RE: Bad Trip!

[Wayfarer]

 
We had been anxious to get out on the road again and had this trip planned for Monday through Friday to the Fort Sam Houston RV Park in San Antonio, TX.  I checked the weather for San Antonio every day and on the day we left, Monday, Feb 24th, the weather called for low 50?s and slight chance of rain.  About 5 hours and 225 miles later it was just beginning to mist a little and the temp had dropped down to about 40 and the wind picked up.  By the time we got checked in and over to our site it was down in the thirties the mist had become a hard ?drizzle.?  We did the minimal setup, not even unhooking from the TV, and got in out of the rain and turned on the ceramic heaters.  The temperature dropped on into the 20?s and the drizzle turned to freezing rain.  By Tuesday morning the whole area was iced in and we had 12? icicles hanging from the PU.  Needless to say we didn?t get out and join the carnage on the streets.  Stayed in or very near the PU all day and on into Tuesday night.  A time or two I made some comment about how this was really ?campin? and got a snarl from DW.  She was definitely not a happy camper!
 
 By Wednesday the roads were mostly cleared so that all you had to worry about was getting a chipped windshield from the gravel they had put down on the ice the day before.  But the temp was up just a tad so we ventured into San Antonio for a bit, ate some TexMex, walked a little on the River Walk and toured the Alamo, Still too windy and cold, though, so we went back to the RV Park and began packing to leave on Thursday - which we did.  Weather was beautiful coming home, but we had all the camping we needed for awhile.  And then it rained all day Friday and on through the next Wednesday so that we couldn?t open up the PU and clean and air it out since the canvas was still a little damp when we left SA.  I did crank it up about 12 inches in the garage so there would be some circulation.  Hope to clean things up this weekend....
 
 The ?storal of the morey? is don?t camp in Texas, in February - you just can?t trust the weather!  This lesson based on having been iced in somewhere in Texas in Februaries past, a lesson which I failed, once again, to heed.
 
 Photos of this failed trip and comments about the trip and RV park on my web site, link below.
 

[AustinBoston]

 Wayfarer
The forecasts in New England are only good for the next 6-12 hours at best, so we never base a go/no-go decision on a forecast.  We do make decisions on the weather, though.  The Taj MaHaul has been parked since October, and currently has over a foot of ice and snow around it, so she s not moving for a while.
 
 Question: Do you use two ceramic heaters and the furnace?  We ve never tried 20øF, but have never needed more than the furnace and one ceramic heater down to about 30øF.
 
 Austin (back to single digits next week [:@])

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Wayfarer
I m sorry to hear about the weather turning on you like that.  Glad to hear none of the plumbing burst.  The picture of your sewer drain with the icicles is ridiculous!  I m surprised that you were able to disconnect the connections with all of that ice.  Does not sound like too much fun.  I think my DW would have simply hopped in the TV and headed home without me, lol.
 I like your sewere drain connection btw.  Was just wondering, does it put a lot of pressure on the connection at the PU, ie; weight from the angle?
 Glad you are enjoying your Utah.  We sure love ours.
 Here s a simple comfort fix that Sammy Slave (Utah) showed me and Chuck S elaborated on; Pull out the couch seat-cushion and drop a swim noodle behind it.  Then place the back-rest on top of the swim noodle and you have a regular size couch that you can actually take a nap on!

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Wayfarer
I hope you don t mind, but I just gave our camping group a link to your fancy " ice maker" .

[PI]

 Wayfarer
Red Neff....uh what s a swim noodle? Is that one of those long foam things you use in a pool? Don t know...Don t have a pool.

[Camping Coxes]

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Oh, those of you in the snow, I feel for you, and I ll be thinking of you as I head off April 4th to camp in sunny So. Cal. with some fellow PUT members!  We ll pack warm though -- maybe bring our warmer jackets, and at least one pair of pants!  LOL.  Sorry, but I just had to rub it in.[8D][8D]

[tlhdoc]

 Camping Coxes

 

ORIGINAL:  Camping Coxes
 
 Oh, those of you in the snow, I feel for you, and I ll be thinking of you as I head off April 4th to camp in sunny So. Cal. with some fellow PUT members!  We ll pack warm though -- maybe bring our warmer jackets, and at least one pair of pants!  LOL.  Sorry, but I just had to rub it in.[8D][8D]
 

 [:@][: (][]
 

[Wayfarer]

 Wayfarer
Austin Boston:  We just use the two ceramic heaters, which has been enough down to 23 degrees, which is the coldest we?ve camped in so far.  Chose not to go the extra bucks for the furnace and so far we?re okay...and don?t expect to be doing much camping in freezing temps again except by accident as in this trip[&:]
 
 Jeff:  I?ve wondered about the weight  on the outlet also.  Will have to keep a close eye on it and maybe make some adjustments.  And, like PI, I?m also wondering what a ?swim noodle? is.  Is that a new Italian dish?[]  Can?t picture what you described.  Do you pull the couch seat out and then put the ?noodle? down on the board where the back rest goes when you make it into a bed?  Clarify please.
 

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Wayfarer
LOL!  It is a foam swim toy that looks like a giant noodle.  Costs a whopping $4.00.

[jackgoesthepopup]

 Wayfarer
we here in st.louis have learned to not trust the weather forcasts. Last weekend they said a dusting and we got 6 inches. Today it is suppose to get to 75 degrees and then by monday it s suppose to snow again.

[Wayfarer]

 Wayfarer
The weather finally cooperated!  We had sunshine today so we drug the PU out of the garage, popped it up and cleaned it up.  Then popped down, gave it a good bath, then back into the garage to await the next trip just a few miles down the road in about two weeks.  Hey, that bright light in the sky sure looked good.  The forecast, if you can believe it, is for more rain but warmer temps over the next week.  Who knows?
 
 Still can t figure out what s with this forum and my computer.  When I use Netscape6 as my browser the forum looks great but I can t type a post or reply without my computer freezing up about the fourth line or so.  Does it every time[>:]  All I can do if I want to post with N6 is type it on Word and then paste it and post it real fast.  
 
 Using Netscape 4 or IE, however, the forum looks different (not near as neat and easy to read) but I can post my stuff without without freezing up[]  Wonder what gives???  Guess I ll just have to learn to live with it because nothing I ve tried seems to change things.
 
 What the heck!  I think I ll just go campin[]  Thanks for all your comments.
 
 Hey, Tim:  Great job on the $50.00 PU.  Thanks for the photos.
 
 See y all down the road..