jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Thanks Scott! Hoping to get the awning poles fixed this weekend and then should be good to go for this trip.
John
John
Not so Expo 2005 Rockwood pop up
- Thread starter jscusmcvet
- Start date
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Got the awning fixed. Used bolt and wing nut instead of spring loaded ball detent. Flushed out water tank. Modified rear spare tire carrier. Did a bit of cleaning... Gentleman... I think we are ready for next week's trip to Mid Atlantic Overland Festival...
Attachments
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Thanks guys. The camper is not quite 100% what I want or where I want it to be but it will do for now, especially for family trips.
Maxcustody
Adventurist
Looks great John.....see you Friday!
Sent from my Roof Top Tent
Sent from my Roof Top Tent
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Took our week long shakedown over the last week or so. We left Wednesday August 12. I had some work to do in Richmond Va. for a couple days before heading out to the Mid Atlantic Overland Festival in Pennsylvania. Battery set up charged like a dream, I am very happy about that, since this was my first effort at any of this 12v stuff. Trailer towed great and we had no issues.
We left Richmond on Friday morning and headed to PA. Our route took us along side highways, no interstates. Once in PA we wound up on some very small side roads, including hwy 655 and some very small non numbered roads.... so curvy and hilly Joe called them "roller coaster roads"... among lots of giggles.
The MAOF was enjoyable, spending time with friends and meeting some new ones as well. The field was less that flat and this exposed some issues with our "not so expo" pop up. More on that later. We really enjoyed the company more than anything the event offered. We spent a few hours poking around Huntingdon, which turned out to be a great little down town. Ann loves digging through the second hand shops and I love finding good local places to eat. In Huntingdon that place was Boxers http://raystown.org/locations/boxers...xers-cafe.html Very friendly, great food, nice beer selection. We stopped at the river outside of town to plunder and chase crawfish. Ann was able to do some plant collection there as well. Joe had a great time meeting several new friends and playing endlessly. Needless to say, he slept well every night.
We left on Sunday morning. Initially we were headed home to NC so Ann could sell her soaps and other items at the Monday farmers market. Much to my surprise Ann agreed to alter those plans. After a quick stop at Mickey D's to access free wifi and email the operators of the farmers market, we headed off across southern PA and into VA. Destination, Shenandoah National Park. Beautiful drive through PA, many small towns and cool things to see.
Arriving at Big Meadows Campground in SNP... we were tremendously underwhelmed. It had been 20+ years since I had been there and Ann had never been. Let's just say, not our kind of place. As we got out of the jeep to check out the sites we were directed to, there we generators running and campers packed in so tight with zero privacy. We turned around and left. We went to Lewis campground, took the last available site, and after a good night of sleep, spent the early morning listening to the adjoining campers argue and fight. We packed up, headed west on Hwy 33 towards George Washington National Forest.
The way we figured it we would take the dirt roads we came across until we found a spot we liked and spend a couple days. We did poke around quite a bit on Westside road, past the shooting range. We found a couple great spots, but Ann was not comfortable. She could not put her finger on it, but I honor her instincts, so we headed back to the tarmac. After a quick conversation with a fellow at the shooting range, we checked out Brandywine Recreation Area, just a mile or so west. http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fs...ecreation+Area
Wow. What a find this turned out to be. Out of the 30 or so sites there were only 3 other sites taken. There was a great swimming lake, great trail (sawmill trail) and plenty of shade. Best of all there is absolutely NO cell coverage in the area. We relaxed, swam and hiked for the next couple days. I believe we will head back at some point.
Trailer and jeep performance was good. Towing MPG ranged from 12.2 in the steep twisty mountains and 14.5 on the interstate. I held it in 5th gear and rand about 57 mph on the interstate. I was happy with the gas numbers. I installed Mac's Cold Air Intake this spring and I think that is a key to these numbers. http://www.macscoldairintake.com/ Towing the camper pre Macs CAI was regularly 12 mpg.
Indel B fridge was outstanding. Will likely never go back to cooler. Not much more to be said about it. It is that good.
Battery system set up worked well. Charged up during travel, topped up with our Harbor Freight 45w solar while at MAOF. While camping elsewhere there was too much shade for solar to work, but battery held well, never dropping into the "red" on my meter over the 2.5 days camping without solar.
OK, now to the issue with the pop up. We camped on a hill. The camper was leaning and when we popped down the slides stuck a bit. It sounds like less than it was, but my impression is that this system is perfect for organized camping locations but will struggle in the role I have envisioned for it. So all in all, we will be keeping the pop up, but I will be nosing around for other options at the same time.
We left Richmond on Friday morning and headed to PA. Our route took us along side highways, no interstates. Once in PA we wound up on some very small side roads, including hwy 655 and some very small non numbered roads.... so curvy and hilly Joe called them "roller coaster roads"... among lots of giggles.
The MAOF was enjoyable, spending time with friends and meeting some new ones as well. The field was less that flat and this exposed some issues with our "not so expo" pop up. More on that later. We really enjoyed the company more than anything the event offered. We spent a few hours poking around Huntingdon, which turned out to be a great little down town. Ann loves digging through the second hand shops and I love finding good local places to eat. In Huntingdon that place was Boxers http://raystown.org/locations/boxers...xers-cafe.html Very friendly, great food, nice beer selection. We stopped at the river outside of town to plunder and chase crawfish. Ann was able to do some plant collection there as well. Joe had a great time meeting several new friends and playing endlessly. Needless to say, he slept well every night.
We left on Sunday morning. Initially we were headed home to NC so Ann could sell her soaps and other items at the Monday farmers market. Much to my surprise Ann agreed to alter those plans. After a quick stop at Mickey D's to access free wifi and email the operators of the farmers market, we headed off across southern PA and into VA. Destination, Shenandoah National Park. Beautiful drive through PA, many small towns and cool things to see.
Arriving at Big Meadows Campground in SNP... we were tremendously underwhelmed. It had been 20+ years since I had been there and Ann had never been. Let's just say, not our kind of place. As we got out of the jeep to check out the sites we were directed to, there we generators running and campers packed in so tight with zero privacy. We turned around and left. We went to Lewis campground, took the last available site, and after a good night of sleep, spent the early morning listening to the adjoining campers argue and fight. We packed up, headed west on Hwy 33 towards George Washington National Forest.
The way we figured it we would take the dirt roads we came across until we found a spot we liked and spend a couple days. We did poke around quite a bit on Westside road, past the shooting range. We found a couple great spots, but Ann was not comfortable. She could not put her finger on it, but I honor her instincts, so we headed back to the tarmac. After a quick conversation with a fellow at the shooting range, we checked out Brandywine Recreation Area, just a mile or so west. http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fs...ecreation+Area
Wow. What a find this turned out to be. Out of the 30 or so sites there were only 3 other sites taken. There was a great swimming lake, great trail (sawmill trail) and plenty of shade. Best of all there is absolutely NO cell coverage in the area. We relaxed, swam and hiked for the next couple days. I believe we will head back at some point.
Trailer and jeep performance was good. Towing MPG ranged from 12.2 in the steep twisty mountains and 14.5 on the interstate. I held it in 5th gear and rand about 57 mph on the interstate. I was happy with the gas numbers. I installed Mac's Cold Air Intake this spring and I think that is a key to these numbers. http://www.macscoldairintake.com/ Towing the camper pre Macs CAI was regularly 12 mpg.
Indel B fridge was outstanding. Will likely never go back to cooler. Not much more to be said about it. It is that good.
Battery system set up worked well. Charged up during travel, topped up with our Harbor Freight 45w solar while at MAOF. While camping elsewhere there was too much shade for solar to work, but battery held well, never dropping into the "red" on my meter over the 2.5 days camping without solar.
OK, now to the issue with the pop up. We camped on a hill. The camper was leaning and when we popped down the slides stuck a bit. It sounds like less than it was, but my impression is that this system is perfect for organized camping locations but will struggle in the role I have envisioned for it. So all in all, we will be keeping the pop up, but I will be nosing around for other options at the same time.
bigTpolecat
Adventurist
Have you looked at the BAL leveler for your PUP? Depending on the tire size of your rig they work extremely well as both level and tire chock. We use ours with our PUP for undeveloped and yellow post sites with pretty good success. It does have some quirks, like;
- You need a piece of plywood to place under it for sandy/loose soil
- Lube of the threaded rod is they key to long life
- A pizza delivery bag for storage should be standard equipment
- A piece of foam pipe insulation over the greased threaded rod helps keep you and the storage bag clean from grease, and the rod free from grit.
jscusmcvet
Adventurist
Thanks Polecat. I just read about these the other day and it is clear we need to do something. Ann and I are in negotiations 
to either maintain our pop up and add an off road alternative for when I am out on my own or move to a hybrid travel trailer (she likes) and add an off road alternative for when I am out on my own.
Did you catch that? Did you see what I did there? My wheels are spinning on a whole new project with an old Bantam trailer... as would be seen in the attached pic behind my little 18hp diesel tractor if I could figure out the new system for posting pics... and I can't... I have and the Kodiak Canvas Truck tent
http://www.kodiakcanvas.com/truck-tents/
... shhh... she is not 100% on board as of this time... but I am already ordering parts
to either maintain our pop up and add an off road alternative for when I am out on my own or move to a hybrid travel trailer (she likes) and add an off road alternative for when I am out on my own.Did you catch that? Did you see what I did there? My wheels are spinning on a whole new project with an old Bantam trailer... as would be seen in the attached pic behind my little 18hp diesel tractor if I could figure out the new system for posting pics... and I can't... I have and the Kodiak Canvas Truck tent
http://www.kodiakcanvas.com/truck-tents/
... shhh... she is not 100% on board as of this time... but I am already ordering parts