Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

Archive for the month “May, 2018”

31 May 2018
4 Comments

Bad Start, Great Finish

A viewpoint along the road to Sunset View and Canyon View Campgrounds.

Bad start? I was going to drop off the old batteries and get the heck out of Dodge (Flagstaff), but while I was preparing to pack up, my Samlex inverter, a “special” model tolerant of high charge voltages, gave out an audible alarm. Looking at the digital voltage readout showed that system voltage was at 16.7 and climbing. it shouldn’t normally be exceeding 14.4V at full bluster. Not good. I immediately turned off the power to devices, popped the main camper harness switch to protect the fridge and such, and pulled the solar panel fuses to stop charging power. The battery meter slowly dropped to normal.

That was odd. Both solar charge controllers had thrown a red LED to indicate they weren’t happy. Since the ground panels were deployed, I began troubleshooting by Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Travelin' Man and tagged
30 May 2018
3 Comments

Out With the Old…

A trip to Northern Arizona Wind & Sun today netted a 15-minute wait before anyone could even respond to my coming in the door. They are much more of an Internet company than a retail store. Turns out that my four Fullriver AGMs were at their supplier, Battery Systems of Flagstaff, some 5 miles away and would not normally be delivered until Friday. But I could go pick them up there. So I did, and was assured that I could drop off my old battery set there the next day. If NAW&S hadn’t offered me 10% off as an Expo discount…

I decided to install the batteries at Cinder Hill OHV Area, since it would take several hours to throw all bench storage into the bed area (roof raised), pull fuses, and carefully work the cabling to trade batteries one by one. It went well, with only minimal bloodletting, although a funky automotive-style post with an M8 screw raised the connection point enough to make the cable eyelets fit under the battery box lids a challenge. The only disappointment was that Read more…

Posted in Daily Life, Mod Squad and tagged ,
26 May 2018
3 Comments

Miracle of Miracles

Lots of sun, not much wind, and quiet solitude.

Pulling into NF-535 well south of Flagstaff did not look promising as far as finding a full-sun campsite goes. Heck, finding any campsite still available looked impossible. Every niche in the woods and every open-air site was packed with rigs or groups of rigs, as well as all the tents and canopies you could hope to see in a lifetime. That’s Memorial Day weekend, I figure. Still, I pressed onward and upward, literally.

By the time I reached what I like to call the upper plateau where the sites thin out, impressively large clusters of the Hispanic community were encamped, and youngsters on ATVs were roaming the trail to relieve the boredom of a long camping weekend with parents. Camps were set up Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged
26 May 2018

Cinder Hill OHV Area

Yep, them is hills made of – or at least coated with – lots of cinders. Lots.

Cinder Hill OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Area is an interesting place. I innately read that as Overhead Valve, but that’s my problem. About 12 miles north of Flagstaff, it consists of some 13,500 acres of flats and hills coated with several inches of small cinders. The entrance from US-89 is well-marked but has no turning lane, so it’s prudent to use an early turn signal and keep an eye on your rig’s tail as you slow down. No camping is allowed on the first mile or so of the NF-776 access road, but signage as to where you can and where you can’t camp is obvious. The first area is adjoining a very large, flat span of deep cinders among many ponderosa pines. It is sizable, and decent privacy can easily be found.

Half a mile away from camp presents a view that isn’t available when you’re nearer the trees.

On the weekdays, you might find just half a dozen camping rigs parked among the trees, while weekends will produce some more toyhaulers and trailers loaded with ATVs and motorcycles. I hadn’t noticed that my arrival on Read more…

Posted in Campsites and tagged | Leave a comment
25 May 2018
6 Comments

2018 Overland Expo, Day 2

Multiple rows like this can make for muchly exercise!

Here’s Day 2, and the last of the Expo’s 3 days that I’m covering.

This cute little trailer is perhaps intended for motorcycles. Made by Glass Action Fiberglass Specialists in Prescott AZ, it’s available in kit form or ready to go.

Another variation on the theme. With a 1,090-lb cargo limit, a cooler, chairs and a canopy are a cinch.

Muy macho. This old Jeep Gladiator shared the Wagoneer’s frame, but they are also now an attention-getter because they were comparatively rare. Like VW Beetles, most have long since been used up and crushed. I once rode in a 3/4-ton version as a passenger, and across an open field, the springs were stiff enough to rearrange one’s internals. A no-nonsense workhorse.

Read more…

Posted in Camper Nirvana, Mod Squad, Tourista! and tagged , , ,
23 May 2018
2 Comments

2018 Overland Expo, Day 1

This little guy was toddling around holding a pine cone in the Four Wheel display area, and was just so cute that I couldn’t help but take a picture (with parental approval). He looked to have just started walking a week or so ago, and had that hesitant high-step that makes you smile.

Friday was the start of this event, and this post is only a “photo essay” of that one day. Day 2 will follow, but that’s how it usually is, with Day 2 following Day 1. Some smart alack may argue using quantum physics or some such gibberish, but that’s how it is in my book.

The aisles were long, and the vendors plentiful.

The B.F. Goodrich test track was there to convince people that their KO2 all-terrain and new KM3 mud tire were capable performers. This is an interactive display: you sign up, and they let you get behind the wheel!

I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to do this. The guide has them stop right here, and then ease up and over. On one of three vehicles, the front tires were slipping a bit on the hard-pack dirt, letting the front end shift very slightly sideways under power. Anyhow, I don’t like to go over what I can’t see, despite the poles and flags. Too big a dose of adventure, I guess, and no roll cage. Are you up for it?

Read more…

Posted in Camper Nirvana, Mod Squad, Tourista! and tagged
21 May 2018
5 Comments

An Unusual Weekend

Parked at the Cinder Hill OHV Area, at last. Whew!

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

This year’s Overland Expo West was the largest ever, (130,000 attendees total, I was told) with enough acreage of gewgaws to exhaust anyone but a marathon runner. Honestly, just about every permutation of any concept or product was there in enough profusion to eventually numb the mind. Each of the many aisle lengths appeared to be a quarter-mile long.

The traffic stack-up to get in a day early (on Thursday) was over 45 minutes, since I arrived just when the gates opened at 1 PM. The check-in procedure itself was painless, since there was no need to even get out of the vehicle. Then it was on to the Read more…

Posted in Camper Nirvana, Daily Life, Mod Squad, The Intrepid and tagged , ,
17 May 2018

The Day Before

And I thought the Intrepid was a bit large. This Dodge Ram with XCamper was in the Little America Truck Stop in Flagstaff. It’s for sale, and no doubt they too are headed for the Expo.

Errand day went fine in Flagstaff, at least until I finished and parked in a Conoco lot north of town on US-89. A local fishing guide stopped by to ask about the Four Wheel and how difficult it was to lift the roof, so while his small child slept in his SUV, I explained the standard setup, explained the Grandby’s optional setup to support the old-school framed solar panels on it, then put him to work to lift the rear up. “Oh! That’s not bad at all!” he said, being young and fit. During our conversation, he told me that he grew up in Flagstaff and lamented the complete change in aura and events, going from lumberjack contests to politically correct eco fare. It’s always painful when a town loses its authenticity and differentiation, which in this case he blamed on transplants from Californistan.

Right after he took off, a guy pulled up and wanted to know if I’d like a TV. He had a smallish television and antenna that he claimed would pull in a station 35 miles away. Now, I desire to watch television about as much as I love going to cardiologists and dentists, so I politely declined. I was tired and figured a nap was in order, but the highway Read more…

Posted in Miscellania, Mod Squad, Tourista! and tagged | Leave a comment
15 May 2018
2 Comments

Prepping for Departure

Some places, I’m ready to go when the time comes. Some places, not quite. The 4-minute video below sums it up, kinda.

Solar power constraints at the Expo’s camping location should allow a decent evaluation of overall battery pack condition, since I will have to do the four days sans refrigerator. I strongly suspect that at least one of the batteries is failing, which would magnify any problems that the fridge might be creating. Could be I’ll be hanging around Flagstaff after the show, which isn’t all bad!

Posted in Campsites and tagged ,
12 May 2018
6 Comments

Wish You Were Here!

This is the view out my passenger side window (though I stood outside on the cargo box frame to take it).

As the snap above reveals, my current campsite is magnifique. You can click on it to get a larger image. I had gone exploring on the e-bike and passed by a van parked in the trees near the intersection of NF-536 & NF-536A, a lengthy stub. GPS: 35.057183, -111.804945. Elev 7,129. Not far down 536A, I passed a lady walking her small mutt on a leash. After I asked about whether she’d noticed any campsites on her walk, she asked whether Read more…

Posted in Campsites, Daily Life and tagged , , ,

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