# Return From Maiden Voyage...



## AKF150LARIAT4X4 (Sep 14, 2005)

Post leading up to this...

If you didn't read this post Thursday, read it first, then come back and get entertained!!

Well, weâ€™re back from the maiden voyage!! Holy crap, where do I begin? Grab a seat, get a fresh cup of coffee or soda and get ready for a story.

The campsite we had reserved said they werenâ€™t sure if they would have water or not so I filled my freshwater tank and headed out. I had to run a few errands, such as going back home to get all the refrigerated food that we forgot, and weighing the TT and TV. Here are the numbers I got:

TRUCK NUMBERS-
Curb weight- 5077
GVWR- 6750
Weighed Truck Weight-	6420 No people

Trailer Weight empty- 5480
Trailer GVWR- 7500
Weighted Trailer- 5940

Truckâ€™s GCVWR- 13,000
Truck & Trailer Weighed-	12,480

Now remember, this was with a full fresh water tank and no people in the vehicle. I figured 450 pounds for the family. Add that to the 12,480 and it equals 12,930. I then figured I needed to empty the water tank to play it safe so subtract about 320 pounds and I have a total of 12,710. Not very good numbers huh??

I called the RV park again to verify the water situation. They said they now had water so I was good to go. I then opened the fresh water drain and let it flow.

Like I said in an earlier post, there was some crappy weather but we were determined to make a weekend of it anyway. We got about 30 minutes outside Anchorage at the Turnagain Arm and the winds were a 35-45MPH headwind. The F-150 wasnâ€™t liking this one little bit, empty water tank or not! About this time, my friend I was going halibut fishing with called. He said the charter company had just called him and cancelled due to weather. We pulled over and talked, then me and the DW decided to go back to the base and camp at the â€œFam Campâ€ to get to learn the trailer. The drive back wasnâ€™t so bad because I had the wind in my favor. We decided to go get some Chinese food and then go look at some diesel trucks after we got camp set up. She was very supportive of a new TV after the 30 minute drive into that wind. I didnâ€™t think she was gonna make it there for a while. She was quite nervous, as was I. Anyway, we get to the Fam Camp on base and disconnect everything and start getting things set up. I hooked everything up and turn it on and find out they havenâ€™t turned on their water yet. So now I have no toilet, shower, sink, etc, Sooo, we decide to go to the place on base that has potable water to fill it up. We tear it all back down, reconnect to the truck, make our way over there and fill it up with no problems. While driving back to the fam camp we decide to try the fam camp on the adjoining army post to see how theirs was. The friend I was to go fishing with was camped out there at the Army Fam Camp and I showed the wife his 36 foot Raptor as we drove by. Not 2 minutes later I get a call from him telling me that he has booked another halibut charter, but this one is in Homer, AK. Seward was a 2 hour drive, this is expected to be 5-6 hours. After much discussion we decide to go for it. The wife had the girls jump in the trailer and go to the bathroom first, since we have a full tank of water. So out goes the slide, on goes the water pump, and they all do their thing. After they finish I put the slide in and decided I better empty the fresh water tank again so as not to have the extra weight for the trip. I opened the valve and off we went, water draining all over the road, heck, who cares?!

After about three hours of driving, weâ€™re both used to the winds, which have died down a lot, and weâ€™re now enjoying the ride. At this point I have to stop and fill up. When I get out I go towards the back of the trailer and hear a humming noise coming from the back. DAMN, I forgot to turn off the water pump 3 hours ago and opened the drain, so the pump had been going for three hours with no water in it.







I get back in the truck and tell the wife that thereâ€™s a pretty good chance that when we do find water in Homer, the pump may not be able to pump it. This by no means pleases the DW.







I then figure out my MPG and it was a whopping 7.2 MPG.







At some points of the drive on hills, I was slowed down to about 35-40MPH while the F-150 said, â€œI think I can, I think I can.â€

Anyway, back on the road we go and we finally arrive in Homer about 10PM, exhausted and ready for bed. Remember, I have to be up at 5:30 to go fishing and we havenâ€™t unpacked a thing. Well, I find some water and fill it up, then jump inside and turn the pump back on. I open the faucet and WA LA, the water pump was still working!! WHEW! We go to a recommended RV park next door to the fish charter and it was, shall we say, a trailer trash RV park, with about 9 or 10 spots. So we go back up the road a mile or so and find this REALLY nice RV campground. Each site has itâ€™s own lamp post that was already lit, a picnic table, elec., water and sewer. Overall there were about 100 spots, and 95% were open. We then ask how much and are told that since itâ€™s still in the OFF SEASON we can get a spot for $75 a night!







WHAT????? OKâ€¦back we go to the $20 trailer trash RV park and set up. By the time we get to bed, itâ€™s well past midnight.

The next morning I wake up to get ready to go fishing. The DW gets up with me to help make my lunch. Remember earlier at the beginning of the story when I said we had to go back and get the refrigerated food we forgot? Well we missed a bag and it had lunchmeat for that dayâ€™s lunch, breakfast sausage for the next morningâ€™s breakfast and hot dogs and hamburger patties for that nightâ€™s dinner. Not good! So I packed up some chips, potato salad and a Reeseâ€™s Big Cup (Big Cups RULE). The DW then took the dogs out for their morning business and came back in. Itâ€™s now time for me to go fishing so I gather my things, kiss the wife and kids and head out the door. After I make it out the door, the wife comes after me and tells me, â€œI forgot to tell you, but when I took the dogs out this morning I noticed one of the trailer tires is FLAT!â€ Well, at this point I am NOT surprised. So off I go to fish and forget about my worries for a few hours.

We fished all day and caught our limit on Halibut. They were all small but hey, itâ€™s halibut. All I wanted was some fish for the freezer. Heck, at $12 a pound, Iâ€™ll take what I can get. We all ended up with about 14 pounds of Halibut fillets each, and three of them got about 6 pounds of King Salmon to take home too. I already have a freezer full of Salmon, so I opted not to take any. OKâ€¦â€¦lets go back to the trailer and relax a while, shall we???

â€œHoney, Iâ€™m home!â€ We all talk about my fishing and their walks on the beaches looking for sea shells and rocks and such. Now we have to decide what to eat for dinner since we donâ€™t have any hot dogs or hamburgers. We decide to have some fresh fish on the grill and some Bushâ€™s baked beans. WAIT, we didnâ€™t bring a can opener, so no beans. OKâ€¦fish and Ruffles with French Onion dip it is. WOO HOOâ€¦is this a dinner or what?? During dinner the wife then tells me how the electricity was going on and off all day. Shortly after telling me that, I see it for myself. Off for a couple minutes, then back on for a while. This went on through dinner, a game of Bunco (SP?) and a game of Sorry. Who cares though really? All it will affect is the AC, which we arenâ€™t using, and the microwave, which we can live without. So off to bed we go to get ready for the drive back tomorrow (Sat.). We get to bed around midnight again and just as I lay my head on the pillowâ€¦â€¦BEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP. The CO2 is going off and let me tell you, itâ€™s quite loud and annoying. I pushed the button and it reset to green and stopped beeping. Back to bed I go. Two minutes laterâ€¦..BEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP. Now Iâ€™m getting nervous, as is the DW. I hit the reset button again but this time it wonâ€™t reset. I opened the door to the trailer right next to the detector and after a few seconds it goes green again. Will I wake up in the morning? Will the kids? Holy *&#%, what do I do now. I then opened a few windows to get some circulation going and turn the heat up to try and keep it a little warm in the process. It took me another hour to fall asleep due to the fact I was scared to death that I wouldnâ€™t ever wake up again. Well, needless to say, I did wake up and I wasnâ€™t dead. However, I was almost frozen like an icicle. Whatâ€™s going on here???? I go outside and look at the tanks and the one I was using was empty and the back-up was closed. Hmmmmmm, I wonâ€™t do that again!! So I open the other valve and go back inside. Once inside I notice the electricity had been off all night. This starts to make me wonder if there is something wrong with the trailer since all the people around me seem to have it. I then start checking circuit breakers and fuses, only to find they are all good to go. One thing I did notice is that as I took power away from the CO2 detector, it would go off. Was this the reason it was going off the night before?? I took that as a yes and was a BIT relieved, not a lot, but a BIT. Well, letâ€™s go outside and look at the power box that Iâ€™m plugged into and see if thereâ€™s anything wrong that I can see. I check both circuit breakers, one for the 3-prong 30AMP plug, and the one for the 20AMP 110 volt receptacles. Both are on and not tripped. I go inside and get my alarm clock and plug it into the trailerâ€™s inside 110 outlet and nothing. I then put an adapter on the 3-prong plug and use the 110 receptacle. Wow, it works!! Off to the manager to see if anything was wrong with the outlets. She proceeds to tell me that it was run over by a trailer a week or so before and it must have a broken wire in it or something. Well GEE THANKS! I wish you would have told me that when I got here. Oh well, at this point Iâ€™m pretty sure everything on the trailer is working the way itâ€™s supposed to. I changed the tire with no problems and now letâ€™s just hook up and get outta here.

The drive home was uneventful, and that was just fine with us. As we just started to get into town, we see a Military Appreciation care sale going on. Itâ€™s a 5 dealer combination deal, and there must have been 500 vehicles there. I looked at the wife and suggested we go there and just look around since she hated the drive so much getting yanked around in the F-150. Well, long story short, I am now no longer AKF150LARIAT4X4. Now just call me AKF250LARIAT4X4. Yeppers, we bought an 2004 F250 Lariat 4X4 with the 6.0 Turbo Dieselâ€¦dark green with a sunroof and everything. It only has just over 36,000 miles on it too. Heck it even has something installed on the floor on the middle hump called an Auxiliary Idle Control Module. Anyone know what this is for? Itâ€™s made by Ford and installed by them too.

Soooooooo, how did the weekend go???? Well, me, the wife and kids had a blast, even through all that crap!







The wife even told me the she is now OFFICIALLY hooked on RVing. She said thatâ€™s all sheâ€™s going to do while Iâ€™m in Guam for the next three months is look on line at places she wants to camp when I get back. I read it on here and itâ€™s no lieâ€¦the first time you camp, you learn a lot so try to do it in your driveway or close to home if possible. I donâ€™t regret it, but it sure would have been a lot easier had we done that first. Anyway, thanks for listening and I can hardly wait to go camping again just to see how the 250 diesel feels compared to the 150. Take it easy all you campers, and I hope you at least got a little chuckle at our expense.

Mike


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Whew....that was some trip report.









Sounds like you have "some" of the first-timer kinks all ironed out.

Congrats on a safe and eventful outting!!


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

WOW!! that sure is some story
Glad to hear you all had a good time despite all the things that happened
And congrats on the F-250

Don


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## lilunsure (Apr 26, 2006)

What a story. Glad everything worked out!


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Wow....!!!!!!

Are ready to camp this weekend









Thor


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## summergames84 (Mar 6, 2004)

What a trip report! Thanks for sharing. And a happy ending, too!


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## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Anyone who goes through all that and wants to go again is a true RVer, especially if your a wife does too.

You'll have a story to tell around the campfire for years.

Regards, Glenn


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

How was the fish??? Never tried it with ranch dressing but have crumbled up some ruffles sour cream ones and used that as a breading before frying up some trout.

Sounds like it was a trip to remember.


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

> Anyone who goes through all that and wants to go again is a true RVer


I'll second that!

Mark


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Great story, Mike!

Still, I can't help but think... Had you bought an Outback.... 
(I'm just saying







)

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## nascarcamper (Jan 27, 2005)

That's how we all learn. That 250 will tow that tt like it's nothing.


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## happycamper (Jul 26, 2005)

I am feeling for you. Your trip sounds like our second trip with the Outback. The first trip went just fine. Second trip out TV broke down along I-81N over Labor Day Weekend. Couldn't find anyone to tow trailer off of I -81. My sister is only 20" away so she rescues us from the highway. After a whole lot of thought we decide to borrow my dad's truck to get trailer to safer location. Find a campground with a noshow to put trailer in. DH drives 2 hour each way to get dad's truck it is now 8pm. Our hitch won't fit dad's truck must use his which has been modified he tows a sail boat so hitch needs to be further from the bumper so the mast and boom clear the truck. Now the issue is the electric hook up won't reach. OK sister will follow with 4 ways till we get to Campground. Dad's truck doen't like the OB at all and Oh we have no brake hook up the boat trailer has a surge hitch. So no lights no brakes and a maxed out truck we make a slow journey to the campground @15-20miles from breakdown. Oh MY!!!!! DH is AWESOME!!! I do not know how he controled the whole set up!!! And the Campground was in the BOONIES UP one curvy hill and down another and so on. I thought I'd die !!!!! Campground Ponderosa Pines was awesome it is now 10PM they knew our situation so when we arrived they were waiting to help us. Site is the first site inside campground. We are home free!! Only thing it has a small grade to back up into site . Back 'er up with the help of half a dozen other campers decide we need to wiggle closer to the hook ups. Pull forward back up again and POP!!! Tranny seal on Dad's truck couldn't take it anymore. Two trucks one weekend!!! I thought DH was gonna have a nervous break down. Forced 'em to be after we set up. Convinced him my dad could wait till tommorrow to find out about the truck.

Dad's truck turned out to be a simple repair he did himself so the cost was mininmal. Jeep turned out to be a Chrysler thing that they fixed for free after a week of phone calls. Campground left us keep the trailer there for a week till our Jeep was fixed. Brought the Outback home traded the Jeep two weeks later for a Yukon XL and began planning the next trip!!!!!

The owner of Ponderosa Pines had a theory. We have to have the journeys otherwise we'd have nothing to share with all those other campers while sharing a campfire.

So Congratulations you have your first evening full of campfire stories!!!!!!

All the headaches are so worth it for a day full of nothing on a boat or roaming a campground!!!

Happycampin'!!!!

Stay safe on your time away so you can enjoy all those trips when you return!!

Our prayers for safety and Thanks for your service go with you!!!!


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

Great report!! I think you win the Longest Post Award. Reminds me of a few camping trips I've been on.

With the new Super Duty Powerstroke, it will be a big difference. Once you go diesel, you'll never go back. Have fun.

Bill


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## AKF150LARIAT4X4 (Sep 14, 2005)

OK folks. thanks for all the encouragement...it definately made us appreciate the trip that muh more after we went through all of that. And DOUG...nice sales pitch!! LOL I'm sure had it been an Outback it would have been different! At least it was a Keystone though. We look forward to many more outings and adventures!

Mike


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

AKF150LARIAT4X4 said:


> And DOUG...nice sales pitch!! LOL
> [snapback]108594[/snapback]​


Might not be the last one you here







....all in good fun









John


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

Great first trip story. I especially like the ending. You know, the 'bought the F-250 Lariat" part.

Reverie


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## nonny (Aug 14, 2005)

Glad all ended well and I, too, will pray for your safety and blessings on your family while you're gone!


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## prevish gang (Mar 19, 2006)

Oh, my God! How many things can go wrong all at once? Tell the DW to buy a whole set of utensils, cooking supplies, spices, toothbrushes and other toiletries including blow dryer, etc and leave them in the TT. There are too many things to think about when you are leaving. Stock the TT and just buy food ( from a pre-planned menu) items either prior to or just after set up depending upon what time you plan to arrive (adding 3 hours to that for traffic/problems). Being well prepared helps to alieviate these things. The good thing about you is that you sound flexible and that is a bonus. Missing can opener; we'll have chip and dip instead. I already like you for your flexibility and sense of humor over this whole thing. Have a better trip next time action 
Darlene


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Reverie said:


> Great first trip story.Â I especially like the ending.Â You know, the 'bought the F-250 Lariat" part.
> 
> Reverie
> [snapback]108597[/snapback]​


Hi, Mike!!
Good thing you're in Alaska, or you might catch Reverie "lusting after your truck"!!!







I just bought a new Dodge Ram 2500 ThunderRoad package with the Cummins diesel, and attended the rally in Alpine, Alabama. That beast was made to tow. HUGE steep grades, going around 60-65 MPH, in tow mode with CRUISE CONTROL on, and it NEVER revved over 2500 RPM, and stayed, usually, around 1500 RPM. You will enjoy your trips much more, than having to baby a 1500 or 150 along!! Great call on the truck!
Darlene action (from S. GA)


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