat on the way over. My wife and son sat up front and daughter and I inside. The boat captain said something about a bear that protects the Wilderness Lodge. I didn't get a picture, but found this online: My pictures are failing my already awful memory, so I feel like we road the monorail a bit. It's son's favorite ride at Disney. By the time that we got back, it was after 11pm. We wanted to do some looping, but it was dark and cold. I tried going to see the fiend with the 53' fifth wheel (I didn't realize he was long gone by then). We did see one big display in the 1200 loop (I think). Of course, we let the most responsible driver take the wheel: Decorations: This one still makes me laugh: And then we shivered our way up front to return the cart and head home. My beautiful wife drove us the whole way to the truck before returning the cart. I returned the favor and picked her back up as close as possible. So that was our Thursday. On Friday, I worked, a mobile RV tech came out, and we Mickey Very Merry Christmas Partied.. but that'll be for the next update. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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