I'll Always Remember My "First Time"

[Cudedog]

Love your maiden voyage. And I'm one of those who take off on those back roads - so far I've come off them just fine. But did turn around a couple months ago when I realized the back roads were not meant for my rv pulling my toad lol ... not those back roads anyway - and I got lucky enough to find a place I could even turn around without unhooking.

Oh my.

I have been trying to imagine unhooking so as to turn around, and it seems it must be a Major Job.

What do you do? Unhook, then turn the MH around and then. . .do you have to unload the toad first (before unhooking), so that you can er. . . "manually" (woman-power) turn the toad trailer around, re-hook, then re-load the toad?

Sounds like an all-day job, almost.

How do you do it?

BTW, in that van, you could turn around on a little single lane road - just might have to make it a 25 point turn

Yes, I am sure that I could - if the road was on the level. But in the mountains, with a major drop-off on one side of the road, no guard rail, and no spotter. . . I didn't have the "intestinal fortitude" (guts!) to give it a try.

Thanks.

Anne

[Cudedog]

Great blog I knew it would be!! and a great "first time"
would love to see inside pics of your van now that it is done...
just to see what I am missing when I gave up my van...still wish
I had it...
donna

Donna, check on page one of this thread. I have posted some photos there.

Anne

[Cudedog]

You are one intelligent creative lady in so many ways. Love your blog and also left a message about your title!
My favorite picture is looking south at Mt Shasta with the sun in the upper left corner.
Keep up the great work.
Kathy Kathleen

Thanks, Kathleen.

That particular photo was an "accident". One should never point one's camera at the sun because it can damage the camera, unless the camera is of a special design. I didn't realize this photo was like this until I got back home!

Luckily, the camera still works just fine.

Anne

[Cudedog]

I read your blog and left a long comment for you there. I also have one of those radiator looking heaters. They work good but take up lots of space. When I am truck camping I use a small heater that I've had for years. It has a thermostat on it so that it regulates the heat, has a 2 speed fan, and you could fit 2 of them into a shoebox. They are that small. I think I bought it from Camping World years ago. I just love it. Works well and takes up no space at all.

Be cautious when camping alone out in the boonies. I had one scarey experience that I told you about on your blog. Just stay alert and be sure to tell someone where you are going when you leave and, and when you'll return.

A word of advice on your beds (which you did a great job on): round off those corners. As they are now they are shin-eaters. Take a saw and cut off the square corners and sand them down. Your shins will forever thank you.

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the van pics and reading about your travels.

Deeann, that was a really nice post you left on my blog. I am new at this blogging thing, and I didn't realize that there were any posts there! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would not have looked. You made some awesome comments there, and I thank you!

I did have one experience that my intuition told me to "move on", on this my very first trip! Since the Hawk's Nest campground was closed, I drove a bit further to another one that was nearby, that shall remain nameless. This campground looked like someone's back yard, except it had a couple of trailers there that had. . . um. . . seen better days. Didn't feel good about it, so moved on.

This is also one of the (main) reasons I chose a van: if something doesn't feel "right" I just get behind the wheel and drive. No 10-yard-dash from trailer to vehicle. Bad vibes, and I am gone.

As for the beds - good suggestions, thank you, but the mattresses overhang the wooden framing about 1 1/2", so even if someone bumped a corner really hard they would hit mattress and not bed frame. This could change, of course, but for now they don't seem to be a problem.

Thanks again!

Anne

[Cudedog]

Great Blog!!! Keep on going you will figure out all the things that need to be tweeked. We all went through that. Do keep your blog going, your trips will be an interesting read for those of us who don't venture out that far.

Thanks for your comments!

One thing I have decided to tweak, is that I have decided to remove the second bed. Easy to do - I designed it so that the beds were easily removable - in case I wished to haul something in the van. They are each held in by only one - fairly beefy - bolt. Undo the bolt and lift out the bed. Done!

When traveling solo I realized (on this trip) that there is little reason to have two beds (sometimes I hope that a friend will travel with me, so it was designed for two) and removing one bed will effectively double my floor space. Which will make it easier to move around and more comfortable.

But with the bed out, I will need to put a bit of carpet there, because there is no wood paneling under the beds - just foam-panel insulation covered with a vapor barrier.

Easily done!

Anne

[Cudedog]

Anne, I was with you all the way while reading your blog, and along about the getting dark, nowhere to turn around part (yipes!), I remembered this SPOT satellite messenger that might give you more protection than the CB radio because it's satellite-based so you would be sending out a signal on where you are at the same time you were needing help. http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-Me ... ncy+beacon

Lopo, thanks for your comments!

Your suggestion is awesome! I wasn't aware that a device like this even existed. I think it would add a level of safety to my travels that would make it definitely worth the price. I'm definitely going to look into it.

I love the people on this forum, and how everyone makes helpful suggestions!

Thanks, everyone!!

Anne

[Anniepoo]

You gotta give us all some pointers for books about geology that are accessible to us lay people!

I'd LOVE to know more about the geology of the regions I'm driving through. I see rocks and think 'I bet these have neat stories'.

One of my favorite bits of TV is the episode 'Galileo was right' from Tom Hanks 'From the Earth To The Moon' - it's about the
astronauts learning geology. It's great fun, and made me want to know more about it all.

I tried looking at some geology books, but they seemed to assume you were interested in this rather barren 'collecting gemstones'
activity - I'd like to understand the geology.

[linann]

One thing I have decided to tweak, is that I have decided to remove the second bed. Easy to do - I designed it so that the beds were easily removable - in case I wished to haul something in the van. They are each held in by only one - fairly beefy - bolt. Undo the bolt and lift out the bed. Done!

When traveling solo I realized (on this trip) that there is little reason to have two beds (sometimes I hope that a friend will travel with me, so it was designed for two) and removing one bed will effectively double my floor space. Which will make it easier to move around and more comfortable.

But with the bed out, I will need to put a bit of carpet there, because there is no wood paneling under the beds - just foam-panel insulation covered with a vapor barrier.

I really like the design feature of being able to remove/add the second bed to suit your needs. Depending on how much carpet is needed, you may be able to use a runner or small area rug. Walmart sells them in various patterns that are not too expensive. It's a great way to decorate and add color to the rig. A comfortable chair could easily fit in the space when the bed is removed, especially one that could also be used outside.