Blue Ridge Spirit, Bob and Lynn's 6x14 CT

[lrrowe]

Good idea. It is warming up in the oven now. If that does not work, I could open it up, get enough with a putty knife to go on 10 feet of rail. If it works, it would allow me to delay any more purchases til I am ready to mount the solar panels.

[lrrowe]

Padilen,
Your awning rails are now added to the CT with screws and Sikaflex 252. Thank you very much.
You said you wanted photos of the awning installed so here is the first one in the process. I will start the hardware for the awning later this week.

First piece:


Final result:

[Padilen]

Not my awning rail I gave it to you! Great glad it's working out for you. You'll really like having an awning. I do!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lrrowe]

Right before Thanksgiving, I put my CT to the test again with a week of a Hunt Camp in the Geo. Washington NF in VA.
This was the year I introduced my son and grandson to camping and hunting in the cold.

NF Service Road to the campsite:




Camp set up. I used my newly added CT Awning, two canopy awnings and lots of HF tarps.
Next year I will get one tarp, 30x40 ft to make the whole process easier to set up.
But I was very disappointed in the quality of the Carefree of Colorado RV awning. The Pioneer Lite hardware was very cheaply made. I broke two components during installation.





The temps went down into the mid 20's at night, but we were warm.



Even inside we kept the temps at 60 F with our Water Heater heater. I did not go higher to conserve propane.
You cannot keep kids away from their electronics, even in the woods. But in this case, I was ok with it as he was watching a movie just before "lights out".


I think I am on the way to solving how to cover the back end of my trailer with leg extenders. Next year I might work on a back end canopy using awning rails and side enclosure walls.


I made mock up legs to test out the concept. If I am to use this again, I will fabricate metal legs and velcro.


Camp food with the like new 47 yr old Coleman stove and propane given to me by a neighbor. Worked like it was new.


The boys in the woods. What an great experience this was.

[McDave]

Bob,
That looks like a really nice place to be. What a great place to share with the boy. That is the good stuff.
Did you do any mods. on the water heater since last year?
That's a really cool Coleman stove. I really enjoy the vintage gear, it reminds me of better times. I have a set of the green metal coolers that are like new and a never used lantern of the same vintage. They get a lot of attention from campers who remember the days.
Thanks for the pics.

McDave

PS. Where's the buck?

[lrrowe]

Bob,
That looks like a really nice place to be. What a great place to share with the boy. That is the good stuff.
Did you do any mods. on the water heater since last year?
That's a really cool Coleman stove. I really enjoy the vintage gear, it reminds me of better times. I have a set of the green metal coolers that are like new and a never used lantern of the same vintage. They get a lot of attention from campers who remember the days.
Thanks for the pics.

McDave

PS. Where's the buck?

McDave, sending you a photo on PM. One of the largest East Coast bucks I have gotten so far, but only 4 big points.
The only thing I did to the heater this year is to replace the fan. I broke a blade during installation so I snapped another fan 180 degrees of to balance things out. But while the replacement is the exact same model, I do not believe the air flow is the same. So I will look at higher CFM fans and experiment. But otherwise the system works very well. I run the fan off the batteries at night and during the day while away, and charge them at night with the generator.

Another mod I am considering is to add an 120V AC heating element so I can use the campground's energy instead of my propane. That is when I am at a formal campground or running my generator. They cost about $80-100. It will wait til after Christmas bills are paid. And this element can be used at the same time the propane system is working if so desired.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/cfp/ ... oCE2vw_wcB

[Donut757]

Thats not fair, we all wanna see the deer....

Where abouts do you hunt the George Washington National Forest?

My buddy has a cabin that backs up to a small stretch of it, and we hunt quite a few ther spots if we go up there. He is in West augusta County.. the big mountain we will hunt is Walker Mountain.

[Donut757]

I shud add....Even without pictures, congrats on the deer. That is not easy hunting up there. Any deer taken in national forest is an accomplishment.

[lrrowe]

I was at West Augusta, back in by Elkhorn Lake. Do you know where that is? Where I believe the naturalness of the area will be destroyed with the pipeline going through.
I know where Walker Mtn is, but I have never been there. I have hunted the Elkhorn / Baily Pond area with my hunting buddy for what may be more then 41 years. I have to go back there each year, no matter how bad the hunting has gotten there. It is more of just being in the woods. Have you noticed the increase of the bear population? I believe that along with Coyotes and lack of forest and game management has led to the deer population decline in the NF. And we cannot forget all the salad bars the rural areas have to offer now.

Photo sent via PM.

[McDave]

Hey Bob,
PM received, Thanks. Nice one!

McDave

[lrrowe]

Hey Bob,
PM received, Thanks. Nice one!

McDave

Thanks McDave. Working on my 4th right now. Yes all legal in VA.
But this Artic weather is just too much for me to sit in a tree stand. Wind chill into the 20's to teens.
My next will go almost 100% to Summer Sauage which I will bring to TearJerker events if I can.

[Spotman]

Hey Bob,
PM received, Thanks. Nice one!

McDave

Thanks McDave. Working on my 4th right now. Yes all legal in VA.
But this Artic weather is just too much for me to sit in a tree stand. Wind chill into the 20's to teens.
My next will go almost 100% to Summer Sauage which I will bring to TearJerker events if I can.

Oh don't tease us Bob, drooling now! Again, nice of you getting the son and grandson out there. (And getting some meat).



Bob

[McDave]

Well, we just spent the last several days well below zero, so when it warmed to +7f everyone ran outside to get things done. Looks like we caught one trying to escape! The really cold stuff should get here this week. -30 lows -17 highs, toss in a little 25 mph wind and some of that sideways snow, makes it tough to get anything done outside. Might as well just stay put.


Don't try this at home....just sayin'

McDave

[Donut757]

How do people survive in that cold weather????

[lrrowe]

Hey Bob,
PM received, Thanks. Nice one!

McDave

Thanks McDave. Working on my 4th right now. Yes all legal in VA.
But this Artic weather is just too much for me to sit in a tree stand. Wind chill into the 20's to teens.
My next will go almost 100% to Summer Sauage which I will bring to TearJerker events if I can.

Oh don't tease us Bob, drooling now! Again, nice of you getting the son and grandson out there. (And getting some meat).



Bob

Bob, to you and McDave, while it is not as bad here as McDave is talking about, it still is too cold or too wet for this old man. And I am only talking about high 20's to low 30's. I just do not do "wet".

On another topic while I am speaking of too cold and wet, this weekend about 20 of us are heading in a 3-4 hour ride to Arlington, VA to help lay reefs at the National Cemetery there. It is supposed to be wet and cold, but we are committed. I consider it a privilege to honor our servicemen who gave it their all to protect us.