mimi55
austin
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How many of you that or doing gate guard work are also fulltime RV'ers? (by fulltime - I mean this is your only home) I am asking as we overheard a comment today in the lot that maybe they should get an old trailer so they do not have to worry about their trailer getting messed up. The one site they asked if we wanted would not even fit our 5th wheel with the slides out.
any and all info is appreciated.
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mimi55
austin
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We have been sitting in the yard in Gonzales for 8 days. Starting to wander if there is going to be some work coming soon. We have worked for them previously so I do not understand.
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coolbikeman1
Springfield,Mo
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lizr49 wrote:How many of you that or doing gate guard work are also fulltime RV'ers? I am asking as we overheard a comment today in the lot that maybe they should get an old trailer so they do not have to worry about their trailer getting messed up.
any and all info is appreciated.
You have heard right, this work is hard on a RV. This is our first experience at this and we have what was a very clean/new looking 2002 Holiday Rambler travel trailer. The dust gets in even being closed up except for going in and out, which can be very frequently unless you have a covered canopy to sit under which won't blow away. It has gotten down to 24 degrees at night for us coldest so far, so staying outside all night is not comfortable, especially when we had several days of rain awhile back. Tracking in dust and mud is a problem. We use Crocs and leave them outside most of the time to avoid tracking dirt in. We also have 3 small dogs that we wipe their feet every time they come in and wash and dry their feet when the ground is wet or damp. The Texas dirt and caliche cakes on and sticks to your feet and our dogs feet. Only way to get it off is wash it off then dry feet before letting them in.
The Texas roads even the paved ones are very uneven if you are pulling a travel trailer, don't know about a 5th wheel or motorhome. Following and trying to keep up with a the Gate Guard service person going 70 mph taking you to a new site is an experience. Then when you get off the paved road and travel a few miles to several miles on dirt/rock that been torn up by huge trucks and equipment slows you down to 6 to 10 mph to a max of 20 mph for us unless you really want to destroy tires and shake everything out inside.
We are glad we purchased a used unit that is very nice and didn't cost so much, and don't lose as much from depreciation.
The money is good though, especially if you can be lucky enough to get on a site where you can stay for a long time and not have to pack up every few days, or 2 to 4 weeks, and then get set up again. Our experience has been that both the oil company and the gate guard company wants you to be ready to go in a moments notice, which is stressful at times when trying to hurry. We just left a site yesterday, worked all morning until about 12noon getting packed and ready then traveled 112 miles to a new site. Hope we are here at least 2 weeks to help offset the cost of gas to get here.
Hope this information helps. Just our experience so far. I am sure others that have done this for many seasons have gotten used to the routine and can give you their advice also.
Good luck,
the "coolbikeman"
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coolbikeman1
Springfield,Mo
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lizr49 wrote:We have been sitting in the yard in Gonzales for 8 days. Starting to wander if there is going to be some work coming soon. We have worked for them previously so I do not understand.
2 days ago their were 9 waiting at the Whitsett yard.
Terry
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maxx233
Texas
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We finally got into GGS today to get registered and licensed. From what they're telling us right now, it's potentially quite a wait. I heard 18 couples (or was it 20 couples) ahead of us, the service yards with the hookups are basically all full, and it could be a month before we actually get a gate. That said, great people and it sounds like they're going to get us into a hookup yard next week hopefully to wait out whatever time we have to wait out - which after talking with them more I don't get the full impression is likely to be a month, but maybe rather a week or two (maybe 3) - I think they mostly wanted to make sure we knew it *could be* that long before we dropped money on licensing and decided to stick around on standby and such (all in all I think we're $200 into it.. license, fingerprinting, and gas back and forth around town - not counting what it took to get here of course) But we're excited and looking forward to the experience. Since we got into this so much later than we'd hoped, we're talking about sticking around into the summer (for probably about as long as we can bear the heat/humidity) while we figure out where the next part of our journey takes us ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
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Ajones42
South Texas Puckerbrush
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lizr49 wrote:We have been sitting in the yard in Gonzales for 8 days. Starting to wander if there is going to be some work coming soon. We have worked for them previously so I do not understand.
Hang in there. One thing I have discovered is that if a couple is scheduled for time off or leaving for the season and they know their replacement is sitting in the wings ready to go it gets the best of them sometimes. Next thing you know, they have decided to leave a few days early.
Fulltiming in a 2010 Puma 30RKSS
1993 Dolphin 32D -> Destroyed by hail April 2013
Gate Guards in the South Texas Pucker Brush
My Old RV
Oil Field Gate Guard Forum
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mdbass
Oklahoma
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lizr49 wrote:How many of you that or doing gate guard work are also fulltime RV'ers? I am asking as we overheard a comment today in the lot that maybe they should get an old trailer so they do not have to worry about their trailer getting messed up. The one site they asked if we wanted would not even fit our 5th wheel with the slides out.
any and all info is appreciated.
There are many schools of thought in the "fulltime" world when it comes to purchasing your "home" on wheels. We bought an older Class A and absolutely love it. We love having a generator on board and the ease of setting up. We can be leveled, hooked up and even have the satellite on line in less than an hour. We also have pets, so not fretting over the furniture is a big plus. One last thing (which ever way you decide)-don't obsess over the mud that gets tracked in out here. We have found it much easier to let it dry, then vacuum.
Mark Bass
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The Texan
Home ... Toquerville, UT .. Summer ... Cascade, ID
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Ours is a 2005, bought new and we have been doing this since 2007 as full timers. If you use a little common sense and appropiate house cleaning, there is no need to worry about ruining an RV. Our hunting and fishing expeditions, or our trips into the boonies to go off roading in the summer, are more apt to cause problems, than setting at a gate working.
Bob & Betsy - USN Aviation Ret'd '78 & LEO Ret'd '03 & "Oath Keeper Forever"
2005 HR Endeavor 40PRQ, '11 Silverado LT, Ex Cab 6.2L NHT 4x4, w/2017 Rzr 4-900 riding in 16+' enclosed trailer in back.
Where the wheels are stopped today
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mimi55
austin
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The reason I am asking is last year when we tried to get in a drill site we broke our hitch due to the depth of the site. This year we are caustious as this is our only home and definitely do not wish to twist our frame or hitch again. We do this for extra money and for general maintenace. But since they made a comment, I was curious as to how other workers feel getting into other sites that are questionable.
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The Texan
Home ... Toquerville, UT .. Summer ... Cascade, ID
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Last year they had to redo a pad for us near Cuero, as there was no way I was going to attempt to get to it or to be level, once there. A call to the company had a contractor there within an hour and the pad redone by the next day. These companies will redo it, if they are notified.
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