Aluminum Camper Forum

Has anyone seen the you-tube videos of the Travel Lite RV Falcon? The interiors look like someone from Livin Lite has contributed to the design. The videos I have seen discuss a metal exterior that will take a gel-coat paint, but the metal used is not discussed. Inside, the floor plan is very similar to Camplite floor plans. There are aluminum cabinet doors with glass inserts. Vinyl flooring, but no discussion of what is beneath that. Delivered weight is much heavier than Camplite, but the Falcons are supposed to be towed by SUVs.

It looks interesting.

We were camping at Tims Ford State Park in Tennessee - very nice campground - about 10 days ago. It was the middle of the night, with bright moonlight. My dogs jumped up simultaneously and started barking. I quieted them down and decided to look out the window to see what caused the bedlam. It was a bear - small, or at least I thought it was small, black, round, ambling around our camper. We had left nothing outside, so it wandered off to the next campsite, where a family was camping in a tent.

I finally got the dogs quiet, as they were growling even after the bear left our campsite. I was able to go to sleep, but my husband stayed awake for a while. He said the family camping in the tent packed up and left about 4 AM. He thinks the bear scared them into leaving. Hard-sided campers are a good thing.

When we get to the Big Campground in the Sky, we won't be bothered with dumping tanks - or where the closest dump station is located!

Yes, I am going to the land where steel rusts and wood rots. This is hard for me to believe myself. But, they don't make aluminum motorhomes. I am now the owner of a 2017 28-foot Coachmen Leprechaun Class C motorhome. My husband and I are getting out of towing, but the Camplite isn't going anywhere. It is now a resident of Florida, where it will stay in the summer while my husband and I are running around the USA in the Leprechaun. In the winter season, the Leprechaun will go into storage, while we use the Camplite which is parked next to our cabana at the site we purchased in an RV resort.

We need to get out of towing. I am at a loss for mechanical stuff, not even knowing what tools exist to fix whatever. I can cook up a storm, however. Since my husband had his brain surgery, he is experiencing eye-hand coordination problems, so fixing something on the RV is not working out. Going down a bumpy road usually means adjusting the sway bar, which is a point of contention. So - now we will be out and about in the motorhome. If anything needs fixing, we will just pay someone to do it for us and skip the hassle.

So, since I am keeping the Camplite, I maintain my aluminum cred, right? I still belong here, right?

The dealer is prepping the camper as I write this. It has few miles and it looks like it was never slept in, so what could the previous owners have done with it? I asked the salesman and he said he didn't know. Well, I am anxiously awaiting taking delivery. We stay at a campsite at the dealer Tuesday night so that if we have any questions on Wednesday, a technician will be available to help. Then I drive it back to our site in the resort and park it on the opposite side of my cabana from where the Camplite is. We can take our time getting it ready for the road.

Stay tuned!

Hi FastEddie!

I am returning to camping, soon I hope. After 2 years of constant doctor appointments, my husband is on the mend. We hope to leave Florida about mid-April and head toward New Orleans.

Are you and your wife planning any trips to Florida any time soon? I remember watching dolphins off the East Coast of Florida with you two.  Care to arrange a meetup somewhere in Central Florida? Sometime between now and mid-April?  If anybody else is going to be camping in this area, that would be great too!

The only time we can't go camping will be when my husband has a medical appointment. Unfortunately, we have a few more to go before he can be cleared to leave Florida.

I hope you, your wife and the dogs are all doing well!

Leslie

I placed a post under new members as I have been absent from this forum for a while. My husband has been very sick, which has totally consumed me. He has a few more doctor's appointments to go before being cleared for travel.

So, I am also posting here, just in case the new member post gets overlooked. I am not sure just how much I will be here, but it looks like my husband is out of the woods now.

Looking forward to reconnecting with you guys, and getting to know the newbies on here!

Leslie

I thought this would be a good place to reintroduce myself, since I used to be here before my husband's health caused us to stop camping. We purchased a place in an RV resort in Florida, and have stayed here since September 2017. The social life is wonderful, I have made many new friends and they have helped my husband and me through a very difficult time.

My husband has inherited some issues. His heart has been the biggest worry. Now, with a new pacemaker and some new prescriptions, I am somewhat hopeful that we will be able to hit the road this summer. I have been too concerned with his health to think about anything else, so have not been able to come back here until now.

I just received the winter newsletter, and enjoyed reading it very much. I remember Merlin from a meetup we had in 2016 in Oregon! How time flies, even if you aren't having fun.

Somebody tell Pinstriper I am back, in case he doesn't see this. I will return here as often as I can. My husband has a few more doctor's appointments to go before he can be cleared for travel, but the worry is lifting.

Looking forward to reconnecting with the old members, and meeting some new ones.

Leslie

We are in Florida! Hope to put an end to the horrible summer we had. We were invited to Thanksgiving Dinner by some of our fellow RVers at our RV resort. Really helped our mood!

Now, about the little handle on our Camplite. At the end of October, my husband's doctors told him they were releasing him to leave to go to Florida. The night before we were going to FINALLY leave Louisville, we were in a muddy campsite, with rain pouring down. There was a mud slick on the step out of our camper, and a mud slick on the portable aluminum step we purchased to make it easier to access and egress our camper. Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I was exiting our camper, holding onto the handle with my right hand, as it is supposed to be used. My foot slipped out as soon as I touched the step on the camper. I went boom - boom - boom down the steps, landing on both feet. I did not fall.  When I released my hand from the handle, the skin on my pinkie finger was shredded. I saw bone. I knew I was in trouble.

Okay - the hand surgeon in Louisville said that I might lose my finger. So far, so good. I am waiting to see a hand surgeon here in Florida, but we had to stay in Louisville until just before Thanksgiving, until my doctor there felt I was ready to travel. 

One of my sons is asking if I am planning to sue. We had a new handle installed on our camper as soon as we could manage it so that there would not be a repeat of this. Question - who would I sue, if I were going to sue? I have a 2015 21 BHS, manufactured by the factory run by Scott Tuttle. I used the handle in the manner it was designed to be used. I am not a litigious sort of person, so I am not decided on what I will do. I need to see how this will turn out. I think it looks good that I will be able to keep my finger. So, there is pain and suffering and I am covered by excellent medical insurance.

At this point, I just want to heal. Suggestions?   

My husband is scheduled to have brain surgery on July 13 at Norton Brownsboro Hospital in Louisville. He has had an accumulation of fluid in his brain, resulting in a loss of motor skills and loss of balance. Losing his balance has been humiliating, because he falls down and can't get up by himself. Some people think he has been drunk when he hasn't had anything to drink.

Doctors don't know the cause, but this is a rare condition developing in about 5% of people in their 60s and 70s. Inserting a shunt in his brain should give him at least 5 years without symptoms.

I suggested he shave his head, so he wouldn't look so weird with the haircut he would get at the hospital. He says that I just want to see how he looks with a bald head. I told him there's an upside to everything!

We have been stuck in Louisville since Easter, waiting for his doctors to decide what they will do. There is no cure, just a way to postpone the development of symptoms.

I am scared, but my husband is not because he feels he has nothing to lose. He DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE with the symptoms, which will kill him eventually. We have had a rough time.

We are scheduled for the Maine Rally. I am not ready to cancel, if the doctors will just let us get out of town. I will post later on the meetup thread.

I was just thinking about some people who posted on the previous forum, some of whom I met in person, and they aren't here.

What has happened to Ammobob who went fishing with pinstriper?

What had happened to Shovelhead whom I met in South Carolina, had a knee replacement, and hasn't made it here to this forum?

Who else is missing?

We do not have TV here, we just pop a DVD in when we want to watch a movie, but I read Google News. Oregon made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament, first time ever. When we lived in Indiana, March Madness reigned. Now we are RVing, meh.

We love Lake Wales Florida. Bok Gardens with its Singing Tower, a carillon tower, Lake Wales for walking and picnicking (no swimming, because people aren't allowed to feed the alligators  ), a shaded, good-size public dog park, and one of our favorite places to camp, Lake Rosalie Camp. It is off of Hwy 60 west of Lake Wales, a county-owned and run campground right on the lake. The hookups are electric and water, but it has a dumpsite on the premises, it is quiet, $26 per night, maximum 14-night stay per month. There is a clean bathhouse. Many campsites have views of the lake. We love it.

Lake Rosalie Camp does not take reservations - first come, first served. Pick your spot and then go to the campground manager. If he or she isn't there, just enjoy yourself. The manager will make the rounds and register you on the spot. Most of the times we have stayed there, most of the campsites were empty. There is a public fishing dock that opens at dawn, but the fishermen have never bothered us or waked us up.

Head east on Hwy 60 toward Bartow and there is a Camping World, where we usually go to stock up on TP and free popcorn. Also dog treats. Can't forget the dog treats. Our beagle, Daisy, plants herself in front of the front desk because she knows there are dog biscuits waiting for every dog that comes in the door.  She acts so cute she usually gets a few extra biscuits from the staff. They are suckers for cute.

How are your summer plans going? I have never been to Niagara Falls, so that is on our list. We love wine, so we will spend 9 days in the New York Finger Lakes Region. Then it's on to Maine for 2 RV rallies, one of which is course, our own LL rally. Then we workout way south for a rally in Branson MO.

Anybody familiar with the Finger Lakes Region? Any places there or in Maine that we should not miss?

Restaurants - where to eat when you don't want to cook, or you are out of groceries and you don't want to have to go shopping before you start cooking or just because...

If you have found a great place to eat on your travels, or if you know a place where you live that should be a place out-of-towners should know about, PLEASE let's start a list.

I mentioned in another thread that my and my husband's identities were stolen, and our checking account was emptied. We found out we had no money when my husband went out for some groceries and his card was denied. We lost $650! We just had the money replaced back into our account, but it has been a hassle.

We weren't able to access our own money from our savings account for awhile. All of our cards were cancelled. For 30 years our accounts at our local bank had served us without a problem, even while traveling. Till now.

Discussions with bank officers, policemen, and our fellow RVers here in the resort have led us to take the following steps:

1. We have savings and checking accounts with our local bank, but also now with a bank with branches all over the US. It is unlikely that both banks would be affected at the same time by identity theft, unless someone were to steal our wallets, which did not happen in this case.

2. We believe we were victims of a skimming device when we both used a bank's ATM to get cash. Both of our cards were used the following day to empty our checking account. From now on, when swiping our cards, we check the swiping mechanism to make sure it is secure and that there is no extra plastic there, which could mean a skimming device is being used.

3. I go online twice a day to check my bank accounts.

4. Carry a dummy wallet with just a few dollars in it. If someone demands I hand over my wallet, I should throw the dummy wallet on the ground about 15-20 feet away from me, then run away.

5. Go to a police supply store to buy a pepper spray that police use. It is stronger than what you can buy in a regular store, and you can aim a solid spray for up to 25 feet. Usually the pepper sprays available commercially put out a mist, which can affect you as well as against the person from whom you are defending yourself. A cop told me I should have this in my hand anytime I am walking to or from a store. This spray also works if a bear charges you.

If we have had a great day exploring someplace new, or had a travel day, and just want a good meal RIGHT NOW, we have tostadas.

For this we need a package of crispy flat tortilla or tostada shells, usually Ole brand, one can of refried beans (this is for 2 of us), a package of shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese, a plastic bag of shredded cabbage or shredded cole slaw mix (without dressing), guacamole - usually Yucatan brand, or Wholly Guacamole brand, and maybe some taco sauce - usually Ortega.

I throw all of this onto the table with plastic plates and forks with a spoon for the guac. While I heat up the refried beans, I pour some tequila for me and a beer for my husband. Then we just layer the ingredients into a tostadas shell in this order -  refried beans, cheese, guac, taco sauce, shredded cabbage. Within 5 minutes we are eating a yummy meal.

Some good meal ideas, here, but what do you drink with these meals? What is a camping trip without inviting Jack Daniels or Jim Beam?

Actually, I like Makers Mark. I found a new tequila, well it's new to me - Roca Patron. It's expensive. If a drink is expensive, somehow I seem to like it.

It's been relatively quiet here, so I hope LLers get a chance to read this. I know, most people haven't finished planning for camping season 2017, but...

Hubby and I will be going to the Pacific Northwest in summer of 2018, and we would like to camp with some fellow LLers. When we were planning for PNW Rally 2016, we had to make reservations in October 2015 for Ft. Stevens.

So, I am hoping some folks here will give some thought to this for when summer gets here, and we have to start making plans. Former LLers, wannabe LLers, and anybody else on this board is welcome to join us!

We had such a good time at Ft. Stevens, along with discovering the Oregon Coast, we want to do this again! Of course, our granddaughter living in the PNW is also on our agenda.

So think, plan, and maybe we will see some of you in 2018. (We will definitely be in Maine in August for that rally.) See ya!

My husband and I took our 2 dogs to the PNW LL Rally last summer at Ft. Stevens. We loved the beach and walked there several times. Sweetie (the Shiba Inu X) and I got wet in the surf and had a great time.

Now there is a story in the news about a father and his little boy getting washed out to sea by a giant wave at Cape Blanco. How often does this happen?

Greetings and salutations from Florida! Now, if I could just get my furniture delivered, I could complete the move to the sunshine state.

For those who may not know me, I have migrated from the old Livin Lite board. I have a custom-built 2015 Camplite 21 BHS, which my husband, dogs and I are thoroughly enjoying.

Just between us, we are really full-time RVers now. We have a small house, a cabana, which we purchased that is in a 55+ RV resort - a beautiful resort with entertainment and/or dinners 6 days/week! Just think of all the cooking I don't have to do! The camper is parked right beside it - so convenient!

See you around the board!