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Yay! First trip out this year

Ozzie

Ozzie

Snow looming...run!!
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Location
Apple Valley, Minnesota
The stars aligned just right and we snuck out in the RV early this year.

Yeah, still below freezing at night, but if you know how to handle it it isn't bad at all.
The heaters are on, the water is running, and we're in a 5 star park with Internet for 13 bucks a night.

I've done the dewinterize routine so many times that we went in spite of me not having the RV ready. I could do it at the campground. That is, until I discovered the squirrels had knawed through my gas line coming from the tanks... :eek:

No heat other than space heaters...that doesn't keep the belly warm where the all important plumbling lines are...oops.
So I head into town with the gas line in hopes I could score another one.
Small town, half of it shut down due to the economy, but I saw a gas co-op.
This fella didn't have the right line, so he offered to build me one. Come back in a half hour he says...Oh crap, bend over I'm thinking. I'm at his mercy.
I come back a while later and there it is on the counter with a bill.
$12.95!! I had to look again...very happy to pay this one and get my rig running again. The chap wasn't there for me to say thank you, but I made sure to let the gal behind the counter how much I appreciated it and please send my thanks to the person that repaired it for me.

I always try to support the local economy wherever we can. Especially these small towns. They really need the help and are almost always the best people you'd ever want to meet.
Think I'll head back into town tomorrow...
 
So much for the weatherman and his warm forecast...woke up this morning to a nice coating of snow. Good thing I anticipated and went with water in the tanks where it could be kept liquid with heat. Right about now we would be out of luck with our supply hose laying frozen in the snow. :eek:
This rig will stay comfy inside down to about 15 degrees.
 

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It's actually kind of neat...beating the elements, you know??

And really not too bad either. It's warm inside with the electric wood stove and furnace, the coffee pot is on, and we have cable tv and wireless Internet...:D

As long as the snow melts before we head home let 'er rip...I just don't want to tow this beasty on a snowy highway...:eek:
 
Ozzie said:
It's actually kind of neat...beating the elements, you know??

And really not too bad either. It's warm inside with the electric wood stove and furnace, the coffee pot is on, and we have cable tv and wireless Internet...:D

As long as the snow melts before we head home let 'er rip...I just don't want to tow this beasty on a snowy highway...:eek:
Click to expand...

Im sure it would be differant, I had a 35 foot bumper pull a few years ago and we never used that puppy unless it was 60 or hotter out ):h
 
We are die hards...we'll go as long as I'm not pushing snow...

Went to town again today...had a few supplies to get - including some hardened bolts for my EQ hitch. This is the last of them now - I've worked my way all through every bolt. Last year one broke, so it got replaced with bigger and badder. First trip out this year a different bolt broke...that set is in my truck waiting to go in tomorrow. Grade 8...I don't mess around when it comes to this stuff. I can't believe it didn't come that way, but I've learned my lesson.
 
Warning: Long Post
Sounds like you are having fun Ozzie. I know all about the water hose freezing on the ground ordeal. Every year we park our camper at deer camp starting in September and we usually do not go get it until about New Years day. Of course during November and December during deer season the TEMPS. get down to about 14 degrees or so. My supply water hose will freeze every time unless I leave the water running a steady stream and even then it will freeze ocassionally. I don't mind that the temps. are that low as long as the furnace works. Well back in December of last year I was up there hunting by myself in the bitter cold. One night as I was on the cell phone (signal is almost non existant) with my wife I turned the furnace off so I could hear her on the phone. It started getting cold in the camper and I kind of rushed her off of the phone so I could turn the furnace back on. I turned the thermostat up and nothing happened. I tried it several more times.....nothing. By now I am thinking ol heck its going to be in low 20's or the teens and the furnance decides to puke. I took the cover off of the front of the furnace and pressed what I though was a reset button. Once again nothing happened. I thought to myself I was being punished for being short with my wife on the phone. I started thinking about all the times that my brother in law and I had discussed getting a small ceramic heater for a back up heat source. At that point I thought well I guess I could drive to the Wal-mart that is 15 miles away and get one. Naw, I decided I would dress in sweats and craw down in my sleeping bag, roughing it, knowing that if I got too cold I had another sleeping bag that was rated at -10 degrees. The next morning when I woke up at about 4:30 AM I tried the furance again and it still would not come on. The temperature in the camper was about 22 degrees. I thought well I can lay there in the camper and be cold or I can get up and go hunting and be as warm or warmer sitting in the treestand. Later that day I arrived back at camp at mid day and tried the furance. I will be a son of a gun, that sucker came on like nothing was ever wrong with it. I still wanted a back up heater so I went to Wal-Mart and bought an electric heater. That was my grand experience on a winter camping trip. I kind of enjoy that kind of camping as long as I have heat and water. Sorry about the long post guys, I just got carried away.
 
Now THAT is hardcore camping...I know it's for hunting so you expect a challenge, a person can deal with most everything if they are warm, dry, and have water.
I've beat myself up pretty good with working outside in the freezing temps of Minnesota, so these days I tend to go more for comfort. :smile5:
 
Glad you're enjoying your first trip out this year. We've been out several times already this year so far and going again next week end. It's a good thing we live in the south.

The picture in my signature is from our GTG with Pepp & GMCYA earlier this year. (Thanks Paul, he took the picture and put it in my sig for me)

I did have a supply hose freeze in northern Arkansas one year. It got down to 20 degrees that night. I went outside and changed it out and we were good to go. I always carry a spare. It warmed up nice during the day and I was able to thaw out the frozen one.
 
Man...coming home was lovely. The snow the first part of the trip went away for 1 1/2 days - then came back as rain. I knew it was coming, so I put away everything I could before it hit.
This morning we woke up to steady rain...time to go home. Pack it up and hit the highway only to find I was headed into a quartering wind at 20-30mph.
That was a fun drive...poor truck was working too, dropped down to 8. something towing instead of 11-12.
I think it liked having to go to work - it growled at me when we got home...:D
 
I have been wanting to go on a camping trip soon. For once it would be nice to be camping in 50 to 70 degree weather, just cool enough at night to make a camp fire feel good. Seems like the only camping I have done the past 2 years was in weather from 70(Late October) to 15 degrees (December) during deer season. One thing for sure the cold weather camping seems like a challenge to me.
 
I agree completely...sitting by the campfire is one of the highlights and not much fun when it's 80 degrees out.
I like cooking over the campfire too - I have one of those tripod grill units and I really love cooking over wood. Gotta get back to that again.
I make a mean pork tenderloin on one of those...as long as it doesn't roll into the fire...ashes don't taste good and they're kind of crunchy...LOL
 
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