History of a 2003 Keystone Everest 363k

[CWtheMan]

1001

Coming soon, some short stories and PIXs of the 14 year history of our 2003 363K Everest RV trailer. Right now I'm trying to put the PIXs in chronological order.

Early in 2003 we sold the home we had built in a golf course community at Jacksonville, FL and nearly everything in it. What we didn’t sell or give to our children was put in long term storage.

I retired from the USN in 1988 (31 years) and DOD in 2002 (12 years). Linda was a licensed Florida real estate agent and property manager. She was diagnosed with a debilitating non-life threatening chronic condition and placed on 100% SS disabled list (2003). Taking care of a large house became very challenging for us. We had always liked to travel and could easily maintain a 38’ RV trailer home.

Here are pictures or our last truly “stick” home.

[CWtheMan]

1002

We purchased the Everest. While selling a lot of our personal items on eBay I also searched for various RV models. Early on the Class As was in the picture. We were not comfortable with having to periodically take a class A in for maintenance and soon put all of our attention on 5th wheels. Jacksonville, FL has a very large metropolitan area with at least 6 major RV dealerships. Non that we went to were very informative and not willing to come off MSRP. I searched the internet and found Lazydays RV at Seffner, FL. At that time it was a major dealership and employee owned. Therefore they had a more vested interest in pleasing their customers. We went and looked at most of their fiver inventory. The Everest and Montana were very similar in structure and price. It just became a matter of living space. The Everest stood out over the Montana because they did not have that sloping roof. The Everest had placed almost all internal weights near or over the axles. Even the washer/dryer was on the main floor level.

Our sales rep was in his early 40s and had a lot of experience. He was extremely helpful when it came to selecting options. He talked us into having a single 15K air conditioner rather that two, helping save cargo capacity. We went with the vented single unit washer/dryer. He discussed GVWR and GAWRs and told us they would not hook-up a tow vehicle that couldn’t handle the tongue weight and cargo capacity.

Our first TV was a used 1999 dodge with a crew cab and long bed. It had the Cummins diesel with 72,000 miles (not out of warranty).

Lazydays had a Camping World right on site and they installed our Reece - 18K - hitch and all roof vent covers.

Lazydays had a FHU PDI inspection site and we could stay at their motel until we accepted the trailer and signed the papers.

At the time of our sales deal, haggling was normal. We got 17% off MSRP.

Our first trip was from Tampa to Jacksonville. We had made a 2 week reservation at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville RV Park. It had rained extensively and we parked in a puddle that drained of quit quickly once the raining stopped. Our first couple of stops after that was at our parents’ locations, and then we just pointed to the best average 70+ weather conditions and traveled. In the beginning I wasn’t much of a shutter bug and missed a lot of opportunities for great pictures. Soon I got a nice little 8X zooming Sony. It took great pictures on the fly.

[CWtheMan]

1003

The very first time we tried to get the trailer disconnected from the TV the landing gear motor failed. I called local Keystone dealer and talked with someone in the maintenance department. He said it was quite common for that to happen because the 30 AMP in-line fuse would sometimes fail under the power surge. He could not tell us the location of the fuse but it would be easy to trace back by following the wires to the electrical panel. He recommended a 50 AMP replacement. He also said it could happen with the slide system and to also replace that 30 AMP fuse with a 50 AMP. I went and got a couple of 50 AMP fuses and a spare. I never had to use the spare.

That little episode got us into studying all mechanical operational equipment and their normal maintenance intervals. After studying the owner’s manual we felt more confident in our ability to cope with simple maintenance problems.

Our most successful maintenance habits got the original battery to last 7 years. We never had a problem with breaks, bearings or wheels. Tires became a very early problem and were never completely solved. That’s another long story.

Our first road stop was to visit my parents and brothers at Fayetteville, NC. We parked at our first KOA. It was out on US-301, just in the town limit of Wade, NC. The site was large and grassy with FHU 50 AMPs. We planned a 10 day stay. I did some golfing and fishing with my brothers and Linda did gabbing and shopping with my mom and others.

One day one of my brothers drove his little fishing truck out and parked under the trailer’s tow hitch. It got the attention of all passers-by.

While at the KOA I discussed blocking materials with one of my brothers. I told him I didn’t really like the commercial plastic ones sold at CW because of their sharp edges. He said I should consider building some from wood. I would be able to bevel them and eliminate sharp edges. I told him I thought the wood would be just as expensive as the commercial ones. He said I could get the wood free and he would show me how. We got in his little truck and drove around until we found a new home development. We found the foreman and asked about getting some of his scrap wood. He pointed out a pile and told us we could take anything that had already been cut or had a nail in it. Whenever we wore-out some wood, that procedure for replacements works all across the country.

The trailer had 3 slides. They could be operated Independently with hydraulic knobs on the power system. It was a pain in the butt but very efficient. We normally used them for short overnight stops where we only extended the bedroom slide. The picture below shows the HYD Motor with the three knobs. Also in that compartment is where I found the in-line CBs mentioned earlier.

[CWtheMan]

3004

When we left Fayetteville we went to Linda’s family home at Greenville, SC. We parked at the Rainbow PV Park. Again, no pictures, we were just not carrying cameras and just plain forget to get pictures. One day right after digital cameras hit the market; Linda got me one to take on my fishing trips. While trying to take pictures of a huge snake that didn’t seem to want its picture taken, I dropped the camera in the water. That was the end of that camera. There was a message there; when fishing stick to fishing.

After our two week stay in Greenville, we headed south. Our first stop was Atlanta, GA. We parked in a red mud park; no pictures. We went out to see Stone Mountain. On the way we got one of those throwaway cameras. Take pictures; turn in for developing and that was it. It took good pictures. On the way to the park we stopped at the golf course and got coffee and a snack. Close by was a stern wheeler and we took that short ride. I'm a great believer in, staying active will keep you young much longer. In those pictures of us, Linda is 61 and I'm 64.

Next stop, Gulf Port, MS.

[CWtheMan]

1005

Since our very first stop at Las Vegas in 1970 we have liked the gaming, shows and glitter of that industry. A lot of our friends and family members refer to us as gamblers. We have an entertainment budget and we NEVER over-spend it. In retirement we could go, stay longer and enjoy ourselves.

When we left Atlanta our next stop was Gulfport, MS. The Naval Construction Battalion Center had a nice RV park there on base.

From Atlanta to Gulfport it was about 400 miles. A long trip for us and not often did we go over 300 miles a day. To make this one even longer we lost both right side tires on the trailer. I thought it was quite strange to lose two tires on such a new trailer. They were easy to replace (Marathons) and we were moving again in about an hour and a half.

The Seabee base RV Park was full when we arrived. The only site open was a temp site for disabled veterans. After 31 years in the Navy I was retired out on a service connected disability. So, along with my military retired ID card I also have a service connected VA ID card and that got us into that site. A few days later another site came open and we moved to it.

The loss of those tires on the way to MS got me thinking about some needed equipment. Although we never contemplated boon-docking or dry camping we could see the need for some extra emergency support. I already had a 50 – 30 AMP pigtail so I got a 30 – 15 AMP one to use with the new 2000 Honda generator and a 15 AMP 25’ extension cord. In later years it came in handy when wanting to hook-up to house power.

The Copa Casino at Gulfport became our favorite casino while at the Seabee Park. It was just three and a half miles from the main gate. The Seabees built a very nice par 72 golf course on base and I spent a lot of time there. The surf fishing was great and we ate most we caught. We went to a number of popular shows at various casinos at Biloxi. The dinner shows were always our favorites. We were still using those throw-away cameras. Pretty soon we’d have a good one.

Next scheduled stop; Yulee, FL.








NOTE: In the large RV picture you can see where I had drilled a hole in the side of the trailer so I could have an independent TV connection in the bedroom from the dish. Our dish had dual TV capabilities.

[CWtheMan]

1006

On the way to Yulee, FL we lost the trailer tires on the driver side. Got some replacements on the road, they were Hi-Run ST tires. From the get-go I suspected they would be problem tires because their normal temps were 10-12 degrees hotter than the Marathons. (Our Everest had vehicle certified (6000# axles). The GY Marathons that came on our trailer were ST235/80R16 LRD. Even though we kept them at the max 65 PSI they were going to fail. They were rated at 3000# load capacity and we felt we may be over the GAWRs at least on 1 or 2 wheel positions. I had already started researching RV trailer tires. Almost all manufacturers of those LRD tires quit making them with the LRD because trailer manufacturers could and were using them on 6000# axles. While at Yulee we purchased a whole new set of tires including the spare. They were ST235/80R16 LRE with 3520# of load capacity. We would never be able to use any tires taller than the new ones. The Everest had 32” center to center axle spacing.

We were in Yulee because there were no other RV Parks; including military that could give use two side by side sites. Our long time Navy friends Don & Betty Doole had done the same thing as us; sold everything and got a 2002 Pride. Over the next few years they would spend about 75% of their time traveling with us.

My Christmas present was a new 2004 Dodge long bed, crew cab, dually with the Cummins diesel hooked to 4.10 gearing. It sure improved our hill climbing ability and was much roomier than the silver one. Our first stop out of Yulee was at some scales. Our rear axle was over GAWR and the forward one had a wheel position over GAWR. Our storage unit at Jacksonville had a large parking area and we went there and off-loaded 525# of cargo, mostly clothing, shoes and hardback books. We moved a lot of things around to get our trailer’s tongue weight down to 2700#. That would allow us to add a few things to the new truck. Another trip to the scales showed that we had a nearly level rig with about 250# of available cargo capacity in the trailer. That was very good because selling on eBay was one of our hobbies. We went to yard sales on the weekends. Small things were our specialty. Things military, like Zippo lighters, old fishing lures, and the heavy one, Linda’s hard cover 1st edition books. Now that we knew what we could add we could send excess weight items to one of our two sons living at Jacksonville and they would put them in storage for us.

Once in 1971 I reenlisted in a combat zone. Doing so allows you to select a permanent home state of residence. That allowed easy access to mail-in voting. One of Linda’s brothers was a long time resident of Jacksonville and I used that address for tax purposes, vehicle registrations and driver’s license address. Before leaving FL we established a mail service with a UPS store. Because they used a location address rather than a drop box number we could have just about anything sent to our box there and they would hold it until we asked for it to be shipped to us on the road. It was a wonderful arrangement and not as expensive as some thought it must be. We were charged a nominal fee for the box and service and only the standard fee for shipping.

On a trip to CW we purchased a 30 gallon “blue “boy”. I built a rack for it under the trailer behind the spare tire location. All the time we carried it around with us I can only remember using it 3 times.

We were searching for a place in central FL to spend a few of the winter months. Don & Betty were going to IL. And that’s the next story.

In the people picture is Linda our daughter-in-law Evonne, our two grand children and my brother Richard, He drove down for golfing and fishing. We had no problem hooking to the new truck as I had the 5th wheel removed from the silver truck and installed in the Black. I almost forgot that story. The 2004 dually was the first Dodge dually to have a tubular frame. The dodge place said they would remove and reinstall the hitch in the black one. The papers were signed. The hitch could not be used with the tubular frame. The dodge people had to contact Reece and get the items to modify it to fit the new truck.

[CWtheMan]

1007

After our stop at Yulee, FL we had decided to spend a few months in central FL, someplace we had never visited. We decided on the Tampa/St Petersburg area. All of the military places with long term parking were already full, including the huge FAMCAMS at Macdill AFB at Tampa.

After exhausting our search for sites at area CGs and RV Parks we switched to RV resorts. Robert’s RV Resort at St Petersburg – just across the Gandy Bridge - had a few sites open. They were way back in the park’s seasonal section that had been converted to FHU RV trailer sites.

It turned out that Robert’s was a great find. Robert’s is a huge facility with all sorts of gaming areas and hobby rooms. They have on the average, 2 golf outings a month at different golf courses in the area. The park has three entrance/exit gates, all going to different highways. It’s in an area where shopping malls, restaurants and large box grocery shopping are close by. Once you learn the short-cuts it makes it easier to go places and stay out of the busy traffic.

They left the old Gandy Bridge intact for pedestrians, bike riding and fishing. There were outhouses at various places across the old bridge. Fishing from the bridge was popular with spotted sea trout being my favorite catch.

We explored the whole area including the Hard Rock Casino and Bush Gardens at Tampa. We shopped at John’s Village & Pass and their attractions and enjoyed the gulf shores at St Petersburg beaches. We stayed 3 months at monthly rates. Our site was #507 on the map.

The bad news: When leaving Robert’s we went out the Tampa side gate and struck a low tree limb. It destroyed our rubber roof. I got out and took some pictures and then drove over to Lazydays RV where we purchased our trailer. They had a FHU bay open and would order the replacement roofing. I contacted my insurance company and an agent came by and we drove out to Robert’s for him to get more pictures. Robert’s had already cut the limb off the tree. It wasn’t a problem because the insurance paid all repairs. We could spend nights and any days when the trailer was not in repair in the trailer in the bay. We just couldn’t use any propane. We had an elect grill, crock pot and fry pan so cooking fast foods was not a problem. Being members of Lazydays got us free breakfast every morning. Ten days later we were finally underway again. (During our time in a maintenance repair bay, they had 84 of them not including 4 full leak check bays, where they simulated heavy rains).

The following links are updated and active.

https://robertsrv.com/

https://www.seminolehardrocktampa.co...YzMDI0MjA2MC4w

https://johnspass.com/

[CWtheMan]

1008

Trailer and equipment update. The 1st picture shows me closing the vent doors on the generator/storage compartment. Our Everest was pre- equipped for a propane generator and the forward compartment had to be vented. We had no flammables in there so there was no reason to keep the vents open. We had just completed the PDI – which took 2 days – and were getting ready to hit the road. The most serious thing that needed attention was a awning attachment.

I’m a real novice when it comes to drawing lines using paint. Here is a description of the blue markings from top left going down R-L. 1. Washer/dryer vent. 2. Black tank garden hose connection. 3. City water garden hose connection. 4. Propane heater vents. 5. Access – gray & black tank dump valves. 6. Sewer hoses – up to 40’ – vented storage compartment. The first access panel just forward of the far right blue mark is a basement pass-thru access panel. I kept all water hoses, extra in-line filters, hose connectors, extra water filters and two 8” water pump pliers; all in a large plastic clothes basket.

You must remember we are not boondockers or dry campers and never did it. When we’re connected to a FHU site, including gray water only, our gray water dump valve is always open. On the last day at a destination site we close that dump valve to have gray water available to flush the sewer hoses. We dump the black tank whenever it gets to ¾ full and every time we move from a FHU site, even overnighters. When we dump the black tank we then use a blue flush line hose and fill the tank all the way fill and dump again. Then we dump the gray tank. Before getting underway we use a 8 oz black tank single from Wal-Mart and about 7-10# of ice cubes and 5 gallons of water, all go in the toilet and then flushed into the black tank. (After more than 14 years of use we never had any tank problems).

Our Everest had polybutylene plumbing. There were a lot of problems with those materials in the 1980s. After reengineering the entire collection of fittings the problem was solved. We never used water pressure regulators of any kind. We used in-line filters and replaced them every 2-3 months.

We use the standard 7” zip-ties to secure our indoor storage compartments. In the flat ware compartments we secure the items with pillows. I get the ties from Home Depot/Lowe’s in 1500 bulk packages for about 14-15 cents each. In the last picture you can see a tie holding kitchen cabnet doors closed. We use the standard 7” zip-ties to secure our indoor storage compartments. I get the ties from Home Depot/Lowe’s in 1500 bulk packages for about 14-15 cents each. For flatware compartments we use pillows hoping to prevent breakages.

Okay, that’s it for this post. I’m sure there will be others like it along the way when a post triggers the memories.

[CWtheMan]

1009

This post will have a traveling itinerary from St Petersburg FL to Jonestown PA. Our traveling companions will meet us at Jonestown for a trip to Nova Scotia.

Over the years we did a lot of tire changing. I’ll post them as they happened. I’m sure I’ve forgot some of them. When full timing we changed sets of tires every 12,000 miles. Back 15-18 years ago ST tires seldom lasted longer than 12,000 miles. I’m pretty sure that with the current ST tires I’d trust them up to 20,000 miles with constant use and servicing.

Right after leaving St Petersburg and turning left on US-41 to connect with I-4, a passenger in a passing bumper-pull put a note up in a window saying it looked like the leading tire on the driver side was going flat. I pulled over to inspect it and sure enough, a strange looking bolt had penetrated the tire carcass. I changed the tire – all were new – and drove on to a Discount Tire store at Plant City, FL. I wanted to just get a plug-patch but the installer said the damage to the steel belts would not allow a satisfactory plug-patch repair; I agreed. They didn’t have our brand name tires in stock but found one close by and I had it installed.

Our first stopover was at Flamingo Lakes RV Resort (expensive) at Jacksonville, FL. We were there for two days/nights. Our children and grand children came out for a visit and took a few things to our storage unit. We had acquired some extra things at yard sales/flea markets at St Pete that we wanted to keep.

Our 2nd stop was at the New Green Acres RV Park just off SC I-95 at exit 53. It’s an ideal place to spend a night with a FHU, extra cannels on the CATV and its sites are extra large and flat making it very easy to level-up for the night. When we stay connected for overnighters we put down our landing gear and rear stabilizers. If you look real close at the picture you will see I put a 2” wood block under the trailing right side tire to make the trailer truly, level side to side and fore and aft. Another welcomed attraction about this stop is fuel. Lust before entering the park there is a full service fuel stop with very nice sized lanes for long rigs. As you exit the park there is another one just across the street from the first one. They have almost identical features including hot snacks.

Our trip to Greenville, SC was uneventful. However, going up I-26 there are a lot of medium road climbs (3-5 degrees) and we was very happy with the extra power the new truck had over the older one.

We had found a more suitable RV Park to stay in at Greenville. Donaldson AFB was a target of the BRAC commission some years ago and was closed. The facilities were turned over to the city which has been very successful in gaining a number of long term aviation repair facilities there. Just outside what used to be the main gate, there had been a mobile home park. The owner converted it to a RV Park. The owner and his two sons live there and with the help of other family members manage the place. So, it’s much safer to stay there than people think. Many of the sites are long term and almost exclusively rented by aviation workers at Donaldson Center. The link for Springwood RV Park is active and updated. All sites are FHU, 30/50 AMPS, no CATV. We stayed 10 days and the grass under the trailer shows it.

https://springwoodrvpark.com/

From Greenville, SC to Jonestown, PA we used interstate highways about 80% of the way. We never used a percentage close to that again. If you really want to see America the US highways, state and rural roads are the way to do it. Toll roads/highways are just out of the mix, unless they’re the only way to cross or go under water.

Leaving Greenville we traveled up US-25 (hard climb) to I-26. I-26 would take us all the way to I-81. On a long climb on I-26 we lost a tire. It was the new one we had just got in FL. I heard it go and pulled right over. We have all the emergency equipment to change tires, even a set of tripods. Right after I chocked the wheels and put out the tripods a NC highway patrol officer came along and stopped to see if we would be able to change the tire. I said we could but he insisted he stay parked behind our trailer until we got the spare on and ready to travel again. The sidewall had failed and appeared to have hit something sharp. There were no damages and the spare still had 80 PSI in it. Back then the big box stores like Wal-Mart did not carry large trailer tires. We stopped in Ashville and found a tire store that had our brand name and got a new one.

Going up I-26 we were going to go all the way to I-81 for the trip to Johnstown, PA. At a fuel stop a trucker recommended we take US-19 to Bristol, TN. We did and it was a beautiful drive that took us right past the NASCAR race track at Bristol. The picture of our rig on US-19 was taken at a overlook stop with restrooms.

One of the RVers we met at Springwood recommended our next stop on this trek north. The RV Park is Fort Chiswell. It’s a rural country setting, very clean, quiet, has a nice camp store, and a fishing pond. Access to I-77 or I-81 is very easy. They provide FHU sites with basic cable. Highly recommended! The link is active.

http://properties.camping.com/fort-c...round/overview

Our next stop was at Johnstown, PA KOA. So I’m going to end this post here because we did a lot of side trips from the Johnstown KOA.

[CWtheMan]

1010

The average word count for each post in this thread has been at least twice as high as I planned. And I’m not a very good descriptive writer, they may get longer. I’m keeping the pictures down to 8 or less but they require a lot of space. I have a Naval Aviation thread in the odds & ends forum where I’ve made 67 postings, mostly short and the total postings in that thread is 182 with 29,180 views.

My thoughts for this thread were to post the endurance of our Keystone Everest. However, I’ve led myself into a journal format. I guess what I’m asking is for an approval from the site to continue in the direction I’ve ended-up taken with this thread?

I’ll go ahead and write this 10th post and then wait for the site team’s comments.

Our trip from VA to PA (320 miles) was uneventful and boring. Interstate highways are for high speed traveling and that’s not an interest of ours while traveling the country. Sure, there are times where US highways and Interstate highways in the same direction are going to be boring, Wyoming comes to mind.

Our stop at Jonestown, PA was our first major stop at a KOA CG. It was spacious with a large clubhouse, a huge fire ring for get-togethers and a small outdoor stadium for live entertainment including karaoke. We had called ahead and made reservations for two rigs (side by side if possible). Our long time Navy friends would join us there and we planned on meandering around in New England that summer. We had chosen Johnstown because it would be centrally located for the side trips we would make, even one long one to Philadelphia.

The CG was loaded with large trees. It took me nearly an hour to find a Dish signal. The CG clubhouse served 25 cent coffee and a wide selection of Dunking Donuts every morning. They had other breakfast items but us Navy folks like our coffee in the morning and 25 cents was a great price.

Don and Betty got there two days behind us. They came-down from their winter stay at Betty’s home town, Peoria, IL. Their Pride, like our Everest had a winter package and survived the winter well. They got a propane service (200# tank) and stayed snug through the cold spells.

We had never been in a large Amish/Mennonite farming area before. I guess the best deception about it, is; it’s different.

Next post: Jonestown #2.

[CWtheMan]

1010A

We were always learning something new to make our Everest easier to use. Some were a necessity. Our friends had spent the winter months at a RV/Mobile Home Park at Pieria, IL. Because the RV sites were converted from mobile home sites the sewer connections were under the RV and longer dump hoses were required. So we added a blue 20’ extension hose and clear fitting to our inventory. They would come in handy more than once. Near Lititz, PA there was a huge Mennonite Flea market. All the women working there wore white uniforms with bonnets having blue designs. They had a little RV supply store there and that’s where we got the sewer connections.



Lititz provided us with a great story. We went there looking for a very popular chocolate factory. Right across the street from it was a great little lunch shop. While sitting there Linda mentioned a friend she had known in VA 40 something years earlier that was from Lititz. Our waitress overheard the conversation and said families there hardly ever changed their names and maybe she would be in listed in the phone book. Sure enough her name was in the book. Linda called and much to our surprise it was the same person. She came out to our RV the next day and she and Linda reminisced about times past.

Some of the highlights while at Johnstown included a trip the Hershey factory at Hershey, PA. Another was a long day trip to Philadelphia where we visited historical attractions and took a downtown buggy tour. We spent another day browsing the huge outlet stores at Reading. On the weekends the KOA had some very good entertainment and we stayed at home to attend them.









Because we have concealed weapons permits we carry hand guns. It would affect our stopping areas heading NE. We would surely NEVER stay in MA. Early on I talked with a law enforcement contact of mine about carrying hand guns in RVs. He recommended we get a lead sealed personal safe and permanently attach it in a concealed area. He said just about any jurisdiction would have to have some serious reasons to get a warrant to search personal sealed safes because of the documents they might contain. Our FL permits have reciprocals with more than two thirds of the states. In them we can carry on person. Going into Canada you just have to leave them behind. It’s not hard to find a US town/city police department near the border where they can be stored.

Next we continue on our trek to NE with some stops along the way.

[CWtheMan]

1011

Back in the early 2000s our primary way finding places to stay was by using the large Road Atlas maps and the huge nationwide RV Park/CG catalog. We had analog cell phones connected with Verizon; probably the most used at the time with about 75% connection availability. Our normal traveling mileage per day was somewhere between 250 – 300 miles. When we got in range of a place to stay for a day or two and there were no billboard advertisements we’d pull over and study the CG catalogs –we had two – sometimes one publication would have listings the other one would not have. That’s how we found Korns CG at Middletown, NY. (The trip was right at 300 miles from Johnstown, PA). Over the next few years it would be one of our scheduled resting stops. It was always under development of some sort but always had large FHU sites.

These pictures are from our first stop when the Doole’s were traveling with us. Because of a beautiful rural golf course we saw just off the CG road we decided to stay two days. We parked in a new section with a large grassy field where we could hit and shag golf balls. The girls explored the town and a few yard sales. Don and I played a round of golf and watched an interesting poker game at the 19th hole.



Our next stop was way off “the beaten path”. A small US Air Force tracking station in a smallish NH community called New Boston. The CG was basically for tent, pop-ups and single wheel RV trailers. However they did have a section for larger rigs such as ours but they were seldom used and that section was closed the year after we were there.

The sites we were in were 30 APMs with fresh water and they let us dump our gray water in ditches some 50’ away from the trailers. It allowed us to stay a week. There was a functional sewer dumping station as we were exiting the CG and it had good water pressure for rinsing our black tanks. There were a couple of young collage age attendants during the day, nothing at night. The CG was loaded with cut wood left behind by previous campers. All we had to do was collect it. New Boston, about 7 miles away had a new super Wal-Mart and we did our shopping there. Actually, our sites were quit adequate and right on a clear water pond/lake teaming with all sorts of eatable fish. We had chipmunks and geese foraging around the trailers every day. Deer came at nigh but were not as bold as the smaller animals. It was super quite with great clear skies at night. It was a very relaxing place to rest, play corn hole or fish in the daytime and dominos/cards in the evenings. The closest small campers were more than a mile away.

We used a lot of rural roads getting to New Boston and would use many more getting to our next long stop at West Ossipee, NH

[CWtheMan]

1012

West Ossipee, NH, a late spring time destination stop. We were staging-up for our trip to Nova Scotia. My 1st cousin Jan – mothers side – and her husband Dan had recently purchased Whit’s End Campground. It’s a large area bordered on the NE by the Bearcamp River. They are a hard working couple and built the CG into one of the top ten large CGs in NH.

When they found out we were coming to NE they asked us to stay with them. I told them our two trailers were 35’ & 38’ and asked if they could accommodate them with 50 AMPS. They said “not yet” but we’ll have two sites for you by the time you get here. They cleared out some land, put in fresh water and 50 AMP connections and allowed us to dump gray water 50’ behind our trailers in a deep ditch. Dan had purchased an old smallish tanker truck and converted it to a sewer truck that could take our black tank contents at least once a week. The tree cover was very tall and heavy. We had to purchase another 200’ of TV cable so we could get dish signals. Don’s Direct TV antenna could get a good signal. Our Dish antenna could not. We used one of his receivers and both had living room TV service. You may notice in a lot of my trailer pictures the Bat antenna is extended and we are also connected to the dish. Dish TV and ABC TV were always arguing about pricing and anything else they could find to argue about. So a lot of areas around the country did not have ABC on the Dish. We could almost always find a local ABC channel with the Bat.

The trip up the narrow NH rural roads was very enjoyable with lots of clear water lakes and ponds along the way, some with places large enough to make a stop and takes a rest. Once at such a stop some small Mallard ducklings came right up to us while they were foraging. The adults were not happy about that at all.





If you’ve never visited NE in the warm seasons you haven’t met the part time owners, mosquitoes. You might get them to stop biting for awhile with a generous coat of Deep Woods Off. The best way is to screen them out. So, we went and got a tent like screen room and put it up between our trailers. We did all outside eating there and sometimes played cards or dominos.




Just above the CG the Bearcamp River there are some small rapids. Dan has a truck that will carry about a dozen kayaks a few miles up above the rapids. Renters can then ride them all the way back to the CG where the water gets shallow and slows down a bit.



We were scheduled to stay a month but a family emergence arose in SC. Linda’s mother (93) became very ill and we went back to SC. Don & Betty would complete the month at Whit’s End and finish their trip to Nova Scotia. We would not hook-up with them again until the following spring.

Our trip to SC was uneventful and fast, sometimes in excess of the 65 MPH restriction of the tires. I was surprised none failed. Before we left SC we would get a whole new set. It was about an 1800 mile trip and we made it in three days.

You just might not want a family member find you an RV parking site after you read the next installment.

[CWtheMan]

1013

When Linda’s brother – still living in SC – called and told us about their mother’s condition we asked him to see if he could get us a reservation at Rainbow, RV Park. It’s a somewhat shabby place with a lot of permanent and seasonal residents. However, it would be the most convent place for us for its close proximity to Linda’s mother’s home. There were no long term sites available and in his search for a long term site Linda’s brother found April Valley RV Park at Pickens, SC. At that time it was new construction and had all infrastructures completed. It has a manmade well stocked cat fish pond below a small earth dam where there is a fresh water pond that even has trout – mostly rainbow – from its tributary. The park is about 10 miles from shopping areas in Greenville and 15 miles from Linda’s mother’s home, all rural roads. Being an avid golfer with a 6 handicap had some influence for Linda’s brother to find April Valley. One of the finest country golf courses in the county was just two miles away. It was our primary fast food stop and occasional weekend dinner outing when specials were served.

The RV Park was destined to be an adult park and a welcome place for country loving snow birds. We were to be its very first customers. We were offered three months at half the park opening rates with free elect connection. We were also situated on the catfish pond with just a short walk to the clear water pond. We would’ve never stayed there without family obligations to do so. But, it was mostly a place to hang our hat, so to speak, and enjoy the very quiet and clear evenings and nights. When time permitted, I golfed and fished. Linda’s family and friends kept her constantly on the go.

With close management, our single 15K A/C would keep the temp in the 70s, even on the very hot days. We would turn off the vents to the bedroom and keep the door closed during the day and open all vents at night so the interior would be cool to start the next day in the heat.

You will hardly ever see us with our awning down and anchored unless it provides some protection. In this site we had the morning and an early afternoon sun to contend with so the awning was deployed and anchored during our stay at April Valley.

We stayed there until Linda’s mother’s estate was probated and then headed south to FL for the winter.

The vidio in the link below will show you how the place has improved over the years. The SC countryside in the foothills sections is quite attractive in the green times of the year.

https://aprilvalleyrvpark.com/

[CWtheMan]

1014

After leaving April Valley RV Park at Pickens, SC we headed south for the winter months. On the way down we spent a night at New Green Acres (1009) which is about half way to Jacksonville, FL. The next dy when entering FL we stopped at the welcome center. We were just going to spend two nights at Jacksonville unless we could get a site A Naval Station, Mayport, FL. We got lucky, they had a site (premium) and we could have it for a week.

The Pelican Roost RV Park at NS, Mayport is one of the top 5 US military CGs. It’s situated on the St Johns River south jetties where the St Johns River dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. The whole front row of the RV Park has an unrestricted view of the jetties; river and the Mayport NS basin where all the fleet ships, home ported in Jacksonville, are moored, including the carrier pier.

The Park office houses a lounge, outside tiki bar and camp store where frozen fishing bait can be purchased. There is also a free laundry room & game room. NS Mayport has a 18 hole championship golf course which is a true links like course. Their clubhouse features a restaurant and snack bar and all sorts of golfing equipment and apparel. The base commissary and Navy exchange are off base in a mall like setting.

You never know what kind of fish you may catch from the jetties area. Dolphins cruise the walls. Manta Rays and sharks may be seen in the basin. As the waters of the river and ocean converge you may see Manta Rays jumping clear of the water. Some say they do it to get rid of parasites.

Everything that comes to the port of Jacksonville, Blunt Island and NS Mayport must pass the RV Park. Some shutterbugs will sit out there day after day getting pictures of everything that passes and large fish caught by the never ending string of people fishing from the jetties. The only thing between the RV Park and the open ocean is the area fire fighting school.

Across the river at the north jetties are a long string of dunes. The 2 & 4 wheel off road enthusiast can cross the river at the town of Mayport via a ferry boat that is run by the city and has an all day schedule. Riding the dunes and surf fishing from the flat beaches there is popular with Pelican Roost residents. There is a back gate at NS Mayport that is just a short distance from the ferry boat pier.

In the pictures, the aircraft carrier at the Mayport carrier pier was the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). It was the last active petroleum diesel fuel aircraft carrier. Since its retirement there have been zero aircraft carrier visits to NS Mayport. Most of the nuclear powered aircraft carriers draw about 43’ of water. The Mayport basin is not deep enough and attempts to get it dredged for them have a nuke carrier have never been approved.

[CWtheMan]

1015

After leaving the Pelican Roost RV Park at NS, Mayport we headed south to spend a few months at the Robert’s RV Resort at St Petersburg again. My Uncle Hermann from Maine and his wife were spending the winter there in a seasonal rig. We got a site right beside them.

During this trip to St Pete we finally replaced that awful mattress and got a much more comfortable one.

After about 2 months, a hurricane was in the Gulf and headed to St Pete. We decided to move north to Starke, FL. We got a site at the Starke KOA. It’s a well maintained family operation with the owner’s living on the property. They catered to the Snow Birds and at that time had very reasonable prices for a KOA. They have a fishing pond and a large meeting room where they have bingo every weekend. During the week there are a number of poker games just about every day.

The park is located just off US-301. There is a super Walmart about a mile south. There is a small strip mall next the KOA and they have an open gate to the mall during daylight hours. There is an IGA store there and we could ride our three wheel bike there for groceries.

The sites were large and FHU 50 AMPS. We could wash the trailer once a month and the TV every other week. There is a huge flea market/farmers market just a few miles south at Waldo, FL. There are numerous golf courses in the area and it’s about 12 miles to the large VA Hospital at Gainesville, FL.

My youngest son lived near-by and we would find places to do some serious fishing on the weekends. He also came out to help me wash the trailer.

We stayed long enough for it to start to get warm in the north and then headed to IL to hook-up with our friends for a long trip west.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...m=IGRE&first=1

[CWtheMan]

1016

This post is about moving from Starke, FL to Peoria, IL. Peoria is Betty’s home town and they were parked there (in the cold) for most of the winter. We were joining them for a trip to Lemoore, CA. There would be numerous two week or longer stops along the way to CA.

It took a couple of days for memory searching to put this leg of our journey together.

From Starke, FL we traveled into AL. We used highways FL-100 from Starke to I-10. We turned off I-10 to use US-231 – a beautiful drive – to Troy, AL. There was a KOA at Ozark, AL but we still had a lot of daylight left and decided to go on until we reached our daily mileage limit. At the outskirt of Troy, AL we saw a bill board advertising a large country CG just the other side of the city. Its name was Deer Run and we had traveled 265 miles. It had numerous different kinds of sites to choose from and we took a long, level, FHU, drive-thru with CATV. We were so pleased with the park that anytime we were using US-231 In the future we would stay there. The family store was well stocked and there was always free coffee and popcorn there. They also have stocked fishing ponds with catch and release rules. We stayed 2 nights and caught-up on our cloths washing. From there all the way to Peoria we would wash/dry every day.



While at Troy we decided to spend a few days in Nashville, TN if we could find a place to park. By the time we got there we had exceeded our daily traveling mileage but not by much. The trip from troy was about 330 miles. We had called a number of RV Parks listed in our catalogs and made reservations for three nights at Two Rivers RV Park in Nashville. The park site was a back-in FHU with free Wi-Fi and CATV. We took-in an Opry show and visited the hotel.



Our next stop was just an overnighter at the Okaw Valley RV Park at Brownsville, IL. We had a nice drive-thru FHU with CATV. It was just a short walk to a nice little fishing pond where my luck was good.




From that RV Park it was just a short 150 miles to our destination at Mt. Hawley Mobile Home and RV Park at Peoria, IL. We stayed there for two weeks to let our mail catch-up with us. Because it was a mobile home park we had an address and mail box.

The sites we were on had been for mobile homes but the sewer connections had been repositioned for RV trauler usage. There were a lot of large trees and we had to move our satellite antennas quit a few times before we got a good signal.

We stayed for two weeks and met all of Betty’s family still living there. Don and I and some of Betty’s family members played a lot of golf while the girls chatted and did a lot of shopping. We had already learned we had to scale our trailer quite often. When we added weight we had to get an equal amount of weight off. We could sell things, give them away or send them to our storage unit at Jacksonville, FL. When we were somewhere for 10 or more days we sold a lot of things on eBay. It was our hobby/pastime. Linda and I don’t have much, if any, hoarder blood, so parting with things was/is not a problem.

While there I replaced the truck’s tailgate with a “V” box. The tail gate was twice as heavy as the box. I used the box for storing leveling blocks and emergence road tools/equipment. It was still lighter than the bulky tail gate. I Ground shipped the tail gate to storage.

Once we headed west we had no itinerary. Betty had a daughter living in Hanford, CA and we would visit them but there was no date set for that visit. We would just meander along, seeing the sights along the way.

[CWtheMan]

1017

On this trip west we went up I-74 from Peoria, IL to I-80. We would stay on I-80 all the way to Salt Lake City.

Our first stop was at a unique overnighter at Kellogg, IA. A farmer had some extra land and put-in a dozen pull thru RV sites with a bath. At the time we were there it was $10.00 per night with water and electric and had a dump station on the way back to the highway. We had traveled only 225 miles but once we spotted the park we decided to stop. The farmer had converted a bunk house into a dining hall and it was pot luck and very good. We had stew with homemade bread and apple cobbler. A lot of local people ate there and were full of questions about our rigs/travels. It was a very enjoyable stop.




Looking at the farmer’s house you can figure we had got a late start and would be hard pressed getting to Salt Lake City before heading south.

To our next stop we would travel about 400 miles and stop to have a snack at the Archway and take the tour. It’s a very interesting structure. I’ll post a link below.

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9790

After leaving the Archway we had no plans. We just drove on until we saw a small RV Park next to a man made reservoir. They had a 9 hole golf course and we still had enough daylight to play a round. We parked on grassy FHU sited right on the banks of the reservoir. The closest town from the park was Sutherland, NB.

I’m not much for having anything for early breakfast but I’ll do brunch. So, while the rest were eating I went down to wet some line. Yup, I got some, small but fun with a light rig.

Our next stop was a long one. We had planned 10 days but we stayed 2 weeks. It’ll be the next posting; it was at Rawlings, WY.

[CWtheMan]

1018

Our trip from Sutherland, NB to Rawlings, WY was uneventful. Interstate 80 was a well maintained highway and easy to travel with its wide shoulders. The scenery doesn’t change much and it’s all high country with the average elevation at Rawlings being 6200’. Because of health conditions Linda and I don’t do well up over 6000’ and had to conserve our energy.

Initially we had planned to stay at the Semione SP. However, the entire area was suffering from a drought and the SP was closed because of low water levels in their ponds and lakes.

We extended our stay there to two weeks because of our exploration of the SP lands. Don’s dually was 4WD and we used it to explore the SP’s dirt roads. Our goal was to find animals in their natural habit. We spent a day riding around the SP CG areas and trying to imagine it with water and greenery. We found most of the large animals we were looking for. We both had good 7X50mm binoculars and could stop on a plateau and see anything moving for miles in any direction. We found wild horses, pronghorn deer and in a bank parking lot grassy area, some mule deer.

We used some of the extra time to search for yard sales. We all found things easily sold on eBay at 75-100% above our costs. An example was a box full of old fishing lures brought for $20.00 (35 sold). One of the lures was very popular in its day (75 years old) and I got $35.00 for it. Most of the rest were sold at $7-$15, I kept 3 of them.

Linda found a complete set of lead crystal tumblers for $5.00 – market value over $100.00. They got shipped to our storage unit. When RV traveling we could only sell to those having PayPal accounts.

Betty found a hand loom still in the box for $5 and Don stocked-up on shag balls.

We found homes that looked like historical society buildings but the owner’s still lived in them.

Steak is the meat of the day in WY and we saw a sign in town that said “no catfish here, trout only”.

We found the Western Hills CG in our catalogs. When leaving NB we called ahead and made reservations for two FHU sites. Parking sites are sparse but well maintained. The CG store is the place to go and relax with a hot coffee. It’s got a large selection of foods and a great book swapping library.

https://www.westernhillscampground.com/

[CWtheMan]

1019

UPKEEP: It’s important, even more so when your rig is constantly on the move. My habit was to do a walk around before every move, even short ones at rest areas. I visually check the overall condition of the rig with emphasis on each vehicle’s running gear. Tires on RV trailers will need constant supervision/maintenance. We lost only one tire on the TV. I lost count of trailer tires at about a dozen. ST tires are more susceptible to highway damage than other tires. They have very shallow treads which allows more penetration damages than other tires; for instance; when parked on a grassy site at Sutherland, KS, on the walk around I didn’t find any foreign objects on the ground that would cause a tire problem. Being the lead rig that day I got a call from Don. He said it looked like our right rear tire on the trailer was going flat. We pulled over and couldn’t find a leak. Off with that tire and on with the spare. Upon closer inspection of the suspect tire we found a wire of some kind stuck in the tire and it hadc penetrated the tire innerliner. I carry an emergency tire plug kit for such temp repairs and used it to plug that leak. Only a plug-patch is acceptable so I replaced that tire at the next overnighter. We carry two air compressors. One is battery powered and the other is home powered. Had we been traveling alone that tire would have completely failed and could have cause serious damages in the wheelwell area. It’s not the only time we had tire problems traveling as the lead rig. But that will be another story.

This is just a little pictorial glimpse of the highway scenery from Rawlins, WY to the UT border.