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Ranger Keels & Wheels
(new name)*
A different
kind of "cruising". 
/?\
04 May 2009
[* /!\ "Ranger Keels & Wheels" is the new name
of this group. One of the online campground reservations systems wanted
an organization name, so that's what I gave it when I created my
account. MDK_ 30 May 2007]
"Keels", because the original core of this little group are boaters--members of the Kent Ranger Sailing Association.
Members' e-mail addresses are
"disguised"
in a way that requires your intervention before use. "markREMOVE2007ATserverDOTcom" becomes "mark2007@server.com", for example. /?\
There are lists below.
The editor does not consider them complete--in fact does not actually
have this as his goal. Even so, he solicits additions that are consistent with
the original types. Further large-scale edits of this page are not to
be expected, however.
31 May 2006
Contents
Calendar
Notes:
- "[o]" links to pictures.
- Newest item on top.
02-05 April 2009 (Thursday through Sunday): Phil & Ann R. (Andy)
will "sponsor" us into the park/campground of his former employer, the
Simpson lumber concern; on the SW shore of Mason Lake, Mason Co., WA. 
View from space; driving directions from Phil. R.S.V.P.
Electricity
and water are there. Depending on which part of the campground we
choose, other /facilities/ may or may not be nearby. (Could be a short walk away.) 23 February 2009
A few days ago, Phil wrote: "After
talking to the park rangers we may have the place to our selves. When
we get close to the date will set up a plan to get you through the
gate. We are looking forward to campfires, chili dogs (hand roasted)
and a good time." 14 March 2009
/+\ Details... 17 March 2009
[o] Pictures... 06 April 2009
This is a very beautiful private campground, with pleasant sites and
lovely sights. (And we very nearly _did_ have the entire place to
ourselves. Thanks, Phil & Ann!
[Andy, Walden, and FarSeas (tenting in 29.9 degrees F.!)]
- 29-31 March 2008: Deception Pass S.P. Walden will be in site #28; Andy will be nearby. Yes, it really is rather sudden. 25 March 2008
- 15 June 2007: Silver Springs. [o] Yes, again--because it's beautiful, and it's usually not full. Note the
new reservations system. (Make your account, and consider using our new
name (above) where "organization" is requested.)
Walden is in site #51, Andy somewhere nearby. Phil (Andy) has offered firewood; chili-dogs are on the menu for Saturday's dinner. (This is an excellent tradition!)
Notice sent. 30 May 2007
[Rousseau, Peterson, Kelsey]
- 31 March 2007: Millersylvania! Chili-dogs! Hookup sites first-come, first-served. 26 March 2007
- 30 October 2006: Silver Springs,
again. This will be the last weekend it's open this season. [Long,
Kelsey, Rousseau, & Williams. Pedersen's mount threw a shoe, so we
have to schedule another outing.]
- 10 June 2006: Kelsey, Long, and Rousseau. Silver Springs USFS campground, near Mt. Rainier. 05 June 2006
- 13 May 2006: Dosewallips S.P. Suddenly planned, no notices sent. Saturday: view rhododendrons nearby. Rousseau; Kelsey, Luce, Peterson.
- 24 February 2006: Millersylvania S.P., again. [o] It was nice, and seemed easy to get into. See previous note.
Walden will arrive Friday afternoon, as early as possible. Hotdogs cooked over an open fire have been proposed for Saturday evening--Andy providing the fuel. 13 February 2006
- 15 October 2005: Millersylvania S.P., a little south of Olympia. [o]
Sites with service (hookups) are offered as first come, first served; no reservations.
Walden will arrive Friday afternoon. Chili dogs Saturday night [around the campfire]!
10 October 2005
- September 2005: Silver Springs USFS campground, in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. [o] Very nice.
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Our
Rigs
1938 International Fleetwheels. Weird.Click the little camera
"icon" ("[ o ]") for a picture:
For security's sake, the above e-mail addresses must be respelled before they'll actually work. /?\
I would be happy to accept
updates, corrections, and
additions.
Remind me to get a picture of your rig the next time we are out (or
send
one to me). 24 May 2006
/!\ E-mail
everybody:
Most e-mailers (web-mail services online, or clients running on our own
computers) support mailing lists. Name your list something helpful such
as "RangerKeels&Wheels", add the above names to the list (assuming
those e-mail addresses are already in place in your addressbook), and
thereafter put only the name of the list into the _To:_ field of an
outgoing message. All the eddresses should be entered automagically,
and the message will be distributed to all intended recipients.
Oh--I could even make one of
those Yahoo Groups! (For
example.)
Pictures, calendar, mailing list, the whole enchilada!
Let me know if you would like this. (It is free, safe, and useful.)
One more thing: Some or perhaps
all of us began in tents. If you
(still) prefer
that mode, you would be welcome. This group has just as few rules as
the
boat group has. (Unsurprisingly, perhaps.)
In any case, e-mail
me to be added to the list.
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[^--]
The
Campgrounds
Some of the National reservations system is new. Make a free account to have it remember you.
Additions? Corrections?
Deletions?
(12 September 2005)
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Resources & Readings
General Web Resources:
- WikiPedia introductions:
- . Recreational Vehicle.
- . Travel Trailer.
- The Camping Club [|N|E|W|] 22 March 2008
- Camping Life Magazine.
- Camping Life
magazine's Towing
Guide (A set of PDFs.)
- Camping World: Info and hardware.
- Escapees: Club for full-timers.
- Expedition Campers: Articles, book recommendations, discussion forums, etc., about heavy-duty, extremely capable rigs and their uses. 18 June 2007
- Frugal RV Travel: Adventurous and affordable travel in the small RV, focusing on free camping, boondocking, and shunpiking. 04 May 2009
- Full-Time RVing Forum.
- Go RVing.
- Go RVing Canada. Unrelated to the U.S. site? Dissimilar, anyway.
- Internet Access on the Road.
- iRV2: Info & forum.
- Mark's Fulltime RV Resource: (No, nobody I know. --ed.) 12-Volt and other technical information, and more.
- Mike's Popup Camping Page Nice set of links related to units similar to our Walden. 13 March 2006
- "My RV" Network.
- Overland Journal:
Dead-trees magazine. "The publication for environmentally responsible,
worldwide vehicle-dependent expedition and adventure travel." New,
apparently. May not have much content online. 18 June 2007
- PopUp Explorer: Info & forum.
- Pop Up Times: Store, dealer listing, classifieds, forums, user projects.
- Roadtrip America: Trip planning and other info.
- RV Advice: Equipment recalls and more.
- RV America: Lots of links.
- RV Basics.
- RV Education 101:
- . Pop-Up Trailers.
- . Towing.
- RV Mobile: Refrigerators and more.
- RV Net: Info & forum. /!\
- RV Net Links.
- RV Resources.
- RV WebRing: "Group" of related/linked web sites; search for specifics.
- Shopping:
- . RV Finder.
- . RV Trader.
- . Craig's List.
- . Ebay.
- . NWSource (classifieds for Seattle Times & Seattle P-I).
- . NADA pricing guide.
- RV Zone: "RV & Camping Guide"; list of manufacturers.
- Trailer Life Magazine FAQ(s) and discussion forums.
- Woodall's: Providing information about RVing and camping for 70 years.
- Yahoo! Groups (pix, mailing lists, outing calendars, etc.; free memberships are usually required):
- . General RV Groups list.
- . Backroad Drivers Northwest: Yahoo Group & mailing list for announcing and discussing; not a club as such. 19 June 2007
- . Central Washington Backroads: Similar, "sister" Group to Backroad Drivers Northwest (above). 19 June 2007
- . Coleman Popups: Message archive is open to the public; join for mailing list or other access.
- . Popupmania.
- Google: "rv",
"recreational vehicle", "camping trailer", "pop-up", "travel trailer", "expedition camper", etc. Should
you come across something that belongs here, please let me know
.
07 March 2006
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"We" have these publications:
[^--]
These look like they may be interesting:
[^--]
And finally:
- The Mountaineers' two series, Footsore (Manning) and Afoot and Afloat (Mueller),
also have excellent information that could be helpful when deciding
where to go for a weekend outdoors (even if their publishers might
disapprove of our luxurious non-tents).
- The National Geographic Society publishes guides to both state and national parks.
- KOA and Rand McNally also have published guides that could be of some interest, although they may favor commercial campgrounds.
Let me know if anything should be added or deleted.
Amazon.com links are
provided only because it's an easy way of letting somebody else
do the work of describing the books. Endorsement of that company is not
to be inferred;
I do not benefit in any way from any transactions that might
result, and at the time of this writing I owned no stock in the
company. I could have done much the same thing with the local
library's online system, and in fact I may change it all over at some
time in future.
Or not.
--MDK_
12 September 2005
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Other Vehicles, Rigs, Platforms
That weird and wonderful Fleetwheels (above) is no longer being produced, but
aside from the usual stuff we see on the freeways every day, there are
several interesting choices in the expedition vehicle line. Here are some ordinary and some not-so-ordinary:
Not Trailers
- Pleasure-Way: Comfortable and pretty, but may not be suitable for rough roads.
- RoadTrek: Sleek and luxurious, but may not be suitable for rough roads.
- Chinook 4x4: Baja & Quest.
- Airstream coaches: New models are based on the Mercedes/Chrysler Sprinter, which, although very nice, may not be suitable for rough roads. The old "B-Van" conversion (B-190) may be suitable for upgrade to 4WD.
- Great West Vans.
- Leisure Travel Vans.
- Sportsmobile:
Off-road (4WD) van conversion; well equipped, seriously
functional, and unpretentious. /!\ My current choice.
(These guys apparently did early
VW Microbus camper conversions!)
- Volkswagen Westphalia camper: Some of the later
Vanagons came
with a type of all-wheel- or four-wheel- drive. Lots of them are
still taking their owners along moderately rough roads, but alas, VW no
longer imports (U.S. or Canada) the most recent of their van-type
vehicles, the EuroVan.
Pictures of a very whizzy Microbus update have
been displayed on the Internet--with a "transforming" camper
version. I don't know the status, but I think I have heard that it has
been killed. (I'm not certain that everything I saw illustrated was possible, anyway.)
Update: Planned, then killed in 2005: Microbus Concept (Wikipedia).
- Bigfoot: Molded fiberglass truck campers.
- Northern Lite truck campers. Similar to Bigfoot?
- Lance truck campers.
- Monaco Motor Coaches. Not Beavers or Prevosts, but nice.
- Tiger Off-Road RVs. Class C space on a Class B footprint.
- UniMog: Odd-looking but extremely capable Mercedes military vehicle privately adapted to expedition RV use. Basis for (i.e., inspiration for) the MaxiMog*.
- Xplorer Xcursion: An example.
- EarthRoamer: Perhaps the ultimate expedition vehicle; every little component is the no-compromise, no-expense-spared, best available.
[I saw one! Extremely impressive! 05 June 2006]
- MaxiMog: Oh, wait--this is the ultimate expedition vehicle.
- Unicat: Or is this it? 18 June 2007
- Action Mobil: Or this? 18 June 2007
- Terra Wind: I hardly believe it, and you may not, either.
[^--]
Trailers, folding and otherwise
Emphasizing the small & lightweight, with a single noteworthy exception.
- Airstream: Beautiful, tasteful, shiny!
- Aliner: Interesting "A-frame" approach to the pop-up form.
- Base Camp: Hard-side pop-up similar to what Apache made some years ago. Their site is persistently down, so here are some owner pix. 07 March 2006.
- BigFoot. Molded Fiberglass trailers, both conventional and fifth-wheel.
- Burro: Small white fiberglass; celebrating their 20th year in 2006; I might have guessed longer.
- Casita: Small & lightweight, white fiberglass; may be suitable for
rough-ish roads. The Jeep Wrangler may be able to pull this.
Unfortunately, only the 17' model has full stand-up headroom; the
others are a couple of inches too short. This might be my choice of the type.
- Chalet: Interesting "A-frame" approach to the pop-up form.
- Escape: Small, molded fiberglass, full stand-up inside. This may be my choice of the general type.
- Fleetwood:
They originally built Coleman pop-ups, and retain some/most/all Coleman
features. They have a couple of new "off-road" styles. Other stuff,
too, including big trailers and coaches. These may be about the best of the type.
- Forest River pop-ups.
- Go RVing Canada's list of "folding trailer" manufacturers.
- Jayco pop-ups. (In Australia, too? 08 May 2009)
- Molded Lightweight Fiberglass RV: Links to several brands and info about small white trailers. AKA "FiberglassRV.com".
- QuickSilver: Very lightweight pop-up; all aluminum and synthetics, no wood. Good
ground clearance, but more primitive inside than some others. Also, its top is
all-tent in place of the usual rigid roof.
- Scamp: Small white fiberglass.
- Small Trailers for Bugout: This guy may be a "survivalist" or some such. Interesting comments, though.
- Starcraft pop-ups.
- T@B: Teardrop style by Thor, who build Airstream and others. Cute and appealing, but small.
- |N|E|W|: Track Trailer TVAN folding trailer: Pops not so much up as out. This seems to be serious adventure hardware,
and a twist on what is seen in Europe, apparently. Phil R. saw one
recently in Australia, where they are made. Other models are pretty
manly, too. (For a real thrill check the price of the TVAN while sitting.) 08 May 2009
- Viking pop-ups.
31 May 2006
Vintage Iron (and Aluminum, and Wood!)
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2007-2009 Mark Kelsey All rights
reserved.
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