Trip Report -- Lake Chelan and Milling
After a mad rush to remove the darn spare on the back of the truck (stupid locks!) and buying three, count them, THREE broken bolt removal kits before I got the right one and removed the lock, I did finally get it removed and moved to the front of the truck. I'm not sure about the carrier as it's very close to the grill and that big monster tire must block a lot of air flow through the rad and tranny cooler.
I'll have to get a pic later to post but am thinking a short extension might be worth it to ensure more airflow however in 85 degree weather hauling the camper and pulling the mill didn't cause temps to rise past normal despite some long uphill climbs.
Hoping this image isn't too big (and works) and I can fix when I get back home (am at work now -- shhhh)....
Once I got on the road with full water tank but less tools and equipment as well as fuel etc for the mill (to lighten the load a bit) I drove the two hours to the job site in Lake Chelan without issue and settled in for the night around 10:30pm.
The next morning I was treated with an awesome view and great work site. I milled all day despite a short T-Storm in the afternoon and must admit that I LOVE the camper :) It makes the perfect mill site office and home away from home! The shower is big enough to get the sawdust off at the end of the day, the genny runs the air compressor all day (when needed) and the AC in the camper takes the edge off when it gets warm and the camper has sat in the sun all day....oh and the MW makes it easy to fix a quick dinner after filling a glass with ice from the freezer and cold booze from he fridge :D Ahhh this is the life!
Can't complain about the evening after a long day.
Day two started off right with big logs and sunny sky's :) I was happy since my arthritis wasn't slowing me down too ;)
All in all a great weekend of milling and camping :) Next trip will be higher in the mountains with no great views but the drive will be steep and up a long way so we will see how the truck performs ;)
For now (and until I edit a little later as I suspect I will have to).
I'll have to get a pic later to post but am thinking a short extension might be worth it to ensure more airflow however in 85 degree weather hauling the camper and pulling the mill didn't cause temps to rise past normal despite some long uphill climbs.
Hoping this image isn't too big (and works) and I can fix when I get back home (am at work now -- shhhh)....
Once I got on the road with full water tank but less tools and equipment as well as fuel etc for the mill (to lighten the load a bit) I drove the two hours to the job site in Lake Chelan without issue and settled in for the night around 10:30pm.
The next morning I was treated with an awesome view and great work site. I milled all day despite a short T-Storm in the afternoon and must admit that I LOVE the camper :) It makes the perfect mill site office and home away from home! The shower is big enough to get the sawdust off at the end of the day, the genny runs the air compressor all day (when needed) and the AC in the camper takes the edge off when it gets warm and the camper has sat in the sun all day....oh and the MW makes it easy to fix a quick dinner after filling a glass with ice from the freezer and cold booze from he fridge :D Ahhh this is the life!
Can't complain about the evening after a long day.
Day two started off right with big logs and sunny sky's :) I was happy since my arthritis wasn't slowing me down too ;)
All in all a great weekend of milling and camping :) Next trip will be higher in the mountains with no great views but the drive will be steep and up a long way so we will see how the truck performs ;)
For now (and until I edit a little later as I suspect I will have to).
