2016 - Lake In Wood Campground - June 2016

Lake In Wood is located east of Lancaster PA, just a few minutes north of the Shady Maple Restaurant that many of us PA people know so well.  I'd advise following their directions, as following the GPS put us going along a road of the state park which was quite bumpy and hilly, but we made it there!  Try to stagger your time of arrival from the main check in hour though, as there isn't much room before the gate to have 3 or 4 campers lined up or side by side at the check in area without being on the road.  The road isn't busy though, so I guess it is fine for a short time.


Our overall impression of Lake in Wood is very good.  Everyone really liked it and for the cost and travel time, it may become a more frequent camping location for us rather than heading east to Colonial Woods that you often see us post about.  The sites were comfortable in size and most have full hookup, making it nice to take care of the tanks and use the restroom in the camper.  Bath houses were spread out pretty far, but were very clean and taken care of with nice shower facilities.

Our Campsite all set up

Ally riding her scooter

Paved roads throughout the campground make it nice for bikes and scooters, but none can be out after dark.  We rented a golf cart as well for the few days there but that too has the night restriction since there are not lights on them.  People that are seasonal there though that have lights on theirs were running around, so I'd imagine some bright LED flashlights and some way to mount them to the rental could get you back from BINGO night easily without any trouble.

Madison on the Paddle Boat

We took some time one day to get out on the paddle boats and explore the lake.  For only $6 and hour, they were a lot of fun and gave us a good workout.  The kids seemed to have a good time even as it warmed up and was getting hot in the sun.

Oh No,.. its the Loser Float!

Some relaxing craft time at the campsite

Some of the open fields and flowers in the middle, with the lake in the distance

They have some neat activities for the kids throughout the weekend.  This weekend was not a themed weekend, so it was good for our first outing to get to know the campground and area.  they did have Mini-Golf, Boating, BINGO, and also Ceramics.  For a small price, we each painted a ceramic.  Lake in Wood has Gnomes as a theme throughout the campground, so we opted to paint our own which actually turned out to be cheaper than the ones in the store.  Took me a while, but I'm quite happy with it.  Not sure if my kids and wife will let me do ceramics again though, as I am too Particular.... :-)

Norman the Gnome

Sister Photo time!

one of the unique climbing structures there

I don't have any photos of the pools, but they are very nice and the kids had a great time swimming and making friends.  There is a kids pool with fountains and things, as well as a diving pool and spa.  We spent the afternoon there one day and had a lot of fun relaxing and refreshing ourselves from the heat of the day.

I highly recommend Lake in Wood if you are looking for a place to stay while exploring Lancaster area or just need a nice local destination for a weekend away.  We will definitely be returning in the near future.

MaxxAir II Vent Cover added

Quick Simple project.  Now that the sealant has had some time to cure and everything has worked good I climbed back onto the roof today to secure the MaxxAir II vent cover.  Some minor assembly with the brackets, setting into place and shifting to maximize the opening of the vent, and then securing to the vent frame.  Only took about 30 minutes total, including the ladder setup and cleanup.  Now our vent can remain open if weather moves in and we still need air movement or the kitchen vented.

Hinged brackets allow for easy cleaning

Closed and secured

Electrical Project and Fantastic Fan installations

Electrical Upgrade -- Counter Power Outlet - 3 hr job
We have been looking for a good place to have a power outlet added so we can have power for the toaster and the coffee pot rather than trying to have it near the bed or on a box over the sink.  Since we have the cover on the stove now, that adds some counter area that made the back corner of the pantry possible for the power box to be installed.  When doing the smart tile the other week, I traced out the recepticle box and left that portion of the tile job open.

No Turning Back Now,... first side is cut for the outlet 

I made the cut using the spiral side bit on the dremel tool, which worked very well to trace the opening.  The pantry wall is a double application of a luan plywood, so I then pre-drilled the corners from one side to transpose it to the inside of the pantry to make the second cut.

Careful Measuring, Pre-drilling corners, leads to good results

All complete and wired, will be nice for our next trip.

Didn't take to long once I had it cut to get the box installed.  I took a piece of 1x4 to slip in between the two luan panels so that the box has good solid support.  Two small screws on the pantry side secure the wood and then the box easily installed to the tile side of the wall.  a few minutes later and I had the outlet wired and ready to connect to the breaker panel below the pantry.  After pulling the converter, you have access to the 120V wires coming in the back and can feed the new line thru the romex connector to the power panel.  I matched this up to a proper breaker and installed.  Don't forget to label the breaker.

Fantastic Fan Installation - 3 hr job
The first step of getting ready to have the fan installed, besides ordering it, was to open the 12V side of the power panel and be sure I knew which fuses controlled the wires in the camper.  I saw that the labels were not completed as I have wires hooked up to all positions 1-11 and fuses too.  So, I pulled all the fuses and started one by one, finding the 12V lights, fans, awnings, etc that came on with each fuse.

12 Volt Fuses Identified

Working on the roof requires some protection as I'm not sure if our roof is rated as "walkable" since we don't have a ladder or it stated specifically in the manual.  On the forums, it was suggested if you don't have a ladder, it is likely not "walkable".  So, I used 1/2" foam board about 4'x4' square on the roof membrane and then a piece of 3/4" plywood that I had left from building my daughters American Girl Doll House.  That would distribute my weight across the roof supports and also provide me a good surface to lay on, stand on when getting off the ladder, etc.  In the photo above, you can see that on the roof with my putty knives and tools needed to get the old vent cover off.

Take your time, even though you are sweating the pounds off.....

 The first task is very time consuming and unfortunately, hot.  You want to have a good warm day with the camper in the sun to help soften some of this Dicor sealant as it is very much like chewed bubble gum that has been stuck to a table.  Patience is key, so you don't poke a hole in the roof membrane.  My fingers were quite sore after this from trying to pry it back and roll it back with my fingers while working it with the plastic putty knife.

Removed roof vent

Once the sealant is removed and the screws as well, you can carefully pry up the roof vent.  This still took time with the metal putty knife to break it free from the sealant below the flange.  Working around, I finally got it free and didn't damage the roof.  I did take my staple gun then and re-attached those flaps that folded into the camper to the wood edging that I had on three sides.  After the sun softened this up for a bit, I worked on cleaning that up too.  At this point, I was well into the project for over 2 hrs, with the easy part now ahead.

I used a mounting gasket/putty around the flange of the new fan and carefully pressed it down onto the roof.  I worked from one side to the other to secure with screws, first by hand, and then I used the drill with the clutch set lightly.  Once the putty squeezed out evenly among the fasteners I stopped so I wouldn't over tighten and strip out the wood.Then, down inside the camper I went.

Inside the camper wasn't much cooler,... although it was nice to be out of the sun.  I checked the polarity of the wiring to verify colors.  Unfortunately, the fan uses black as the (+), as it feeds to the fuse first and then to the switch, and the white as (-) or Ground.  This is what the instructions said and I verified, as the little positive sticker they put on was located on the White wire. The light wires in the ceiling were White-Red (+) and White (-).  I carefully made these connections with wire nuts and electrical tape, although i could have also soldered them.  Once properly secured, the fan was tested and worked great on all three speeds.  Back to the roof for a final sealing.

Final Sealing with flexible roof sealant

 I sealed over the fasteners and down the side of the flange, and then smoothed it out using my plastic putty knife just like doing icing on a cake,... which, you may say I'm not that good at!  The sun smoothed out the final appearance a little as the stuff setup and it should provide a really good finished product.  This vent will be protected by a MaxAir II cover as well, so this joint should hold up a long time.

Baffle trim installed inside

Inside just needed a little fitting with the garnishing trim baffle and to attach the screen to the fan.  I'm really happy with the installation and this should help make things nice to vent when cooking, move air when we don't need the AC on, and especially when at Assateague camping this summer.

New Back splash!

Been working on finishing up some projects around the camper since we have some time between now and our next outing as another school year is coming to a close.  One of those was to personalize our camper with a nice back splash area around the camper.

SmartTile is a self-adhesive gel tile product that looks great and is easy to install.  It has become popular in RVs and Campers due to this ease of installation and the flexibility to handle any movement during transit, etc.  There are a few styles that we thought would look nice in our camper, and then one really stood out when we took them inside.  If you are in the market for a real tile, check out the Flex-Style system on Google.

Installation is easy.  First, clean the walls where you want to install them with rubbing alcohol or a tsp de-greaser if you have been using the camp stove for a long time.  After a good cleaning, check the surfaces for any defects that could ripple thru.

I found that I also had to check the squareness of the counter to the walls, as they were both out a little bit but enough that the first tile of each row would have to be trimmed on an angle to get it started correctly.  Here is a photo during my progress.  The rectangle that is left open is where we will be adding an electrical outlet,... more on that below.

Off to a good start

Tile part all done,... now time to add the electrical outlet

 YouTube VLog of the Installation to this point.
( Click HERE to watch larger on YouTube directly)

The electrical outlet is something that we have been looking for a location to place.  We need it to be someplace accessible for the toaster and the coffee pot.  This wall seemed to be the easiest location for placement.  The pantry is just above the converter and breaker box so I only have to clip the one removable shelf and drill one hole in the base of the cabinet space to route the wire.  Since the side wall of the pantry is a thin plywood veneer, I will reinforce that section with another layer as I fit the electrical box.  More to come on this.


Afterward, I had some scrap that I was looking at and thought it would be nice to add another personal touch to the fridge and make this look more than only a back splash add.  This looks better in person than this photo shows, and was easy to install here as well.

A little matching touch on the fridge

Popup Gizmos for the Hybrid

When we had our popup we were very active on the Popup-Portal web forums which is where we heard about Popup Gizmos, the tent end covers for your canvas that really make a difference.  Our camper canvas was spared from the UV, tree sap, and extra heat that they would normally see during the hot summer camping trips.  They made such a great difference in keeping the camper cool and protected, we new we had to invest in them again when we purchased the hybrid.  So, a little overdue, but we finally purchased a set this season and were able to get them in time for our last camping trip.

Here are a few images of them in installation on our hybrid.  A little more tricky than attaching to a popup since we have to work on a ladder most of the time to get them in the right position rather than velcro or clamps before raising the roof, but, very much worth the extra time to get them in place.

Fresh out of the box.

Preparation, have the clips handy when installing

Clips hold it to the aluminum bunk edge frame / drip edge during install

Raise the shepherds pole and then secure the cords around the bed

At the front, I took the clips to the weight distribution mounts

All installed, and in time for the rain.  Extra material at the front laps nicely

We chose the super high wind covers as they have the bungie straps that keep it in place rather than just clamps, but all versions work well.  The material is tarp like, and has reinforced sleeves where the bungie cords were installed thru.  Note! When you get them adjusted, make sure to knot the clips on the cords.  The loose knot that is on them from shipping is easy to adjust, but also if you don't secure them you will find one missing here and there!

The little extra length is nice as it will wrap around the front of the bunk and keep the water flowing off.  Also, these darken the inside of the camper at the bunks which is a great advantage for the kids!  These will definitely be great for Assateague Island this year.

If you have a 2016 Keystone 217 exp 3 bunk, just tell that to Bob when you call.  My measurements are now on file.

Get yours from Bob here at www.popupgizmos.com !!

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