What did you do for your Escape today.....

[Iowa Dave]

If you have time and you’re in Custer state park, drive the wildlife Loop early in the morning or late in the day. Take some crackers along to feed the Burros and do not try to put the fake on any of the big Bull Buffalo. They will dent your car. Or you.
Iowa Dave

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

If you have time and you’re in Custer state park, drive the wildlife Loop early in the morning or late in the day. Take some crackers along to feed the Burros and do not try to put the fake on any of the big Bull Buffalo. They will dent your car. Or you.
Iowa Dave

Yes, sir. We certainly intend to do the Loop in Custer. Thanks for the tip on the crackers - and on the Buffalo/Bison. The truck is almost brand new, so we have no interest in challenging any of those bulls. Haha. Thanks.

[cpaharley2008]

Also visit the Badlands NP located near Interior, SD, maybe 90 miles from Rapid City. There is a KOA there and one feels they are on the moon at night time due to the landscape.....

[Iowa Dave]

If it’s dry and there’s no prediction for rain, and you want a neat experience, do this.
On the west side of the Badlands is the west main entry road. It’s south of Wall and the famous wall drug. Take that road. Before you get to the park entry, to the east you will see a tall cell phone tower out in the middle of the grassland. There’s a service road to the tower. The road dips through a couple of low spots hence the need to be dry. Drive past the towers and east out in the grass on the two track road. You will come to “the wall” all along the wall is free dispersed camping. Last time there was maybe 15 campers spread out over about two miles. Park about ten feet off the edge. When the sun goes down, on most
Nights, there is a coyote serenade like no other . It starts a couple miles away and the competition barking moves past you, way out in the canyon like the Doppler effect. In the morning, pack up, drive out and enter the park and do the loop drive and exit the park to the east, back on I 90 and you’re good to go. That’s my tip of the day on the Badlands if you want an easy boondocking experience. The wind, the waving grass, the sunset and the yodel dogs…..sensory overload.
Iowa Dave

[Ooshkaboo]

A quick fix…

[YakRV]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Also visit the Badlands NP located near Interior, SD, maybe 90 miles from Rapid City. There is a KOA there and one feels they are on the moon at night time due to the landscape.....

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

If it’s dry and there’s no prediction for rain, and you want a neat experience, do this.
On the west side of the Badlands is the west main entry road. It’s south of Wall and the famous wall drug. Take that road. Before you get to the park entry, to the east you will see a tall cell phone tower out in the middle of the grassland. There’s a service road to the tower. The road dips through a couple of low spots hence the need to be dry. Drive past the towers and east out in the grass on the two track road. You will come to “the wall” all along the wall is free dispersed camping. Last time there was maybe 15 campers spread out over about two miles. Park about ten feet off the edge. When the sun goes down, on most
Nights, there is a coyote serenade like no other . It starts a couple miles away and the competition barking moves past you, way out in the canyon like the Doppler effect. In the morning, pack up, drive out and enter the park and do the loop drive and exit the park to the east, back on I 90 and you’re good to go. That’s my tip of the day on the Badlands if you want an easy boondocking experience. The wind, the waving grass, the sunset and the yodel dogs…..sensory overload.
Iowa Dave

Yes, indeed, you guys are right on the mark. The Badlands NP is most definitely on our itinerary. We are very hopeful we can find one of those boondocking spots you spoke of, Dave. It’s the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, Nomad View Dispersed Camping (according to the RV Life Pro RV Trip Wizard map). Thank you very much for the detailed tips on getting there. Might be one of the highlights of our trip, if we can get a spot.

Thanks!

[John in Santa Cruz]

last two days have been like highs of 98F here in normally mild weathered Santa Cruz. We have no air conditioning. by mid afternoon my home office got up to 90F inside and I couldn't take it anymore, so I retreated to my Escape in the driveway, and cranked up its AC to take a nice nap. This just might be only the 3rd or 4th time its been used

[Ooshkaboo]

For storing my outside area rug.

Everything from Lowes.

[cpaharley2008]

I like the idea of mounting it upfront, I had an extra one factory installed and they put it in the rear, by the stinky/slinky......

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Ooshkaboo

For storing my outside area rug.

Everything from Lowes.

Always nice when things have a dedicated storage space. Easy in and out.

Ron

[sofmerc]

Nice!...what size tube is that?

[WillyB]

I'm stealing that idea and claiming it as my own.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by sofmerc

Nice!...what size tube is that?

It’s a 4” diameter and it comes in a 10’ length, you can cut it to your preferred length.
I have those screw on end caps on both ends so I wont have to struggle pulling it out.
Be aware there are different white pipes just like that, this one is the lighter version, the other is thicker, heavier and unnecessary for my application. I’ve worked on properties on both coast and it is interesting to see the difference in product they have on the shelves.
If any of this isn’t available at your Lowes with those bar codes they can order it and send it to your store.

[sofmerc]

What size is your outdoor rug? I'm not sure mine can be rolled that tightly..

[gbaglo]

Looks like the tube for the slinky on my 17B. You could probably get a 6" tube if required. I do wonder if the carpet will fit in the tube when the carpet is wet. I have channel lock pliers to screw the cap on and off. I think grit gets in the threads and makes it difficult.

[RBRV]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Looks like the tube for the slinky on my 17B. You could probably get a 6" tube if required. I do wonder if the carpet will fit in the tube when the carpet is wet. I have channel lock pliers to screw the cap on and off. I think grit gets in the threads and makes it difficult.

I have made similar tubes over the years to transport fishing rods and would always drill a hole through the square nut on the cap so I could insert a screwdriver for leverage when the cap got sticky

[Vermilye]

I replaced the original thermostat with a MicroAir thermostat. The "touch" capabilities of the original Dometic thermostat left a lot to be desired. Sometimes it did nothing, other times it went through 2-3 "touches" with one touch. It did not show the current temperature, and was too dark to see except when setting it. The MicroAir solved all those problems, shows indoor & outdoor (if connected to the internet) temperature, and also provided WiFi & Internet control, ie I could turn on or off the AC or heat from anywhere using my phone (assuming I am within Bluttooth range or have an internet connection at the phone & trailer).

The problem was the MicroAir thermostat kept freezing at 3:00AM. It would show that it was calling for heat, but didn't fire the furnace. The customer service representative suggested doing a firmware update, and once I had internet coverage I did, and it worked better, but I still had it hang one night. Changing the three wires connected to the thermostat at 3:00AM with frozen fingers was a pain.

So, I decided to put both thermostats on the wall with a three pole, double throw switch to let me choose between them. At the same time I decided to try to solve another minor problem. My favorite electric heater, a 1986 Pelonis ceramic unit died. I bought an inexpensive ceramic disk heater from Walmart & it works, but trying to set a specific temperature with the built in thermostat was difficult. I decided to add a 120 volt AC receptacle that was controlled by a standard wall thermostat. I added a furnace relay & transformer (an aube RC840T-120) and a household thermostat. The whole thing looks a bit weird, but it solves most of my heating & cooling problems.

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, my area rug, 10x7.5 feet, rolls up to about a 9" circle, so no way

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by sofmerc

What size is your outdoor rug? I'm not sure mine can be rolled that tightly..

The pipe was a afterthought, I bought a 5 by 7 at Walmart and had to cut a few inches off so it went in without a fight. My next rug I will look for something that’s just a bit thinner material, maybe a 6 by 6.

A 6 foot diameter pipe would fit underneath but then you really increase the weight as the thickness of that pipe doubles.

My preferred style of travel is to travel light, have some comforts but somewhat streamlined.
I have enough work to do at home.

[Eggscape]

You could maybe mount a boat cleat on the cap similar to what I have done on the sewer cap.