2017 - Trip #1 - Little Red Barn, Quakertown, PA

Hooray!!  First weekend outing with the family and the camper is now completed!  We made a short hop with the camper over to a favorite little spot when we had our popup, Little Red Barn Campground.  This used to be a tent camping facility and the owners have made some improvements over the years to get it better situated for RVs and even some Class As.  But, be sure to bring along an extra 25' water hose or electric line to supplement your normal setup, as many of the sites still have crossed services making you scratch your head for where to place your camper for the best fit to both services.

Standing on Site 74, looking at our site on 73.  Needed 50' of water hose this time.

We were on one of the pull thru sites, #73 this time, which makes you face back the other direction when in line with the other campsites.  This is a little odd, but this time we didn't have anyone on 74 which we would have been directly facing.  #72 is a big pull thru for the larger campers which was also vacant for this weekend.  Setup was rather easy as the site was pretty flat and only required boards under the door side and the height front to back was just right after cranking up off the truck hitch.  Winds were light, so we could leave the awning open and hang our globe light, but more importantly give the LED awning a try.  WOW, those things are BRIGHT!  Since we faced towards other campers I toned them down a few clicks and put on a nice light blue.

The Night Setup 

First Camp S'Mores of the season!  New table with drink holders and Hershey's S'More box!

 Saturday was a relaxing morning and the girls made some new friends at the site a few down from us.  A family new to camping with two daughters.  We all went to the craft for the day which was Pine Cars for the Pine Car Derby later in the evening.  Just the basic kit, the wedges or blocks could be painted and wheels assembled, but to our girls they still thought it was cool.  They each did one car with their own characteristic style.

Ally's Croc, Madie's Snoopy Racer, Bella's #23 (year she graduates)

 After craft, we let all the kids play together again and the dad and I threw some washers while the ladies talked a little.  Found out, he worked for the airlines managing some of the ground crews for nearly 19 years, and he had 17 hrs in training for his Private Pilot before his kids came along.  We chatted a little about aviation and my current flying gig, the Paramotor.  Then, the kids made some noise and came running over saying Ally caught it!  What?  A Frog,... a big frog!  She named him "Bob", which is her current must name everything name.

Internet, Meet Bob.

Shortly after dinner it was time to go and race against the other kids in the Pine Car Derby.  A few rounds of racing in the bracket and the numbers were dwindling.  Bella was called again to race and we found out she won 3rd Place!!  For the one that wasn't super excited, she was now!

Our Globe Light with Camper inserts

Finally a good picture of Rob!

Bella is starting to like Cooking

Each season gets off to a different start.  Sometimes we have everything together and even some extras, and others,... well, we need to make a list.  Becky thought it would be fun to remind me that I forgot the bedding on our trip to Assateague two years ago and we had to purchase it all at Walmart.  At least we did with the new camper colors in mind.  So, here is our list to pack for next trip, where we will be in the woods of Lancaster PA for 4 nights.

Only a few things  :-)

Till next time,...

Happy Camping!

Boogie Lights Awning LED Lighting System

The newer 2016 model of our Passport 217 camper has an LED Awning light rather than a porch/patio amber light.  Our camper has the patio light which is really nice for when we are in a dark wooded campground to leave on at night in case we have to get back from BINGO or just relaxing by the fire.  The LED awning lights are sometimes a little bright at the campgrounds.

Enter the Boogie Lights LED Awning system.  These are available online and also on Amazon, isn't just about everything, and these have more options than a stock system.  These LEDs can change color, and have adjustable brightness, as well as sequences if you would like.  We planned to add these last year but things got in the way so I figured I would order them this year early before the season started so I would have some time to properly get them installed the way I wanted.  The instructions were very clear and even had many tips and tricks to help the installation go smoothly.  So,... grab a drink and watch below.

Pre-planning is always an important part of any project, even more so when looking to wire thru a camper walls and cabinetry.

The Installation begins with cleaning the camper well and then mounting the LED strip with 3M Adhesion promoter as well as high strength 3M tape.

I managed to even get some help on this project!  It is definitely a two person project to carefully clean the camper and also to support the LED.  You need to be sure it doesn't get twisted or kinked, as well as not to add tension to it when installing it.

Wire through the wall, with a slack loop.

Wiring things up inside took some time, but it turned out great and I'm very happy with it.  Here is a video of the installation path of the wires.

Cleaned up Switch Wiring inside the cabnets

Completed Switch Panel Installed

The Final Result!

KULED Pantry Lighting

Quick and easy addition to the pantry area of the camper today!

I saw some discussion about these little LED lights on the Keystone camping forums and thought I would give it a shot.  For a few dollars on Amazon, you can purchase a 3 pack of these LED light bars that have an integrated motion sensor.  These will act like those motion lights you turn on at the frozen food section of the grocery aisle as you walk past.  Simply mounted with a magnetic strip that 3M tape adhears to the cabinet wall, they provide a nice light to the inside of the pantry to help you find that package of hot coco mix!

Here is a quick little video of the install and how they work.  ( Click here if you have trouble with video )

You can order them on Amazon at this link here: ( CLICK HERE )

More to come soon!

April is here!! Camper is UNCOVERED!

Here we are!  2017 and it is a April.  We finally got through the ups and downs of the February and March weather patterns, including a late March snow, and can finally uncover the camper in preparation for our first camping trip!

The camper cover has had to put up with a lot of heavy winds this winter and the rain gutters are wearing on the cover, with one of the corners developing a small tear.  This happened similar on our popup camper as the cover worn over front jack and we repaired using a canvas cover repair for a boat cover.  That held up really well and I think we will do the same here on all four corners.  To do so, I'll mark off the corners while I"m on the ladder before removing the cover.

Uncovered!!  All looks pretty good, but will check before our next rain.

Another thing that we wanted to accomplish this spring is to install an LED Strip of lights under the awning but in order to do so, I needed to hunt out the wiring route to get to the main switch panel above the sink where I can tap into the power supply for the 12V system easily.  Unfortunately, I removed the microwave (easily) and found some things that I can honestly say, are the first items of quality that I'm not pleased with in the camper.  Obviously, I'm going to fix this.

 

Microwave Outlet Loose in ceiling and over cut hole

Switch wires and splintered wood from the quick cuts that were made.

So here is our initial list of updates and repairs:
1) Front hitch light replacement
2) Microwave outlet proper securing and new wood support
3) Switch control area cleaned up
4) LED Awning light installation and wire route, fused line, and new switch to the wall
5) LED pantry lighting
6) Repair of the Grey Water Flush tank fitting

 

Happy 2017!!

Here we are, in another winter just after the New Year.  This year wasn't going to have a lot of camping, as we were planning to be on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas with the kids in August,... but, as life would have it, our roof on our house just kept getting worse.  So, we cancelled our cruise (got the refund back in full too since we had the time and travel insurance) and selected a contractor to replace our aging and failing roof on the house.  After the past 3 years of work on the house renovating and cleaning things up, to much risk involved in trying to get through another year with the leaking we have had increasing.

So,... instead of this,.....

We got this,......

A cruise will happen in the future when we can save back up for the trip.  Projecting Summer of 2019, so we can go with some friends.

So, while that took place, we emailed and called friends about camping opportunities and calendar openings to try and coordinate some fun times this year. I hope to fill the calendar with a few more dates and possibly a Passport 217 Rally Weekend if we can get schedules to align.  I know of two other 217 owners just in our local area.

So far, we have the following scheduled.  (no particular order, just how I remember them at the moment)

• Little Red Barn, Quakertown, PA (2 nights)
• Lake In Wood, Narvon, PA (4 nights) ** Near Shady Maple :-)
• Assateague State Park, Maryland (6 nights - Dry Camping)
• Lake Glory Campground @ Knoebels, Elysburg, PA (3 Nights - Summer) (3 Nights - Fall)
• Mountain Springs Campground, Shartlesville, PA (2 Nights)

So, that's a total of 20 Nights camping, with still lots of multiple week gaps in our schedule.

Also, another winter season gets us thinking about a few minor things we want to add or fix up on the camper.  Besides regular maintenance items that we will have to check in the spring (roof seals, windows, screens, etc.)  we would like to add an LED light strip below our awning.  The newer productions of our model year did away with the amber porch light and have an LED strip, which is nice, but also we like our porch light.  So if we add a LED strip it will give us the best of both worlds for our camping experience.

That's it for now,... back to work.  Counting the days till April!

Winterized.... Again.

So, the 2016 camping season here in Southeastern PA and it was time again to winterize our home away from home,... while parked at home in our backyard.  Ha!

You can go back to last winters posting about our winterizing of our camper to see the how-to, but it was a pretty easy task yet again until I had to put the over over it.  Took me extra long this year as there was a little breeze to fight and I was a little to far forward when I began opening the cover so I had to take some iterations to pull and push it back on the camper.  What a workout!

So, everything is in hibernation mode and we are tending to the battery occasionally to keep it in good shape.  Also, we have been messaging some people that we have met at various camping locations and trying to organize some combined camping trips in 2017.

October Knoebels Craft Fair Weekend

Another annual excursion to Knoebels for the fall craft fair and covered bridge festival.  Typically the weekend of Columbus Day in October it is always a good time and the campgrounds get sold out again for this late season event.  We leave early Thursday morning to drive up and get ahead of the weekend crowds which also makes for easy site setup.  We really like this location in the woods but in the fall you have to remember to bring your leaf blower!  After clearing our site and the one next to us where Bob and his family will be coming, we are ready to go hit the park early and see the good deals at the craft fair.

Yes, I bring a leaf blower to the campsite

 While the ladies like to take in the craft fair on Thursday and Friday, it is also nice to get on some of the classic rides like the Giant Wheel to see the craft fair from above.  It is quite impressive to see how expansive the show is.

Madie and I seeing the sites from above.

 The girls are now getting old enough to do some new rides on their own and the separation between them and Madie is becoming more apparent.  Ally enjoyed chasing others around in the Bumper Cars, although, she didn't like getting bumped!  I think it was the opportunity to drive around on her own that she enjoyed the most.

Ally on the bumper cars

Something that you don't get to see to often during the summer is the Knoebels characters.  Typically, if you do see them they are part of a birthday party and are going past and you don't have time to get a photo with them.  But, at this weekend, they are all over the park and craft area and you can take photos with them easily.  Here is Kosmo and Kreeper with the girls near the main entry gates.

And,... after a little sugar, you can always count on Bella to get a little silly at the campfire!