So excited to be back, any help would be great!

[Rland8228]

Hi everyone,

I have missed being on here so much!!! I dont even know if some of the other who use to help me are still here or not! But everyone has always been so welcoming!


So I have been MIA from the boards since November 2014. For a lot of reasons...lol. My last post was Nov 2014. We did have Disney Fan number 3, we hit a lot of complications and actually spent some time in the NICU with her but not as long as we did with DS4. DS4 however has put us on a very new journey. He was diagnosed with autism and has been going to a daycare/ preschool for extra help, millions of new doctors appointments. Plus I have been working a lot of overtime and trying to just enjoy life. I have been on the boards here and there but didnt not want to feed my depression dare I say if from not being there.

The trailer has still been sitting in our drive way. I am proud to say we have done a lot of work to it. But the exciting part is.......

We will be In DISNEY in MAY!!!!!!

I can not tell you how excited I am to be coming back down after almost two years! Doesnt help the fact that its in the negatives here today!


We haven't worked out all the kinks, as to if we will be staying at pop or at the fort. I am really hoping that DH and I agree this time, even if it is a little bit more to stay at pop. He is worried about the gas mileage. But at this point we have that little extra to spend and I would love to finally head to the fort after five plus years of trying.


So any advice anyone could give me would be great. One of the biggest things I would like to know are what are your absolute must have accessories/tools for the trailer. I am also a little nervous as I will be the one having to dump the tanks!

 

[PaHunter]

Well, welcome back !! Stay warm and dumping the tanks is pretty easy, just take your time. Always dump the black tank first, close the valve then empty the gray tank. Not my favorite part, but love camping enough so deal with dumping tanks.

 

[Disneypeach]

welcome back ! Some of the must haves for me include: water pressure regulator, extra heavy duty extension cords, screen room (especially with that threat of the zika virus), propane stove to cook outside to avoid making the camper hot, good camp chairs, bike, BBQ grill...

 

[tiggerdad]

Welcome back.

Must haves:

Squirrel food
wife
kids
camper
comfortable chair to relax in

 

[2goofycampers]

Welcome back. Sounds like you really need a vacation. Have a great time no matter which resort you stay at.

 

[bama_ed]

Hiya Rland.

With little ones, I wouldn't begrudge anyone who stayed at a resort over pulling the camper. If you end up at a hotel, drop by the Fort on a sunny afternoon. No worries.

Bama Ed

 

[peg110]

We haven't worked out all the kinks, as to if we will be staying at pop or at the fort. I am really hoping that DH and I agree this time, even if it is a little bit more to stay at pop. He is worried about the gas mileage. But at this point we have that little extra to spend and I would love to finally head to the fort after five plus years of trying.

My DW doesn't care to fly. She would if she had to. Don't know if you would be driving whether staying at the POP or not. For us, the cost of driving (even with the lower gas mileage) is still cheaper then flying, particularly when you consider that if we fly we would need a rental car. (We do more than just "Disney" so it just makes sense to have a car). Also consider that luggage and Souvenirs now get limited. If you are driving either way this is less of an issue for you. The nice thing about the fort and your own camper is you typically know what you have to deal with. If you have special needs you know what you have even before you go. Plus the Fort is just awesome anyway. Either way, Fort or POP, I hope you have an awesome and relaxing time.

Welcome back.

Must haves:

Squirrel food
wife
kids
camper
comfortable chair to relax in

In that order?

 

[Rland8228]

Thanks everyone, well we booked last week for May 14- 20 at pop.....


And then we switched yesterday to the fort for April 23-30. It will definitely be an interesting trip. Let's just say my DH would love to give me a horse tranquilizer if he could. I get a little nervous about the towing part. We have always said this is why we wanted to start camping and I guess we will never know unless we try. So here we go on our beatiful adventure . It rained here in PA so it washed what was left of the snow off the trailer. I'm hoping to get in there soon to clean it out.


As far as dumping the tanks, I'm a little nervous because our valves are not labeled and I've read the manual and searched online and have no idea. But I guess it's a 50/50 chance.

We are planning on leaving Friday afternoon and driving as far as we can. I know we are going to hit traffic in Richmond or dc / Baltimore one of the three. I just don't really want hubby to drive straight thru like we normally do. He is an overnight manager so he is used to being up and prefers it that way.

 

[4077]

Worst case to figure out the tanks.....after hooked up to sewer, you could turn on the water in sink, leave it running, and then open up one valve at a time. Whichever valve allows the continuous flow of water from sink to drain out is the gray water valve....presto

 

[Teamubr]

we switched yesterday to the fort for April 23-30.


As far as dumping the tanks, I'm a little nervous because our valves are not labeled and I've read the manual and searched online and have no idea. But I guess it's a 50/50 chance.

Congrats on coming to the Fort. April should be great. Weather and crowd wise.

As for the dump tanks. If your valves are at the pipe (vs being remote), the larger pipe (4 inch) has always been the black (toilet) tank on the 4 trailers I've owned. Grey tanks are much smaller (2 in). If you have remote pull handles like in my pic, and they aren't labeled... Yep, 50/50 crap shoot... literally.

 

[Rland8228]

Thanks, I'll take a picture tomorrow and maybe someone knows something it's an 2004 kz frontier. My dad was an rv tech for years and said the exact same thing it's a crap shoot literally lol!

 

[PaHunter]

Thanks everyone, well we booked last week for May 14- 20 at pop.....


And then we switched yesterday to the fort for April 23-30. It will definitely be an interesting trip. Let's just say my DH would love to give me a horse tranquilizer if he could. I get a little nervous about the towing part. We have always said this is why we wanted to start camping and I guess we will never know unless we try. So here we go on our beatiful adventure . It rained here in PA so it washed what was left of the snow off the trailer. I'm hoping to get in there soon to clean it out.


As far as dumping the tanks, I'm a little nervous because our valves are not labeled and I've read the manual and searched online and have no idea. But I guess it's a 50/50 chance.

We are planning on leaving Friday afternoon and driving as far as we can. I know we are going to hit traffic in Richmond or dc / Baltimore one of the three. I just don't really want hubby to drive straight thru like we normally do. He is an overnight manager so he is used to being up and prefers it that way.

Depending on where you leave from in PA why don't you take 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to I4. You then miss Richmond/DC/Baltimore. Only big town on this route is Charlotte NC and even at the worst still better than any of the other towns. We drive about 12 hours on the first day and it puts us in Walterboro, SC, and that is coming out of NEPA. From there day two is about 5 hours to the Fort.

 

[Rland8228]

Depending on where you leave from in PA why don't you take 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to I4. You then miss Richmond/DC/Baltimore. Only big town on this route is Charlotte NC and even at the worst still better than any of the other towns. We drive about 12 hours on the first day and it puts us in Walterboro, SC, and that is coming out of NEPA. From there day two is about 5 hours to the Fort.

It's funny we may do that because DH parents just moved to Concord, NC, where we are thinking of moving to. We were thinking about stopping on the way down or back to see them. We live about 45 minutes outside of Philly in West chester. I was going to take DS 9 out of school early but he has state testing that day so we probably won't leave until between 12-3. But I will definitely look into that. Thank you!

 

[bama_ed]

Worst case to figure out the tanks.....after hooked up to sewer, you could turn on the water in sink, leave it running, and then open up one valve at a time. Whichever valve allows the continuous flow of water from sink to drain out is the gray water valve....presto

Smarty pants....

 

[peg110]

It's funny we may do that because DH parents just moved to Concord, NC, where we are thinking of moving to. We were thinking about stopping on the way down or back to see them. We live about 45 minutes outside of Philly in West chester. I was going to take DS 9 out of school early but he has state testing that day so we probably won't leave until between 12-3. But I will definitely look into that. Thank you!

We are also in NEPA and generally we will wait until early evening (5 or 6) after school and work before we get on the road. We (and by WE, I mean ME) drive about 5 or 6 hours to get below DC and all that traffic. By the time we are hitting the beltway area, it's not too bad. We then take a stop in Southern VA (but I think this trip I am going to try and push it into NC) and take a break for the night.

 

[PaHunter]

We are also in NEPA and generally we will wait until early evening (5 or 6) after school and work before we get on the road. We (and by WE, I mean ME) drive about 5 or 6 hours to get below DC and all that traffic. By the time we are hitting the beltway area, it's not too bad. We then take a stop in Southern VA (but I think this trip I am going to try and push it into NC) and take a break for the night.

Paul, last year we stayed at a campground in Rocky Mount/Enfield. That put us 9 hours from home and 9 hours to Disney. Was as close to halfway as I could find. Just and FYI.

 

[peg110]

Paul, last year we stayed at a campground in Rocky Mount/Enfield. That put us 9 hours from home and 9 hours to Disney. Was as close to halfway as I could find. Just and FYI.

Google says it's about 7 hours from home. My issue is, is that I get up at about 5:30 AM for work. Then I work a full day come home and finalize the "Hook-up" and get those last minute things loaded up (including the family ) and get on the road. It makes for a long day and driving that day has 1 objective. Get below DC while traffic is low.

This trip, however, we may take the longer way around (81 - 77 - 95 - 4). I suppose that decision will be made on the day of departure.

 

[PaHunter]

Google says it's about 7 hours from home. My issue is, is that I get up at about 5:30 AM for work. Then I work a full day come home and finalize the "Hook-up" and get those last minute things loaded up (including the family ) and get on the road. It makes for a long day and driving that day has 1 objective. Get below DC while traffic is low.

This trip, however, we may take the longer way around (81 - 77 - 95 - 4). I suppose that decision will be made on the day of departure.

The 9 hours was while towing with the 1500 and it takes me about 45 minutes to hit the 80/81 split, so it may take you a little less. We are taking the "longer route" again this trip, both down and back. I did like this route down last year.

 

[peg110]

5 Minutes from I-81. Unfortunately, as soon as I hit it, it's an Uphill mountain for about 15 miles. I still make good time, but I think I can convert my MPG to GPM at that point!