Maiden voyage to Grand Canyon success!

[austinado16]

Just getting back from our maiden voyage in the '87 Starcraft Nova.  Not only a maiden voyage for it under our ownership, but a maiden voyage for us as PU owners!

Logged just over 1,200 miles there and back.  2 days driving to get there, but did it all in one shot on the way home today......about 12hrs each way when you include fuel, food and bathroom, and SUV-wrecking-on-the-freeway-right-in-front-of-you-and-landing-on-it's-roof-with-kids-inside, stops.

Fridge did okay on 12v after pre-cooling about 18hrs on propane.  Not great, but considering the temps were well over 100 coming across the deserts, I'm pretty happy.  No food spoiled in 5 days, so I guess it did it's job.  I'd like to see it get colder, so will be working on that over the next few weeks.

Tires did great (balanced them before leaving).  Brought my infrared temp gun and had tread temps in the mid 130-140 range towing 65-70mph in 100+ degree air temps.  The TV tire tread temps were no different.

A 2" memory foam pad on our bunk made sleeping really nice.

A $14 "O2 Cool" 10inch, 2 speed, battery powered fan from Walmart was a life saver and on one set of batteries it's still running!

A $22 fridge thermometer was nice to allow checking fridge temps w/o opening the door, but it seems to read about 4-5*F higher than my calibrated thermometer does inside the fridge.

A $28 Acu-rite inside/outside, temp/humidity/date/moon-phase/alarm/etc. weather station was fun to use and turned out to be a functional little alarm clock as well.

The port-a-potti was really nice to have.  Didn't smell at all, and kept us from running to and from the campground restrooms, especially during the night and first thing in the morning.

Don't really like the hand pump faucet and since it's still got a little leak from the top and a seal kit isn't available it's time to step up to a version that is currently made and can be used with an electric pump.

Bunk end covers (like the PopupGizmos) would have been a nice addition I think, so that's on the list for future purchases.

The BAL leveler was great!!!!

The caster wheels mounted just ahead of the rear bumper really make the in and out of the driveway, the gas station(s) and anywhere else a breeze.

[Funrover]

Nice!!!!

[Dee4j]

looks wonderful glad you had a great time.

was everyone in the SUV ok???

[AustinBoston]

...about 12hrs each way when you include fuel, food and bathroom, and SUV-wrecking-on-the-freeway-right-in-front-of-you-and-landing-on-it's-roof-with-kids-inside, stops.

 :yikes:

Everyone OK?

Two words: Trailer Brakes...

Austin

[austinado16]

Everyone in the little SUV were perfectly fine.  They were only about 50yds in front of us when the dad fell asleep, drifted from the fast lane into the center shoulder, woke up, over corrected a couple of times and then came back across the freeway sideways, nosed back at us.  They were going 78mph with the cruise-control set (so the guy said to the Arizona State Troopers later).  They had just passed us.

As the guy drifted off to the left, I turned to my wife and said, "This isn't going to end well."  I just let off the gas and gave 'em space, pulled over, told my wife to diall 911 and ran to their car.  Wheels were still spinning when I got there.

First thing the guy did after getting out was call his wife and tell her he'd just been run off the road by a big rig.

I set the record straight with the State Troopers.

[austinado16]

But back to camping content.....

Here's my wife and I on the South Kaibab trail about 1/3 of the way down. This is about 2.5-3mi into the 7 something mile total.   You can see some of the upcoming trail to the left of my wife and we're headed to the dark ravine to the right of me.

[Russinator]

Thanks for the trip report and the pictures.

If you have a web site where there are more pictures, I'd love to see them.

Thanks again - Russ

[austinado16]

I literally have hundreds of photos, so I'm trying to sort through an maybe put them somewhere like photobucket.  Or, if you have a better photo service, let me know.  I'm open to suggestions.  I'd like to use something that doesn't try to make people "sign up" before they get to view the photo album, and some place that allows some really large pictures.  These just don't look right at 640x480, if you know what I mean!

[vjm1639]

sounds like a wonderful trip...that's some maiden voyage!  :>   Would love to see more pics. The pics here are gorgeous.

[Russinator]

I used Photosite for years, they were great. However, a few weeks ago, they folded up.

When they folded I checked around and tried several photo sharing sites. The one I liked best was Picasa, it's a Goggle company.

To see one of my albums click on the link below.

Russ

http://picasaweb.google.com/Russinator43/MyScreenSavor

[chrismarques]

Glad you had a great time! We stayed at the North Rim campground last month and had a great trip. The temps were 100+ for us too. Kanab, Utah was 105 when we passed through.

[harleywolf]

Hey man very cool. I am glad to hear your adventure was just that! Great pics too. I have been talking to the DW about doing the Grand Canyon trip in our PUP. I am very much looking forward to taking that journey.

I also just want to say thanks for all the great advice you

[stewartlittle]

To me,you people are crazy.Camping those temps is insane with out a/c.

In GA the humidity is high so it feels hotter.

Does feel that kind of hot out west?

[AustinBoston]

To me,you people are crazy.Camping those temps is insane with out a/c.

In GA the humidity is high so it feels hotter.

Does feel that kind of hot out west?

I don't take heat well.  When I first experienced 100

[austinado16]

To me,you people are crazy.Camping those temps is insane with out a/c.....Does feel that kind of hot out west?

Crazy?  You have no idea.  I'm certifiable!!  I mean come on, who takes a destroyed 1990 Suburban that they rescued from the car lot of the local Goodwill donation center with 240,000mi on the odometer and restores it (3 years ago)?  Then who takes a junk PUP that they found rotting in the parking lot of a thrift store/food bank in San Francisco Bay Area, drags that home and restores it?

And as my final submission of proof; who combines said 'burb and PUP, and then on their maiden voyage both PUP camping, and in the aforementioned PUP, drives 11-12hrs across the smoking hot desert to see a hole in the ground, walks down inside with their wife to see what's at the bottom.......and sleep in a tent there?

Like I said......certifiable!!!

Thanks for the kind words, it's been a fun learning experience and I appreciate all the help I've received here.