2014 Camping Thread

[Diemenz]

Dry Ice is frozen Carbon Dioxide, when the air reaches 5% Carbon Dioxide saturation it becomes extremely toxic. As Dry Ice melts it leaves behind Carbon Dioxide and no liquid. When large shipping companies use dry ice they make sure that the area that the dry ice is located is well ventilated. Just an FYI about dry ice in your trunk or car LOL.

Dry Ice also is extremely cold, it will freeze everything in the cooler including drinks, beer, condiments etc, for camping you cannot use one cooler and have dry ice in it unless everything in that cooler can be or is meant to be frozen.
When I used dry ice camping I had one cooler just dry ice wrapped in newspaper and the food that i didnt mind frozen because i could thaw before eating. I used the other cooler for beverages, condiments and food i wanted to keep cold but not frozen. I had ice packs on one side of the second cooler and would toss some dry ice wrapped in newspaper on the ice packs at intervals to keep the ice packs frozen and maintain the temp in that cooler.

[brocoli]

Does anyone have any recommendations for campgrounds near Fernie, B.C? Wife and I are looking at going next week, but everything seems to be booked. We would prefer something with trees and power, but open to suggestions. We've also looked at doing Koocanusa and Jaffrey. Any where around there is much appreciated.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by brocoli

Does anyone have any recommendations for campgrounds near Fernie, B.C? Wife and I are looking at going next week, but everything seems to be booked. We would prefer something with trees and power, but open to suggestions. We've also looked at doing Koocanusa and Jaffrey. Any where around there is much appreciated.

What about Wasa Lake? It is a nice place. Next weekend is full but it looks like there are some sites open during the weekdays.

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/exp.../#Reservations

[brocoli]

They are full when we were planning on going, and It's a little futher away then we would like to be (we need to be in Eureka, MT on Thursday). Thanks for the idea though, looks like a great place for next year when I plan things out better.

[brocoli]

Kikomun - Surveyor's at least was booked up as of May when I first learned about it. That's on my list for next year for sure. Looks like a great spot.

[brocoli]

sorry, i guess that I should've been more specific. 23' trailer with hook ups preferred. We've done 5 weekends of dry camping so far this year, time for running water and electricity.

[Wormius]

Any hammock campers in here? I wanted to do a couple of hikes around Field, and the hassle of tent camping when you just want to go for a weekend, and not deal with sleeping pads, tents, sleeping bags, and then the post-trip clean up, etc. made these look attractive. I saw that Camper's Village has some hammocks that look pretty decent with bug netting.

What do you do about wildlife if you're sleeping in one? I imagine you'd look like a tasty sausage roll to some wolves, or a pinata to an inquisitve bear.

[Simon96Taco]

Anyone have any good recommendations for some lakeside camping, preferably within 3-4 hours of Calgary that WON'T be super busy over the coming long weekend? Does not need power, the more remote the better. Even just plain crown land is great for me. We usuall camp along the Forestry Trunk road but if possible would like somewhere that has some good swimming spots (maybe there are good river swim spots that people know of?)

Was thinking Koocanusa, but not sure how busy it will be (I've never been there).

We (me, my girl and my dog) will be hitting the road on August 1st at about noon, and I don't have to be back in Calgary until Wednesday night (August 6th). Could stretch the drive a little longer if it's for a worthwhile spot.

Open to any suggestions.

Thanks!!

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Simon96Taco

Anyone have any good recommendations for some lakeside camping, preferably within 3-4 hours of Calgary that WON'T be super busy over the coming long weekend? Does not need power, the more remote the better. Even just plain crown land is great for me. We usuall camp along the Forestry Trunk road but if possible would like somewhere that has some good swimming spots (maybe there are good river swim spots that people know of?)

Was thinking Koocanusa, but not sure how busy it will be (I've never been there).

We (me, my girl and my dog) will be hitting the road on August 1st at about noon, and I don't have to be back in Calgary until Wednesday night (August 6th). Could stretch the drive a little longer if it's for a worthwhile spot.

Open to any suggestions.

Thanks!!

The Whitefish Lake State Park campground is quite nice, not overly busy and the lake is just steps from most of the campsites.

The biggest problem with Whitefish Lake campground is that there are train tracks bordering the park and the trains passing through the night can be pretty brutal. We were there for the Canada Day long weekend and you kind of get use to it after the second night but it does suck.

[chedder]

Koocanusa will be a gong show on crown land on the August long weekend. I'm an Albertan and am embarrassed to say it will be full of the stereotype that other provinces have of us unfortunately. Remember the news after may long?

There is Sandy shores campground which will be busy and is expensive for no hookups but the owner doesn't put up with any crap if you want a relaxing weekend the sites are pretty good

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Simon96Taco]

Thank you both for the info.

I didn't realize what debauchery had gone on during May long, and just read about it. Sounds like I'll be avoiding Koocanusa this time around.

Whitefish is an area I hadn't considered - might have to think about that one!

[stamped05]

There has been some discussion on Generators in this forum. I just want to share my experience with you. 3 Years ago I started down the path of investigating the purchase of a camping Gen. The bottom line is that you want to get maximum performance, with the quietest engine, lightest weight, and least expensive. Of course any realist will say that such a beast simply does not exist. WRONG! I say. That summer I bought a Boliy Digital Signal Processing Generator/Invertor. http://www.boliygenerator.com/. This thing is unbelievable. The unit will produce 3300 watts. When I first got it I ran a test. I plugged in my 30 foot RV and ran the 13,500 BTU AC, Microwave, TV, and Toaster all at the same time. No problem. It also has an econo mode that makes it super quite and inexpensive to run. My friends are always amazed at how quite this thing runs. It is also very light. I can easily lift this into my pickup even when the tank is full. It seems to run forever on a full tank. You can also purchase a remote with it so you can control it from inside your trailer. I paid $1100 for this 3 years ago and it still runs like the day I got it. I have not performed any service on it. I did some research on this unit and it appears that it's basically a Yamaha knock off. Parts are made in the same factory. They even look similar. The only problem is that they are not available in Calgary. I had to order it from Edmonton. Delivery was free. The website says the Western RV now carries them.
http://www.campgen.com/content/1-dealers.

If you are serious about a camping gen. Make sure you look at this one.

[2ArmBands]

I was gonna make a new thread regarding this but I'm gonna post in here and see.

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing a used travel trailer?
I have been to a few dealers now and have seen some interesting things on kijiji. Can anyone recommend which is the better path to take? Are dealers over priced? Brands to avoid? All info is good info to me at this point.

I'm looking for something under 15k with jack/Jill bunks and a queen. This will be my first travel trailer and I'm intrigued to see how much we will actually use the thing.

Needless to say if anyone has anything let me know!

Thanks in advance

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by 2ArmBands

I was gonna make a new thread regarding this but I'm gonna post in here and see.

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing a used travel trailer?
I have been to a few dealers now and have seen some interesting things on kijiji. Can anyone recommend which is the better path to take? Are dealers over priced? Brands to avoid? All info is good info to me at this point.

I'm looking for something under 15k with jack/Jill bunks and a queen. This will be my first travel trailer and I'm intrigued to see how much we will actually use the thing.

Needless to say if anyone has anything let me know!

Thanks in advance

Just like buying a car

Dealer will be helpful, offer financing, it'll be inspected, maybe a little less risky but every unit can still have problems. With that it will be more expensive.

Used, you really want to be able to see it in action. Not at someone's storage lot, at someone's house so you can hook it up to water, electricity, run the propane and the batteries.

Used you might find a good deal, or someone who is asking too much and doesn't want to come to terms with the depreciation. Be thorough in looking through it. Find out how much it's been used.

Buy voltmeter to test batteries, check the plumbing/pump/fridge/taps/tires/propane tanks/showers/stabilizers/awning and whatever else.

I'll post more later if I think of it.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by stamped05

If you are serious about a camping gen. Make sure you look at this one.

While I appreciate you're just trying to offer a tip to others.....People who use generators while camping are scum. Serviced campgrounds exist to cater to this market. Don't ruin it for everyone else.

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by Ducay

While I appreciate you're just trying to offer a tip to others.....People who use generators while camping are scum. Serviced campgrounds exist to cater to this market. Don't ruin it for everyone else.

Green text?

[Ace]

Originally Posted by 2ArmBands

I was gonna make a new thread regarding this but I'm gonna post in here and see.

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing a used travel trailer?
I have been to a few dealers now and have seen some interesting things on kijiji. Can anyone recommend which is the better path to take? Are dealers over priced? Brands to avoid? All info is good info to me at this point.

I'm looking for something under 15k with jack/Jill bunks and a queen. This will be my first travel trailer and I'm intrigued to see how much we will actually use the thing.

Needless to say if anyone has anything let me know!

Thanks in advance

Let me use this post to add a little about the buying new process. It's a big fat pain, going back and forth to the dealerships that are too busy to service everything they sell- with that said i'd do it again because I'm the type of guy that will do my due diligence to get everything working while it's under warranty (even though at times I felt like saying screw it). Really your best bet is to buy a 2 year old trailer off someone who has done all the warranty work, kept up the maintenance, kept the unit clean, and added improvements to it. My two year old trailer is way better then when it was brand new, because these trailers get shipped to the dealer with defects that you have to work out.

The problem is, if I put my buyers hat on, it's hard to know for sure someone did that work. Actually as I type this I think that might be a key to find a good used unit, see the type of improvements that have been done to it, even little things like an upgraded shower head show you the owner paid attention to the thing.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Green text?

Why would it be green text?


Do you think people go out to the wilderness to listen to your Briggs&Stratton running all day?

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Why would it be green text?


Do you think people go out to the wilderness to listen to your Briggs&Stratton running all day?

Scum? Are you kidding me?

I actually picked one up yesterday, an inverter (to lesson the noise) and I'll use it in a few weeks when I'm at a site that has a mix of electrical and non-electrical sites. We didn't get an electrical site when we booked, they were all sold out. So I should just not have electricity for the week to appease you, who's been offended by someone, at some point? Good chance I'll be parked next to some tenters who very well could be up all night at the fire boozing, listening to music, having a good time at a substantailly louder decible level than my generator that I might use for an hour in the middle of the day.

Stop being so judgemental and assuming everyone is the worst of what you've experienced.

I'm not going to be using a fire at any site I use because I find the smoke gross and unpleasant. As such I think there should be a fireban at all campsites. You think I head out to the wilderness to witness scum like you cut down all the trees for your fires that then offend my nose? Campers like you are horrible!

[hedge]

Originally Posted by 2ArmBands

I was gonna make a new thread regarding this but I'm gonna post in here and see.

Does anyone have any experience with purchasing a used travel trailer?
I have been to a few dealers now and have seen some interesting things on kijiji. Can anyone recommend which is the better path to take? Are dealers over priced? Brands to avoid? All info is good info to me at this point.

I'm looking for something under 15k with jack/Jill bunks and a queen. This will be my first travel trailer and I'm intrigued to see how much we will actually use the thing.

Needless to say if anyone has anything let me know!

Thanks in advance

The biggest thing to look for is water damage, everything else pales in comparison to water damage. Open every drawer, cabinet, vent to look for water damage. Look for bubbles in the walls, soft spots. I'd also check the sealants to see signs of maintenance, if it's all dried and cracked it may not have been maintained.