2009 » tgif: let's RV

RVing According To Hank

Dec 312009

Bits of wisdom, points to ponder and little known facts about RVing.... mostly just things you never figure will happen until they happen to you.

No matter how well you plan or how many lists you make, you will forget something important.
Never ever buy gasohol.... your MPG will thank you for it.
Most important accessory I bought so far..... heating blanket.
The snooze alarm will fail to work when you need it the most.
It won't start raining until you go to plug in the RV power cord.
No matter where you are going it will always be uphill and into the wind.
The curb you see in your mirror is closer then it appears.
Your sewer hose will always need to be 1 foot longer then what you have.
Always check your rig a few days before you are leaving. If you wait until the day before you leave and find something wrong, it may delay your departure.

More to come....

Day 2: Memphis TN KOA

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Dec 312009

Despite the best efforts of my alarm clock, I made it to Memphis today. OK, it's not REALLY Memphis but Marion AR which is just across the river from Memphis. I set my Blackberry alarm for 7am. It went off and I hit the snooze for 10 more minutes of sleep. I found out at 8:30am that the snooze didn't work. That means no time for biscuits and gravy, just a cup of coffee and a muffin then hit the road.

This reminds me, I have to start a new page that I'm going to title "RVing According To Hank". It'll be bits of wisdom, points to ponder and little known facts about RVing.... mostly just things you never figure will happen until they happen to you. Look for the link on side menu once I get it started... and it'll be updated as I have more.

I drove about 400 miles today. More then I really want to drive but I felt this need to get to someplace where there wasn't going to be any snow. This also means I had to fill up twice today. Just a bit of advice: Do everything you can to never purchase any of gasohol in that corn lovin' state of Indiana. Your gas mileage will be in the crapper! Speaking of MPG, I found out I can get 1.5 better MPG if I follow another RV. The last 10 miles before I stopped for the night I followed another 5th wheel that passed me. I had to speed up from 61 to 64 to keep up and my MPG when up from 8.5 to 10. Something to file away for the future.

I have gotten this love/hate relationship with KOA campgrounds. I'm not sure they are a place I would go to to stay for a weekend or more. The sites are packed pretty close together and aren't "campy" enough for my tastes. They also tend to have a bit of highway noise since most are located for easy access. But then this easy access does make them ideal for over night stops when traveling someplace else. Most camp sites are pull through sites for easy setup, most have WiFi, offer some type of breakfast in the morning, nice clean showers and are generally well kept up. Kind of like the Holiday Inn... no big surprises no matter what one you go to but not someplace you really get excited about.

OK, so I'm now about 650 miles into the 1500 or so total miles to get to RGV and nothing eventful has happened. Let's keep it that way!

Day 1: Terre Haute, IN KOA

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Dec 302009

And it begins: Believe it or not, I was able to leave home at 7am. Even surprised myself as I didn't get to bed until 1am and didn't get to sleep until about 3am. The roads were nice a dry and not very much traffic. I made it to Terre Haute about 1pm and decided to stop at the KOA for the night. I could have driven a couple more hours but figured that it would be best to try and get a decent nights rest before the next leg.

The Terre Haute KOA is a bit expensive ($40) but it is one of the few campgrounds open this far north. Since it's 30 deg. outside not much is usable at the campground but it does look like it would be a nice place to stay in the summer.

2009/2010 Winter Trip Expense Report

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Dec 292009

Below I will detail my expenses for the 2009/2010 Winter Trip to the SW. This will include all expenses directly attributed to this trip. It will not include long term fixed expenses such as vehicle payments, insurance, phone, etc. I want to keep track of what the actual cost of the trip is compared to if I didn't take the trip.

12/29 - Fuel: Odo: 31290 - Starting tank fill up
12/29 - Food: $29.18 - Starting cache of food
12/30 - Food: $6.00 - Snacks
12/30 - Fuel: Odo: 31474 Cost: $70.12 MPG: 8.11
12/30 - Campground Fees: $40.64
12/31 - Fuel: Odo: 31665 Cost: $66.69 MPG: 7.87
12/31 - Food: $8.00 - Snacks and lunch
12/31 - Fuel: Odo: 31870 Cost: $65.65 MPG: 8.45
12/31 - Campground Fees: $52.00 including KOA yearly membership
01/01 - Fuel: Odo: 32072 Cost $62.59 MPG: 8.48
01/01 - Food: $11.00 - Breakfast and snacks
01/01 - Fuel: Odo: 32276 Cost: $62.57 MPG: 8.40
01/01 - Campground Fees: $29.00
01/02 - Fuel: Odo: 32685 Cost: $126.04 MPG: 8.77 (total 2 tanks)
01/02 - Food: $14.00 - Snakes and dinner
01/02 - Campground Fees: $28.12
01/03 - Fuel: Odo: 33053 Cost: 109.70 MPG: 8.82 (total 2 tanks)
01/03 - Food: $12.00 - Lunch and Dinner
01/03 - Campground Fees: $33.20

Total cost for 5 days travel to Rio Grande Valley = $806.50
Fuel: $563.36
Food: $80.18
Campground Fees: $162.96

Tomorrow's the Day

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Dec 292009

I have 12/30/09 marked on my calendar. That is the day I am leaving on my first extended trip to warmer weather! Not sure I can now call myself a "snowbird", just that I want to get away from these damned cold Michigan winters. If all goes as planned I'll be gone about 2 months.

The 5er is packed, truck is full of gas and a rough outline of my trip is in hand. Looking to leave around 7am and make Terre Haute for my first night stay. I plan on taking lots of photos along the way and keeping track of expenses. Keep an eye out on this blog for full details of my trip.

Snow Delays Departure Date

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Dec 262009

Geez... just when I figured I'd be able to get out of town. The 1" to 2" snow we were suppose to have today has turned into 3" with an additional 3" tonight. Looks like I'll have to delay my departure date one day and leave on Wednesday.

Continue reading »

Southbound Soon

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Dec 252009

Looks like the weather is finally going to cooperate and give me a few days of good weather. Leave date for my adventure down south should be Tuesday 12/29. Not sure at this point what my final destination will be, I'll figure that out when I hit the Texas border. I am thinking maybe a few weeks in southern TX in the Rio Grande Valley then head up to AZ for a few weeks. Just gonna wing it!

Meet My Flagstaff 28RLSS 5th Wheel

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Dec 172009

The weather finally broke and I was able to get my new (to me) 5th wheel out of storage. Now I just need to get it prepped for my trip southwest. Plan to take a couple of months and either go to southern Texas or New Mexico and Arizona. Not sure where I'll end up, just depends how I feel when I hit the Texas border. I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Cold Brook Park - Climax, Michigan

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Dec 122009

Cold Brook Park is a nice little county park located a couple miles off I94 at the Climax, MI exit. It is about 20 miles from my house. I like it because it is a clean quiet park that is close enough for me to just get away for a weekend and don't want to plan/drive for a more distant campground.

It has 29 improved sites (30 amp electric and water) and 22 rustic sites for tents. Camping fees are $20 per might. Each improved site has a fire ring and a picnic table. Most of the sites are shaded. The access road is paved and the sites are grass. RVs of any size should have no problem getting into the park. The shower/bathrooms are centrally located in the improved area and are nice and clean. There are 3 lakes reachable from the park if you are into fishing or boating. The boat ramp is about 1/4 mile from the campground. Some complain that it is too far from the campground but it is one thing I like about it. Those that come just to boat don't disturb us campers.

Tailgating with your RV

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Dec 122009

RVs are not just for camping!

We all enjoy getting out in the wild or heading out to destinations unknown. But you can enjoy using your RV in other ways! My family's big collage football fans and try to attend a game or two every year. I was born and raised in South Bend, IN so I'm a Notre Dame fan, my step-daughter graduated and works at Michigan State so a tailgate at a ND/MSU game was only natural.

The setup at ND is ideal for tailgating (see my photos). They have a huge field they open up to RVs which gives you a lot of room to park, cook out, play a few games or just sit back and enjoy the beverages. The weather was a perfect sunny 60 deg for this September game. We arrived about 10am for the 3pm kickoff, broke out the grill for the awesome bacon cheeseburgers and sat back to enjoy the cool adult beverages. Why bring your RV to tailgate? Not only do you have all of your supplies right at hand, but you have a potty at your disposal anytime you need it!