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The "Dew Drop Inn" Chronicles
- Thread starter michaelo
- Start date
michaelo
Novice
Thanks Beverly, here's another...
... a few thoughts about gear that's been working for us on The Dew Drop Inn’s maiden tour. THE MOST IMPORTANT, or top of the list stuff is our Dometic fridge! Just like I’ll never camp in a tent again, I’ll never camp without a fridge again. Now, I can’t believe we camped for so long with an ice chest.
When Susan and I contemplated escaping at least part of the PNW winters in a teardrop we knew the ice chest route just wouldn’t work. Ice lasts, best case scenario, days, we were hoping to primitive camp for a week or maybe more in remote areas and still have fresh food, a tall order indeed, until we found out about the Dometic.. But how to keep it running, fridges need a lot of amps. We use a Honda generator on our boat when we are away from the dock to keep our reefer running, but the Camp-Inns come with only a 6amp charger, you would need to run a generator all day to keep up, so that was out. Solar is the way to go but like many folks on the forum, we wrestled with, what size, with or without controller etc. Finally and this may have been the most difficult gear decision we had, we went with the biggest folding panel that would fit in the back of our Mini wagon. And the winner is a 120watt GoPower suitcase panel with controller from Defender Marine Supply for $500.
What a great combo they’ve been, the fridge has kept us in fresh food for a week or more and the panel has kept it running during that time. We have a good supply of warm beer with us at all times, we put 4 beers in the fridge in the morning so it’ll be cold by 5 o clock. We keep our meats, cheeses, oj, condiments etc in the fridge. We keep our perishable veggies, eggs, fruit etc in a Trader Joes insulated grocery bag in the car, with the cool off season temps everything stays fresh.
Our longest stay away from the convenience of civilization was at Big Bend NP in Texas for a week, we did fine, we had everything we needed. I love it when a plan comes together, ha ha. Susan and I watched The A Team movie on Dewey’s TV/DVD player last night, we just love our TV… but that’s another post.
Michael
... a few thoughts about gear that's been working for us on The Dew Drop Inn’s maiden tour. THE MOST IMPORTANT, or top of the list stuff is our Dometic fridge! Just like I’ll never camp in a tent again, I’ll never camp without a fridge again. Now, I can’t believe we camped for so long with an ice chest.
When Susan and I contemplated escaping at least part of the PNW winters in a teardrop we knew the ice chest route just wouldn’t work. Ice lasts, best case scenario, days, we were hoping to primitive camp for a week or maybe more in remote areas and still have fresh food, a tall order indeed, until we found out about the Dometic.. But how to keep it running, fridges need a lot of amps. We use a Honda generator on our boat when we are away from the dock to keep our reefer running, but the Camp-Inns come with only a 6amp charger, you would need to run a generator all day to keep up, so that was out. Solar is the way to go but like many folks on the forum, we wrestled with, what size, with or without controller etc. Finally and this may have been the most difficult gear decision we had, we went with the biggest folding panel that would fit in the back of our Mini wagon. And the winner is a 120watt GoPower suitcase panel with controller from Defender Marine Supply for $500.
What a great combo they’ve been, the fridge has kept us in fresh food for a week or more and the panel has kept it running during that time. We have a good supply of warm beer with us at all times, we put 4 beers in the fridge in the morning so it’ll be cold by 5 o clock. We keep our meats, cheeses, oj, condiments etc in the fridge. We keep our perishable veggies, eggs, fruit etc in a Trader Joes insulated grocery bag in the car, with the cool off season temps everything stays fresh.
Our longest stay away from the convenience of civilization was at Big Bend NP in Texas for a week, we did fine, we had everything we needed. I love it when a plan comes together, ha ha. Susan and I watched The A Team movie on Dewey’s TV/DVD player last night, we just love our TV… but that’s another post.
Michael
michaelo
Novice
You know Mike, if you do the west coast try to take your time, it is a place like no other in the lower 48. I had never been to this part of the country before when I did a bicycle tour from San Francisco up the coast to Puget Sound and then through the Cascade Range on Highway 20 to eastern BC to visit my sister in the early 90s. As an easterner it is almost unimaginable how beautiful and unspoiled this coast is, it was like that then and it's still like that today. Once you cross the Golden Gate on US1 heading north you will not see a MickeyD or Holiday Inn for literally hundreds of miles. That's why I've been back traveling up and down this great coast many times.
The San Simeon stretch of coast is still thank goodness as pristine, it is like a lungful of fresh air after our stay in SoCal.
Michael
The San Simeon stretch of coast is still thank goodness as pristine, it is like a lungful of fresh air after our stay in SoCal.
Michael
Michael: re the Dometic and your beers: if the beer is in bottles, be careful with your temperature setting. The Dometic temp seems to drift, and although we haven't found any frozen items in the fridge, yet, we are still being careful not to put glass in the fridge.
Thankfully, there is now fantastic beer available in cans.
I am sure you are aware of all of this, but I thought I'd ooint it out for the folks (like me) who may not be as attentive to such details.
Best,
Al
Thankfully, there is now fantastic beer available in cans.
I am sure you are aware of all of this, but I thought I'd ooint it out for the folks (like me) who may not be as attentive to such details.
Best,
Al
GhostOrchid
Junior Ranger
<<local plug alert>>
One of the exceptions to craft beers being primarily sold in bottles is the Tallgrass Brewery in Manhattan, KS. They have an oatmeal cream stout ("Buffalo Sweat") that's like a meal in a can and an IPA that was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal. Available in the upper midwest.
The brewmaster's "canifesto" is here:http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/about/canifesto
One of the exceptions to craft beers being primarily sold in bottles is the Tallgrass Brewery in Manhattan, KS. They have an oatmeal cream stout ("Buffalo Sweat") that's like a meal in a can and an IPA that was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal. Available in the upper midwest.
The brewmaster's "canifesto" is here:http://www.tallgrassbeer.com/about/canifesto
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Michaelo,
Lots of time for sure. Only experience was a trip to San Diego and then a rental car up to Santa Barbra and a wine tour in the San Yenz area. Beautiful. Two weeks and didn't make SF. Plan on at least a month once we are in place with the new trailer. Also glad the Dometic is working out for you I made that purchase and a Zamp 120 watt folding solar panel to run it can't wait to use them.
Lots of time for sure. Only experience was a trip to San Diego and then a rental car up to Santa Barbra and a wine tour in the San Yenz area. Beautiful. Two weeks and didn't make SF. Plan on at least a month once we are in place with the new trailer. Also glad the Dometic is working out for you I made that purchase and a Zamp 120 watt folding solar panel to run it can't wait to use them.
Really good to hear about craft beer from Camp Inn owners. I knew I"d fit in here. Tallgrass Beer Co. sounds tasty but they stop short of Indiana. I'll have to try a few on the way to Necedah. Central IN has went from appx.20 craft brewers in '07 to over 60 today.
MDP
Mike & Denita
MDP
Mike & Denita
michaelo said:
agreed it's not as easy to find good beer in cans as bottles, but the list is long and growing of companies putting high quality brew in cans. There is no excuse for me to bring bottled beer camping, any longer. I have a lot of variety available within 5 miles of home, so if I am bringing bottles it is because I am lazy. (but I also don't have a favorite that ONLY comes in bottles - and I respect those folks who have favorite brews - I only do the cans because it is easier when camping - less weight, etc. I don't want to bring a case of beer bottles AND a case of wine bottles.
)One of my favorites is Bitter American. http://www.craftcans.com/bitter-american-21st-amendment-brewery
That website reviews 346 beer in cans, all "craft" beers, supposedly
http://www.craftcans.com/beerreviews.php
Here's a database of over 1400 canned beers (all craft)
http://www.craftcans.com/db.php
and this is pretty much just the American stuff. I drank a beer last summer that is, I was told, the beer Austrians drink after hiking. It was great!! (what a surprise)
K&L, in Redwood City, CA, is a good source for canned beer if you need to re-stock when you come through the Bay Area. They don't have hundreds to choose from, but they have a nice selection. The 21st Amendment stuff is available at local supermarkets, too (though not Safeway).
Now I don't want to drink wine with my dinner tonight!!
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AsheWolf said:
hahaha - I hear ya.
In our camps, you are permitted to drink the beer even if you DIDN'T go on the hike. Just don't forget to re-stock the cooler, or you WILL need that morphine!
re pre-hike/post-hike, I hadn't really paid attention, but the Session Ales (like Bitter American) are lower alcohol, so they'd be a good pre-hike beer, actually.
-Al
michaelo
Novice
What a great thread we have going here, a discussion about craft beer is always welcome, rare but welcome. Thanks for the info on Tallgrass GhostOrchid, I’d like to have pint cans of a drinkable beer. Yes there is good beer in cans but as a general rule not common, yet. Susan and I like to share a couple of 22oz bottles at the end of the day. The really good IPAs seem to only come in large bottles. We have a thing for Imperial Stouts on cold and rainy days also usually in the big bottles although one of our favorites is Big Eddy only in small bottles.
An example of trailer trash hooch
We keep the boat well stocked with a good selection of drinkable ales and stouts when we cruise, when we were in the Bahamas over the 2011/12winter we almost sank the boat with all the bottles we had squirreled away because the beer in the islands is of modest quality and very expensive. We never broke a bottle, I mean it is precious cargo right, to be handled with care.
On this trip we were worried we would not have a good selection of good beer, especially in west Texas, but the world has changed and west Texas has changed along with it. We found that even in the wilds of Texas we were able to find something worthwhile, you know a beer with flavor, something worth the calories.
We’ve kept Dewey well stocked with some of the finest craft brews that this great land has to offer believe me, and we haven’t lost a bottle yet.
Mike good choice going with the Dometic and 120 watt panel, I know you’ll be happy.
Al, thanks for the info on canned microbrews.
Michael
An example of trailer trash hooch
We keep the boat well stocked with a good selection of drinkable ales and stouts when we cruise, when we were in the Bahamas over the 2011/12winter we almost sank the boat with all the bottles we had squirreled away because the beer in the islands is of modest quality and very expensive. We never broke a bottle, I mean it is precious cargo right, to be handled with care.
On this trip we were worried we would not have a good selection of good beer, especially in west Texas, but the world has changed and west Texas has changed along with it. We found that even in the wilds of Texas we were able to find something worthwhile, you know a beer with flavor, something worth the calories.
We’ve kept Dewey well stocked with some of the finest craft brews that this great land has to offer believe me, and we haven’t lost a bottle yet.
Mike good choice going with the Dometic and 120 watt panel, I know you’ll be happy.
Al, thanks for the info on canned microbrews.
Michael
Let me more clear. I like pre-hike beer and skip-hike beer the best. I hope to never taste post-hike beer.
My wife and I were hiking to Calf Creek Falls in Utah a few years back. It was a warmish day and at one point she asked me," What's the difference in a hike and a forced march?"
Back in the 70s, my brother and about 5 friends and I decided to hike the Appalachian Trail through Georgia. This was in the days prior to all the cool high-tech LIGHT backpacking stuff was really around. After the first day, we sat around camp going through our stuff trying to find some weight to shed. My crazy brother unpacks a six pack of beer (tall PBRs) and a canned chicken. A WHOLE chicken in a can. Must have weighed 5 pounds. He drank one beer that first night in front of the rest of us. Didn't offer a sip. No chicken was cooked that night.
The next day, I swear my pack felt heavier than the day before. When we got to camp, my brother came over and unzipped the bottom of my pack and took out that dang canned chicken and the 5 remaining beers. He drank another one in front of us and thanked me for carrying his stuff. Not a sip.
Somehow, he managed to sneak that chicken and beer in somebody's pack that whole trip. That chicken was toted for about 3 weeks and we never ate it. I would not be surprised if he still has it.
My wife and I were hiking to Calf Creek Falls in Utah a few years back. It was a warmish day and at one point she asked me," What's the difference in a hike and a forced march?"
Back in the 70s, my brother and about 5 friends and I decided to hike the Appalachian Trail through Georgia. This was in the days prior to all the cool high-tech LIGHT backpacking stuff was really around. After the first day, we sat around camp going through our stuff trying to find some weight to shed. My crazy brother unpacks a six pack of beer (tall PBRs) and a canned chicken. A WHOLE chicken in a can. Must have weighed 5 pounds. He drank one beer that first night in front of the rest of us. Didn't offer a sip. No chicken was cooked that night.
The next day, I swear my pack felt heavier than the day before. When we got to camp, my brother came over and unzipped the bottom of my pack and took out that dang canned chicken and the 5 remaining beers. He drank another one in front of us and thanked me for carrying his stuff. Not a sip.
Somehow, he managed to sneak that chicken and beer in somebody's pack that whole trip. That chicken was toted for about 3 weeks and we never ate it. I would not be surprised if he still has it.
michaelo
Novice
The Dewey crew woke up to the sound of a gentle rain bouncing off her aluminum skin, only the second time since before Christmas that we've heard that. The forecast on the central coast is rain, rain and more rain, good for California bad for campers, we'll get our money's worth from our Northern Breeze this week.
Michael
Michael
Michael,
I am acutally looking forward to hearing the rain on my CI. Sometimes when I can't get to sleep instead of counting sheep I imagine myself in a hay loft of a barn with a tin roof and its raining. Don't want it to rain while I'm camping but maybe I'll pull it out of the garage and sleep in the driveway.
MDP
I am acutally looking forward to hearing the rain on my CI. Sometimes when I can't get to sleep instead of counting sheep I imagine myself in a hay loft of a barn with a tin roof and its raining. Don't want it to rain while I'm camping but maybe I'll pull it out of the garage and sleep in the driveway.
MDP
michaelo
Novice
Mike, if you were in your tear at San Simeon last night you'd have slept like a baby, man did it rain last night and blow, whew, the water came down sideways. LA got 2" of rain yesterday (we get LA 1070 on the AM radio here) we musta got all of that and then some. Our Northern Breeze is still up, yippee, was worried there for a bit. We sat in the NB pretty much all day yesterday with our Mister Heater propane tent furnace cooking on high, stayed dry and toasty warm! Note to self, find a Blue Rhino propane vender soon. The sun has returned so the solar panel is out (had to use the TV to charge our battery yesterday). The forecast for Friday and Saturday calls for pain, worse than yesterday, so we'll dry out as much as we can today ( sleeping cabin stayed bone dry) then batten down the hatches...
Michael
Michael
michaelo
Novice
...couple thoughts about the NB. As with the Dometic I wouldn't go off season teardroping without it. We have used it in almost all configurations including leaving it in it's bag stowed in the car. We didn't need it while in Texas because it didn't rain and no bugs. In Florida we set it back from the trailer with the awning over the galley hatch so we could zip the screens down tight against the bugs. The layout of the campgrounds in California does not provide much seclusion, so with the drop of a side flap or two, wallah, instant privacy! And now with the wind and rain coming on strong the NB offers substantial shelter. It must have blown a steady 30 knots with higher gusts last night and it's still standing ( I have 3 guy lines on each corner, I like MSR reflective line to reduce the tripping hazard) and of course it's big so it makes a great shade canopy. We have not parked Dewey inside yet, but there will come a time no doubt when that configuration will come in handy as well.
Michael
Michael