Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's been a year since we received our money pit nightmare from Crybaby Teardrop Trailers. We are no where near being finished repairing the multitude of issues we've had to face with what should have been our little dream come true.
A lot of the big things I managed to repair and replace yet it seems like for everything I fix three more issues pop up from faulty workmanship by Crybaby. Our deck lid is one of the latest. I've reported before that Crybaby made our galley deck lid too small, over two inches shorter on one side than the other causing it to leak and creating other problems. The jack that hold the lid up and helps it move up and down, the right side jack (on the short side) pulled out of the wall ripping the plywood. This event unfortunately happened when we were out on a hunting camp trip. We went to a local store and purchased a tension rod to hold the galley lid up.
The jack anchor pulled out of the plywood.
We used a tension rod to support the galley lid.
After some careful crafting I build a support that reduces the stress of the deck lid being over two inches narrower on this side. The block I added allowed us to reattach the support over the damaged area. The block builds out to keep the jack from tweaking putting stress on the support.
This weekend I was busy back to working on the trailer and discovered another issue. Our left tire is wearing odd on the inside which means our axle is not mounted right. This I will have to take to a professional to correct because without wheels we don't go. The other issue that popped up while we were on our way to one camp is our trailer light plug is not getting a good connection and we loose our running and tail lights from vibration. I purchased a new assembly and this weekend it's a priority project. I have to say it's a bit scary driving on the road at night and your lights go so now the other drivers can't see you're pulling a trailer. Not fun to pull off in the dark to fix time and again either.
The right tire, you can see the tire wear on the inside.
The left tire, the inside tire wear isn't as bad as the right side.
When I get hit with these setbacks it really does hit me hard and makes me question why I continue trying to fix this mess and not just scrap it and start from scratch. I'm not one to give up and I've tied so much money into this hot mess already from what we originally paid Crybaby for this nightmare to what I have invested in fixing it to date. When I get these hits I look for small feel good projects that are instant and bring me back into focus on the bigger project. This week I did a few, they are just little things that make time out with the trailer a bit happier. I purchased solar lights to use on my side of the trailer since I do not have a porch light on my side but we do on my husband's side. I took the lights and cemented them into small pails and added glass rocks to decorate them up a bit. Now no matter what the ground is like I can see where I'm going at night.
The blue matches the blue throughout our trailer and
the tiny pails do not add extra weight.
I love how beautiful they look at night, and I don't have to turn them on or off.
Feel good projects I put together while bigger projects are drying or when I hit a standstill due to supplies or when I need to map it out and design it out correctly. I learned when I picked up the supplies for these projects that Lowe's carries 1lbs bags of cement, you have no idea how happy I was to find these because the bags run 45lbs to 60lbs. One 1lbs bag was enough to create four solar light pails.
If you look around the next time you are at camp you may see a lot of campers with welcome flags for their campsites. This was one thing I have wanted for some time so I took to my graphics programs this weekend to create one. After I created and saved my new file I set out to find a flag maker that could turn it into a flag to fit our garden flag stand I created with the solar lights. I found one quite unexpectedly on a trip to Lowe's for supplies. Lowe's has a custom flag shop online and in under 10 minutes and for under $30.00 I created our welcome flag to be delivered to us at home.
Our flag stand accented with beach glass and glass rocks.
I created our flag using graphic software then saved it as a PNG file,
uploaded it to Lowe's custom flags on their website.
I've begun to focus my attention on finishing the galley. I made a small box to hide the wiring and one to house the amp and satellite radio with a cute little curtain to hide them from view. I have to stain the galley shelf and put in my tiles and captain rail. The aluminum Crybaby put in as our counter and back splash scuffs and scratches so easy that I am going to polish it out and seal it, I'm going to put some travel postcards in from some of the national parks we've visited.
A dedicated space for the satellite radio and amp.
A little curtain hides the radio and ads a little charm to the shelf.
We camped a lot since November; we were lucky to have been chosen for several Fish & Game sponsored pheasant hunts throughout the state which introduced us to several new camping locations.
We packed the trailer and set off to Red Bluff California which we found is North of Sacramento. This is a great little town which sits along the Sacramento river and large wildlife refuge. I found our campground online, a very cute little Federal campground called Sycamore Campground and we quickly learned why. The campground was covered in sycamores and some of the sites were right on the river bank. The camp host was very friendly and when we found our battery was dead let us swap our spot for an electric site (paying the difference of course). When we opened the galley we discovered our right galley support jack had broken which made us run to a local store to purchase a tension rod for a quick fix. The campground was extremely clean and quiet. I think we were one of about six campers there. We were there for a women's pheasant hunt so we didn't stay in camp much but when we came back to camp the warm fire and sounds from the river were soothing and quickly had us all relaxed. The camp has showers and you are given the code to those and the gate when you check in. I would say the only downside we found were how cold the shower rooms were since they were open air being attached with the restrooms. It's damp and you need to drive into town for firewood.
The sites were large and clean with fire pits and BBQ.
Many of the sites were pull through.
Enjoying the women's pheasant hunt sponsored by Fish & Game.
We explored one of the many wildlife areas, this was a jeep trail through an old lava flow.
Our next trip took us Southeast to Blythe California for a junior pheasant hunt. I again went to the Internet and searched out a campground close to our hunt, Destiny McIntyre RV Resort. Our drive was long and this is the trip we discovered our trailer lights weren't getting a good connection. We pulled into the campground after dark and there was no camp host to check in with. This was a private campground and as we drove around we thought it was a trailer park as most of the trailers were set up permanently. We found a couple that told us just to grab a free space and sort it out in the morning. In the morning after we checked in for our hunt we went back to sort out the campsite. The young man working the camp store was so nice and said we were welcome to pick any available spot and let us know if we needed anything to stop by and let them know. We were once again on the river, this time we were on the Colorado river tucked in between alfalfa and cotton fields.
We had a blast during our stay and met a couple down from Canada and another couple who camp there every month. We enjoyed sharing stories by the campfire and everyone had to come by to see the tiny trailer that looked like a toy dwarfed by the rigs surrounding us. We learned that many of the trailers there stay there on a year round lease. The summer is the busy time for this park and it is filled to the brim with river folks having fun fishing, swimming, and playing with their water toys. The sites have water, electric, and dump stations. They do not have fire pits or BBQs so you need to bring your own. The showers needed to be updated they were showing a lot of age. The store has minimal supplies during the off season.
Our last camp was our annual New Year's trip to see the elephant seals. Every year from December to February the elephant seals return to pup and mate along the California coast. We take the kids every New Year's day and this time we planned a camp. This was a planned camp and I had to secure the campsite six months ago because of it's popularity. Kirk Creek is another federal campground and sits on a bluff overlooking the beautiful Pacific ocean. This is a DRY campground, you will need to bring your water with you. It has pot toilets and no showers. This is a very small campground with I think 28 sites in all. This is a great campground for tiny trailers and tent campers, larger RVs will not be able to fit into the sites or navigate the very narrow road around.
This camp even with the limited resources was just heaven. We were camped on the bluff and set Alex's tent right near the lookout. The sites have large fire rings and BBQs. The camp host and employees are very nice and friendly. Firewood is available at the camp host site. You need to lock up all your food they do have very aggressive raccoons; we had two walk right up not 5 yards away and steal the bread out of our galley take it next to our trailer and dare us to come try and take it back. Later that night they raided our neighbors camp and got into his food tent and ate all his eggs.
We enjoyed just sitting at camp watching the whales migrate down the coast, sea otters below cracking open lunch on their chests, and elephant seal come in and jockey for the perfect spot on the rock during low tide.
We set Alex's tent so this was her view. I enjoyed sitting out knitting with a hot cup of coffee before anyone woke up each morning.
Every evening we all sat out to watch the green flash. It was spectacular watching it light the horizon green each night.
There were several fun little hideouts people had built around the campground.
The campsites are very large and well mantained.
The elephant seals were coming in to pup and several of the large males were there fighting for their harems.
The otters were down below feeding and elephant seals would haul out on the rock during low tide.
The downside at this campground is water, you need to bring in enough to cook with, clean with, and drink. The pot toilets I can see would be a problem during the heat of summer but they do keep them stocked. The campground sits between San Simeon and Monterrey so it's a long drive it you forget anything. There are a lot of hiking and biking trails around and lots of beaches to explore.
Tips and hacks to share:
Fire starters are a must when you're camping in moist areas. I save cardboard pressed egg cartons and fill them with scraps from my sewing surger, sawdust from my wood saws, and dryer lint, then I seal it all together with paraffin wax and cut them into starters.
Stuff everything into the egg rests and seal with paraffin wax. This carton will make 18 starters and they work great.
Keep a set of walkie-talkies in the trailer with fresh batteries. Some of the campgrounds are in areas without cell service and it's nice to hand one off to the kids to stay in communication while they explore. We keep a pair of flip flops and a pair of slip on warm house shoes for those night walks to the potty. On cold nights it's nice to keep the toes warm. Bring a bug out bag with rations and keep it with you while you explore. On our trip in Red Bluff the jeep trail we were on became washed out and we had to stop overnight in our car because it became too dark to safely turn around on the cliff, the MREs I carry became our dinner that night and the extra socks and supplies kept us warm. It doesn't need to be a big bag, mine is a military backpack I keep stocked for when I go on photo walkabouts in the woods. I keep TP, extra socks, sweat shirt, MREs, water, fire starter, hiking stove, first aid, whistle, snare wire, mirror, trail markers, and emergency blanket. It's enough to get me through a couple of nights should I need it and keeps my piece of mind. Since using it my husband has now made one for himself and we made one for Alex too.
Our next camp is just going to be my husband and I for his birthday and will include a crabbing and fishing trip. Haven't decided where or when but it will be at a new campground in a new area. I've got some projects to finish before then first. Until next week, stay safe and enjoy.
