Mark your Calendar for Desert Rat 2020

[paul65k]

Were only about a month away from the 2020 Desert Rat Rally in Quartzsite things are really starting to come together.

This week we added another Gearhead session on fire safety

• Do you have a plan on how to get out of your coach in the event of a fire??
• Do you know the major causes of fire in Motorhomes?
• Do you know the simple things you can do to avoid fires?
• Have you even checked the operation of your emergency windows?

Well if you have never even thought about these things then you NEED to attend this safety session provided by industry specialists!!

If you haven't registered yet come and be part of more than 50 other coaches, meet, greet and talk to other owners and learn more about your coach, modifications and everything Alpine!

Get your registration in now!!

[Hayduke]

I'm sure the information packet will answer most of my newb questions, but I have sort of basic logistics questions.

Does everyone show up the same day?
How/where do folks 'tank up' before heading to the rally? I'll need to dump and fill all tanks.
I've driven through Quartzite several times, but can't recall travelling very far from the interstate.

I'd like to work the couple days before and after, so I'm trying to plan.
It sure looks likes there are lots of cool places to camp in the area, but January is our first month 'on the move' so to speak. I'm definitely still in the over analyzing phase of learning this new lifestyle.

Anyone want to share a pretty camp spot nearby with good AT&T signal?

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I'm sure the information packet will answer most of my newb questions, but I have sort of basic logistics questions.

Does everyone show up the same day?
How/where do folks 'tank up' before heading to the rally? I'll need to dump and fill all tanks.
I've driven through Quartzite several times, but can't recall travelling very far from the interstate.

I'd like to work the couple days before and after, so I'm trying to plan.
It sure looks likes there are lots of cool places to camp in the area, but January is our first month 'on the move' so to speak. I'm definitely still in the over analyzing phase of learning this new lifestyle.

Anyone want to share a pretty camp spot nearby with a good AT&T signal?

Well....which way are you coming from??

The challenge around Quartzsite is not a good signal but saturation on the AT&T network with all the people there. If you need to work a couple of days before and after it might be a good idea to stay at least 20 miles away, East, west or north....it will be tough all the way south to Yuma as that whole area will be full of boondockers

The other thing that might work well for you is a hotspot at a Starbucks or McDonalds if you really have to be connected at a certain time

Late nights and early morning at our location are pretty good for data but during peak times it crawls even though I get between 3-4, sometimes 5 bars where we camp.

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by paul65k

Well....which way are you coming from??

The challenge around Quartzsite is not a good signal but saturation on the AT&T network with all the people there. If you need to work a couple of days before and after it might be a good idea to stay at least 20 miles away, East, west or north....it will be tough all the way south to Yuma as that whole area will be full of boondockers

The other thing that might work well for you is a hotspot at a Starbucks or McDonalds if you really have to be connected at a certain time

Late nights and early morning at our location are pretty good for data but during peak times it crawls even though I get between 3-4, sometimes 5 bars where we camp.

Almost certainly coming from the East/Northeast. In Mesa now. Trying to plan out 3 campsites (1st-4th,5th-11th,12th-14th) that sort of migrate us that direction.

I don't mind driving a little on Wednesday to arrive. I'm trying to be within 200 miles of Quartzite for that last camp.

Tricky part is trying to find data coverage and a convenient spot to refresh tanks in between.

I enjoy the planning part. I'm just not well practiced yet.

Maybe I should make a new thread if I want to keep talking about the trip to get there?

Thinking about this sure beats thinking about going back to WA snow next week.

[paul65k]

No this is the right place to do it. I’d try to stay closer to major metros for data speed but that having been said feel free to come a day or 2 early to the campsite as we have people starting to arrive as early as the Sunday before.

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by paul65k

No this is the right place to do it. I’d try to stay closer to major metros for data speed but that having been said feel free to come a day or 2 early to the campsite as we have people starting to arrive as early as the Sunday before.

I thought about arriving the weekend before, and leaving the weekend after, but that puts us out there for 2 full weeks dry. Can we do that? Probably? Maybe? Doubtful

We're still brand new at this whole motor home life.

Bought coach in August. Did a 2 night trip at a local Alpine owner's property. I spent all of October in Flagstaff. Left Spokane on November 23rd.

I'm not confident we can dry camp a full 2 weeks. I want to work on the Mon & Tues before and Thur & Fri after too, so it's better for us to find other places to camp nearby, and roll through town on the way in and out of rally. If the tanks are holding at the end of the rally, and internet is working well, we may not leave right away.

I work normal hours M-F and require stable internet (AT&T primary, T-Mobile is backup). We plan to move on weekends and find places to camp for a week, or more, at a time.

I've been looking for spots to boondock near water too. Tall order in AZ.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

I thought about arriving the weekend before, and leaving the weekend after, but that puts us out there for 2 full weeks dry. Can we do that? Probably? Maybe? Doubtful

We're still brand new at this whole motor home life.

Bought coach in August. Did a 2 night trip at a local Alpine owner's property. I spent all of October in Flagstaff. Left Spokane on November 23rd.

I'm not confident we can dry camp a full 2 weeks. I want to work on the Mon & Tues before and Thur & Fri after too, so it's better for us to find other places to camp nearby, and roll through town on the way in and out of rally. If the tanks are holding at the end of the rally, and internet is working well, we may not leave right away.

I work normal hours M-F and require stable internet (AT&T primary, T-Mobile is backup). We plan to move on weekends and find places to camp for a week, or more, at a time.

I've been looking for spots to boondock near water too. Tall order in AZ.

Well...........It depends

We are experienced boondockers and last year we still had 30 - 40% of our Fresh water available at the end of 8 days in the desert. With 100GA of fresh, 100 grey and 78 (in your case) of black you should be able to make 2 weeks if you are judicious about your water usage as long as you hit camp with a full fresh tank and empty grey/black.

Worst case is a 5 mile drive to dump and replenish your water/propane. There is great place on the 95 on the north side where you can do all that on the way in.........the only issue you may have is data bandwidth but that's been discussed in another post.

I also recommend you get the Gen-Turi for your trip....these are highly recommended when camping in close quarters and using the generator. These are easy to install and you can do it once you get there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by paul65k

Well...........It depends

We are experienced boondockers and last year we still had 30 - 40% of our Fresh water available at the end of 8 days in the desert. With 100GA of fresh, 100 grey and 78 (in your case) of black you should be able to make 2 weeks if you are judicious about your water usage as long as you hit camp with a full fresh tank and empty grey/black.

Worst case is a 5 mile drive to dump and replenish your water/propane. There is great place on the 95 on the north side where you can do all that on the way in.........the only issue you may have is data bandwidth but that's been discussed in another post.

I also recommend you get the Gen-Turi for your trip....these are highly recommended when camping in close quarters and using the generator. These are easy to install and you can do it once you get there.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Already bought the parts to DIY a GenTuri

If it's only a 5 mile trip to refresh tanks, I'll not worry about it.

I love our huge tanks for sure. One of the reasons we bought this coach. We are inexperienced though, and spending our first month in the coach living in a park has not helped develop good habits.

The data issues discussed earlier are a bigger concern for me. I'm still researching my options.

[Maryfaith Moon]

OK then, that answers a couple of my questions...we ARE full-on boondocking it...WOW!
Sure hope my genset recovers from its quirky, inconsistent starting/dieing behaviors!
Does Cummins/Onan have a presence at the rally if it doesn't?

I'm guessing there are scheduled nightly quiet hours?
I'm thinking there MUST be a document posted somewhere here explaining ALL the details for us Newbies, right?

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Maryfaith Moon

OK then, that answers a couple of my questions...we ARE full-on boondocking it...WOW!
Sure hope my genset recovers from its quirky, inconsistent starting/dieing behaviors!
Does Cummins/Onan have a presence at the rally if it doesn't?

I'm guessing there are scheduled nightly quiet hours?
I'm thinking there MUST be a document posted somewhere here explaining ALL the details for us Newbies, right?

Yes, our standard is off at 10 PM and on again at 7AM......much better than many State/federal campgrounds.!!

[Hayduke]

Originally Posted by paul65k

Yes, our standard is off at 10 PM and on again at 7AM......much better than many State/federal campgrounds.!!

Then I won't have to adjust my quiet time settings of 9PM to 7:30AM

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Hayduke

Then I won't have to adjust my quiet time settings of 9PM to 7:30AM

Perfect!!!

Or you could add a solar system and not have to worry about quiet time


My personal goal is to be there for 9 days and not have to run the generator at all during our stay....we'll see how that goes

[Janet and Todd]

For those desiring a camping spot with water, electric and dump. Here is one right on Plumosa Road about 18 miles from the ACA Desert Rat site. Not sure about wifi signal strength.

Bouse Park