Thom and Cari's Parkliner

[frank_a]

Boy Thom, must be tough taking pics from a few feet over the water. And keeping an eye on Cari while she pans for gold too?!? Gee!

I'm envious of the scenery, & don't care if you get 80" of rain a year. Those pics belie the fact!

Enjoy!

Frank

[cpaharley2008]

The 12 mpg seems low for the Parkliner, I got that with my bigger Escape over 6000 miles last month. I would expect 15 for that smaller unit, particularly with the van acting as a buffer for the wind. Maybe double check those numbers?

[deryk]

I get around 14 mpg while towing...probably less if I'm running my air conditioner while traveling....but hard to tell the majority of my trips involve too much stop and go traffic and that kills the mileage.

[frank_a]

I'll check my mileage on the F150 a bit later & let ya know how I did, but I'm betting it's like Thom & Cari's. I ran AC all the way down here, plus drive in 3rd when I'm towing, but also keep it to 60. Once I get the Escape wiring problem figured out, we'll be using that.

More later!

Frank

[frank_a]

Okay, over mountainous terrain, stop & go traffic, construction delays, etc., over 670 miles, averaged 12.9 with my F150, small V8, auto trans, 4wd. Which is fine with me, as I don't have truck payments!

Frank

[deryk]

I tend to drive around 65....although going down toParkLiner I hit a stretch where I was doing 70+(and being passed like I was standing still lol)

[Carol H]

I average between 15 & 16 mpg pulling 2800lbs behind the Frontier when doing a combo trip of about 30 miles of stop and go traffic getting out of the city and then a few hundred miles of freeway speeds & running AC. If only traveling on back roads with little stop and go and keeping the speed down to 55 mpg's the milage improves to about 18 mpg on average.

I can see how traveling on the forestry roads & having to do a frequent speed adjustments for pot holes and rocks etc might impact the mpg though even though slower speeds.... will see how the numbers stack up after a few weeks on Vancouver Island doing the same.

[Carol H]

BTW Thom love the view from your hammock!

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by deryk

I tend to drive around 65....although going down toParkLiner I hit a stretch where I was doing 70+(and being passed like I was standing still lol)

If I'm on a 4 (or more) lane highway, I stay in the far right lane & go 60, don't really care what the posted speed is. Do the same when I'm hauling the classic boat. Otherwise I'm pretty much a speed limit driver. Boring...

Frank

[deryk]

I tend to drive 1 lane over from the right....the right lane has too many people merging and makes me have to slow down too often...also the people who cut across 3 lanes for their turn they are about to miss lol

[accrete]

Greetings ALL

Thanks for the Picture-kudos and comments on your millage/rigs.

On road to camp from highway.. It was a noticeable decline in surface quality from last season's trips. It looks like they were trying to patch here and there, but it was so bad that we really could not go over about ~25 mph for most of the ~80 miles.

MPG... Then i did have a ~40 minute engine idle in camp one morning to get the battery back up. I suppose i could do some magic on a calculator and figure out how much fuel that used. But no biggie. It's a mid sized v8 @ 5.3L with two 180 amp alternators. And with the air conditioner on the whole trip and full time AWD i really don't expect a whole lot going up/down from the coast range and back into another mountain valley with temps in the 90's.



Bottom line, and i suppose it holds true for many here, we love getting out to places like _insert your favorite "camp"_ and are still a whole lot more compact than a monster class A or other large RV combos...and a WHOLE LOT CUTER! ->> our rigs <<- Ok, and my camo-clad-dashing-self.

Cheers,
Thom

[Carol H]

The 4 WD and not being able to go over 25 for a good chunk of time would eat up gas for sure.

[accrete]

Today over at the Oregon Fall NOG thread i had jokingly mentioned i hoped there would be some tree trunks showing at our campsite (Silver Falls State Park)...because i was hoping to set up one of our many hammocks in order to take my daily mid-afternoon cat-nap. And mentioned there are few things a nice as a nap in a hammock.

I even find ways of napping hammock style inside our RV... yup you heard it right! Here is a picture of my preferred War Bonnet Black Bird set up in our rear living room on our BooneDOX stand.

The sleep is a zero pressure point rest and wonderful for a ~25 minute power nap!

[deryk]

Intresting Hammock stand ya have their Thom... what is it? Does it rock front/back?

[accrete]

Hi deryk. The stand is called a "BooneDOX Drifter" stand and is available from "BooneDoxUSA" website. It does _rock_ back and forth on the long axis if you wish, and of course any hammock tied on it will still rock as a hammock does. . . though i have my Warbonnet tied off keeping the beg net out, not that i needed it up for napping inside!

The stand also packs down quite easily, and i usually keep it stored in the front shower corner edge of the Parkliner closet. I will have a new mode of inside hammock hang in a week or two that i'll post here just for fun also.

Overall i'd give the stand a 4/5 rating. The only negative i can see is it is a bit heavy (25lbs??) though nicely made

Here is a youtube video they did.

Cheers,
Thom

[frank_a]

Thom, can you post a link to BoonDoxUSA? I tried googling it with nary a result!

Thanks,

Frank

[accrete]

I just updated the original post with a you tube video they did.

I was able to get to the direct page on the stand at their site:
BooneDOX Drifter

And they are in your neck of the woods...North Carolina.
Thom

PS, so far i've tested four hammocks on the stand and all work fine. Two by ENO, a "Single Nest", and a "Double Nest". Then my wife's Hennessy Expedition Asymmetrical, and my Warbonnet Black Bird. I weigh in at about 140 soaking wet and have about 6" clearance from floor when laying on the diagonal and flat on my back in any of the above setups. Ideally i would say for anyone over about ~160 you might be back on the ground??

[frank_a]

Aha! It was the missing "e" at the end of Boon that was my problem. Thanks Thom!

Frank

[accrete]

Thanks for actually pointing out the missing "e"! It was eye that was missing it in how i originally spelled it...so i think all the missing "e"'s have found their proper home.

We got hooked on "Hanging" this season and Cari was the one who researched and bought our first "Jungle" hammock (her Hennessy). We are now set for next season in the trees for some extra camp-fun. This winter we plan on sewing up some under-quilts and such so we can actually stay out all night...we weren't quite prepared so late in the season for how cold it can get outside at night. It surprises us just how a bit of insulation in a van/TT can keep you nice and cozy.

Thom

[accrete]

Greetings all : )
For me it feels like it's been many many "moons" since posting here...though i have been reading and keeping up with the fiberglass family happenings.

Cari and i spent a wonderful week at one of our favorite places...Sunset Falls Campground near Battle Ground Washington. I've written about many of our adventures there in the past. This trip was a bit unique in a couple ways...

1) We met a fellow fiberglass owner : ) ...in the campsite next to us in a Casita 17 pulled by a Toyota Tacoma. Hopefully he will have the time to join in on the North Oregon Gathering coming up in October at Fort Stevens State Park in my home town on the oregon coast (Warrenton/Astoria).

2) Cari and i spent 5 wonderful nights under the stars in our two expedition-ready hammocks. Yea, i know, i can hear your thoughts ; ) Why would you choose to sleep outside in a hammock when you've got a nice rig all set up for cozy zzzzz time and beyond. Well... why do people jump out of perfectly good airplanes with a parachute strapped to their backside? Cuz it's cool.

Really though, as much as the van's Froli Sleep System is the best mattress setup we've ever slept on...even it does not have the amazing comfort level of either of the hammocks (her's & mine) we had hanging from the trees. The rest & sleep is beyond what we have experienced in a regular bed, and while there is the issue of no-cuddling once in our hammocks...it brings spontaneity to a whole new level in any healthy-romantic relationship.

This week's adventure was the first of our official camping season... we have one week set aside each month from now till the fall NOG, with plans to visit our usual places here in the PNW. . . July = QuartzCreek near Sweet Home Oregon, August = Lower Falls CG near Cougar Washington, September is back to Sunset Falls CG, then to the fall NOG in our neighborhood (Ft. Stevens)

Cari and i hope all of you have a safe and wonderful camping season wherever, and however that may be.

Thom