pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 11, 2023 16:15:17 GMT -8
She's tucked away for another long Manitoba winter, so no better time to share some photos of this year's camping adventures.  Grand Beach Provincial Park, late July.  Same park, early August. Everything tastes better when you're camping.
The beach is a 10-minute walk away.
More to come.
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Post by Teachndad on Dec 11, 2023 21:47:17 GMT -8
Hey Paul, Thanks so much for showing a day in the life of your fabulous Shasta! Looking over the pix it's like you start in the morning and go through the day and then the night picture closes the experience. Very nice! I love the interior.  Looks like it was a great campsite. The best of both worlds - the forest and the sea or is that the shore of one of the Great Lakes? Where was that? Thank you for sharing.  Looking forward to the next volley of pix down the line. Cheers, Rod |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 11, 2023 21:54:01 GMT -8
On to Riding Mountain National Park. August. Got to my campsite, and found this combo in the site beside me. A Chevy convertible truck from the 1970s and a Silver Streak Clipper, I believe it was. Can't recall the year. A canned-ham style camper from the 1970s was right across from us. It was vintage corner. What are the odds?
Had this wool blanket made at a sheep farm in Eastern Canada. Nights can get cool up at Riding Mountain, even in August.
Pulling out. |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 11, 2023 22:00:51 GMT -8
I love the interior. Looks like it was a great campsite. The best of both worlds - the forest and the sea or is that the shore of one of the Great Lakes? Where was that? Rod Hi Rod. That is the south shore of Lake Winnipeg, the second-largest freshwater lake in Canada and one of the top 10 or 11 freshwater lakes in the world. It's just one hour north of the city of Winnipeg, where I live. Lake Superior is about a six-hour drive to the East.
Glad you're enjoying my self-indulgent show  |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 12, 2023 15:40:57 GMT -8
Next up, the first camping trip with the matching 1966 Oldsmobile. A little back story: At Riding Mountain National Park (the previous camping trip), the couple in the Silver Streak Clipper asked me if I was going to the vintage trailer rally a week or so later. I didn't even know about it (I'm not on Facebook, where the group has a presence). I get home the next day and start checking for campsites. It looks booked up, but I soon stumble upon a cancellation of a site along the water. I book it and the following weekend I roll into St. Malo Provincial Park after dark. Not familiar with the place at all, I take a long time to back into the site, so long that the Olds rad boils over, making a howling sound that I'm sure the campers around me really appreciated. A couple of very friendly campers showed up with lighted hats to help me back in without hitting a tree. I get settled in and quickly realize that parked next to me is the same convertible Chevy truck and Silver Streak Clipper! (I believe it was from the late 1950s). What are the odds? Took lots of pics that weekend: The Silver Streak is incredible. The guy restored it himself. Check out the interior. At the push of a button a TV screen rises from behind the dinette table.
Here are some of the other campers that weekend. My understanding is this group started off as a Boler group, but has expanded to include others.
I had no idea my part of the world had this many people into vintage campers. All kinds, some home built, like this one, if I remember right. There was one other Shasta. 1964. The official "open house" portion of the weekend was Sunday, 1-4. I didn't get away from my Olds/Shasta combo until 5 or 6 p.m., there were so many people wanting to see it and ask about it. I added one little trinket for the open house. I use this quick pop-up shelter because the Shasta awning is not easy to put up alone (and I hate to ask for help all the time). Pulling out: Other than the rad boil over (nobody mentioned it) it was a great weekend. Hope to do it again next summer. One more trip to come. Probably the best location of them all. And the worst experience just getting there. |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 12, 2023 20:56:20 GMT -8
Fast-forward to mid-September, a gorgeous time to camp up here, the summer heat past, the nights cool, the leaves changing. And I found another campsite on the water, this time in Whiteshell Provincial Park, some two hours east of the city in the Canadian Shield, a vast area of rock, forests and lakes.
I hitch the Shasta to my truck this time (I haven't addressed the Olds rad overheating just yet, and it's having a brake and signal light issue, too) and head out. Not three minutes from home, while taking an on-ramp onto a major bridge over the river, I hit a small bump and hear a horrible grinding sound. I know immediately the Shasta has become unhitched and the tongue jack is grinding along the pavement.
My heart in my throat and my mind racing, I pull over immediately. There's only one lane, and I quickly realize I'm blocking traffic, at least three vehicles behind me. My worst fears are confirmed. The only good news: the safety chains have done exactly what they're supposed to do, cradling the trailer tongue, dragging the camper along and preventing a complete disaster. A guy in the car behind me gets out and tells me he saw sparks flying and suspected what had happened. The woman in the car behind him gets out and says she needs to get through. I tell her we could be a while.
I undo the coupler without taking a close look at what may have happened -- I'm scrambling, after all -- and with the help of the guy we lift the tongue (around 180-pound tongue weight), wrestle the camper up the slight road incline -- just a couple of inches is all we need -- and back onto the ball hitch. I snap the coupler and pin back in place. While we're doing all this, the woman in the car is actually trying to inch her way through, between our vehicles and the concrete retaining wall. There's not nearly enough room. There's also no time to get angry.
I thank the guy for being an angel, hop back into my truck and slowly pull away, having no idea what's going to happen and half expecting the camper to let loose again. I slowly make my way over the bridge, take the first exit and find a parking lot to pull over.
My heart settles down and I closely examine the hitch and coupler, only to find nothing amiss. The tongue jack seems fine -- not bent at all. Just some flattening at the very bottom edge, where it was scraping along the pavement. It occurs to me that a good way to test the coupling is to place my wood block under the jack and crank it up, lifting the truck bumper to see if it lets loose. It does not. I make the decision to proceed. I'll be doing highway speed for some 90 minutes and another unhitching will probably be catastrophic, but I'm as confident as I could be in this situation.
I'm happy to report the weekend went by without a hitch (pardon the pun). My only conclusion: I hadn't properly attached the coupler. Maybe I got distracted by something, perhaps removing the wheel blocks in the middle of the process and forgetting to finishing the coupling, I don't know. I do know this: every time I hitch up the Shasta from now on, I'll be doing that test of lifting it until it lifts the bumper of the tow vehicle.
Next post: some photos from a beautiful site at Nutimik Lake Campground.
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 12, 2023 21:39:33 GMT -8
I'd been on the water at the vintage camper rally, but not like this. Found a couple of nice matching throw pillows before this trip. Makes the dinette much more comfortable to recline in, with something to cushion your back from that little shelf below the windows. When this is the view outside your bedroom window, life is good.
I'm a sucker for sunset photos. More to come. |
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Post by Teachndad on Dec 13, 2023 6:23:08 GMT -8
Ummmm, Let me go get my drool cup. (Pauses and catches his breath) Paul, you scored BIG TIME! You are having so much fun and you are not excited at all - No, not at all!  So glad you got the rally experience and even better, you got it with dispersed sites. So often at the California Rallies you are slotted in tightly with neighboring trailers and it's kind of claustrophobic. Always wanted to try more like your experience where folks get to park where ever with space between them. Oh and look, the grass is green and you have lots of it! Yah, what are the odds of the same trailer being right next to you. (What!?) You should have gone and bought a lottery ticket. Your luck was high. Oh and thanks for the rally tour and sharing all more pix of the other trailers. That's always fun with my early morning cup of java. Cheers, Rod |
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Post by Teachndad on Dec 13, 2023 6:57:30 GMT -8
Okay, (PHew!) I just read your tale of adventure at the bridge! Ummmm, what did I say about your luck?.... Dude who was behind you and strong enough to help lift the tongue happened to be near by... c'mon - What's the luck? Let's let Karma take care of the rude lady squeezing buy. Glad I am not married to her. Sheeesh! Here's a diagram I found. I found it in a blog. There is a lot of good info and videos on how to hitch up a trailer correctly on the web.  Okay, I have learned to do one last walk around of the trailer after hitching up. I talk to myself when doing this as I am usually alone. I check my lights, check my safety chains, check my hook from my break away cable is connected to the Tow Vehicle (TV), check the hitch pin is correctly inserted through the reciever tube and the cotter pin is correctly clamped into the hitch pin, and check to see if the coupler is sitting low on the ball and it's latched. You should have a cotter pin to lock down the hitch latch. Also, some folks go around and check the tightness of their lug nuts before every trip. BTW, I never use the lug wrench that comes with your car. They are too short. Get a breaker bar with some length - at least 25" (63cm) for more torque. I have one in every one of my vehicles. It helps when you are stuck on the side of the road A LOT. Also get the appropriately sized socket to fit on the end of the breaker bar. I carry two sockets in my truck. One for the truck lugs and one for the trailer lugs. Instead of pulling out the jack to check if the coupler is tight on the ball, maybe just take a measurement of how low the coupler sits above the ball mount when you know it's correct. But, do what you feel is best for you. My guess is that the coupler might have been sitting too high because the coupler got latched above the ball which sometimes happens. You should hear a clunk when the coupler seats tightly over the ball. It's part of learning the ins and outs of towing. You are learning from your mistakes (happy accidents?).  Cheers, Rod |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 13, 2023 15:02:37 GMT -8
Glad you're enjoying it, Rod. Yeah, the rally site had pretty spacious campsites and a very wide-open feel. That was great for a gathering like that, but I really enjoy being in the woods, too. As for my hitch set-up, here's a photo. I believe I have everything I'm supposed to have. You can see where the bottom of the tongue jack is a little flattened. That was the only damage.
As I said, the Canadian Shield is a massive area. I was on the western edge of it, just two hours east of Winnipeg, in Whiteshell Provincial Park. I'll give you a sense of the place with some photos from my hikes. Back to the campsite for lunch with a view. Tomatoes and cukes from our garden. Not far from this campground is a fascinating, sacred place marked by Indigenous petroforms, rock formations created by Indigenous people over thousands of years. I hadn't been here in several years, but I'm always struck by it. Hard to explain. Other trails are just through beautiful, mostly untouched nature. I won't bore you with too many pics. This is usually a roaring waterfall. Was a very dry year, though.
Back to the site for another night in the Shasta.
That was it for summer camping. Hope it's OK to post so many pics. And hope I'm doing it in the right forum.
If even one person gets a good feeling looking at them (Hi, Rod!), that's good enough for me.
Until next year,
Paul
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Post by Teachndad on Dec 14, 2023 5:18:41 GMT -8
Hi Paul, Looking forward to the sharing of more adventures with your Shasta. Folks used to name their trailers. It made things easy when referring to our trailers. Back ten years ago, it was a thing. I don't see it much any more. Something to ponder in the dark of winter perhaps? LOL. As to the coupler. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, it's one of those... Ugggh!  I had envisioned a modern coupler. That one you pictured always appears to sit high on the ball. My Westerner has one of those couplers and the first time I set it on the ball, I questioned whether or not the tongue latch was fastend under the ball. EVERYTIME since, I still question whether it's latched around the ball. Forget what I suggested about measuring.  Checking with a jack is better for this coupler. Cheers and Happy Travels. Rod |
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 14, 2023 10:14:17 GMT -8
It's the original coupler, Rod. Like many things about this Shasta. Was in mostly original condition when I bought it in 2020. Needed a full restoration, but it didn't even cross my mind to change the coupler. As for a name, nah, I don't think so. We do have a slogan on the back, though. (it's a line from my wife's favourite musical artist). |
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newin62
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Post by newin62 on Dec 14, 2023 17:03:54 GMT -8
I love your pictures. A beautiful camper and beautiful camp sites. Makes me want to get mine on the road soooo bad. Also I completely understand your wife. Van is the man!
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pfriesen
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Post by pfriesen on Dec 14, 2023 22:56:36 GMT -8
I was kind of wanting No Direction Home, instead |
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newin62
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Post by newin62 on Dec 15, 2023 2:32:53 GMT -8
Don't get me started! A folk theme would be nice for Our House but a bit slow for me on a Long And Winding Road. I'm more of Gimme Shelter or Ramble On kind of guy.
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Looks like it was a great campsite. The best of both worlds - the forest and the sea or is that the shore of one of the Great Lakes? Where was that?
So glad you got the rally experience and even better, you got it with dispersed sites. So often at the California Rallies you are slotted in tightly with neighboring trailers and it's kind of claustrophobic. Always wanted to try more like your experience where folks get to park where ever with space between them. Oh and look, the grass is green and you have lots of it!
Checking with a jack is better for this coupler.
