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Maiden Voyage Jan 20-22 2012

Even though the weather forecast never did look promising as we approached our first planned weekend trip with the trailer, we never considered cancelling or changing the schedule. We just decided to go with whatever conditions came along. After all, it is January, the trailer is winterized, and we just want to enjoy the new rig. We also need to have this trial run, not far from home, in order to be sure we have all the things we think we need for the next trip. Sooner or later, we'll be well equipped!

The trip from home included drizzle some of the way, gray skies, more and more precip as we neared Pine Mountain. So we had to realize we are going to set up camp in the rain!  No bad attitude though, we are just going to play along --have a great weekend no matter what.

We did the best job of backing the rig ever. We have communication issues, and backing the trailer is one of those situations that can bring out conflict right quickly. We had our choice of nice sites, not many crazy folks out at the campground this weekend!

The camp area has really nice paved roads, mostly level sites, good access, and nice layout with "comfort" stations always near by.  A nice convenience store, "The Trading Post" was open Friday evening --full of condiments, ice cream, fire wood, bug spray -- lots of stuff that is convenient when you have forgotten something.

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BlogOn

It has been awhile since I blogged on RainbowBlog. I sit down to write but end up working on other parts of the site then surf too long to write good content.  What I decided to do is just Blog when I feel like and often.  Blogs are personal and only open to subscribed members of the site. and what the hell, like any RainbowBlogger,  I can edit the words I don't want to eat.

Tim and I are winding down the third year at the helm of RainbowRV.  Members often ask if we thought it would be different or less of an effort?  I remind them that Tim is one of those 'All out - All or Nothing' types and I am his biggest supporter.  We have worked together 24 7 for the last 23 years  as self employed Contractors.  You can imagine  in all those years  we have enjoyed  ups, and endured  downs. Tim has an encouraging way to help us also enjoy  the realtime success in picking ourselves up.  He is motivated and our endeavors with the club have never been dull.  We always understood  stewardship would be an  arduous effort and  realized we were 'ducks out of water' so there was a learning curve but our history together proved most  endeavors worth the experience.  Different? I had no expectation.. Less Effort? Learning is an effort I enjoy. Image of old rv is from the origional rainbowrv website

Tim and I love Rainbow RV events and look forward to Riverside Mission Inn Christmas KampTrip.  We planned and saved to attend the Florida December event with Chip but  issues with family force us to stay close and ready to respond to the drama we have going on with our personal lives here in California.  Florida Chapter of Rainbow RV is much like California where the group is large but split up due to the distance between members.  Our chapter Rep Chip has work tirelessly keeping the group active and together.  Like my Tim, Chip is motivated and one of those 'All or Nothing' types.    Chip also gives me motivational talks ,kind words and professional insite dealing with my mothers changing health.  I'm lucky to have Tim and Chip for candid talks.

OK... Mush Mush Mush ,now for  fun past stuff and KampDish

CAPismo2011..... What a blast. there were 250 members and over 120 rigs. Tim and I arrived several days early and dry camped at the state park ($25.00) a night.  We moved into Pismo Coast Village on a Wednesday  and set up Tim's new Wall of lights. The things he dreams up. 70 foot long and 16 foot High. The display took 8 people to put up. Milton, John, Don Dennis, Tim, two passers by and I erected the structure and threw the switch for what turned out to be a show stopper.  Tim hosted a Dog Drag show. Steve, Craig, Jim and Tony did the Bingo.  There were two potlucks, several trophy competitions and great early morning coffee gatherings.  I wish there was a way to centralize the meeting area but all in all ,anyplace members camped was not too far of a walk. Check out the images in members photo albums

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frank and ed's florida trip

We are heading south to Florida on November 20th. We will be in Lake Worth until March.
We stay at John Prince Campground. This is a great place for extended stay in Florida for RVers
We will take side trips to Disney for the Dec 9th rally.
We will also stay in Ft Lauderdale at Easterlin another county campground, not quite as nice as JP
Hope to meet up with other Rainbow RVers

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...off we went!

Our first big outing in the new motor home puts us to the test!
After much tire kicking over a few years I purchased my first motor home, a 2005 Tiffin Phaeton, (Steve has nicknamed the coach King Triten not sure why) this past summer. The dealer agreed to replace a foggy drivers side window. A surprise to both of us, it took 8 weeks to get this accomplished. I finally took possession of the Tiffin in August, only to find the batteries were not functioning, but an easy fix. Next I put some water in the tank and started the pump, only to have the faucets leak everywhere. Appears the previous owner didn't winterize her correctly. The dealer agreed to fix everything so I decided to take our first trip up to Maine to visit family, waterless, so that I could get a feel for things and find any other issues. On the whole it was a nice trip, relatively event free regarding the motor home. We did get to see a moose in front of my sisters place and a bear near my brothers. Neither my sister or brother had seen the wildlife in there yards before!
Upon return the dealer picked up the home and had everything repaired. I thought getting an extended warrantee was in order so I did a search and followed the motor home blogs to make a decision on the best company and coverage. I also took out a road service agreement. I of course hope I need neither, but if I do I hope I made the right decision. My truck mechanic went through the chassis and got everything up to date, so I made a reservation for the Catskill Mountains for Halloween weekend, additionally my 54th birthday, and billed it the official shakedown cruise. Steve and I loaded up, hitched up the tow dolly and car and off we went. We arrived at the camping area and were directed to a nice pull through site and proceeded to get situated. For some reason I could not get the slides to open. I tried everything I knew, called my brother who is pretty knowledgeable about such things, and even had the park manager try but we were unsuccessful. My brother looked online for inherent problems with Tiffin slides but still no extension. As we know, everything is still functional inside so I was not going to let the slides ruin our weekend! We also had an issue when extending the leveling 'pods'. There was an apparent air leak seemingly from the air bag, rear drivers side, when the home was up on the levelers. I never noticed this before so was concerned. Next the way the utilities were setup on the site, we could either have water and no sewer or the other way around as we didn't have long enough hoses to do both. we decided on water naturally. The first night went well except for climbing over each other all the time. Functional the home may be without the slides, life is much more pleasant with the walls out! The next morning we were made aware of the intensity of the storm heading our way. Who would have thought we would get a Nor'easter in October! We decided staying put was our best option so we went to Walmart, the only general store around, to get a few necessities and came back to reorganize. I moved the motor home to take advantage of all the utilities with the extra hoses from Walmart. We got all hooked up and were content. I decided to retry the slides and out they went! WHAT! With the snow starting to fall I didn't want to leave them out so back in they came and we hunkered down! The park had been busy most of the day as seasonal campers winterized their sites, but now we were alone! We watched videos, read and used the combo micro/bake oven, a new thing for me, to fix dinner. I made an apple pie as an oven test item and was very successful. Then I turned to grab something from the fridge and noticed "no AC" flashing on the panel. We had lost power from the land line due to the storm. No problem, I turned on the generator and felt comfortable... until I noticed the electrical/inverter panel is not showing the batteries charging. Another reason to panic. Out in the boonies, and maybe no power.... Not much we can do so we retire for the evening and hope all will be well tomorrow. I'm up around my usual 4am. and turn on the faucet for coffee water.... no water, it has frozen at the tap, and I emptied the storage tank earlier afraid that would freeze! I scoop snow to make the coffee and get out the numerous manuals to try and figure out what is going on with the power panel... a lot of information but no solutions. As it gets light out the scene is beautiful, but we have at least 8 inches of snow, and I have sneakers or sandals! I find a couple of store plastic bags, tie them over my sneakers and venture out to look over the situation. I get all our "tethers" picked up and stored and we decide to head home. The 'air leak I was concerned about is not now affecting the coach air brakes. Another fluke??? Steve and I are ready, but unfortunately, I could not find a sole around to plow a path! Trudging thru the snow in my plastic bags wasn't fun, and it was then I realized we were in the most remote sites in the park. On the third walk out, I see a plow truck plowing the pool area (go figure!) so head back to get ready to go, assuming the plow will continue to our site. An hour later we are still waiting. Patience depleted, I decide to see if Tiffin can plow through the snow, assuming any movement towards the park exit was good. We take off. No problem, she cuts right through like it was bear ground. Relieved, as I drive commercially and would have never tried this in my box truck, we get to the plowed area, by the pool!!!! and regroup for the trip home. As we know now,New England was devastated by the early nor'easter and we saw much of it going thru Connecticut and Massachusetts. As I write this 5 days later many of my neighbors are still powerless!
So that was the shake down outing! I was very happy to be home! I am still confused as too why the slides didn't work, what the apparent air leak was about and why the electric panel didn't seem to register a charge from the generator. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be thrilled to get your thoughts. My mechanic will check the air and, as he is a motor homer, look the other things over too.
Our next trip will be Florida in December/January. My brother tells me every trip will be an adventure. UGH! I need to know more than I do now about the motor home as I'm not fond of the stress. I have had 3 knowledgeable individuals take me through the motor home and its many functions, but I still find things that were not explained or not explained to cover specific events!
More importantly, Steve and I are still talking! Hopefully we will not have the tension on every trip or this dream will go back where to where it came from... E bay auction!

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reliable pet information at this website

Hi everybody! I'd like to share a great website for referencing questions you may have concerning your pets. It seems that many sites simply want to sell you products and/or perhaps address part of an issue you may have. One of my vet friends advised me to use the following site when researching medical and behavioral topics for pets. All the articles are written by veterinarians. All the articles will do is inform you with reliable information. Give it a try! The site is
www.veterinarypartner.com
Also, I'd like to invite you to once again have an oral exam of you dog (or cat) which I will be happy to perform for you. We can schedule a non-anesthetic dental for your pet if it's needed. All pets I've performed dentals on at past events are again due!! Del & I will be in site 144 and we look forward to seeing you, and introducing you to our new puppy! He is a 5 month old pomeranian, this is his first time in the RV and first time camping! Come see Cubby!!

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rockhounding in Ellensburg, Wa

Wow,
What a week. You think Dennis the Mensis was dirty. He had nothing on me.
Each day I set out early with a new adventure in hand. With an empty backback except 20lbs of tools and water and a couple of cliff
bars I set off, sometimes with the dogs and some not, the temp of the day made a difference. If it was hot they stayed in air conditioned
Betty my Rv tow behind.
By the end of every day I was covered in dirt, scrapped from climbing a few cliffs and exhausted. My backpack on the way back to the truck
was around 50-60 lbs with some really cool rocks.
At one local I had to manage a 60 lbs geo into my truck alone in the middle of no where.
I had alot of good laughs and great weather. Managed to wrangle a case of sweetttt peach into the truck on the way back.

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Northwest RV Supply: my store

I joined Rainbow RV a year ago and haven't posted a thing. :(  Through this difficult economy I have managed to keep business afloat, thanks to some really great opportunities.  One was July 2011: we purchased all of the rv parts (wholesale value of $1.4million) from the old fleetwood plant in Pendleton, Oregon - 15 semi-truck loads.  The most recent was from Monaco National Parts Service Warehouse in Harrisburg, Oregon on August 21, 2011, with a wholesale value of $2million.  We've been collecting, so to speak, for 14 years now and have quite an impressive inventory of hard to find items. To say the least, we have a lot of parts. :)  

I guess it's time I let my people know about it.  Feel free to call me at the shop 866-6RVSHOP (866-678-7467) or (541)746-9092 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

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Twin Ponds Lodge, Albion Maine

The particularity of this Campground besides all the services it offers like 50 amps, pull thrus, inside swimming pool, wood fired sauna, whirlpool, game rooms, 18 feet screen, pot luck dinners , the 2 ponds, fishing, (I caught 5 bass) and the list could continue...is the fact that it is a gay clothing optional  heaven.
We were supposed to stay there a week, we are now in our third week.
The management is exceptional, friendly and they maintain the premises spotlessly clean.
Will add some pictures soon

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Red Beach for Camping

Does anyone know about Red Beach Camping grounds?  It is located on Camp Pendleton. For a fee of $60.00 you can register to join and camp all year round, that is when it is open.  The military train their, but when they are not training, they open it to civilians.  It is right on the beach or the bluff if you choose.  I would like to go soon, are there any others who would like to go?  Hit me up.

Angela

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Roy's Hideaway

Heading to Roy's Hideaway for the weekend.  July 21 to 24.

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Magdalen Islands

Buying a RV and finding ourselves  in the first month few hundred miles offshore on a group of islands is to say the least unexpected!
We want to explore North America and decided that we would travel as far East as we could to start with. We were not disapointed,  where can you find so close to home hundred of miles of sandy beaches, the only drawback is the inconvenience of taking a 5:50 hours ferry ride to get there but its worth it. 4 small villages, quaint fishermen houses, very friendly people and what to say of the fresh lobsters and the abundance of seafood.
verything that is good has an end, leaving tomorrow for the mainland hoping to be in Maine beginning of August
For those that could be interested in following our whereabouts, just click on the following link: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0SrJVD4qLDY2aq8abCh3AJeAITqnMy7br

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Looking for BigFoot RV owners in the Rainbow RV Club

Hello Rainbow RV members. Ken and Mike have a 2004 Bigfoot class C, any other Bigfoot owners out there?

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Nor-CAl RRV @ Parkers

Had a great time with everyone at Parkers this 4th of July. Great movies and lots of visiting. All went well with Myrtle, she towed like a champ. With the exception of a little knife accident (thank you Jerry for patching me up) all went well.

 

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I am Sorry, Gregory

First, I need to appoligize to Gregory.  When I first subscribed to RainbowRV,  I started to recieve e-mails from straight porno sites.   I blamed his site.  Not sure if that was the case, but if anyone else has experienced the same, please let him know.   Gregory, I am sorry.  It caught me on a very bad day.

I took my new Rv,  05 Forester 26ft out to OKC to meet my parents, who are familiar with Rving for many years.  And yes, it was hotter than hell.  But found some things wrong, and it is now back at the dealership for some repares.  Next trip will be in July to Red River, NM for family vacation.

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Tips on Recognizing Warning signs and Avoiding Pet Bites

Hi! It's Chris of Pet Dental Works.  This weekend I will once again be performing non-anesthetic dentals at the Tucolata Springs campground.  If you haven't read my blog postings from last February that describes veterinary oral disease and describes the dental procedure, take a look if you have the time! Lots of information there!

I will remind you that the non-anesthetic dental procedure should be performed twice a year - so those pets that had dentals last Feb. at Pechanga are now again due for the procedure!  This upcoming trip will be the last trip with Rainbow RV that Delanie and I will take with the group until this fall sometime, so if you're considering having your pet's teeth cleaned, this weekend is the best time to accomplish that!  Give  me a call at 949-350-6464 to schedule an appointment - I'll be happy to take a look to see if your pet is a candidate for my procedure - and we'll be in site A22 this coming weekend.  I will try to do most dentals on Friday all day and Saturday in the morning.  We will arrive late on Thursday.  Alternately, just drop by if that suits you! 

I know a very good dog trainer in Orange County, Mary Jensen.  She wrote a very good article on recognizing pet bite warning signs and tips on how to avoid bites.  I'd like to share some of that info with you here:

LOOK FOR PET BITE WARNING SIGNS LIKE:

HAIR UP - Means the pet is either scared or aggressive.  Where is the hair up?  If the pet's hair is up at the tip of the neck and base of the tail only, the pet is scared.  If the pet's hair is all the way up across the whole back, growling or bearing teeth, the pet is aggressive.

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1st RV Trip


 

First RV Trip- Day One

Picking up the RV and heading out on my first trip

Friday, June 17 –Statesville NC

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Our First trip|

Hi every one,

We have made it to our first ever Camping Site.
Our RV is now our only home.
Wayne was a bit nervous driving our baby but did it well.
Have to find a technician to activate properly our Explorer satellite dish.
The technician from Shaw refused to install our decoders pretending that they can do it only on stationary motorhomes. What a joke that is!
We have bought a SPOT and will enter on here the link to follow us for the ones that could be interested to know.
Ourselves we are interested to meet members of Rainbow RV Club  where we will be travelling and if mutually enjoyable travel together part of the way.
Hope to hear from you

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Can't go RVing everyday, but we can go to the river on the days we are not RVing

Hi Everyone,

We try to have an outing every month, but sometimes it doesn't work out so on these days we go to A local County Park Evey morning that's less then A mile away from home. We go around 5AM which allows me to let the dogs get there exercise off the leash and they won't become distracted by other people or dog.  (:P)= I' m not much of a runner theses days so no distractions is good with me.




Russ and Katy morning Walk



Katy trying to keep up with Russ



Russ is a lean mean running machine.


Retirement is grate, but you have to keep busy/Jerry

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Unfortunately have to sell

Unfortunately guys we have to sell the big girl. Too many things going on with our new family.

If anyone is interested;

I have it listed 

https://post.craigslist.org/manage/2428920257

as i am sure you know it's showroom condition!

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What our Family Will Do For Our Summer 2011 Vacation

Most people that I have shared this story with think we are crazy! But I am sure, you, my fellow RV lovers will think it's a grand plan. My wife Susan and I are taking 5 of our 7 sons across the country for 8 weeks in our 29 ft. Class C Jayco Greyhawk RV. We will leave California, spend time in Texas, Florida, Maryland and exploring the Northeast United States. I am figuring we will drive about 7500 miles and pass through at least 18 states. Okay, now that I write this perhaps we are a little crazy!

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