Trip Report, going south

[CADreamin]

Be sure to check out the Good Sam website for RV parks in and around Concord. Tradewinds RV Park looks interesting ... Just bring your umbrella.

[Dave Whiting]

This travel blog has a post regarding a good location to park an RV near San Francisco.
http://ravenandchickadee.com/?s=San+Francisco

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Dave Whiting

This travel blog has a post regarding a good location to park an RV near San Francisco.
http://ravenandchickadee.com/?s=San+Francisco

But if you read the park rules, the tow vehicle must remain on site for the duration of your stay. How strange is that?

[Rossue]

Probably afraid they would Airbnb it- San Fran: $3600/mo. 1 BR apt.

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by tractors1

But if you read the park rules, the tow vehicle must remain on site for the duration of your stay. How strange is that?

Very strange if you have to leave your tow vehicle, but the description of the location is fantastic! I have taken that Ferry Ride from Larkspur/Tiburon to the Ferry Bldg, and it is very cool. It drops you off near the ticket counter for the Alcatraz Tours. Sounds like a pretty good solution....

[craiginpetaluma]

The MarinRV park in Marin county is more like a RV storage. Not a place I would want to hang around. But bicycle/pedestrian paths quickly get to nice places and the Larkspur ferry/Bus terminal that covers SF bay. Take the ferry to the SF ferry building. That drops you off near the bay bridge and then you have a nice walk along the San Francisco waterfront to fisherman's wharf where you can catch the Alcatraz tour boat. Best to buy your tickets in advance, can be booked a few weeks out.

Another option is Petaluma KOA. A much, much,much nicer place and maybe half the price ? From there It's a 45 minute drive to the Golden Gate Bridge or 25 minutes to the Larkspur Ferry ,Pacific ocean beaches and you are in wine country.

The video is the mouth of Corte Madera creek and the " Dirty Harry" bridge that shows MarinRV park along HWY 101, at 2:00- 2:12 then at 3:40 You can also see the Larkspur Ferry terminal briefly.

[craiginpetaluma]

I could'nt get the video to load, If interested it;s on you-tube : Aerial HWP railroad train trestle drawbridge Larkspur & Greenbrae boardwalk houseboats marin county.

[Sandra L]

Originally Posted by tractors1

But if you read the park rules, the tow vehicle must remain on site for the duration of your stay. How strange is that?

I just called them. It is OK to un-hook and sightsee. Just no storage and no truck campers on stilts (or whatever they are.)

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by craiginpetaluma

Another option is Petaluma KOA. A much, much,much nicer place and maybe half the price ? From there It's a 45 minute drive to the Golden Gate Bridge or 25 minutes to the Larkspur Ferry ,Pacific ocean beaches and you are in wine country.

I stayed there earlier this year with the motorhome rental. Kids running all over the place without paying attention to rules of the road. Double check your receipt against the campsite number they tell ya. They told me a different site from what was written on my receipt (and the incorrect number was on my parking pass and highlighted on their map, which is what I was looking at). When they asked me to move that night I told them no as it was their fault in telling me the wrong site. I ended up getting a 10% refund on my one night stay, on top of the 10% I got for being a KOA member, when I bitched about it the next morning to the manager.

It was a decent enough place, but it was just before they started running their shuttle service into SF, so I missed out on that, unfortunately. Touts itself as the largest KOA around or some such like that. I'd believe it. Huge place. Kind of cool seeing and hearing peacocks running around though.

I'd probably stay there again if I had a tow vehicle that I could use for exploring. And their shuttle service was working as I would not want to drive into SF.

[claude]

Originally Posted by claude

here more pics

That is what happen when you close the door locked and forgot the key inside

[gbaglo]

How do you close the door, locked?

[escape artist]

Hi: claude... At least you had a spare door in hand!!! What about the step...or shouldn't I ask? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

How do you close the door, locked?

I was wondering that too. The bolt would be sticking out, and you could not close it.

[claude]

The handle lock for some reason locked on itself

[claude]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: claude... At least you had a spare door in hand!!! What about the step...or shouldn't I ask? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

Off road driving ! No
Just a sharp turn into a parking lot and lgot a small boulder under the step. Lucky no damage on the fiderglass

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by claude

The handle lock for some reason locked on itself

Have been using the handle lock for two years until recently when we read here that it is the one that can become problematic. Now we just use the top one- the deadbolt. When I ordered spare keys from Bauer to be able to hide one the rep said the non-deadbolt lock is what they use when the trailers are still on the lot as a master key will work on that lock.

[markvt]

Hidden spare keys and wallet keys are a most in are house hold. Can't began to tell you how much time and frustration thay have saved us.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

How do you close the door, locked?

When I saw this, I thought "turn inside lever to 'locked', go out, push door closed - what't the problem?"

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

The bolt would be sticking out, and you could not close it.

So Jim's thinking that the deadbolt was locked, and perhaps Baglo was too, but...

Originally Posted by claude

The handle lock for some reason locked on itself

I assume that this means that the normal handle-operated catch was locked, not the deadbolt.

Aren't they both separately lockable in these locksets, like just about every other RV? Or do some of them have only the deadbolt?

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by markvt

... Can't began to tell you how much time and frustration thay have saved us.

I received my spare Bauer recently. Spent 3 hours looking under the front bumper for my magnetic key box. Then, along comes Susannah and says "did you look under the back bumper?"

The frustration is slowly wearing off...

--
Alan

[gbaglo]

My lock is Fastec so I'm staying out of this.
Except to say that when I lock my door, using the top lock ( not the deadbolt ) I need a key to perform the function, and that key is in my hand. I have no clue how one could lock the door, and not have the key to do it.