Lady Tear Droppers, drop in and say "Hello"!

[mandy]

Well Hello and Welcome Suzanne.
What a wonderful trip you had to Yellow Stone. You and your family will have memories of that trip for years to come. I love the red fenders.
Thank You for taking us on your trip too.

Oh by the way there is a Gathering going on at the end of the month.
Heres a link for it if your interested. http://www.pamplingrove.com/
If your interested in attending let me know and I'll give you our spot cause were not going.

Have Fun
Mandy

[Miriam C.]

Suanne, thank you so much for sharing your trip and story. What a challenge and a blessing to be able to fill your daughters wish in such a personal way!

God bless you and your family

And thanks for the pictures. The TD is beautiful!

[NWsage]

... you could put all your extras in the back of the truck ...

Lynn, Your idea about putting stuff in the back of the truck is a good one. So far we haven't gone far with it ... just to local hot rod shows and parades. BTW, I've been following your Ink Well build and decorating ... you seem like you are having a good time with it. I'm thinking about doing a chicken roost or hen house theme.

If your interested in attending let me know and I'll give you our spot cause were not going.

Mandy, You are so sweet to offer your spot at the gathering. Unfortunately, we won't be able to make it during that time ... maybe next year.

What a challenge and a blessing to be able to fill your daughters wish in such a personal way!

Aunti M, Thanks ... you are always so encouraging.


The home town parade today was fun. I "staged" the teardrop like we were going camping ... displaying the dutch ovens, spatterware pots, etc. I love hearing people talk about it as we drove by. We had a good time as the two grandsons rode in the truck cab with us and blew soap bubbles into the crowd. I should have taken some pics to share ... next time.

Happy Fathers Day to any of the Dads who might read this thread!

Suanne

[AmyH]

Suanne, it sounds like you had a wonderful trip with your daughter! Thanks for sharing. You have a great Kit there, and the Sprinter van is pretty nice too.

The tips are great. I am going on my first camping trip with my tear this next weekend, and I will be taking a cooler with dry ice. We are stopping at a place in Union Gap that sells homemade/fresh tamales that are awesome! It is called Los Hernandez Wholesale Tamales. They have some asparagus ones that I want to stock up on, so we are going to pick up some of the frozen ones and keep them in the cooler with dry ice. I am hoping they will stay frozen through the weekend. We have to get the tamales on Friday, and we won't be home until Monday evening. Do you know how well the dry ice keeps the food frozen and for how long?

In regards to putting a propane tank and battery in the same compartment, there was some discussion about that on another thread a while back. Basically, if I remember correctly, as long as you vent high for the battery, vent low for the propane and try to put some type of separator in there between the two, you'll probably be fine. I am doing just that, and I am also using an Optima Yellow Top battery, which doesn't really have the vent issues of flooded lead acid batteries. I still have the vent in place for the battery, just in case.

Looking forward to meeting you at a gathering.

[fireaunt]

I think you might want to wrap the tamles in lots of newspaper before storing in dry ice then just keep t closed up and in the coolest spot you have. Over Memorial weekend my husband put newspaper in some of the coolers on top of the ice and the coolers with the paper seemed to stay the longest.

[CAJUN LADY]

Amy, I think if you package it right and have enough dry ice and don't open the cooler, your tamales will be just fine. Dry ice last a while but make sure you put some paper bags or newspaper between your ice and the food. Even wrap your food in paper to protect it from getting too frozen (that can happen). Have a great trip!

Suanne, my heart goes out to you and your family. I can only imagine the pain you feel for your daughter to be in this situation. We never want our kids to be sick much less fighting for their life. You are in my prayers.

I am glad you are enjoying your Teardrop. We have all been through those camping lessons; bring this next time...don't bring this...I can't believe I forgot that...I can't believe I even brought that...yep, every camping trip we learn something.

I have gone through 2 canopies so far. Well, my kids went through the first one (10x10) and my second one is flimsy so I just purchased a 14 x14 from K-Mart on sale yesterday for $99. It is heavier than I like but that's ok. I also got a Cabela's Shower Tent for Mom's day to use for the potty room. I have a privacy room that I built for the side of the Tear that works great but the last camping trip was so windy that when you sat on the potty, I never knew if the wind would blow the material up and expose my not-so-pretty side. So now I can still use my privacy room for undressing and use the Shower Tent knowing I won't be mooning anyone by accident.

Also, if you don't already have these, get some dishpans from Wal-Mart, Dollar General or where ever to use for washing dishes, rinsing dishes and to store your shoes under or next to your door and they sit inside each other for easy storage. They really do come in handy.

[mandy]

Hey Ladies and some (Gentlemen),

I like the idea of the three coolers, but one thing I wonder about. I thought that the dry ice had to be vented, cooler lid opened a crack or it'll but the cooler? Is this true?


Mandy

[CAJUN LADY]

Hmmm...good question Mandy. Dry ice does give off gas so you may be right. I am going to google it.

[CAJUN LADY]

*Dry Ice will sublimate into Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas.
*Store Dry Ice in an insulated container - the better the insulation, the slower the Dry Ice sublimation.
*Do not store Dry Ice in a refrigerator or a freezer (unless the Dry Ice is being used to maintain the proper holding temperature).
*Do not store Dry Ice in an airtight container; never store in a glass container. The sublimation of Dry Ice into Carbon Dioxide gas will cause an airtight container to expand, rupture or burst.
*Always store Dry Ice in a well ventilated area.
*Avoid storing Dry Ice in unventilated rooms, cellars, autos or boat holds.
*The sublimated Carbon Dioxide gas will sink to low areas and replace oxygenated air. Carbon Dioxide gas at elevated concentrations may be fatal when breathed.
*Some surfaces left in direct contact with Dry Ice may be damaged by the extreme cold. Adhesives may become brittle and break.

[Miriam C.]

Hey Ladies and some (Gentlemen),

I like the idea of the three coolers, but one thing I wonder about. I thought that the dry ice had to be vented, cooler lid opened a crack or it'll but the cooler? Is this true?


Mandy

Ummmmmmm I am thinking dry ice should never be vented. It is air that makes it smoke. Seal it up and leave it alone a lot.

Amy you might ask the people who sell the tamales if they have a special packaging. A lot of these places have a styrofoam box for the dry ice and food.

[CAJUN LADY]

Ok, here's more...

Ventilation Requirements:
*Air is composed of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen and only 0.035% Carbon Dioxide (CO2). If the concentration of CO2 in the air rises above 0.5%, it can become dangerous. Lower concentrations - i.e. below 0.5% - can cause accelerated, laboured breathing and headache.
*If Dry Ice has been in a closed auto, van , room , or walk-in refrigerator for more than 10 minutes, open doors and allow adequate ventilation before entering. Leave the area immediately if breathing becomes difficult, or if dizziness, headache or light-headed feeling is noticed.
*Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is heavier than air and will accumulate in low spaces.
*Do not enter closed Dry Ice storage areas without first fully ventilating the space.
Pick-up and Transportation Instructions:
*Plan to pick up the Dry Ice as close as possible to the time it is needed.
*Bring a well-insulated container such as a camping cooler or an ice chest.
*If it is transported inside a car or van, make sure there is a constant supply of fresh air.

[NWsage]

I am going on my first camping trip with my tear this next weekend, and I will be taking a cooler with dry ice. We are stopping at a place in Union Gap that sells homemade/fresh tamales that are awesome! It is called Los Hernandez Wholesale Tamales. They have some asparagus ones that I want to stock up on, so we are going to pick up some of the frozen ones and keep them in the cooler with dry ice. I am hoping they will stay frozen through the weekend. We have to get the tamales on Friday, and we won't be home until Monday evening. Do you know how well the dry ice keeps the food frozen and for how long?

Amy, I think you got some great advice about wrapping the tamales in newspaper and not letting them be in direct contact with the dry ice. In our Coleman 5-day cooler, I wrapped a large block (or two small blocks) of dry ice in a paper bag or towel instead of wrapping the food in newspaper. I found the dry ice would last about 2 1/2 days before I needed to stop and get more. I would get the dry ice in Union Gap at the same time you get your tamales. Also, I noticed that the dry ice lasted longer at first, when the cooler was fullest of pre-frozen food, than toward the end of the trip.

... there was some discussion about that on another thread a while back ... vent high for the battery, vent low for the propane and try to put some type of separator in there between the two ...

I vaguely remember reading that tread as well, thanks for the memory jog.

... if you don't already have these, get some dishpans from Wal-Mart, Dollar General or where ever to use for washing dishes, rinsing dishes and to store your shoes under or next to your door and they sit inside each other for easy storage. They really do come in handy.

Becca, Great idea to use the same dishpans for shoes. I got the nesting dishpans for dish storage and washing (which worked great), and I got one for the dog's water dish when they are able to join us ... but, didn't think of the shoe storage use ... thanks! And, thanks for all your reseach on using dry ice.


Do any of you have an opinion on the most light weight and easiest to errect canopy over the galley? I want light weight because one of our tow vehicles has a 1000 lbs max, and I want easy to put up because many times I'll be the only one camping or available to errect it.

Suanne

[mandy]

Hi everyone,

Finally after (what seems like) years I have made some progress on my build.



Drum Roll................................................................




I finally got some cardboard big enough to make a template.

What ? Were you were expecting some pic of boards and sawdust?

[CAJUN LADY]

MANDY!!

[mandy]

MANDY!!

Mandy