Tremors and Campers let's talk camping!!

[Mister Bevilaqua]

We spent last weekend at Speegleville Park at Waco Lake to view the eclipse. Clear skies and perfect weather with lows in the 40s, highs in the 70s. This was a small park but they provide a decent amount of space between sites. Our campsite was just a short walk to the lake.


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Speegleville Park, Waco Lake - Recreation.gov

Explore Speegleville Park in Waco Lake, Texas with Recreation.gov. Speegleville Park is perched on the south end of a scenic cove of Waco Lake. The park provides outdoor recreation options like boating, jet skiing, fishing, swi

www.recreation.gov

What was the cost?

 

[modified]

What was the cost?

$28/night for power (50a/30a) and water.

 

[Mister Bevilaqua]

$28/night for power (50a/30a) and water.

Not bad! That’s an underrated area imho. What are the details on your Airstream?

 

[modified]

Not bad! That’s an underrated area imho. What are the details on your Airstream?

Yeah, the area was really nice. It would have been even better if the fish were biting.

The Airstream is a 2020 Flying Cloud 28RB. This was our 6th trip out with it and so far the floorplan has worked well.

Flying Cloud 28RB Floor Plan | Travel Trailers | Airstream

Get a closer look at the Flying Cloud 28RB floor plan to see if it is the right fit for you. Choose between a queen or twin bed and two interior décor options.

www.airstream.com

 

[Gotbeer 🍺🍺]

Really liking this other than the price tag.

https://fordauthority.com/2023/10/silver-spear-debuts-as-ford-f-450-super-duty-modular-truck/

 

[Patriot]

raspy has some great comments, I would only address a few issues.
Oliver has two lithium packages 390 Ah and 640AH. The 640AH package has two Lithionics batteries with built in heating and The 390AH package has heating pads under the batteries as of 2023. Both are pricey options but will allow charging of your batteries below freezing.
i know that the larger lithium package does not allow charging from the 7 pin connector and the i dont think the smaller does either to prevent alternator damage. You could install a dc-dc converter to allow tow vehicle charging but this does require running a large gauge wire from the engine bay to the hitch.
Both lithium package have 400w of rooftop solar which generally does a great job of keeping the batteries charged during towing.
OurOliver is new in May and we are very happy with it. It is speced out almost exactly as I would like, with maybe the only exception being a Victron Multiplus instead of the excellent Xantrex inverter/converter.

@Rolind - Thanks for posting up to date and accurate information.

We just completed a 42 day 6000 mile trip out west and our Oliver LEII exceeded our expectations in every way. We could not be happier. We stopped at Oliver to have a little annual service completed on our way back home and had nice long conversation with Scott Oliver last Friday.
A super nice down to earth guy. We learned Oliver is coming out with a few new cool changes for 2024.
Their production schedule is full of new orders and they are selling every trailer they build.
Enjoy your Oliver!!

Onward!!

 

[Bill]

We just got done doing an "urban rally" in downtown Cumberland Gap; 30 Airstreams parked along the main street right through the center of town. It was a great weekend and a really unique experience in a cool little town. We hiked, did a walking tour of the town and met a lot of great people.

 

[Bill]

And now we are settled into our campground in Asheville, NC for the week. Mama Gertie's came highly recommended and didn't disappoint with the views.

 

[Modman]

And now we are settled into our campground in Asheville, NC for the week. Mama Gertie's came highly recommended and didn't disappoint with the views.
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Great pics @Bill ! We took a trip to Asheville one summer. It's an interesting area. Lots of waterfalls, trails, etc to explore. We went to the Biltmore estate and that didn't disappoint. We like history and this provided lots of it around the industrialization boom...

 

[Bill]

Great pics @Bill ! We took a trip to Asheville one summer. It's an interesting area. Lots of waterfalls, trails, etc to explore. We went to the Biltmore estate and that didn't disappoint. We like history and this provided lots of it around the industrialization boom...

We've got our Biltmore Tour scheduled for Saturday. Unfortunately we won't have as much free time as we'd like to explore because my wife took time off last week for our Cumberland Gap Rally. But we'll still manage to squeeze some stuff in while we're here.

 

[modified]

And now we are settled into our campground in Asheville, NC for the week. Mama Gertie's came highly recommended and didn't disappoint with the views.

Awesome photos @Bill - Thanks for sharing! The Asheville area is another place I'd really like to check out. A good friend of mine just bought a cabin near Lake Lure he's fixing up. He's planning on moving out there once it's done.

 

[gunzfcc]

Another awesome first hand experience. Really appreciated.
Sort of overwhelmed with the whole online research process. So many options and while it’s pretty easy to find great reviews on certain manufacturers, it’s just as easy to find bad reviews on the same. Seems like everyone sort of accepts that they will all have issues, just trying to determine which have the best chance to have the least issues and suit our needs.
I have narrowed it down to 3 at completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Roamer 1, Airstream Flying Cloud 30 w/bunks, Airstream Trade Wind. Heading to Buda this weekend to look at the Airstreams and trying to find a Friday my kid can miss school/golf and fly to SLC to check out the Roamers. Ideally, would have unit bought or ordered in next 3-6 months. Fingers crossed.
Appreciate the info and look forward to running into you one of these days here in the Hill Country.

I own and fulltime in a ROAMER 1 if you wanna chat.

 

[Modman]

That is awesome. I will shoot you a pm this week. Raspy also sent me a couple of great messages. Really helpful folks here.

This whole camper shopping is pretty overwhelming. Here are my current thoughts.
I realize I am looking at a wide spectrum. Have a wife to keep semi-happy in this process.
Still in the running
1. Roamer 1- Had good talks with ROA and may plan to fly out next month when I get this fkn air cast off my leg.
2. Brinkley Z 3100- I know, fifth wheel. Looked at one this weekend and really liked the product. Seem well built. Not built for boon docking for long, but there are a few mods I could do to help that along. Wife likes the idea of a black tank instead of crapping in a bag or dealing with cartridges.
3. Airstream- Tradewinds or FC w/ rear bunks. Appt Saturday to look at these and have no expectations one way or the other.

Out of the Running
1. Kingdom Camping- Emailed over a few short questions and got almost a full sentence in an email reply. No number, no interest, no effort what so ever from them. Hard to hand someone $100k plus on a "cash" transaction and not feel like they have any interest in the process.
2. Oliver- Looked at one this weekend at an RV park here in town. Zero interest in the style. No offense to anyone that has one, just nothing there to peak any excitement from me.
3. Lance- Seem incredibly well built, but again, a little dull on the styling. Probably a terrible reason to pass it up, but that's my choice.

Onward in my search. Hope to have one purchased in next 30-45 days and will update.

If/when we are in the market again (hopefully not for quite some time) I will check out Grand Design again and Outdoors RV. We ruled out ORV as there weren't any dealers close by at the time but that has somewhat changed... Winnebago owns GD and you can see the influence in their Voyage line so we went with one of those. King bed was one of the selling points for us which couldn't be had in the equivalent GD layout.

There are members here who have ORVs and have good things to say. May be worthwhile to have a look if there are any dealers near you. If anything another point of comparison...

 

[GaryDE]

Just got back from Kiptopeake State Park, Virginia. Nice place.

 

[catastrofe]

Alabama Hills.

 

[Mister Bevilaqua]

Alabama Hills.
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Wow, those look like something out of the Jetson's show.

 

[catastrofe]

Wow, those look like something out of the Jetson's show.

https://kimberleykampersusa.com/

 

[Ceerix]

How do you like that Oliver? I'm torn between them and the ORV Back Country.

I am an owner of a Outdoor RV 24KRS Back Country for a year now and I am happy with my choice.
Outdoor RV offers also a factory tour. And I highly recommend as THE Outdoor RV dealer: Thompson RV, Pendleton, OR.

My 24KRS

 

[SuperDutyF250]

Alabama Hills.
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How’d you like this place? I was considering doing a weekend out there but kept traveling north by mammoth. Would you go again?

 

[catastrofe]

How’d you like this place? I was considering doing a weekend out there but kept traveling north by mammoth. Would you go again?

It’s fantastic and I would definitely come here again. Very quiet and secluded (other than Air Force training activity).

One thing to be aware of though, is that the BLM has significantly reduced the number of available campsites. Our camping partners say there’s maybe 1/3 of the sites now as there were several years ago. So if you come, early on a weekday would give you the best chance of finding a good spot.