RV trip-RGV to Maine-3,000 miles, Thousand Trails (Part -1)
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2019
- Episode 1, of our RV trip up to Maine to explore the east coast during the summer of 2019 was amazing.
We mostly stayed in Thousand Trails RV camp grounds with a couple of RPI RV parks along the way, along with a couple of over nights in truck stops. Part 2 is a continuation overview of this trip, covering the places we stayed, how we navigated our way around with our RV GPS, things and places of interest that we ran into, POI’s and also had our tow car whacked along the way. Both of us thought overall it was fun, but certainly challenging. We’ll also cover some of the lessons we learned, maintenance, planning and so on. It was a welcome sight and we were so excited when we finally arrived in Maine.
Other videos we've done up in Maine:
• The Beautiful State of...
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We are in no way experts or professional mechanics. But being a journeyman millwright for years & being EX Military, has proven to be very helpful in my lifetime learning how to care for & maintain all sorts of machinery & equipment like: helicopters, airplanes, tanks, motorcycles & many types of other vehicles. That, along with 18 months preparing & upgrading our RV before we went full time, & now traveling for several years has gained us a lot of knowledge. Regardless of what we recommend, consult a professional if you're unsure about working on your RV. Work you perform or products you purchase based on any information we provide is at your own risk.
![Lp. Последняя Реальность #107 РОДНОЙ ДОМ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IK3QKzKUlHM/mqdefault.jpg)
Great video
been watching your videos throughout the various topics. Love them - especially like the detail you go into to help explain things. Keep up the great work you two!
Thanks David. 🔧👍
Ya I hate watching videos that zip thru things too. So my approach is taking my time, showing and explaining the details as if nobody knows anything. I know this bores some people who know that kinda of stuff and my videos tend to be longer because of that, BUT...I'd rather be be thorough than a flash in the pan and skip over important details.
What kinda of RV do you have?
We loved the Air Force Museum. We took our sons there years ago when they were in the Civil Air Patrol, which is the auxiliary of the Air Force. (Most people are unaware of that fact) Later our oldest joined the Air National Guard and did Avionics on the B2 Bomber for 8 years at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. This is the first time I’ve heard you mention Vietnam...we assumed that you served there and we want to thank you for your service and we are happy that you made it home. Two of my cousins made it home and then a few years later died from agent orange related illnesses. Both were Marines and we miss them. ❤️
😥I'm sorry.
great video I'm look forward on going Maine this year safe travels
Ya, it's a beautiful state. Spent the last two summers there.
Hello....we recently ran across your channel while searching RGV videos and have since subscribed. We RV part time with plans to go more full time when we retire in 2 yrs. RGV is the area we would like to spend our winters versus FLA. We are enjoying your videos. Safe travels.
Well when that happens, be sure to contact us on FB and maybe we can hook up there. Plan, plan and plan some more to make the full time transition work smoothly.
New subscriber new, and just retired. You two are great to tell us about your journeys. Hope to get a small rv soon and get out there too!
Do it now. Times are a wasting.
@@RVstreet I know, but my wife is in bad health right now and I'm taking care of her. So, I'm in dream mode until we figure it all out. Really enjoy your videos and can't wait to get out there with you Rv'ers!
What a great trip. You give really good information. Thank you for doing this! Blessings, cT
Thanks Christine for chiming in.
Awesome Part 1! Was the truck stop in Ohio where you ended up celebrating Joanie's birthday? Wow, those rigs really had ya'll pinned in! I love that birthday video! We laughed the whole time! And I love the signage on the wall behind you guys, too. I think I'll go back and re-watch that one. :-)
Edit* I went back and I'm glad I did because I saw your response to my comment. We're also fluent in sarcasm, so we'd get along perfectly! I think our favorite phone Google would be "Nearest Liquor Store". Ha!
Oh, hey... also, it was nice to see more of your rig! We didn't even know what you had! Maybe you can give us a tour video while she's all cleaned up. Gracie looks like a well-cared for beauty! We already know her bathroom is awesome, now we want to see the rest. What was it about the pollen that got to you? Allergies, or just the mess it makes?
Hey Dee Lux,
Yeah you're right, we need to do a semi walk through and introduce everybody to Gracie. Note taken. And we have added more signage to our sarcasm wall.
Thank you for a good video. We love series like this to save for future trips we may take. The Air Force display really looks neat.
Thank you Chuck.
Yeah the AF Museum is a must see. Thank you for chiming in Chuck.
We are thinking of a Maine trip next year, this really helps. I agree it hurts if I can’t book Thousand Trails, we have a couple of stops we want to include on a bit northern route from yours so am looking forward to you second video to see you route home. Thank you
If there isn't a TT park nearby in the route we've chosen, we use our RPI membership-which we renew every year for I think $79-to fill in the gaps. Our RPI membership is part of our TT membership. They're usually nice parks, there all over the place, never have had any issues getting reservations and they usually charge us $12-$15/night for full hook ups and that nightly price includes electric.
Excellent info. We can't wait until we go full time in July 2020.
You guys will love it. With this COVID stuff going on be sure to look and plan way ahead and always have a "Plan B" in case your initial plans don't work out. Keep your rig in top working order too. Have fun guys and make many good memories.
@@RVstreet Did you buy your Thousand Trails new or from the resale market?
wsgriffi I believe they said in a previous video that they have the yearly camping pass (Zone Pass) with the added Trail Collections. We are leaning toward that option for starting out also to see if TT works for us.
@@wsgriffi We bought new in 2016
@@marshaadams5501 Hey Marsha,
Nope we have a Elite Membership that we bought in 2016 and bought it new not a resale. We add the Trails Collection each year if we need it.
Fantastic Duo! Great info -much needed for us as we intend to go full-time in a POP-UP! Could you tell us the dates the TT campgrounds open, in future videos, if you are there early doors!
Thank you Janis 👍
There are no TT camp grounds in RGV. They are all Encore parks and are open all year.
Now if you're wondering about all the other TT camp grounds around the country, some are open all year too, but in the northern camp grounds they all open and close at different dates. Some in the spring, and some in late spring, because of the snow and freezing temps. You have to inquire about each one thru the main TT office.
Thanks again- just what we needed to hear! We are about to watch your COVID-19 journey from Texas to Maine. It is essential homework for us. We live on a narrow boat in the UK and plan a move to the USA for May 2025. I know you are proper BIG RIG rvers but we would really appreciate your reflections about pop up campers. We know the pros and cons per se but know one talks about the pros and cons of pop ups in TT/Encore parks. Are they able to park in the tent camping sites or are they considered RVs? Do you see many on the highways out of the height of season? Are they used by snowbirds in Texas in the winter months. We ask you because you appear to have a broad and sound knowledge of the BIGGER PICTURE. I hope you don’t mind us asking you to delve into an area that may be of little interest to you but it is difficult to find reliable and thorough information beyond “ pop ups are a good introduction to rving for people who want to move up from a ground tent.” We want to LIVE full-time using a TT ELITE membership in an Somerset E3 Deck pop up pulled by a Ford 350 truck. So we are serious in our intent and your remarks will be important to us. Anything you learn or share between now and May ‘25 would be greatly anticipated too!
Loving your travels, your humour, your wisdom!
@@janissheppard6494
*Question:*
But no one talks about the pros and cons of pop ups in TT/Encore parks…….
To put this in perspective, there really aren’t any pro’s or con’s of TT/Encore parks per se, because what you’ll face there will pretty much be your experience in any park for the most part. The pro’s and con’s really apply to your camper. But I’ll give this question my best shot.
*The Pro’s:*
After looking at the specs of the Somerset E3 Deck pop up you do have one 110V incoming electrical outlet coming into the camper. So that would give you 15amps of usable electricity. Which is good. You would simply run an extension cord from the pedestal to the camper. So in TT/Encore parks you would not be assigned to tent camping area. Unless you requested it. But I don’t know why you would ever do that. You’re going to need that 15amps. So whenever you make reservations you would always go to the areas where 30amp RV’s go which are smaller sites than 50amp sites for big rigs.
With 15amps you could also run a portable AC unit or a floor furnace which both of them you’re going to need IMO
We actually live on 15amps all the time even though we are a 50amp RV. I’m actually doing a video on this subject as we speak.
I would opt to get the option of the shower but in TT/Encore parks they all have bathroom, shower and laundry facilities.
I would also opt in for the cassette toilet. You never know when you’ll need that.
All TT/Encore park sites also have available water hook ups.
You wouldn’t have any problem getting into any 30amp site because your camper is small and you would have plenty of room to park the truck in front of the camper on the site
All TT/Encore parks have swimming pools & some have spas
Most TT/Encore parks are fairly close to places to refuel, get groceries etc. I say close….within 20 or 30 miles on some. Other parks not far away at all. Depends on what state you’re in and how far out in the boonies you are.
*The Cons:*
Whenever you go to a TT/Encore park or any park for that matter, outside sound may be a problem at times. Especially on weekends and long holidays. People like to party. You’ll be able to hear everything going on outside. But most parks have 10pm quiet time. It’s not really that bad and we don’t care in our rig, but in a popup all what’s going on outside will be amplified. Oh, and they’ll be able to hear everything going on inside your rig too.
Insulation is going to be a problem, not only for sound but for heat and cold but that’s not a TT/Encore park issue that’s the camper
Living on a 1.9 cu.ft. fridge is also very small and that would pose a problem for two people IMO
*Other Questions:*
Do you see many on the highways out of the height of season? Are they used by snowbirds in Texas in the winter months.
• We don’t many popups anywhere but there are a few
• In TT/Encore parks you’ll probably be the only popup there or maybe one other
• I never seen popups in Texas where snow birds go
• You see some on the highways but not many. People in general who have popups are people who use them for weekends, long holidays and vacations and you’re most likely to see them in state and national parks because they are small and can easily get into tight areas and they are used on a temporary basis…not for FT living
*Not trying to change your mind but here are my thoughts:*
I know you’re serious in your intent, but If you’re going to full time (FT), I would encourage you to consider a small trailer other than a popup. Like a 22’ - 26’ or so. It would serve all the things you want to accomplish by being small and nimble, light weight, and it would solve a lot if not all of the problems I mentioned above. Being FT you’re going to run into all kinds of situations that a trailer just would be better to be in. Like a place to go the the bathroom while your driving. Prepare a snack and take a break at a rest stop. Like during stormy weather, when it gets really hot or cold. These things are biggie’s when FTing. It’s your house.
From what I can see the Somerset E3 Deck pop up runs somewhere around 22K-23K + sales tax and TTL. If you were to spend say 25K - 27K you could get a nice trailer, have 30amp service, have more room, bigger fridge, AC & heat, grey and black tanks, it wouldn’t weigh anymore than this popup or maybe a little more and your truck could easily pull it.
When we started out we bought a new 22’ trailer. It was really nice. It had everything we needed. You just back it in, hook it up and your done. We paid a little over 20K for it. That was 6 years a ago. It turned out it was to small for us and of course we decided to go FT so we bought our current rig. I say this because I know from experience what a smaller trailer can deliver so I would encourage you to at least look into it some.
Hope all this helps.
If you ever have any other questions don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll help if I can. You can also contact me on my FB page. Link to that is on my YT home page.
And, whenever you do finally get on the road, Joanie & I would really appreciate if you use our Amazon Store to purchase the stuff you need. It’s a great way to say thank you.
Good luck you two. 🇺🇸 👍
We have found that a stay of 2 nights minimum is required to help us with travel. It is Lake TOE-WA -KAN-EE!
We just read that Lake TOE-WA -KAN_EE (thank you) is one of several TT Parks that are scheduled for new wiring. They really needed it.
@@RVstreet They have been scheduled for new wiring for about 3 years this year it might happen because of the winter storm in Texas this year. So many parks were unable to care for their residents that a lot of them left bad reviews.
@@kathystevetrooperblanck609 Well hopefully it will happen this time. That park is in dire need of this.
Martin has proved that he can sing so karaoke is on when we meet up 😊 The song you sang a couple of notes of is called “Indian Reservation” by Don Fardon...probably a one-hit wonder, unlike Cher who you thought did this song but her song that I think you were thinking of is called “Half Breed”. So now the question is, does Joanie sing too?
does Joanie sing too?.....
Oh hell no. Well...on 2nd thought she has always said she's a great backup singer. But the truth is, whenever she sings, everybody always BACKS UP.
RVstreet 😂😂😂
@@RVstreet 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for ALL your videos! We once took the Ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine to Nova Scotia! Awesome trip! I hear that ferry is no longer running?
Yeah, that ferry isn't running anymore. Shame too. So close to Nova Scotia but yet so far away. Now you have to go all the way around thru Canada and this year you couldn't even do that. But Joanie & I just love it up in Maine in the early summer thru fall. If you haven't seen some of our vids last year up in Maine you should watch those. Just stunning. 👍
You did great on Airforce 1! What an amazing place to see. Glad the park took care of you guys on the hill...scary muddy rain yuck! Do you stay at an RV parking in Maine?
Yeah that museum was beyond awesome. Brings you to tears for the bravery of all our fighting soldiers and the spirit of our Military. Brought back memories.
We began staying in RV parks when we arrived in Maine but later Joanie's brother said, "why don't you guys just come and stay here"? So we did. Maine is soooo...beautiful-in the summer and fall-we're going back this summer but this time spending more time in New Hampshire and Vermont along with some in Maine. You guys rock.