PTParaD TRs and Shenanigans

[Teamubr]

If you get a big honkin' RV like @Teamubr got,

Hey! Wait a minute. Jack is longer than I am with his truck and 5er. I'm a measly 62 ft. with the car trailer. I do want to see him triple tow that car trailer behind his 5er.

Nice looking trailer, Jack. I ordered new aluminum ramps for mine. It has steel ones that were bowed pretty bad when I bought it. I think the prior owner loaded a back hoe or something really heavy. He owned a construction company, so who knows. The aluminum ones are longer and weigh half as much.

j

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

I should clarify, when I say "I won't use it for camping much." I was looking more for Scout trips and other less air conditioned type trips. DS is getting old enough we'll be trekking all over the place hauling gear, wood, floats in parades, etc.

While I think my 5er's hitch is rated high enough to pull a golf cart on there or something light, it's not something I'm particularly interested in. I'm too much of a magnet for blow outs, Murphy, and I like to drive far and hard if I need to maximize vacation and minimize travel days. Too many variables. Although the KS HWY Patrol sends:

"Vehicles are allowed to tow 2 trailers in tandem if there is an anti-sway device on the 1st trailer and an active braking system on the 2nd trailer. The overall length of this combination cannot exceed 65 feet from the front bumper of the towing vehicle to the rear bumper of the last trailer."

If a bear in Kansas thinks in safe

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Hey! Wait a minute. Jack is longer than I am with his truck and 5er. I'm a measly 62 ft. with the car trailer. I do want to see him triple tow that car trailer behind his 5er.

Nice looking trailer, Jack. I ordered new aluminum ramps for mine. It has steel ones that were bowed pretty bad when I bought it. I think the prior owner loaded a back hoe or something really heavy. He owned a construction company, so who knows. The aluminum ones are longer and weigh half as much.

j

It was a nice find. I've been cruising marketplace for about 6 months. I was real tired of borrowing a buddy's trailer every time I needed some trailer work. I think the ramps on it are adequate. I won't be hauling anything that heavy on the regular. The tractor or a broken down hobby car (83 K5 Blazer or my 84 Monte Carlo) would be the most.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

DW caught an action shot of me and DS clearing the drive.

I'm on the tractor and he's on the blower

The drifting made it tough to figure out how much we got, but this is as accurate as we could get

 

[tigger92662]

Yeah but won't you be nearly 100 feet going down the road?

Oh, it's not that bad Ed. I'm only 67' with the toy box.
I act like I'm yankin' the steering wheel hard and look directly into peoples eyes as I head toward them , they'll move.
Actually, as far as right hand turns, the trailer follows right behind where the coach goes.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

So it begins. We've been punting remodeling, waiting for the right time to borrow some money and pay someone to do it. Life kept getting in the way and we decided that another loan wasn't really what we wanted to get into. I told DW I'd just do it myself. I can do it, I just don't like to.

First project is taking out the shower in the powder room bathroom (everyone has a shower off the kitchen right???) and expand the pantry.

I had already started taking apart the shower door and the knobs and such.


Shower fiberglass out working on drywall


cleaned up and ready for mechanical work to start


Looking through the pantry door into the old shower. The new pantry door will be on the left side of this picture, about centered where the pipes are coming out of the floor.

Trying to get it mudded and taped before Monday while I still have FIL and MIL in town for their patience in detail work.

 

[PaHunter]

Oh, it's not that bad Ed. I'm only 67' with the toy box.
I act like I'm yankin' the steering wheel hard and look directly into peoples eyes as I head toward them , they'll move.
Actually, as far as right hand turns, the trailer follows right behind where the coach goes.

we are 58 when the trailer is attached with the spyder in it.

 

[PaHunter]

So it begins. We've been punting remodeling, waiting for the right time to borrow some money and pay someone to do it. Life kept getting in the way and we decided that another loan wasn't really what we wanted to get into. I told DW I'd just do it myself. I can do it, I just don't like to.

First project is taking out the shower in the powder room bathroom (everyone has a shower off the kitchen right???) and expand the pantry.
View attachment 648504
I had already started taking apart the shower door and the knobs and such.

View attachment 648505
Shower fiberglass out working on drywall

View attachment 648507
cleaned up and ready for mechanical work to start

View attachment 648508
Looking through the pantry door into the old shower. The new pantry door will be on the left side of this picture, about centered where the pipes are coming out of the floor.

Trying to get it mudded and taped before Monday while I still have FIL and MIL in town for their patience in detail work.

Following in @garneska footstops doing some remodeling

 

[garneska]

Yeah i am so glad to generally be done. Need to do shelves and paint all the dang doors and door jams, but yah other than that it’s done. I do love it.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Update for today. Mudding and taping tomorrow. Possibly hang the door.

No more shower


No more bifold door to the original pantry


New pantry. Shelves will wrap on 3 sides eventually.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Yeah i am so glad to generally be done. Need to do shelves and paint all the dang doors and door jams, but yah other than that it’s done. I do love it.

I would like to be done, but this is the first phase of slapping the 90s out of this house. Basement is probably next. Then kitchen. Then master bath. See you in 5 years

 

[tigger92662]

I would like to be done, but this is the first phase of slapping the 90s out of this house. Basement is probably next. Then kitchen. Then master bath. See you in 5 years

OOHH!, sounds like a Dismeet/Remodel at the P-TP complex. We knock that out in a week

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Got to this point with the renovation on Monday, but just getting around to posting.

The bathroom.


Old pantry door gone


New pantry.

We're hoping to get the shelving and trim done soon. The flooring in the pantry and gutting the bathroom is on the horizon

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

And we're camping.

A quick spring break trip in the state next door, Missouri. We left today for a state park near where I grew up, Trail of Tears SP. It was an unexciting drive. Just 7 hours of interstate.


It was still a little cold in the rig for a quick lunch.


Stuck er in there. I didn't get a shot of the loop yet, but there are only 4 of us in here. It's pretty quiet except...


There's some of these guys going up and down the Mighty Miss and there's also


these guys. It's a little close to us and there's a crossing about 1000 yards from our site, but we have sound machines cranked and we all sleep pretty hard.


Apparently the train is a bit of a turn off for some folks.


Couple of good cheesers



Nice quiet first night. We cooked dinner and the kids played. After a few family card games the kids hit the sack. Parents are soon to follow.

It feels good to be camping.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

We slept pretty well. I only heard one train around 2 am and I just rolled over and went back to sleep. Got moving around 7 this morning. I wanted to catch the sunrise on the river. Missed it by 10 minutes once I got dressed and out the door.


The towboat crew and the sun called me a sleepy head.

I went for a nice 4.5 mile walk. Took about an hour and had about 320' of elevation gain. Not bad. It was just me and the critters out there. Here's a few shots






I finished up down by the river. The boat ramp has a gauge on it. The river is at 19' and one tick... whatever a tick is.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Fell behind a bit.

Tuesday, we went back into town to visit dad. We also went to Wib's Drive-in. A spot I mentioned from my trip this summer. It's a must do on our list when we're in my hometown. Also, we explored some of Trail of Tears SP.


2 extra hot combos still need hot sauce. Wib's serves BBQ sandwiches. They are served on toasted Bunny Bread and come in 3 varieties. Regular - Shaved pork, Outside - the outside of the shoulder and it's all bark and smokey, or a Combo - a regular or outside with pimento cheese on it. Then you can order from extra mild to extra hot. I'm regular combo extra hot all the way.


Overlook at ToTSP looking North on the Mississippi. Illinois on the right side of the pic.


Tossing the pigskin around before dark.

On Wednesday, I woke up early and hit a trail nearby to get my sunrise. I walked about a mile to get to the trail and then it was another 3.


Not a bad little walk


Nice trail. It started a little steep and leveled out in about .25 miles. Then it was smooth until the last .25 mile where I could almost touch the trail in front of me I was going so straight up.


The sunrise over the river was nice too. The trees kind of make the picture meh.

We packed up and got on the road by 9. Our first stop of the day was Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO for an early lunch. A good stop as always. After our lunch and loosening a notch in the belt, we got back in the truck and pointed west towards Hollister, MO.

We arrived in Hollister around 5 pm. We met my sister's family at Payne's Valley Cottages, part of the Big Cedar Lodge. She got a gift certificate from a raffle at work and we stayed in a place that I'd never fork out the dough for unless I hit the lottery.

This was the view off the back deck. Our cottage had 4 bedrooms each with a full bath, a full kitchen, a porch, a pool, and a putting green. I guess I didn't take any pictures of the place, but it was interesting. It was a merging of a hunting cabin and a golf clubhouse. The quality of the construction did not match the price tag per night. Really poor craftsmanship.

We spent two nights there. Yesterday we all went to Silver Dollar City. It's nice for what it is, but the ticket prices keep eeking north. They are trying out some Disney-esque upsell techniques, but not doing anything to limit attendance. It was the second day the park was open and it was absolutely slammed. Way beyond what the park can realistically hold. So many line queues bleeding out in the already crowded paths and streets of the park.

This morning we woke up and got on the road by 9. It was raining off and on, especially when we were trying to cross-load the cottage back into the rig. I got drenched when I was hitching up and about the time I dropped the truck into D to finally depart...the rain stopped.

It rained off and on the 5 hour drive home. We pulled in a little after 5 pm and we unloaded the rig. The laundry is started, I'm in the easy chair, the kids already retreated to their corners of the house, and I'm already wanting the next trip to start.

 

[bama_ed]

Nice pix, PTP.

There is a bottle of Frank's Hot sauce on your tray. I consider myself a conn-o-sewer of red pepper sauce and Frank's doesn't rank too high on my list (maybe 5th). But hey, if that's what the location provides, you gotta go with it.

Looks like spring is already on its way in your area.

And the sign about "no refunds for train traffic" - folks may pay to see trains but there is no guarantee when one will roll by the campsite (due to congestion up and down the line). You were lucky - bet you got that view for free!

I hope to be camping like you soon.

Bama Ed

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Nice pix, PTP.

There is a bottle of Frank's Hot sauce on your tray. I consider myself a conn-o-sewer of red pepper sauce and Frank's doesn't rank too high on my list (maybe 5th). But hey, if that's what the location provides, you gotta go with it.

Looks like spring is already on its way in your area.

And the sign about "no refunds for train traffic" - folks may pay to see trains but there is no guarantee when one will roll by the campsite (due to congestion up and down the line). You were lucky - bet you got that view for free!

I hope to be camping like you soon.

Bama Ed

Frank's isn't my favorite either, but I don't pack it in. I'm a bit of a chili head, so the run of the mill cayenne and vinegar base sauces are only used in a pinch.

Trains. Yes, lots of them. There were some workers on the line one day, so that might have limited some of the traffic and probably forced more of them into the periods of darkness. However, I was really surprised how much the train didn't bother us despite it being a half swing of a pitching wedge away and a crossing that they blew the horn on less than a 1000 yards away.

Speaking of trains, meant to snap a pic of Silver Dollar City's train for you, but forgot. So no points awarded.

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Pantry just needs some finish work and we're in business

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Happy gardener (DW). We finished the fence today. The gate was the biggest hurdle and what took us most of the afternoon. Don't check our work with a plumb bob or a square, but I don't think the bunnies are going get any free snacks this year.