smooth1
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Re: Camper and Skiing
The best alarm clocks are the ski patrol guys doing avalanche control work at 7am while you are nice and cozy in the resort parking lot. Heat and batteries are the two big issues. You will find places for your skis inside your camper or truck, or outside under the vehicle. A lot of campers/trailers use the catalytic (buddy style) heaters and leave two windows cracked open which really saves your batteries. You have to leave one or two windows open anyway or the condensation from the gear drying and you breathing will collect on the ceiling and drip. We just use the camper furnace for our heat, and two group 31 batteries is plenty of amps for one night. For the second night we run the generator for two hours to give the batteries a quick charge for the second night. Another note: we went to Stevens Pass last month and it looks like Vail Resorts is going to convert their RV lot to car parking. Not sure if there will be RV parking up there anymore.706Views0likes0CommentsRe: Arctic Fox 990 on SRW in the Snow?
Congratulations. Mountain camping at the ski slopes is great & a truck camper is a great way to go. (2) large batteries at a minimum & carry a generator. If you are going up for just Saturday night are you sure you can get a spot. RV lots at the slopes fill up fast in the PNW. A note about the fiberglass campers and winter camping is the top needs to be cleaned of new snow over an inch or so before you head home. If not the snow will slide off the top of the camper roof and land on the windshield when you apply the brakes. This could be dangerous if it is too much snow for your wipers to handle. Non clam shell/fiberglass designed campers have a raised seam on the front of the roof where the nose cap and roof join & the rubber roofs have better friction than fiberglass, so this does not happen on those campers. Climb up and down the ladder for practice with a broom and when it is wet, & make sure your boots have good traction on the fiberglass as it gets slick.1.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Florence & Coos Bay, OR Dunes Questions
I was able to get a full hook-up spot at Honeymoon State Park for the two nights. 'H" Loop was full for our weekend, but we don't have the toys to utilize the direct access. I am glad the camping side of the trip is done. Now I need to call some of these shops and go over the costs, age, time slots, availability, etc., of their toys... After our weekend, we will head east towards Sunriver, OR, and camp for Sunday night at one of the reservoirs between there & La Pine. Then skiing at Mt Bachelor for the rest of the week with a house in Sunriver. This is year (3) of Spring Break skiing at Bachelor/Sunriver, but year (2) of splitting up the trip with a run at the OR coast. Last year we drove down the coast for (2) nights & got to Florence before we headed east to Sunriver.869Views0likes0CommentsRe: Florence & Coos Bay, OR Dunes Questions
Thanks everyone. This is exactly the info I was hoping to get. If it is 7 hours from Tacoma, then it is 8 for us in Bothell. My plan was to leave Thursday night around 8pm, get south of Portland, then finish the drive Friday morning. We would hit the dunes Friday afternoon to get a good feel for the riding and the toys. That should give us a good gauge for Saturday. This will be expensive since we don't have our own rides, but I think this will be one of those spring break trips the boys will talk about for a while. I also want to try the 4-seat UTV's too. I am more of a show up and see what happens type. I will look into the campgrounds that were recommended & like the idea of camping on the water. Probably going to reserve the camping spot, but do you think these toy rental places will be booked out on an early April weekend?868Views0likes0CommentsFlorence & Coos Bay, OR Dunes Questions
I am hoping you guys can give me some advise on where to camp, and where to rent quads & atv's for a trip to the OR dunes. There seems to be a lot of options for both in that area. The trip is my (2) boys 9 & 12, & myself in our camper in early April. My boys have ridden small quads and dirt bikes before, but we are not advanced riders and no sand experience. I can see us renting for a couple hours in the morning and possibly another round in the afternoon. We will be there for (2) nights (Friday & Saturday). Spinreel & Dune Bug will rent 90 & 125cc quads to kids. Any others that we should look into. I can see us taking out a 4-seat UTV for some laps too. Any hints on where to camp. Don't need hook-ups, but would use them if we had them. We would rather have some privacy and a camp fire is a must...5.7KViews0likes27CommentsRe: PSA... Toyo 19.5 tire sale
I backed off the Double Coins once I saw their low speed ratings on the 245/70r19.5 sizes... Double Coin RLB490, 245/70r19.5, speed rating 'K' = 68mph Double Coin RLB1/RLB11, 245/70r19.5, speed rating 'J' = 62 mph Double Coin RT600, 245/70r19.5, speed rating 'K' = 68 mph Double Coin RT600, 225/70r19.5, speed rating 'M' = 81mph Looking at Hankook & Continental now for 19.5's. Toyo's are in the running too.347Views0likes0CommentsRe: Lance 830 on a flatbed??
The 830 floor is flat to the back diamond plate which is just a beauty cover for the rear lights, side entry steps, and the sewer connection. It is also a 9' floor length camper, but a tape measure will confirm that. The sewer drops down in the middle of that rectangular hatch by the ladder, so you could slide the camper that far forward. You could cut a hole or slot the flat bed too for the sewer pipe as it points straight down, or possibly cut the pipe shorter & reroute the system to go out the door instead on down. New step system will be needed anyway since you will be up pretty high and that camper has a 2 step foldout set. Sounds like a cool idea that would work with a little bit of mods...166Views0likes0CommentsRe: Wheels
Good thread as I learned there is something other than 19.5 wheels at the 4,500lb rating. Highest I have seen is 3,800lbs per wheel on a 17" rim - American Racing. The 18" rim @ 4,000lb rated tires are pretty big at 34.5" tall... Faststreak, I would go with the more aggressive tread like a toyo M608z, but that's my preference. You do need to be careful of tire ratings and size, and it seems like you are doing your homework. Are you sure you can clear a 245 on your GMC. My buddy needed a lift in the front to clear 245 19.5's on his 2012 GMC 2500HD...377Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2015 Ram 3500 - 265/70r19.5 tires
Thanks. Looks like those Hankook DH07 245's are the higher capacity PR16 as Bedlam explained earlier. I like working with Les Schwab and will see if they can get them. I am looking into some Double Coin tires too which Les Schwab sells, but would like an open shoulder. They do make the RLB1 which has an open shoulder, but it has a speed symbol 'J', which is a max speed of 62mph. The closed shoulder version is the RLB490 & it has a 'K' rating of 68mph. Not sure I can stay under those speeds... Anyone running Double Coin RLB1's or 490's?553Views0likes0Comments
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Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Mar 05, 202544,027 Posts
