My Introduction to Slide Outs - Part 2
Posted 11-27-2017 at 11:08 AM by Crookedread
Feb. 25, 26, 27, 2017
After three wonderful but wet days in Phoenix and attending an absolutely beautiful wedding, I set about making a more permanent repair to my power cord that drug for 400 miles. *Our neighbors were a nice couple and I was happy to entertain them with my story about the power cord while in the midst of fixing it. *I also put together a towel with a rope to try drying out the roof of my slide out before retracting. *The idea was to pull the towel across the outside of the slide out, thereby absorbing the water. *Well it didn't quite go like I had intended. *As I pulled the towel across the roof of the slide out, a much larger amount of water came off of the roof than I had calculated. *We learned later during our testing that the roof of our slide out will hold about 2 gallons of water. *I would estimate that about 40% of which went into my front pants pocket. *Oh*well, progress comes with an element of risk! *The neighbors were beginning to think I was the comedy act supplied by the campground. *By the way, the towel took all day to dry, but only about 10 minutes longer than my pants. *The other thing I learned was that the rope was very abrasive and repeated attempts to dry the roof would result in damage to the roof. * * *
The next stop was only 75 miles away at Zane Grey RV Village near Camp Verde Arizona. *We had planned to stay in Williams but the temperatures at night had been in the low teens and I wasn't confident enough to take my new trailer into those temperatures. *We had a couple of 30-degree nights but generally the weather was good. *The trailer worked well and we hardly noticed the heater running. *Our old Toy Hauler trailer, a 2011 Stealth 2312 FB was one big room, except for the bathroom, so we were in the same room as the heater and it was noisy. *Although our new trailer came with two 7.5-gallon propane cylinders, we used very little propane, even with the cooler evenings.
We spent three nights at this campground and unfortunately, since we had changed our plans at the last minute, got a spot closest to the road. *It was also unfortunate that since the Verde River was flooding, the main exit for people living in the area was underwater. *That left the exit closest to our trailer, with the loose cattle guard, the only exit. *To be fair to the campground, they don't rent that space until the very last as they know it is a little noisy and we were happy to get it. *This is also a very nice campground with a stream on the backside and the people running it were friendly and gave us lots of good information. *I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but would ask for a space further off of the highway if possible. *We took day trips to Prescott, Williams, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. *Arlie, Esther's brother, was an incredible guide and if anyone is heading that way and would like to have a guide, I would be more than happy to rent him out. *Let me know ahead of when you will be there as I haven't cleared this with Arlie yet!
By the way, I decided to run the Slide Dryer across the Slide out to see how many leaves and other debris had accumulated in three nights. *I was surprised at how much material came off of the roof, including a lot of water. *Subsequent research suggests there is a lot of dew build up almost every night so now I use the Slide Dryer every morning.
Feb. 28 2017
At this point we are kind of making up the trip as we go. *When putting the trip together, I thought we might go towards Las Vegas but we decide the weather is clear, the passes are dry so we decide to head for Zion National Park. *With all of the weather we had on this trip it seemed appropriate that we plan to spend the next two nights in Hurricane Utah which was 307 miles. *As we left and were driving up Highway 17, we noticed that the river to the East of the highway was flooding, carrying all kinds of debris along with it. *I couldn't find the name of the river, but then why name a river if it only has water in it every five years? *It's downstream from Lake Montezuma. *This is an area that goes up 1000 feet every few miles so it was impressive and kind of scary at the same time.
As we got closer to Flagstaff the temperature kept dropping and there was ice and snow everywhere except for the road, which is always a good thing. We made good time but I started to get a little slop in the steering. *Not too bad but noticeable. *We soon entered an increasing narrow and curvy portion of road nearing the entrance to Zion National Park.
Quite some time ago, I purchased a handy book called "Mountain Directory West". *It describes all of the mountain passes in the west and lists the tunnels your trailer can't fit through. *Bummer that during the thrash to get the new trailer set up, we neglected to pack the book. *I remembered something about a tunnel in Zion but not that it was one of the ones we couldn't fit through. *Imagine my surprise when we came to the tunnel! *If the trailer is more than 7'-10" wide including mirrors or over 11'-4" in height, it can go through but must ride the center line. *It all worked out very well though as the Rangers charge a fee, somewhere between 10 and 20 dollars, and then block off the tunnel at the other end and let you go through by yourself, riding the center line. *There are more details about this tunnel so check on them if you plan on going that way, or better yet, purchase the Mountain Directory West.
After winding our way through the hills, we arrived at Willow Wind RV Park. Hurricane Utah. *The trip and the weather was truly beautiful. *Really a great day so I put out the canopy and barbecued. *We had a pleasant evening reading our books and relaxing outside.
Mar. 1, 2017
We head out this morning, back up the road to Zion. *Zion is really a fairly small canyon so there were a lot of people parked everywhere and remember, this was February. *Truly a beautiful area and a unique canyon if ever there was one. *We went to the end of the canyon and then went for a walk upriver until we got to the entrance of what they call the Narrows. *Here the canyon narrows down to 15 or 20 feet and is very high. *Flash floods are always terrifying, but in this area, you can't see them in advance and there is no place to go except straight up the canyon walls. *There have been numerous occurrences of people being trapped in the canyon during an event and never being seen again. *As we are standing there looking around, a young woman who is heading up the canyon offers to take our picture. *We talk for a minute or two and then she enters the canyon alone, going upriver. *She was never seen again,,,at least by us because we headed back to our trailer. *Had you there for a minute, didn't I? *Sorry but I have to include a little drama from time to time. *Beautiful day and a nice walk up the canyon. *More barbecue that night.
Mar 2, 2017
Our trip to Provo was 247 miles and got a little exciting as the slop in the play of the steering wheel continued to get worse. *Coming out of Sedona two days earlier, with the canyon in the shadows, we hit a huge pothole. *I never even saw it but we hit it so hard it stung my hands. *The truck was beginning to wander unless I was constantly correcting course. *Add a little cross wind and it made the driving a little more strenuous. *I got out a couple of times and checked under the truck to make sure nothing was coming loose. *I thought it was the steering box having a little more clearance than it needed and that is what it turned out to be. *Esther started calling ahead to the Chevrolet dealer in Provo and trying to find a campground. *We dropped the trailer at Lakeside RV Campground and then hustled over to Larry Miller Chevrolet. They were super and got right into tearing it apart and finding a solution. *When it was apparent that the repair would take overnight to fix, their courtesy car delivered us to the campground. *The next morning, they picked us up and the truck was fixed. *Back to the trailer and off we went. *As far as the campground goes it didn't look like it did in the pictures. *I was never able to see the lake but I did hear the jets taking off from the nearby airport most of the night. *That was the first time we have ever had a breakdown on the road and I don't think it could have gone any smoother.
Mar 3, 2017
Off to Caldwell Idaho this morning which is 405 miles to our site at Canyon Springs RV Resort. *With the late start after picking up our truck and then going back to the Campground, we know it’s going to be a long day. *I have a real advantage with the Duramax diesel as I can set the cruise control at 65 mph and let her rip up the passes, and set the engine braking and we go down the hills at 65 mph. *I do 20% of the driving that I used to do with my Toyota Tundra and I get to see so much more. *Don't get me wrong, I loved that Toyota but it wasn't the right equipment to do the job in my estimation. *The reason for the 65-mph max is the tires on the trailer. *Most trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph so I try to never exceed that number. *I also use a Tire Tracker device that constantly monitors the temperature and pressure of my tires. *One less worry on the Road. *Canyon Springs RV Resort was good to see as it was a long day.
Mar. 4, 2017
Only 324 miles to Madras Oregon, where we store our trailer and is the location of our production facility. *We took Highway 20 through Vale and Burns Oregon which is mostly rolling hills and is high desert. *This is not a freeway and definitely an area that is less traveled but very enjoyable to drive. *Most people think of Oregon as wet with lots of trees but roughly half of the State is dry. *When I was younger I traveled to the coast often but I have grown to truly love the high desert.
My entire life we have had to rush back to work after a vacation and sometimes we get into that same rush even though we don't have to, now that we are retired. *We are trying to space things out and stay multiple days at one site. *We're not there yet but we are getting better. *I'm sure that many of you have had the same problem. *We are getting better about making it an experience and less a high-speed road trip. *By the way, the slide dryer improved from the single bath towel and rope, to three micro fiber towels sewn to Mule Tape or as some call it, a flat rope. *I have not had water in my trailer since. *I'm surprised that even when it doesn't rain, how much water I pull off the roof just from the dew. *And no, I have not been surprised by the water coming off of the roof since that first time. *Hope to see you out there! *Blue Chevrolet Truck with a 2017 Keystone Cougar 26SABWE.
Steve & Esther
RoundButte.com
After three wonderful but wet days in Phoenix and attending an absolutely beautiful wedding, I set about making a more permanent repair to my power cord that drug for 400 miles. *Our neighbors were a nice couple and I was happy to entertain them with my story about the power cord while in the midst of fixing it. *I also put together a towel with a rope to try drying out the roof of my slide out before retracting. *The idea was to pull the towel across the outside of the slide out, thereby absorbing the water. *Well it didn't quite go like I had intended. *As I pulled the towel across the roof of the slide out, a much larger amount of water came off of the roof than I had calculated. *We learned later during our testing that the roof of our slide out will hold about 2 gallons of water. *I would estimate that about 40% of which went into my front pants pocket. *Oh*well, progress comes with an element of risk! *The neighbors were beginning to think I was the comedy act supplied by the campground. *By the way, the towel took all day to dry, but only about 10 minutes longer than my pants. *The other thing I learned was that the rope was very abrasive and repeated attempts to dry the roof would result in damage to the roof. * * *
The next stop was only 75 miles away at Zane Grey RV Village near Camp Verde Arizona. *We had planned to stay in Williams but the temperatures at night had been in the low teens and I wasn't confident enough to take my new trailer into those temperatures. *We had a couple of 30-degree nights but generally the weather was good. *The trailer worked well and we hardly noticed the heater running. *Our old Toy Hauler trailer, a 2011 Stealth 2312 FB was one big room, except for the bathroom, so we were in the same room as the heater and it was noisy. *Although our new trailer came with two 7.5-gallon propane cylinders, we used very little propane, even with the cooler evenings.
We spent three nights at this campground and unfortunately, since we had changed our plans at the last minute, got a spot closest to the road. *It was also unfortunate that since the Verde River was flooding, the main exit for people living in the area was underwater. *That left the exit closest to our trailer, with the loose cattle guard, the only exit. *To be fair to the campground, they don't rent that space until the very last as they know it is a little noisy and we were happy to get it. *This is also a very nice campground with a stream on the backside and the people running it were friendly and gave us lots of good information. *I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but would ask for a space further off of the highway if possible. *We took day trips to Prescott, Williams, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. *Arlie, Esther's brother, was an incredible guide and if anyone is heading that way and would like to have a guide, I would be more than happy to rent him out. *Let me know ahead of when you will be there as I haven't cleared this with Arlie yet!
By the way, I decided to run the Slide Dryer across the Slide out to see how many leaves and other debris had accumulated in three nights. *I was surprised at how much material came off of the roof, including a lot of water. *Subsequent research suggests there is a lot of dew build up almost every night so now I use the Slide Dryer every morning.
Feb. 28 2017
At this point we are kind of making up the trip as we go. *When putting the trip together, I thought we might go towards Las Vegas but we decide the weather is clear, the passes are dry so we decide to head for Zion National Park. *With all of the weather we had on this trip it seemed appropriate that we plan to spend the next two nights in Hurricane Utah which was 307 miles. *As we left and were driving up Highway 17, we noticed that the river to the East of the highway was flooding, carrying all kinds of debris along with it. *I couldn't find the name of the river, but then why name a river if it only has water in it every five years? *It's downstream from Lake Montezuma. *This is an area that goes up 1000 feet every few miles so it was impressive and kind of scary at the same time.
As we got closer to Flagstaff the temperature kept dropping and there was ice and snow everywhere except for the road, which is always a good thing. We made good time but I started to get a little slop in the steering. *Not too bad but noticeable. *We soon entered an increasing narrow and curvy portion of road nearing the entrance to Zion National Park.
Quite some time ago, I purchased a handy book called "Mountain Directory West". *It describes all of the mountain passes in the west and lists the tunnels your trailer can't fit through. *Bummer that during the thrash to get the new trailer set up, we neglected to pack the book. *I remembered something about a tunnel in Zion but not that it was one of the ones we couldn't fit through. *Imagine my surprise when we came to the tunnel! *If the trailer is more than 7'-10" wide including mirrors or over 11'-4" in height, it can go through but must ride the center line. *It all worked out very well though as the Rangers charge a fee, somewhere between 10 and 20 dollars, and then block off the tunnel at the other end and let you go through by yourself, riding the center line. *There are more details about this tunnel so check on them if you plan on going that way, or better yet, purchase the Mountain Directory West.
After winding our way through the hills, we arrived at Willow Wind RV Park. Hurricane Utah. *The trip and the weather was truly beautiful. *Really a great day so I put out the canopy and barbecued. *We had a pleasant evening reading our books and relaxing outside.
Mar. 1, 2017
We head out this morning, back up the road to Zion. *Zion is really a fairly small canyon so there were a lot of people parked everywhere and remember, this was February. *Truly a beautiful area and a unique canyon if ever there was one. *We went to the end of the canyon and then went for a walk upriver until we got to the entrance of what they call the Narrows. *Here the canyon narrows down to 15 or 20 feet and is very high. *Flash floods are always terrifying, but in this area, you can't see them in advance and there is no place to go except straight up the canyon walls. *There have been numerous occurrences of people being trapped in the canyon during an event and never being seen again. *As we are standing there looking around, a young woman who is heading up the canyon offers to take our picture. *We talk for a minute or two and then she enters the canyon alone, going upriver. *She was never seen again,,,at least by us because we headed back to our trailer. *Had you there for a minute, didn't I? *Sorry but I have to include a little drama from time to time. *Beautiful day and a nice walk up the canyon. *More barbecue that night.
Mar 2, 2017
Our trip to Provo was 247 miles and got a little exciting as the slop in the play of the steering wheel continued to get worse. *Coming out of Sedona two days earlier, with the canyon in the shadows, we hit a huge pothole. *I never even saw it but we hit it so hard it stung my hands. *The truck was beginning to wander unless I was constantly correcting course. *Add a little cross wind and it made the driving a little more strenuous. *I got out a couple of times and checked under the truck to make sure nothing was coming loose. *I thought it was the steering box having a little more clearance than it needed and that is what it turned out to be. *Esther started calling ahead to the Chevrolet dealer in Provo and trying to find a campground. *We dropped the trailer at Lakeside RV Campground and then hustled over to Larry Miller Chevrolet. They were super and got right into tearing it apart and finding a solution. *When it was apparent that the repair would take overnight to fix, their courtesy car delivered us to the campground. *The next morning, they picked us up and the truck was fixed. *Back to the trailer and off we went. *As far as the campground goes it didn't look like it did in the pictures. *I was never able to see the lake but I did hear the jets taking off from the nearby airport most of the night. *That was the first time we have ever had a breakdown on the road and I don't think it could have gone any smoother.
Mar 3, 2017
Off to Caldwell Idaho this morning which is 405 miles to our site at Canyon Springs RV Resort. *With the late start after picking up our truck and then going back to the Campground, we know it’s going to be a long day. *I have a real advantage with the Duramax diesel as I can set the cruise control at 65 mph and let her rip up the passes, and set the engine braking and we go down the hills at 65 mph. *I do 20% of the driving that I used to do with my Toyota Tundra and I get to see so much more. *Don't get me wrong, I loved that Toyota but it wasn't the right equipment to do the job in my estimation. *The reason for the 65-mph max is the tires on the trailer. *Most trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph so I try to never exceed that number. *I also use a Tire Tracker device that constantly monitors the temperature and pressure of my tires. *One less worry on the Road. *Canyon Springs RV Resort was good to see as it was a long day.
Mar. 4, 2017
Only 324 miles to Madras Oregon, where we store our trailer and is the location of our production facility. *We took Highway 20 through Vale and Burns Oregon which is mostly rolling hills and is high desert. *This is not a freeway and definitely an area that is less traveled but very enjoyable to drive. *Most people think of Oregon as wet with lots of trees but roughly half of the State is dry. *When I was younger I traveled to the coast often but I have grown to truly love the high desert.
My entire life we have had to rush back to work after a vacation and sometimes we get into that same rush even though we don't have to, now that we are retired. *We are trying to space things out and stay multiple days at one site. *We're not there yet but we are getting better. *I'm sure that many of you have had the same problem. *We are getting better about making it an experience and less a high-speed road trip. *By the way, the slide dryer improved from the single bath towel and rope, to three micro fiber towels sewn to Mule Tape or as some call it, a flat rope. *I have not had water in my trailer since. *I'm surprised that even when it doesn't rain, how much water I pull off the roof just from the dew. *And no, I have not been surprised by the water coming off of the roof since that first time. *Hope to see you out there! *Blue Chevrolet Truck with a 2017 Keystone Cougar 26SABWE.
Steve & Esther
RoundButte.com
Total Comments 1
Comments
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Interesting trip, glad to hear about the water on the slide, this is my 1st one, so I'll check that out. That being said it sounds like you definitely get bored with the trip, haha. I plan about a 3k trip starting in the spring, so I have enough time to get all my stuff ready, my helper kept making me move to right on our maiden trip with this one at a state park, I didn't realize how far that slide went out, I do now, hahaha, it's all in one's learning curve I guess.Posted 12-07-2017 at 09:34 PM by Sandflea 
