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RE: Tetons Advice
We just stayed at the full hookup side of Colter Bay RV park. Loved it as it was within walking distance to Visitor's Center, Marina, Colter Lake, restaurant and Ranger presentation area. Nice natural wooded pullthrus more than adequate for our 38' footer. Do keep in mind that it is unlikely you will get any satellite signal due to tree cover. We drove through the no hook up side and really preferred the full hookup sites. The sites on the no hook up area are side loops off main road so the one side of your RV is right next to the main campground roadway while the pull thrus on the full hook up side are the more traditional angled pull thrus off of more minor feeder roads which is our personal preference. Some of the sites on the no hook up side do have less tree cover so satellite is probably more obtainable. Both campgrounds are convenient to all the facilities.
We drove through the Virginian RV park (full service) in Jackson Hole, Gros Ventre Campground and Flagg Ranch while we were in the area and we would go back and stay at Colter versus any of those.
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hawkhill
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12/28/11 11:28pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Badlands, SD Area Suggestions?
We spent 2 nights In Interior SD to sightsee Badlands. We got in around 2PM first day. First day went shopping at Wall Drug and had a burger there for dinner. Wall Drug is a tourist trap, but we knew we probably would not be that way again. 2nd day we drove the Loop road (took us about 2 hours, but we stop and take a lot of pictures). Spent the rest of the day exploring the Badlands National Park. We stayed at the KOA in the park and would recommend it. If your schedule is tight, you get a good overview of the Badlands just driving the Loop Road and you can move on at that point.
Rushmore area we stayed at Rafter J. Highly recommend it. We were going to stay 4 days and then move on, but we had truck trouble that put us there a week which turned out to be a good thing. Got a rental car and visited Rushmore about 3 hrs and then went back for night lighting. Next day visited Crazy Horse which I thought was going to be a waste of time, but we loved that even more than Rushmore. Spent 1/2 the day there. Drove Iron Mountain and Needles hwy (awesome scenery and photo ops). Don't drive your RV through there (narrow tunnels) That was a leisurely day. Spent 2 days exploring Custer which was not enough (drive the Wildlife Loop). Drove to Devil's Tower (original plan was to go there after our 4 days at Rafter J and stay at the KOA, but with truck in shop we just drove the rental car there. It is a little over an hour from Rafter J. We spent about 3 hours there (walked all the way around it taking tons of pictures). Took the back way back to Rafter J to sightsee Deadwood and Lead. Also, we took the train ride from Hill City to Deadwood. Alpine Inn in Hill City has good German food and there was a decent pizza place in town.
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hawkhill
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12/26/11 08:59pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Fort Wilderness: another way instead of thru Magic K. gates?
We never go thru the MK gates. Exit I4 on Hwy 536 which is the World Center exit. Head west towards main gates. Stay towards the right after exiting I4 as you are going to take the first exit to the right which is Bonnet Creek (I think the exit sign reads Epcot). You know you have the right exit if you see the Vacation Club "lighthouse" at the first light after you exit which is the intersection of Bonnet Creek and Buena Vista Dr. Stay on Bonnet Creek past Port Orleans, Bonnet Creek Pkway deadends at the Bonnet Creek resort and Vista Blvd - turn left on Vista Blvd (don't go into Bonnet Creek resort) - not too far to Fort Wilderness entrance which will be on your right. You will see the parking area for Hoop-Dee-Do first and then the main entrance to Fort Wilderness. This way in is pretty straightforward and minimal traffic and you miss the congestion by the main MK gates
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hawkhill
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12/16/11 07:23pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Silver springs RV campers garden park
If you don't need sewer, I would recommend Silver River State Park instead. Right next to the park. It has nice clean facilities, huge sites with lots of privacy, easy to access dump station. Cracker Village and Silver River Museum on site in the State Park. It is one of our favorite parks.
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hawkhill
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12/11/11 05:22pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Radid City, SD to Yellowstone
We just made that trip and found the roads very manageable and we are flatlanders from Florida. If you want to avoid steep grades, you can take I90 all the way to US 191 into West Yellowstone. We stayed there at Grizzly. Highly recommend it. I90 is a major highway with very limited grades. Not actually inspiring views, but passable. We stopped for the night at the Billings KOA which was okay for an overnight before continuing on to West Yellowstone. US 191 is a 2 lane that follows the Galletin River which is very pretty. There are some curves on that road, but they are very manageable as are the grades.
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hawkhill
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12/11/11 08:05am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: yellowstone national park
We stayed at Grizzly in September. Wonderful park that is convenient to West Yellowstone. Staff is very professional. If you want to take a bus tour, they will pick you up there. Sites are reasonable size and meticulously maintained. Not as cheap as other parks in the area, but we did drive through some of the other parks and you get what you pay for. Recommend the wolf and grizzly center which is right down the street and the town museum. If you like Mexican food, try the white bus.
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hawkhill
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11/30/11 10:19pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Dish Network / KVH
We have a KVH R5 and use DISH. It will continue to move even when the TV is off. We shut our KVH off at night and when we leave for several hours so it does not constantly run.
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hawkhill
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11/30/11 07:03pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: dealer jumped on me for eterna-bonding roof seams
Actually, when I questioned our manufacturer about Eternabond on our roof, they did tell me that they would void the warranty. Also, we were told by a couple of different dealers that they would lower the trade value of our unit if it was Eternabonded as a lot of borrowers steer clear of those units for the reason dalehelman mentioned. For those reasons, we unfortunately are still caulking. As in everything, it is a trade off and a personal choice.
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hawkhill
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11/29/11 10:59am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: the biltmore
We enjoyed Mama Gertie's. Short drive to the Biltmore. We had a great site on the upper level which was a fairly steep pull, but worth it. Super folks and unbelievable clean and neat park. There is a blind curve into the park, but just be careful and you should not have a problem.
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hawkhill
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11/28/11 09:12pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Badlands - Black Hills
Just did this trip. Badlands Loop takes about two hours and that is stopping to take plenty of photos - 2 hours max at Wall Drug. We stayed the night at the KOA Badlands at Interior. We would recommend it. We planned to stay at Rafter J for 5 days and then drive to the KOA Devils Tower for the night, but we had truck trouble and ended up at Rafter J for 7 days. Enjoyed every minute of it. Agree with everyone else - plan to spend more time in Hill City area and less in Badlands. We actually drove the rental car to Devil's Tower one of the days which worked out great. We took about 3 hours sightseeing Devil's Tower - leisurely walk around it - tons of photos (Husband is Close Encounters fan). That was plenty of time. Driving up to Devil's Tower from Hill City if you go the back way, you can sightsee Deadwood and Lead. We saw lots of mule deer that way. Recommend Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse and Bear Country. Enjoyed Crazy Horse more than expected. Try to see the night lighting at both Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Recommend driving Iron Mountain Rd and Needles Hwy. (don't do this in your RV). Recommend sightseeing Sylvan Lake, Mammoth site, Jewel Cave, and Wind Cave. We took the 1880 Train from Hill City to Keystone and had lunch in Keystone and took the later train back to Hill City. Hill City is a nice little town. If you like german food, highly recommend Alpine Inn. Custer State Park is a must see. Drove the Wildlife Loop twice at different times to see different animals - bison, pronghorns, wild burros and a bobcat on the early evening drive. Harney Peak is interesting. You can see something like 5 states from there. Saw plenty of mountain goats there.
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hawkhill
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11/16/11 11:20pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Turbo hose blowing off ???
We had the same problem with our 6.0. Fine for several years and then it started blowing the hose about every 10000 miles when pulling. Turbo taken apart and cleaned - no problem after that. Ricatic is absolutely correct that the overboosting can blow your head gaskets. Better to blow the hose than the head gaskets.
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hawkhill
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11/16/11 07:37pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Lex. Ky to St Louis and Closest RV Park to St Louis Arch.
If you are planning to go now, Casino Queen RV park is now closed for the season. Casino Queen is the RV park that is most convenient to the Arch. It does require driving downtown. In fact, we could not find a convenient way thru this area w/o going thru St Louis. The bypass takes you way out of your way. Keep in mind that Casino Queen is in East St. Louis which is certainly no the best or safest are, although the park is very safe with good security.
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hawkhill
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10/10/11 11:19pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Thanksgiving camping
We use a Rival roaster. If you use one, pay attention to the instructions regarding cooking time as it cooks quicker than a conventional oven. If the weather is good, we put it out on the picnic table so we have more working space inside to prepare the side dishes.
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hawkhill
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10/06/11 06:43pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Just booked last cabin at Mama Gertie's in Asheville Nov4-6
No recommendation for dining, but we loved staying at Mama Gertie's. We stayed in our fifth wheel on the upper level. Wonderful park, unbelievably clean and super hosts. You do need to be careful on the blind curve turning into the park. Biltmore was wonderful. We had a great lunch there in the Stables.
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hawkhill
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10/06/11 04:09pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Which Tow Vehicle - Need your help fast.
Vote for 3500 DRW - never can have too much truck
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hawkhill
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10/05/11 10:07pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: ticks prevention for cats
The tick collar used for dogs is Preventic which uses a chemical that is highly toxic to cats. In fact, the manufacturer recommends that you do not use Preventic on your dog if you have a cat that is in close contact with your dog. Such is the case in my household as my one cat actually cuddles with my dog so I am stuck using Frontline for ticks on my dog as it is safe to use around cats.
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hawkhill
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09/27/11 04:21pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: 3rd breakdown on trip - anyone got a X pin available?
I am looking at Dodge and Chevy as well, but frankly the only one who will give a decent trade value on a 6.0 is Ford.
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hawkhill
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09/07/11 04:56pm |
Tow Vehicles
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3rd breakdown on trip - anyone got a X pin available?
We have been on our way from FL to Yellowstone. Stock 2005 F350 6.0L pulling about 15K fiver - 1st breakdown in IL -Ford replaced injectors 1, 3, 5, & 7. Broke down again about 400 miles - wrench warning light - no power on hills max about 35 miles an hour, RPMs jumping all over the place up to 3500 and then down again - Ford put in HCFM, fuel filters and fuel pressure regulator. Next day got a wrench light again outside of Sioux Falls, SD. Let it cool down - wrench went away drove fairly well into Mitchell SD. Next leg Mitchell to Rapid City - was fine until about 60 miles outside Rapid City - wrench warning again -definite turbo overboost at 30 psi. Shut it down again, but this time the minute we hit the foothills max speed was 33 miles an hour and truck whined up the hill and continued with a high pitch whine all the rest of the way. Scariest drive of my life.
No Ford diesel mechanics available in Rapid City for 2 weeks. Closest Ford dealer who could look at it is in Sherican about 253 miles away. Truck drives fine without trailer so we dropped it off in Sheridan. It is showing absolutely no codes nor can dealer recreate issue. They say unless they can confirm customer concern, Ford will not be able to do anything (Ford ESP on truck.
Scared to continue to drive it, so we may trade it. Dealer has a new 2011 F350 XLT 6.7 dually on the lot for sticker of $53000. Anyone have a Xpin available? I was planning to trade to next year, but I may be stuck.
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hawkhill
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09/07/11 04:19pm |
Tow Vehicles
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Help - broke down for 2nd time in 4 days
Until now I have been relatively lucky with this truck 2005 F350 6.0 - only 1 minor blimp with a turbo hose blowing about 20K miles ago, so I thought I had escaped the 6.0 woes.
Just had the truck checked out by Ford prior to our 5000 mile trip from FL to the Badlands to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons and home. All was well. Day two drove Monteagle without any problems, but about 8 miles prior to our stop in Goreville IL truck started losing power on hills and tach was reving up to over 3000 RPMs. but was not shifting. Mile later it was bucking and we shut it down on the side of the interstate. Towed to our campsite in Goreville and truck towed to local Ford dealer. Great service by Coachnet.
Ford replaced 1, 3, 5, & 7 injectors and pronounced all is well, so we finally got out of there 2 days late. Intended to drive to Lincoln NE to make up some time. Truck started up the same thing around Kansas City. This time we limped off and made it to a handy campground and dropped the 5th wheel. Called 5 of the local Ford dealerships only 1 may be able to look at it before the weekend and then probably cannot do any work on it, so we are looking at least a week (Bye-bye Badlands part of the vacation).
Any ideas on what this may be? Voltage was checked on the FICM at the first dealer and they felt it was fine. All temps were normal - no smoke - no evidence of the EGR going out. Truck seems to run normal without a load and seems to run normal for about 5 hours under load and then the issues start. Both times the truck appeared to handle normally and had no problems with the hills until after 5 or 6 hours of continuous driving. First sign of trouble was a reluctance to shift and the transmission was winding out and then no more power at all. We could not even maintain 35 miles an hour on a slight hill on the interstate.
Good news - it is at least under a Ford ESP Premium plan.
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hawkhill
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09/01/11 06:44am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: My furbaby is going blind
About a year ago I took my Aussie in for cataract surgery which failed. About the first month, it was really rough to watch Bear learn to navigate. It was so bad that I considered euthanizing him. However, after the first rocky month or so, he learned to cope very well. He still has run of our property with supervision and does very well (like the map of the property is now embedded in his brain). He has also learned to find on us based on sound. He is unbelievably accurate locating us by using our voices. He is now a happy go lucky dog again.
I would recommend "Living with Blind Dogs by Caroline Levine". It is out of print now, but you can still get it on Amazon. It has some very helpful hints on how to set up your house to help your dog navigate around the house.
I know it is emotionally painful now, but it will get better. I believe that Bear did something similar to what your Chi is doing now at first - the fixed gaze on nothing. I am not sure if they are seeing something within their eye that they are focusing on or not. I am sure the specialist may have some further information for you.
Good luck to both you and Chi. Dogs adapt remarkable well to low vision as they are not as depend on their vision as we are.
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hawkhill
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08/17/11 10:24pm |
RV Pet Stop
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