Want to be a campground host?

On a recent trip to a Vermont state park, we happened to meet the couple who are the “hosts” for the summer. And in doing so, stumbled on a nationwide opportunity for Airstreamers (and other RV types) who want to trade free camping for service.

The retired Vermont couple we met had tired of Vermont winters and transitioned a few years ago to full-time RV’ers. They initially went to Florida for the winter months but got tired of the crowds and hubbub and now winter in Georgia and love it. The started being hosts about four years ago and show up about Memorial Day and leave after Labor Day. They are on duty about four days a week and love it.

I was intrigued by the program and doing some searching, soon came to find that their are countless programs and positions out there -- and that many people come back year after year. Hosts, often retired couples, help manage a campground for the summer camping season in exchange for a free site for their RV or travel trailer. Most public campgrounds have special host sites which often (but not always!) have full hookups, even when the campground they are managing is primitive.

Camp host jobs vary greatly from campground to campground, but almost all require taking fees from campers, cleaning bathrooms, and light grounds maintenance (such as raking fire puts, blowing leaves, etc.) Hosts with maintenance skills are always in demand.

Here’s a job description from one public campground:

Campground hosts will serve as a "live-in" host during April through October for a four (4) week period.
The host will be responsible for (but not limited to) the following tasks:
• Explaining (not enforcing) Campground Rules
• Campground Foot Patrols
• Litter Clean-up
• Bath House Clean-up Three (3) Days a Week to Include: hose down floors, sweep, toilet and sink cleaning, wash mirrors
• Various Light Maintenance Repairs
• Stocking Supplies in Bath Houses as Needed
• Prepping Campsites After Campers Check-out
• Removing Debris From Fire Rings
• Restoring Power to Electrical Sites (switching the breaker back on)
• Night Watchperson During Busy Nights

You can find out much more about hosting at Volunteer.gov/gov (America’s Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Portal), Workamper News (Helping RVers Explore America - 1 Job at a Time), state agencies such as these in California or Alaska, or the book Camp Hosting USA.

Mary and I are not ready to leave our Vermont home to volunteer at a campground but see it as an interesting option for retired people who enjoy camping and helping others enjoy it. Check it out -- and thank hosts that you meet for their service.

top photo from camphostcouple website lower photo from Fairfax County website

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It Takes A Village To Get Our Airstream Ready

Belly pan, tires, tail light, inspection -- it’s been a steady stream of maintenance items the last two weeks. I lucked out and got a piece of aluminum from my neighbor that trimmed up to patch the belly pan and thanks to good advice from my brother, I was able to drill and rivet the large 8’ x 4’ piece in place and it looks great.
I had ordered new tires since the old ones were from 2003 and even though they looked ok, had baked in the Florida sun for several winters.

I’m using the two 2”x 6” approach to hoisting a wheel and removing the adjacent one -- rather than mess with a jack. My local service station is mounting the wheels as I bring them in.

Last Friday, I went downtown early with the trailer and got the VIN number verified by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (This is a requirement for vehicles/trailers purchased out of state.) This morning, I again snaked my way through Montpelier and got the rig inspected.

A couple of tires to go and we should be in good shape for the road.

Pop Goes The Rivets

The belly pan on my Airstream is sagging and needs work. It's something that I can do but I've never done any riveting. So I ordered some wide-flange rivets and a rivet tool from our local company, Vintage Trailer Supply.

Today, I drove over and picked up the order and met the owner, Steve Hingtgen. He gave me a drill bit and some pointers; it's great to have him and his parts company here in town.

Crawling under a trailer, banging and drilling out old rivets, and then putting a new rivet in place is slow dirty work. I soon realized that I'd need some washers since the old rivets had opened some larger holes in the belly pan. I got about 20 new rivets placed and will do the rest in the next few days.

Of course, when you are up close and personal with your trailer's underside, you spot other stuff. A couple of brackets holding water lines need attention; one of the tires has a couple of cracks. I'll get this project done and add those to the list. Need to get this baby ready for our winter trip.

Unplugged

With a new battery hooked up and ready to go, we hooked up the Airstream and headed out to Stillwater campground on Lake Groton. It’s a Vermont state park with no hook-ups (like all Vermont state parks) so we are “boondocking” for the first time. And right now, we have 115 amp-hour battery and no supplemental systems like solar or a generator so it’s “watch the amps” time.

This is the last week that state campgrounds operate in Vermont and with school now in session, there are just a handful of campers here. We like it that way -- and it is one of the benefits of being semi-retired -- we can go mid-week and late in the season.

The site we reserved (#53) is nice -- level and relatively secluded -- and just a few hundred yards from the nice beach. The back-in process was the best so far -- perhaps I’m getting better with experience. After setting up, I walked the dog, checking out the other sites, and took a short bracing swim in the September water.

In addition to no hookups, there's no cell phone coverage (or 3G for the iPhone) and no wifi anywhere near. So it's the first time we've been "unplugged" for a long while and it's quite nice. We know we can drive about seven miles and pick up a cellphone signal (one short stretch on Route 2 where people pull off to call.) Instead of telemarketers calling all evening (in spite of Do Not Call), we hear loons and cicadas.

We've needed the gas furnace in the morning to take the chill off -- it's been in the 40's overnight -- and the gas-run appliances are running fine. I decided to use some fresh Vermont blueberries for muffins, trying out the gas oven for the first time. I used a Bisquick recipe off the web that was very simple but the muffins, while tasting great, were flat as pancakes. I blamed it on the oven setting until later, Mary checked the box and found that it said "Best if used by October, 2004. Guess I should have preflighted our pantry ingredients a little better.

We got the awning out for the first time yesterday and it looks in great shape. I've used the Springer system to exercise the Vizsla and Mary and I took a short bike ride on the old Montpelier-Wells River Rail Trail yesterday. The weather is spectacular and the forecast is good. Email and blogs can wait, it's time to get outside and enjoy this beautiful setting. I'd recommend it for your travel plans next season. Reserve well ahead -- these parks fill up fast during the summer.

Above are some shots I took yesterday morning with the iPhone on an easy morning walk with the dog. It's neat to watch the fog burn off on these pretty September mornings. Safe traveling.

P.S. We made it 3 days with no battery problems. I suggest sites 53, 63, 41, or 14 if you're planning to make reservations for next season. Here's a map of the park layout.

Tricking Out The Tow Vehicle

I owned a Toyota Tacoma for years and enjoyed the four-wheel drive in our Vermont winters and the ability to haul stuff in back. Even though my airport friends ragged me about my “toy truck,” it suited me just fine. That is until Toyota announced serious frame corrosion problems in certain model years (including mine) and offered a generous buyback program.

Gas was approaching $4.00/gallon and I bought a used Honda Fit -- talk about a toy car -- which I loved but missed being able to carry loads, and to get up our driveway in winter.

Catching the RV/Travel Trailer fever this spring, I started reading blogs and articles and having a general sense of size, first started focusing on a tow vehicle. After getting all sorts of advice (“Never buy a Chevy” “Fords are problems”) I started leaning toward a Ford F-150 with the larger engine and tow package. Right away, up on Craigslist pops the ideal truck: 4 X $ Supercab, XLT 145” Wheelbase, 5.4L, 3.73 limited slip axle, and a tow package.

We are very happy with the Ford so far. It pulls the Airstream nicely and the super cab is a nice traveling space for the Vizsla. However, on our first trip we knew that we would need some sort of cap or cover to protect the extra gear we would be taking with us. Having bought a used cap for the Toyota which didn’t fit right, leaked, and came loose on dirt roads, I decided to go for a professionally-installed truck cap.

I ordered a paint-matched Leer cap from Add-On Accessory Outlet, a local firm in Burlington. It was installed Saturday (Vermont’s tax free day) so I saved 6% but more importantly, was pleased with the fit, the color match, and the overall customer service. With this addition, our tow vehicle is about set to go -- I still need to work more on hitch height and may need to drop the ball a tad.

Here’s our Ford tow vehicle wearing her new red cap.

Airstream Design & History

One of the nice things about owning an Airstream is that you are part of a long history of a travel trailers known for design and function. I recently came across this article by a design firm titled: Airstreams: Icons Worthy of Preservation. The article mentioned in part "

....This week in Germany, I learned that classic Airstream trailers are being restored and rented to hip European "holiday makers." Hence, Airstreams are also iconic structures (albeit mobile ones) being restored and, in some cases, retrofitted."

An older post by a design firm who worked on the new Bambi design noted:

"with their sleek metallic exteriors, these travel trailers
are a nostalgic piece of america.
even today customers love the timeless beauty of the
aerodynamic shapes and the ingenious efficiency of
the compact space, but the average age
of a first-time travel trailer buyer is 64 years old !"

And finally, for a little romp through history, this older web site has a lot of information and links. In part it starts:

In The Beginning...

...was the Great Depression. The stock-market was down. Many people were struggling just to keep food on the table. In the early 1930s, A young college graduate named Wally Byam went to work for a magazine publisher. An article they published was an instruction guide for building a camping trailer. After the article was published, people began using the plans to build their own trailers. However it wasn't long before letters began coming in from the readers complaining about errors in the plans.

Determined to discover the problem, Wally Byam began building trailers in his own back yard. While working but before he would finish a trailer, someone would would see it and want to buy his "project." With each new attempt, Wally would experiment and change, improving the original idea. It soon became a full-time occupation for him. He called his new trailer company AIRSTREAM. The trailers were fairly standard looking for the era with some influences from the European styles of design.

top photo courtesy of American Retro Caravans Bambi photo courtesy Cindy's Salon

Vintage photo part of a wonder collection - Roger's Airstream History

The Shakedown Cruise – Day 3 & 4

After some initial wandering (thanks, MapQuest), we headed out on Day 3 and soon were heading north on Route 3 toward Tupper Lake. It was a pretty Saturday in the Adirondacks and every trailhead and put-in spot was crowded with vehicles.

We passed a spectacular sight – an international rugby tournament – in Saranac Lake with many games going at once and the fields a riot of colorful uniforms. We made the turn toward Plattsburgh and soon the road became lightly traveled with few settlements as we cruised northeast.

We were heading toward Maccomb Reservation State Park which was described as “wilderness-like” on the web but turned out to be anything but that. The gps and map seemed to be at odds where to turn but I made one correct turn but promptly turned too early and the rig was headed down a back road – and I needed to turn around. No easy thing.

I found a driveway and with Mary’s help, was attempting to back up and turn but after several tries was getting nowhere. Suddenly, a guy came across from his yard and offered his help. I jumped out, he hopped in and patted the dog, and in one smooth maneuver, had things lined up and ready to go. Thanking him, I noticed a big travel trailer in his yard – he’s obviously had more experience than I have.

We found the campground, checked in, and went to our reserved site – one of the few with power. Scoping it out, I realized that it was next to a big playground swarming with kids. Bad move. Again, I had to figure out how to back the rig in without hitting trees, bikes, kids, etc. Fortunately, one more Good Samaritan came from across the way and offered the guide me (he said he’d hauled drag racers for years and had backed up a lot of trailers.). After some colorful and direct advice and backing and forthing, we got it situated and ready to set up.The site was level but the noise level was high – lots of pre-teen girls and boys doing their summer flirtation rituals complete with screams and giggles. The noise did quiet down after dark and rain the next day keep things quiet.

This campground was a disappointment. Not particularly well designed, it had a seedy feel to it – grubby restrooms, balky showers, and a weedy swimming area on a man-made lake. We’d signed up for a couple of days and decided just to relax, read, and get to now the Airstream’s systems a little better.

One nice thing about upstate New York is that there’s pretty good coverage for the iPhones. While not finding wifi (we didn’t look too hard), we could check email and do limited web surfing at all the campsites.

We used our new departure checklist and the trip home was easy, heading north on I-87 and then taking pretty Route 2 down through the Lake Champlain islands. We explored Grand Isle State Park as a possible future camping spot and then stopped in South Hero and grabbed some wonderful, if not healthy, lunch items. (I won’t tip our hand but they involved catsup)

Driving ahead a bit, we found a beautiful shaded parking area along the lake and enjoyed lunch with breezes flowing through the Airstream and the Vizsla sleeping in the truck. It was another reminder of the flexibility of hauling along your own eating space.The last test of the trip was to make the sharp turn and steep climb up our driveway. Well, the bumper dug a rut in the dirt road but we made it up fine and after buttoning things up, were home safely with a very successful shakedown cruise.Postscript: Three days later, I was in the Emergency Room facing an operation for a perforated appendix. As they say, timing is everything!