Update: May 9, 2018 – We’ve made our way into mid-Michigan where we’ll spend our summer once again workamping at Pere Marquette Oaks RV Resort.
Welcome to our blog. I started writing posts and publishing to this blog as we departed on our maiden voyage in our (new to us) Airstream motor home.
As we traveled west and subsequently back east during the month of April 2016, I tried to take lots of pictures and post almost daily. The only time it may have been a few days between posts was due to the inability to get free and reliable internet WiFi connection.
All the posts in this blog are in chronological order with the most recent being at the top of the list. With the exception of THIS post. This post is called a “sticky” post because it stays at the top of the list all the time as a welcome and to explain some things.
So, whenever you come here, you’ll always see THIS Welcome post first, but then the next post will be the most recent that was written.
When you see GREEN text, that is a LINK. If you click on that link, you’ll be taken to another page (in a new window) to tell you a little more about what I was referencing in the post.
You can always click on any of the pictures to open them up in a larger viewer to see them more clearly
You can scroll down (and look at the left side) to see an area where you can “follow” our blog. Then you won’t have to keep coming back to see if there’s anything new, instead you’ll get an email when there’s something new posted.
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That’s it for now, we hope you enjoy visiting the blog and catching up on our travels.
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
Spending our 2nd summer as Workampers at Pere Marquette Oaks RV Resort in “Baldwin” Michigan, we again had the opportunity every few days to explore the area of what northwest Michigan has to offer.
We’ve been working 7 days on duty, then 7 days off duty sharing responsibilities with our Workamper co-workers Russ and Mary.
One day Kathy and I took a drive “down state” a little to Grand Rapids to visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Burial Site of he and his wife Betty.
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. was born on July 14, 1913.
While Gerald Ford was still an infant, his parents were divorced, and his mother moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she married Gerald R. Ford, Sr., who adopted the boy and gave him his name.
After graduating from the University of Michigan (1935), where he was a star gridiron-football player, Ford worked as an assistant coach while he earned a law degree from Yale University (1941). He joined the navy during World War II and served in the South Pacific, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander and nearly losing his life in 1944 during a deadly typhoon that killed hundreds.
In 1948, the year he won his first elective office, as Republican congressman from Michigan, he married Elizabeth Anne Bloomer (Betty Ford), with whom he had four children—three sons (Michael, John, and Steven) and one daughter (Susan).
He served nearly 25 years as a Representative of Michigan’s 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader. Serving from 1973 to 1974 as the 40th Vice President of the United States, Ford was the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment. He then became President upon Richard Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974, and served until January 20, 1977 as the 38th President of the United States.
Ford is the only President of the United States who was not elected by ballot for his terms as either President or Vice-President. (see below)
The 44,000-square-foot two-story triangular museum is one of the highlights in a 20-acre park complex that includes the Grand Rapids Public Museum along the west bank of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids.
Click on any of the pictures below to see a larger image with caption
A symbol of Ford’s time on the University of Michigan football team
The desk from Ford’s congressional office
A replica of the White House Oval Office during Ford’s presidency
The Cabinet Room
Betty Ford’s Citizen’s Band (CB) Radio and her QSL card
Just part of the museum displays
A view of the pool from the 2nd floor of the museum
Looking east from the museum across the Grand River to the Grand Rapids skyine
Outside view of the 2 story triangular building
There’s so much to see and so much to read in this museum. There are lots of typed and hand written letters on display, audio and video recordings of the early years and his time as the leader of our nation, along with an entire display room dedicated to Betty Ford and her contributions to the community, the presidency, and the nation.
Definitely could go back and spend the better part of an entire day taking in all the museum has to offer.
Living the full-time RV lifestyle presents us with the wonderful opportunity to see and experience so much that we wouldn’t otherwise have had available to us.
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
We’re closing in on 2 full years traveling and living in our “classic” 2002 Airstream diesel pusher motorhome .. and we love it.
Our Home
We bought her as a pre-owned motorhome from an older couple in W. Virginia who had posted the ad on Craigslist. We’ve driven her from what was our home base in Ohio out to San Diego to visit Kathy’s cousin and then back to Ohio, then to Vermont for an RV rally and back to Ohio, then to Arizona to Workamp for 6 months and back to Ohio, then to Michigan to Workamp for 4 months, and back down to Ohio (through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana) and after Ohio visiting the kids on down to Texas to Workamp for 3 months, then to Florida (for a vacation!), then back to Texas for a couple weeks volunteering and on up to Ohio to visit friends and family, and now we’re back up in Michigan Workamping again for the summer of ’18 .
Where we’ve been …
And yes – we’ve had our troubles .. mostly during the first trip out west and I’ve chronicled those debacles in earlier posts. We’ve had problems with; tires, water pump, tow bar, water on the floor, water through the roof … and lots more.
We’ve also done some remodeling inside and new awnings and roof a/c covers outside – not because we NEEDED to but because we wanted to. We’ve installed a new solar controller and (4) new deep cycle batteries. We’ve installed a TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) and a new living room slide topper along with new suspension components — all of which are talked about elsewhere in this blog.
Sherwin Williams Touch-Up Paint
This coach has FOUR different colors in the paint scheme; 3 shades of green and a thin gold stripe. This meant buying (4) 1/2 pint cans of custom mix Sherwin-Williams Auto Color touch-up paint. There’s always a new small chip SOMEWHERE after a trip of a few hundred miles!
Even with all these “issues” (and I really don’t see them as “problems”) there is ONE THING THAT REALLY BUGS ME … THIS !!!
The “Ugly Shield” Paint Protection Film
Look closely and you’ll see what looks like dirt on the front of the coach, specifically on the generator drawer and the side-view mirrors.
The “Ugly Shield” Film
The maker of our coach (Airstream) just as so many other manufacturers of Class A motorhomes, installed a special plastic paint protection film .. a sort of heavy plastic whose job it is to protect the paint from getting chips from attacking road debris / stones / bugs / birds, etc.
Problem is that this film, after a number of years (somewhere ‘tween 5 and 10) starts to degrade and get very fine cracks that let dirt and water in and mold begins to form. That’s the dark brown “cracks” you see in the photo to the right.
From what I’ve gathered, there are two popular brands of film that were (and very likely still are) used on these motorhomes. One is a product called Diamond Shield and the other is a 3M film. I’m not sure, but I believe our coach has the 3M product installed.
I’ve read RV blogs and user forum posts about the inherent problems with these films and how to remove this ugly “shield” from our home on wheels.
I’ve learned that Diamond Shield requires a liquid solvent and a plastic scraper, while the 3M product requires a heat gun and plastic scraper. Either way, it’s a tiring and tedious task. It takes a lot of time and a lot of patience as you’ll see in the video below. I actually found that the my film (I think it’s the 3M product) comes off easiest when it’s warm outside (70 – 90 degrees) but without using the heat gun.
But the video shows what I learned and ultimately what products I used and how I got my film off. Even though I’ve only started the task by removing the film off the two mirrors, I’m looking forward to getting the rest of the film off the generator door. Good thing I’m retired and have the time to do this … if I was still working I know I wouldn’t have the patience for this job!
Here are the links for the products I used in this project. You can purchase these items using these links:
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
On this particular Workamping gig, we work Thursday through Wednesday .. 7 days on duty and 7 days off duty. At least one of us needs to be here at the park all 7 days, while the other can run into town for grocery shopping, a visit to the barber or other needs as they arise.
But on the 8th day … we’re free to take off and do as we please. And this has been a wonderful benefit of Workamping. We work about 3 hours each of the 7 days we’re on duty in exchange for our RV site, electricity, wifi, cable TV, heated pool and hot tub.
We have 2 weeks every month to come and go as we please and see the sights … and since we grew up here in Michigan and lived in Ohio the last 35 years before we hit the road, we’re fortunate enough to have friends and family visit.
Our first visitors were our daughter Sara and son in law Stu (along with Dulaney and Arlo)
Herb, Kathy, Dulaney, Sara, Stu, and of course .. Arlo
More recently we had a visit from my sister Betsy and brother in law Bob. They live in the Virgin Islands and were up in the Detroit area visiting their sons and were able to take a couple days to come up to Pere Marquette RV Resort to visit us.
Herb, Kathy, Bob and Betsy
My other sister Marilynn lives in Jacksonville and it’s always great to hook up with family and our visits are too far and few between.
Marilynn’s husband Rick was at work
This time we took a rafting trip down the famous Pere Marquette River. The river is 65 miles long and runs from Baldwin to Ludington and on out to Lake Michigan. We traveled only about a half mile as the crow flies, but it took us just about two hours to go from the landing at Green Cottage to Gleason’s Landing.
The Pere Marquette River is know far and wide for it’s excellent Trout and Steelhead fishing and since much of the river is in the Manistee National Forest, there’s a lot of wildlife throughout the area. The video below illustrates our relaxing ride.
So if you ever find an opportunity to visit northern Michigan, make a stop in Baldwin and take a great ride down the Pere Marquette River. Baldwin Canoe Rental is the ONLY canoe rental on the PERMITTED portion of the river and they know what customer service is. They’ll spot your car down the river so it’ll be there ready and waiting for you when you get to your appointed stop.
Tell ’em Herb & Kathy BALDWIN sent you … see if they’ll give you a discount (yea right)
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
One of the benefits of attending the Dayton Amateur Radio Association “HamVention” every year is to spend time with my long-time (notice I didn’t say “old”) friends. Dave, Ed, and I grew up together in the 60’s in Redford Township, Michigan – a western suburb of Detroit. We played together, we rode bikes together, we got in trouble together and we attended school together (since the 2nd grade) and we also got our ham radio licenses together – all first licensed in 1969.
This year at HamVention we decided we’d like to take a trip away from the main venue and visit the site of the Bethany Transmitting Station of the world famous Voice Of America (VOA) located just off I-75 between Dayton and Cincinnati.
VOA Bethany Transmitting Station
The VOA Bethany Relay Station was designed by the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation. Although the actual recording studios were in New York City and later moved to Washington, D.C., the signals were relayed through dedicated AT&T long distance telephone lines to the transmitter site near Cincinnati.
The VOA began in 1942 as a radio program designed to explain America’s policies during World War II and to bolster the morale of its allies throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. After the war, VOA continued as part of America’s Cold War propaganda arsenal and was primarily directed toward the western European audience. In February 1947, VOA began its first Russian-language broadcasts into the Soviet Union.
With the words, “Hello! This is New York calling,” the U.S. Voice of America (VOA) begins its first radio broadcasts to the Soviet Union. The VOA effort was an important part of America’s propaganda campaign against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The initial broadcast explained that VOA was going to “give listeners in the USSR a picture of life in America.” News stories, human-interest features, and music comprised the bulk of the programming. The purpose was to give the Russian audience the “pure and unadulterated truth” about life outside the USSR. Voice of America hoped that this would “broaden the bases of understanding and friendship between the Russian and American people.”
The Bethany site encompassed hundreds of acres of land for the huge rhombic antenna farm that could be switched to direct the 1.2 million watts of radio frequency programming to different locations around the world, depending on the time of day and atmospheric conditions.
The main transmitter control room
One of the large switching systems for the various transmitters
The room where the electric power came into the transmitting building
One of the six transmitting tubes that created the 1.2 million watts of RF
The base of the antenna switch network out in the field
In one of the pictures above you can see my friend Dave talking to the last remaining employee of the VOA at this site — Dave’s getting quite a history lesson.
Note the windows at the top of the tower in the first picture – It kind of looks like an airport control tower. I asked our tour guide the purpose of that tower. His response … “for sharpshooters”. This Bethany Relay Station was specifically placed here because of it’s distance from the east coast stations where they could be more susceptible to enemy attack. Even though the Bethany Station was so far west, they still stationed military armed personnel to protect the Voice Of America to make sure the message always got out.
Due to new satellite and internet technology, the need for the high power RF radio broadcast stations has diminished and the station was closed as an active transmitting site in 1994. Fear not however as the Voice Of America still broadcasts every day from their studios in Washington D.C. and their programming can be heard on the internet and on some local PBS network stations around the country. Find out more and listen to VOA live at https://www.voanews.com/
And thanks to dedicated volunteers, we were able to tour the museum. Take a look at the pictures below.
A 40’s vintage Crosley convertible
One of the ham radio club operating stations
Another ham radio operating station
Early ham radio equipment by the R.L. Drake Company of Miamisburg, OH
Part of Robert L. Drake’s personal ham radio collection
Some of the early Crosley Co. products on display in the museum
More Crosley Co. products
View from the rear of the VOA Bethany Station
My Grandson Garret learning about early radio communications
Front lobby of VOA – my buddy Dave in the foreground and Ed at the top of the stairs.
Here’s a few pix of us boys at the Dayton HamVention and at the VOA
Ed (WB8BHL), Dave (WB4EWS), and Eric (N8CEU)
Dave (formerly WB8BHY, now WB4EWS)
Grandson Garret, son David (N8SVS) and Ed (WB8BHL)
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
Just a goofy post here – nothing of consequence, but Sara and Stu have come to visit us here at Pere Marquette Oaks RV Park for a few days and last night after supper Stu and I took the dogs for a nice (cool) boat ride on Big Star Lake.
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
Not sure if there’s an official definition of Driveway Surfing, but my definition is; When an RV’er spends the night on someone’s (often a fellow RV’er) property rather than in a commercial campground or RV park.
Our spot near Ocala, FL in the coolness of the towering pines
This is not only a less expensive alternative to commercial facilities, but much safer than the often-used boon-docking (dry camping) at Wal-Marts, Cracker Barrels, Truck Stops, highway Rest Areas and the like.
The term “Boon-docking” by the way, also known as “dry camping” in the RV’er’s world is stopping/staying at a location that does not offer any utilities or other amenities. Most RV’er’s are traveling in self-contained units meaning they carry their own water (and waste) tanks and have a means to provide limited electricity to the unit for lighting, water pumping, and sometimes more.
We’ve found that the big added benefit of these overnight stays are the wonderful welcomes we get from our gracious hosts. We often spend the afternoon and into the evenings together sitting around the bonfire trading stories of our RV’ing and life experiences. Sometimes we even have dinner together.
Although Kathy and I first became aware of this wonderful benefit of full-time RV life through our membership in Boondockers Welcome, we soon found out that there are other opportunities out there as well. We’ve found that the Airstreamers (Wally Byam Caravan Club International) along with FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association), and Escapees RV Club members have programs similar to the Boondockers Welcome program. Another program mentioned to us by many other RV’ers is Harvest Hosts. Although some of these programs require a nominal annual membership fee in order to access the database and reservation software, others are free to club members.
Here are some pictures we’ve taken as we’ve traveled and met other RV’ers using our “Driveway Surfing” privileges utilizing BoondockersWelcome.com.
Roger and Jan – Randall, Kansas
We were warmly welcomed by our first BoondockersWelcome hosts Roger and Jan to their farm near Randall, Kansas in spring of 2016. Roger and Jan have a beautiful “earth” home that they custom built on the family farm that Roger was born on. While Jan prepared dinner for us (a very welcome surprise!), Roger took us on a tour of the 1000+ acre farm that their son now manages and farms (along with Dad’s occasional help). Roger and Jan have traveled all fifty states, 6 of the 10 Canadian provinces, and down into Mexico.
Click on any of the pictures to see an enlarged view
Herb, Jan, Roger, & Kathy
Our parking spot in front of their home
The original farm house that Roger was born and grew up in
Coyote & Angel – Ocala, Florida
Our next fantastic visit was to Coyote and Angel’s log cabin retreat near Ocala, Florida. And what a treat it was! They’re both retired now, but both have a colorful past and have enjoyed rebuilding over 30 classic and antique cars and trucks in their retirement. They’re also very creative and have built a wonder-filled outdoor experience that the pictures below can only begin to explain. Utilizing BoondockersWelcome, they invite RV’er’s to come and spend the night and they offer their retreat to host car shows, weddings, and other private events. Since our visit Coyote and Angel have sold their motorhome and bought a vintage Airstream travel trailer and are planning on taking a trip up to Michigan this summer and we’re looking forward to seeing them again up there while we are at our Workamping job at Baldwin, MI.
Click on any of the individual pictures to see an enlarged view
The Relaxation Pool
Outside the Barber Shop
Outside Fireplace
The “strip” downtown
Tiki Bar on the (fake) lake
Kathy enjoying her stay
All the necessary amenities
Our spot nestled in the pines
Another view
Another view of the downtown business district
Cadillac & ???
Our hostess Myrtle
Our gracious hosts Coyote & Angel
Perry, Ginny, and Georgia – New Boston, TX
Now Perry and Ginny (along with Memaw Georgia) eagerly welcomed us to their home near New Boston, Texas and they showed off their southern hospitality by treating us to a great BBQ rib dinner.
We also enjoyed meeting another Boondocker couple there (Brad & Elaine) who had just returned from a month long trip to New Zealand to visit their daughter. We all had a great evening together talking and laughing.
Be sure to check out the video below of Ginny and Perry’s “Alpine Village” that they’ve put together over the years. Ginny told us that after we leave they were going to take it all apart to dust and clean and then put it ALL BACK TOGETHER AGAIN! Glad it’s not MY job!
Click on any of the individual pictures to see an enlarged view
Germantown, OH – Lynn & Jackie
On our way back to “the old home place” in Ohio this spring, we took advantage of the invite by Lynn and Jackie at Germantown, Ohio (near Dayton). They had us in for a wonderful home-cooked spaghetti dinner and the next day (we stayed two nights) Kathy and I toured the U.S. Air Force Museum adjacent to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. We also toured the Wright Brothers Museum and the original Bicycle Shop, then spent the late afternoon at Carillon Historical Park where they have nearly 35 buildings there originally built anywhere from the 1870’s to the 1930’s. The second evening we went out to a local Mexican restaurant and then Jackie and Lynn treated us to a wonderful farewell waffle breakfast just before our departure!
Click on any of the individual pictures to see an enlarged view
Jason – Fairhope, Alabama
This stop was different in that we were not in the driveway of someone’s home, but rather their business. Jason, a former school teacher turned restaurant owner is a RV’er wanna-be. Having some restaurant experience in his past life, Jason opened this restaurant about 11 years ago and now is ready to sell and hit the road.
He’s joined all the RV clubs out there, is constantly reading RV’ers blogs and watching YouTube videos about the RV lifestyle and invites RV’ers to his restaurant so that he can have the opportunity to meet and learn from others.
RV’er friends of ours (that we had met in Arizona in 2016) were staying at an Escapees RV park just a few miles away, and so they came on over and we had a great night together enjoying shrimp PoBoys and fried clams.
In the morning, I went on over to the kitchen early while Jason was prepping for the lunch crowd. I followed him around enjoying the fresh hot coffee and talking about our life histories and RV’ing.
Click on any of the individual pictures to see an enlarged view
Our Boondocking site at the parking lot
The boat ramp down to the marina on the river
Yes, this is a lifeboat!
Herb & Kathy on the patio
Herb, Jason, and Kathy
Outside the restaurant
Another outside view
As we’ve said before, “although seeing the sites as we travel around the country is great … the really wonderful experiences are the new friends we make along the way”, and we thank Boondockers Welcome for helping us to that end.
Driveway surfing is just one more way to experience the good life … maybe you’ll try it someday yourself!
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
We’ve been on the road now for about 18 months and traveled from Vermont to California and the Upper Penninsula of Michigan down to central Florida and so many points in between. Here’s a map showing where we’ve been.
Where We’ve Been
We’ve been working along the way. We’ve been working in RV parks as hosts and workampers. Generally, this means that we put in 15-20 hours per week in exchange for our RV site and utilities. This saves us about $500 each month while at the same time giving us enough time off to immerse ourselves in the area and see the sights.
We’ve come to realize that although our experiences so far have been wonderful and rewarding, we want to move a little more often than once every 3-6 months. We seem to get “hitch-itch” at about a month in to our engagement. That’s why we’ve made arrangements to work at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in October and the Big Tent RV show at Quartzsite Arizona in January. And we’ll pick up other jobs in between.
In an effort to become a little more mobile and move on down the road a little more often while still being able to work in exchange for our site, we’ve discovered another opportunity. There’s a whole big movement out there that not only would accomplish OUR goal, but serves others and our Lord at the same time.
Enter Christian mobile work groups.
Along the way, we’ve met several folks that are part of one of these Christian based mobile work teams. We’ve found about a half dozen active groups (and there are probably more). Generally these volunteers work as teams in local churches, bible camps, orphanages, schools, and even some disaster stricken areas.
The host church (or agency) typically provides the RV site and utilities along with at least one hearty meal during the day. The 3 or 4 work days per week are usually about 6 hours long and the week is interspersed with sufficient group worship, prayer, and fellowship time around the campfire or on “day trips” away from camp.
The video below shows our trip this past week over to Piney Woods Baptist Encampment in Woodlake, Texas about 90 minutes northeast of Houston.
We found out that Piney Woods is one of 39 Baptist camps in Texas.
This is an awesome camp that is capable of hosting about 1000 campers at a time and boasts multiple buildings that include lodging, dining, worship, and recreation centers.
The camp has about 25 full-time staff to support the programming and the facilities and besides the “mobile” volunteers that I’m talking about in this blog post, they also hire 60-70 summer college aged camp counselors to work with the camp attendees.
I could go on and on, but I encourage you to visit http://www.pineywoodscamp.com/ to find out all about this wonderful camp for kids and adults alike.
In the meantime, take a look at the video below to come along with us on our tour! After the video, I’ve listed some links to the Christian based mobile volunteer work groups that we’ve discovered in case you’re interested in learning more about them.
Kathy and I have already joined Volunteer Christian Builders and have sent applications to join NOMADS and RVICS. We plan on being able to serve one or more of these groups 2 or 3 times each year in between our other gigs. Maybe we’ll even meet you at one of these worthwhile projects!
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
One of the benefits of belonging to the Escapee’s RV Club is the opportunity to have your rig (and tow vehicle) weighed. They call it their SmartWeigh service.
The SmartWeigh station at Livingston, TX
Although you can get weighed at many of the truck stops around the country, the Escapees service includes weighing of not only the rig as a whole or weighing of each axle, but also the weight of the rig (or vehicle) on EACH CORNER. This helps the RV’er to know how their load is distributed within the RV and where you might need to move (or remove) weight to get your rig within specs for a safe ride.
The manufacturers weight rating label is typically (not always) located inside the rig either on a wall or inside one of the cabinets. I’ve seen travel trailers that have them on the outside of the rig as well. In any event they should be located either inside or made of a material such that they will not easily get worn or be destroyed by weather or people.
In addition to the Weight Rating Label (glued to the back wall) in the cupboard above the couch, I’ve taped other pertinent info (like the paint color codes) on the inside of the doorThe Weight Rating Label shows TOTAL weight rating with and without liquids and passengers, but NOT axle ratings
Note that the weight rating label I reference above DOES NOT indicate the individual Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR), only the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). This label shows the math using some known (& unknown) standards.
Our rig when filled with fuel, water, and 770 pounds of humans, still allows for a Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of 1770 pounds. But how is that weight actually distributed?
For a more complete and accurate assessment of your rig’s weight, it is important to know the individual Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and the tire manufacturers recommended inflation pressure for given loads. If you bought your rig new you should have it with your Owners Manual papers. If you bought yours used like we did, you should be able to find this information online at your rig manufacturer’s (or chassis) web site.
From the chart that shows in the link above, you can see that our Freightliner chassis has a Front Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) of 9,350 pounds, a Rear GAWR of 17,000 for a total Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 26,350 pounds. This is the TOTAL that includes the RV, fuel, water, passengers, and cargo. I can’t explain why the sticker inside the cabinet states 26,850 while the Freightliner chassis data calls out 26,350 pounds … a 500 pound difference.
If the weight was evenly distributed, this would allow for 4,675 pounds on EACH front tire and 4,250 on each of the four rear tires. Remember that these weight ratings are for the AXLES, not the tires. That’s a separate issue we’ll cover further down the page.
Enter the SmartWeigh system.
The SmartWeigh “pad” at Livingston
The pad is a long and level concrete pad that the customer can drive their motorhome and toad (or truck and trailer) onto at the direction of the weighmaster.
The driver stops as directed by the weighmaster, where then the individual scales are placed into depressions or cavities in the concrete so the driver can then safely and smoothly roll forward onto the scale when directed by the weighmaster.
One of the scales in place ready to drive onto
The weighmaster moves the scales from axle to axle (1 scale on each side) and records each individual wheel weight. Again, it’s important to know not only HOW MUCH weight you are carrying as compared to the manufacturers specification, but WHERE you are carrying the weight so as to provide the safest possible loading.
SmartWeigh also provides the owner with a detailed data sheet of how your rig compares to the manufacturer’s weight rating. Here’s the data sheet with our numbers.
You can see that our front corner weights are under the Front GAWR by 1250 pounds but we’re a little heavier on the passenger side, so we need to move some of our cargo in the basement from the curb side to the road side.
The rear axle weighs in at 17,550 pounds, 550 pounds OVER the GAWR for the rear axle so we need to lighten the load by removing some items and/or moving what we are carrying more toward the front of the coach.
SO NOW LET’S TALK TIRES …
We ride on Goodyear tires designed for motorhome use. The model # is G670 and the size is 275/70R/22.5. The manufacturers data chart shows the maximum load per various cold inflation pressures.
Goodyear tire inflation chart
I generally run the coach tires at 100 p.s.i. cold inflation pressure. You can see on the chart above that at 100 p.s.i. the front TIRES are capable of carrying 5,850 pounds. You’ll remember that the SmartWeigh chart shows we’re carrying 3,900 and 4,200 so we’re well under the limit on the front. We could run 85 p.s.i. and still be well within the safety margin.
Since we have “duallys” on the rear axle (two tires on each side), we therefore split the total corner weight between the tires. The chart shows that at 100 p.s.i. we can carry 5,390 on each tire or 10,780 pounds on each rear corner. SmartWeigh tells us we are running 8,900 pounds on the curb side and 8,650 on the road side, again well within the manufacturers load limit for 100 p.s.i. inflation pressure. And again, we could run 85 p.s.i. on the rear as well.
The SmartWeigh service is available (by appointment) at Escapee RV Parks in; Livingston TX, Bushnell FL, and Congress AZ by calling one of the numbers on this page of the Escapees RV Club web site.
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
One of the perks of being in Florida in February is the opportunity to attend the Orlando “HamCation“. This is the 2nd largest of it’s type in the country with the Dayton “HamVention” being the largest. I’ve attended Dayton probably 20 times or so over the years, but this was a first for me to attend the Orlando gathering.
Both events, along with hundreds of other much smaller shows around the country are shows that attract Amateur Radio (ham) Operators where they have an opportunity to buy and sell at the flea market, discover new products presented by the manufacturer’s reps, attend educational forums, meet friends they’ve talked to on the air, eat food trailer goodies, and basically just have a good time rubbing elbows with other like-minded folks.
The Back Story …
Similar to what Mr. Rapin was putting up in his yard
I was introduced to Amateur Radio in the late ’60’s when I was about 12 or 13 years old. A neighbor of mine, a kindly rolly-polly white haired man named Mr. Rapin was assembling a HUGE antenna of sorts on a very tall tower in his back yard.
Being curious (and bored) kids, my buddy Eddie and I rode our bikes down the block to see what Mr. Rapin was up to. He took four of us neighborhood kids under his wing and that summer kept us off the streets by allowing us to spend time in his radio “shack” listening to him talk to folks around the corner and around the world.
Mr. Rapin inspired the four of us neighborhood boys to take an evening adult education course (taught by Mrs. Penny) at one of the local schools, study for, and ultimately pass the F.C.C Amateur Radio Exam. Three of us (Herb WB8BHK, Ed WB8BHL, and Dave WB4EWS formerly WB8BHY) now live in different areas of the country but still stay in touch weekly if not daily.
Sandy & Ed (WB8BHL)Dave (WB4EWS) & Robyn
Al Rapin (WA8BVP) has been a “Silent Key” for many years now but Eddie and Dave and I still talk about him and the effect he had on our young teenage years by keeping us out of trouble.
Back to the point of the story …
Kathy and I were staying at the Escapee’s RV Club park at Bushnell, FL and we drove the coach over to the Central Florida Fairgrounds on Wednesday so we would be assured of a good spot in time for the hamfest to open on Friday. We were rewarded with a prime spot at the north end of the fairgrounds against the lake.
We didn’t realize it at the time, but we were parked in the same area as a good-sized group of RV’ers from the WBCCI (Wally Byam Caravan Club International). The WBCCI members are owners of Airstream RV products and this is the company that Wally Byam started in California back in the 30’s. They are still in business today and being owners of an Airstream motorhome ourselves, Kathy and I were interested and took a tour of the Airstream factory, now in Jackson Center, OH back in October of 2017. You can see my post about that tour by following this link.
The fairgrounds accommodated hundreds of RV’s and most of them sported antennas of some sort as the hams were there “living the dream” and soaking in all they could. Of course not everyone was in an RV, many just drove their car in from surrounding states and were staying at nearby motels. But being right there on the grounds for all the action was great!
The pictures below show just a spattering of what when on at the event. My buddy Ed who has lived in Orlando for over 25 years now came on over with his wife Sandy and the girls took off doing what girls do while us boys toured the flea market pointing at some of the old “boat anchors” as they’re referred to now because of their size and weight and picking up what goodies we could afford.
You’ll note that some of the pictures below look a bit “cloudy” because of the heavy fog each morning, but they give you an idea of where we camped and the inside of some of the buildings.
Unfortunately our friend Dave (WB4EWS) wasn’t able to join us at the HamCation as he had to attend a business meeting in Hawaii (tough job, eh?)
But we will all be together again this May in Dayton for the annual Dayton HamVention. Our son David (N8SVS) and grandson Garret will also be joining us in Dayton as they live only about 3 hours away in north central Ohio.
In January of 2019, Kathy and I will be enjoying the Quartzfest in Quartzite, AZ and in February of 2019, we’ll mosey on down and take in the Yuma Hamfest at Yuma, AZ
In the meantime, very best “73 de WB8BHK” (hamspeak for Goodbye from WB8BHK)
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
NOTE: We are currently back at Livingston, TX for a couple weeks while we volunteer at the annual CARE Center Health Fair at the Escapee’s RV Park. We’ll be leaving here Mar 31st and heading back to Ohio (for a bit).
WOW! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. Now that we’ve got good wifi for the next couple of weeks, maybe I can get caught up a little, eh?
We were Workamping at the Escapees “Rainbow’s End” RV Park in Livingston, TX from mid-October to mid-January and then we took off to Florida for the month of February. A little vacation for us with no “work” like we’ve been doing since hitting the road fall of ’16.
What a great time we had …
Our reason for going to Florida was not only to get a little better (warmer) weather than what we’d had for the last 3 months in Texas, but even more so to be able to visit family and long-time friends. Some of these folks now live in Florida full-time while others are either regular “sno-birds” or maybe are just on a short vacation from the frigid north-land to warmer climates.
In any event, thanks to Facebook, RVillage, and GMail we were able to actually meet up with and spend time with 15 different couples as we enjoyed our Florida getaway. You can click on any of the pictures to see the caption of who it is we visited and where.
Dave & Robyn @ Destin
Jason @ Fairhope, AL
Dave & Herb talking “not” politics
Baxter @ Jacksonville
Chuck & Della @ Homasassa Springs
Bonnie & Dean @ Jekyl Island
Bob & Bev @ Polk City
ZOE & Hanna @ Orlando
Myrtle @ Morriston
Herb & Ed @ Orlando HamCation
Elvis @ Webster Flea Market
John & Linda @ The Villages
Sister Marilynn @ Jacksonville
Dave & Robyn @ Crestview
Marlene, June, Don (Kathy) & Jim @ Venice
The PMO Gang @ Ford’s Garage
Ed @ Work (City Hall Orlando)
Dave @ Church (Crestview)
Dave & Judy / Ed & Sandy @ Bradenton
Phil & Cheryl @ Summerdale, AL
Chuck & Dolores @ Sebring
John / Ed & Sandy @ Orlando
Mike & Linda @ Ocala
Bonnie & Dean @ Jekyl Island
Deb & Mike / Joann & Chuck at Red’s Diner
While traveling and workamping have their rewards (being able to see the sights and helping to pay the way), by far the best part of this full-time RV lifestyle is the opportunity to hook up with old friends and meet so many new ones along the way.
We are blessed to have this opportunity to travel.
We haven’t planned spring and summer of 2019 yet, it’s a little too early to start nailing anything down, but we hope to be somewhere in the northwest U.S.
We hope you’ll ride along! Oh, and by the way, feel free to comment down below – it’s great to hear from you TOO!
We’d really appreciate it if you would do us the favor of helping us continue to publish this RV / Travel / Workamping blog. Do you purchase any products from Amazon? If you do, it would be great if you’d use the link in the sidebar or one of the links below to get to Amazon … after that you can change your search. By making your Amazon purchases from our site, we will receive from Amazon a small percentage of your purchase and it doesn’t cost you any more. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Herb & Kathy
NOTE: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
