Fort Bound in Dec

[goofyisinphilly]

Well, we did it. The new to us travel trailer will be picked up tomorrow. It's a 2008 Passport 195BR. 23 ft worth of learning to tow again. I'll be the primary driver since my DH understands spatial relationships about as well as a rock. The man has talents but that isn't one of them.

I went ahead and switched our reservations from Caribbean Beach to the Fort for Dec. 12-21. It shaved about $2000 off since we are getting rid of the 'free' dining with a delux upgrade. We'll pay OoP instead. The plan is to drive to someplace in SC on Thursday night and finish up on Friday. I'll refrain from posting a thread asking where to stop. I've managed to read 235 pages of posts. It's covered

 

[proudmomof4]

Congrats!

 

[bama_ed]

Good for you, goofyisinphilly.

I wondered once you told us in your thread about going to look at the camper and then finally getting it, how long it would be before you scratched that Fort itch?

Not long at all as it turned out. Have fun learning the ins and outs of your trailer!

Bama Ed

 

[goofyashlandguy]

Hi everyone, new to posting but have been snooping in the camping board for a little while. My BIL has been camping at the for a couple of times in the past year and he got my wife (his sister) talking about camping and last week we purchased a Rockwood A192HW A-frame hard sided pop-up, similar to Bama Eds new rig. We are going to take it out to a local state park after we pick it up on the 20th. of June. We already have our plans for a July trip to the World but hope to camp in late October at the Fort. I have never pulled anything before and since the kids are grown and out on their own we started looking at less that 20' campers. The hard sided popup appealed to me but once my wife stepped into one she fell in love with it. I understand that you need to take your time and make sure it is exactly what you want. We have looked at many styles and sizes before we made up our mind. looking forward to meeting many of you in the future.

 

[bama_ed]

Hi everyone, new to posting but have been snooping in the camping board for a little while. My BIL has been camping at the for a couple of times in the past year and he got my wife (his sister) talking about camping and last week we purchased a Rockwood A192HW A-frame hard sided pop-up, similar to Bama Eds new rig. We are going to take it out to a local state park after we pick it up on the 20th. of June. We already have our plans for a July trip to the World but hope to camp in late October at the Fort. I have never pulled anything before and since the kids are grown and out on their own we started looking at less that 20' campers. The hard sided popup appealed to me but once my wife stepped into one she fell in love with it. I understand that you need to take your time and make sure it is exactly what you want. We have looked at many styles and sizes before we made up our mind. looking forward to meeting many of you in the future.

Congrats to you too goofyashlandguy!

All these new campers springing up - you and goofyisinphilly and 4077 and all the rest - hope you get your new rigs down to the Fort soon and you find out how much fun it is and how relaxing it can be to visit the Mouse in your own "house".

Bama Ed

PS - If DW likes the camper then life is good....

 

[TinCanTee]

Goofyashlandguy: Hi, that's a great Rockwood camper; I've looked at them too. Looking at campers is my fav hobby. One word of caution, I had a hybrid camper with that same "nose" on the front for storage. It tended to leak...a lot. Make sure you have good gaskets on the opening and watch for water. Happy camping!

 

[goofyisinphilly]

Holy smokes what a day. We went and got a too brief run down on the camper and headed home. I prompting failed backing in the driveway. After lining it up for my DH I coached him through backing it in. We are at the back of a cove. My brain overheated when trying to negotiate a turn and backing at the same time. Then we were going to take it to storage. Got all the way there and remembered we didn't have chocks. Back home. I did manage to get it backed in this time.

Wanna know what the problem was? My husband was giving me directions in reverse. He was looking at the camper and saying right, when he meant my left. Once we got that squared away things went better. Then we could get the electric jack off the hitch. Had to call the parents. We didn't know to pull forward after backing so that the mechanism wasn't jammed. Then there was an awning issue. One of the top latches keeps turning loose from the horizontal bar. Whack against the camper. No dings other than to our ego.

Today has been informational and humbling. The good news is that so far the actual towing has been a breeze.

 

[JETS70]

Hey guys!! I am Goofyashlandguy's BIL. I am excited for my BIL and sister and their new purchase. They are huge Disney fans and like my family, had only experienced WDW from the hotel / resort room side of things. Since the first trip to the Fort for the DW and I during last Thanksgiving, we have been sold on the Fort and as I said in earlier post, not sure we will stay in a resort room again. We are heading back to the Fort on June 20th with my DS and DD. They can't wait. The only problem is that because of vacation schedules, this may be the last trip to the Fort for about a year.
BUT.......... being the good BIL that I am and the fact the my work schedule has built in breaks during the Fall of the year.......... you probably can tell where I'm going with this I could sacrifice and go with them just in case they need any assistance Can I get an amen on that??

 

[jbrostek]

First and foremost congradulations on the new camper. I can tell you from my own experience you will have a few bumps and bruises while learning (physcially, mentally, ego wise, and if your unfortunate like I on the RV itself.) But its all in how you handle the situations and over time it becomes second nature. I am glad I had an older used unit for most of my learning pains. I never did any major damages, but I would have been way more upset with the new rig if I had made some of the same errors.

For the trip down from Charlotte, NC area I assume your planning to do 77 to 26 to 95. I think you could easilly make it to Savannah South KOA in GA before needing a break for th evening. But if about an hour earlier on I95 is Point South KOA (exit 33 I95 south, 33 miles from GA) which is one of my other top picks for us to stop. At exit 53 is New green acres, its a perfect overnight spot with a lot less trees. But 20 miles north of Point south.

Happy camping this season and I hope you enjoy the fort!!! I wont arrive until first weekend of january 2015 for my next stay.

 

[tiggerdad]

I'll give ya an AMEN on that jets70.

Congrats to each of you on the new additions and plan changes to the Fort. You will not regret it. Dropping DDP is not that big a deal, even when it is free. My cooking tastes better anyway...

 

[TinCanTee]

Hey Goofyisinphilly: You're getting the hang of it. There is a learning curve with towables but it is pretty short. I found that when backing in, using hand signals for where the rear of the trailer needed to go worked better than verbal comm. I always had my "spotter" stand where he could see me in the rear view mirror (moving when necessary) and pointing me in the direction I needed to go. Also, keep your steering hand at the bottom of your steering wheel. It helps with the "reverse motion" of backing the towable. In other words, with hand at the bottom, you move the steering wheel in the direction you want the rear of the trailer to go. Try it once and you'll see what I mean. Good luck and just relax and take it slow and easy.

 

[JETS70]

I'll give ya an AMEN on that jets70.

Congrats to each of you on the new additions and plan changes to the Fort. You will not regret it. Dropping DDP is not that big a deal, even when it is free. My cooking tastes better anyway...

Thanks for the Amen Tiggerdad. I agree with your statement about the DDP and especially about our own cooking tasting better. And besides, the squirrels are friendlier at the Fort.

 

[goofyisinphilly]

Cook at the Fort. Surely you jest. Not on our 10 day trips. If we go for a quick trip we might cook to save money. Thanks for another go round on where to stop coming from CLT. This is our 8th year and we know the route well, but knowing the best places to camp is awesome.

 

[goofyashlandguy]

Hey jets70, don't you mean that you are heading to the fort on june 20th and not july. Sorry for all caps, not yelling just with the computer that i work on i mostly use all caps for the cad program. So in the future ifi mistakenly use all caps please forgive me.

 

[goofyashlandguy]

Tincantee, thanks for the advice. I will not store anything that can't take getting wet until i am sure that there are not any leaks. Again, thanks

 

[grumpyaggie]

Goofyisinphilly, congratulations on the new camper!! On our last trip from the fort, Glo (DW) drove about half the time. Granted this was on IH10. We also found that the truck has no reverse when she is in drivers seat, therefore she does not have any trouble backing up.
Hey JETS70, I think that's the squirrel that is looking for Tiggerdad. Watch your billfold.

 

[JETS70]

That is the one and only. He stopped my cart and asked me if I had seen Tiggerdad. I had to give you up Tiggerdad. I told him that you had left. There was an air of dissapointment. I gave him some puffed pop corn and that seemed to help.

 

[bama_ed]

Holy smokes what a day.

Wanna know what the problem was? My husband was giving me directions in reverse. He was looking at the camper and saying right, when he meant my left. Once we got that squared away things went better. Then we could get the electric jack off the hitch. Had to call the parents. We didn't know to pull forward after backing so that the mechanism wasn't jammed. Then there was an awning issue. One of the top latches keeps turning loose from the horizontal bar. Whack against the camper. No dings other than to our ego.

Today has been informational and humbling. The good news is that so far the actual towing has been a breeze.

goofyisinphilly, you will get the hang of it. And if you come to the Fort and find yourself in a tough spot, most other Fort campers will be sympathetic and will help you if you ask for it. Although I have to say, on some campouts where I didn't have a tv, the cell reception was poor, there was no WIFI, and town was a long drive away, I've been desparate for entertainment. So sometimes me and the missus will watch people back into their nearby sites as they arrive. We will help if asked but I admit I say to myself ....

Hey guys!! I am Goofyashlandguy's BIL.

Bama Ed

 

[JETS70]

OK Bama Ed...... what's with the gif????? All I have are these emoticons. My DW is still laughing. Just not sure if she is laughing at the gif or how you attached it to my quote??