Operation Oxcart AKA Gini's Burden-A Four Wheel Camper story

[CougarCouple]

For ETAV8R
Nice little camper find, and how lucky to coincide with the sale of your RTC.
Congrats Russ

 

[ETAV8R]

Thanks.
One would not have been sold without the offer of the other. Perfect harmony a couple years ago.
Nice Blackbird pic.

 

[ETAV8R]

Thanks for sharing.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on transitioning from your old flippac to the FWC. What have you liked about the change, and what have you not liked?

Thanks.

Sorry for not responding sooner.
Pros of the FWC is no more dust inside, watertight so far, less wind noise at night when sleeping, and warmer. The con is weight compared to the Flippac. I could also store more stuff in the Flippac but some of that was probably unnecessary as I've dialed in what I take camping fairly well after having the Finch.

Another CTEK user! How is that unit working out for you? Interesting that you have it mounted in the truck vs in the camper. What size wires are you using to the camper batteries?

I love my CTEK. It works great. The camper doesn't live on the truck but my fridge does behind my drivers seat. I recently got my 2nd battery put back but it is now in the cab. So nice having a fridge if you're out getting groceries or taking lunch to work.

 

[ETAV8R]

Wanted to share some pics of my most recent trip to DVNP and my awning experiment. It works great other than in dire winds. During windy conditions I took it down but covered my table and items near my truck by securing the tarp over the items. So it does double duty. I tried to figure out how to set up my larger tarp but the W thing began and it would have been an exercise in futility. The awning works and is a fraction of the price of other awnings. There was a lot of moisture in the valley during new years and the tarp got the condensation where the things underneath did not.







This was after a breezy evening and one corner was blown off.

 

[takesiteasy]

Awning looks good!

 

[ETAV8R]

The past two days I took some time to do some how to and comparison videos about my Klymit sleeping pads. Here are a couple pics.
The green one is the Klymit Static V and the red is the V-Luxe insulated.

 

[ETAV8R]

Recently got back from a wonderful trip in Owens/Death Valleys. Five days and four nights consisting of the White Mountains, Volcanic Tablelands, Mono Lake, and Death Valley-Mahogany Flat Campground. I tested out using my Kelty Tarp 12 and it worked great.

 

[ETAV8R]

Well another trip to Death Valley is in the books. I was able to sneak off Thursday afternoon and got to a place to camp for the night around 9pm in the Hunter Mountain area. I saw several other light sources in Hidden Valley that evening. The next day was off to do a morning hike before heading into Saline Valley via the South Pass. Grapevine Canyon isn't too bad but past that the washboard is pretty bad in my opinion. I still don't get how people bring in street vehicles to the springs. It wouldn't feel safe to me rolling the dice, yet people do it.

The daytime temps this year in late October were a bit higher than I remember from past trips during this time. Nights were perfect. There was a waxing moon that took over the nightscape. My preference is no moon to enjoy the stars and there were a few shooting stars to be seen. On the last evening the sunset lit up perfectly and I attempted to get some shots reflecting off the Wizard Pool which was empty for some reason. Usually if people are present, photography isn't a good idea. Clothing is optional and not everyone wants nudies on the net. I got lucky but my timing was a bit late and my tripod wasn't behaving. I got a couple that might be salvageable.

The airshow this trip was great even though my attempt to video three F/A-18s coming through Dedeckera heading down to Steel and Saline failed. On the first hike day a KC-130 was high overhead refueling four F/A-18s in a long oval orbit. After arriving at the springs a B-1B flew by the Peace Sign on its way to Saline. At the springs the weekend was quiet other than no less than six different single engine prop planes visiting the Chicken Strip. Monday was busy with Hornets doing the Steel Pass jive.

The last day was a drive up Steel Pass to do another hike and head out via Dedeckera Canyon. I think there was a significant rain event since I was here last. Some petroglyphs that were visible in the past were either hard to find or not visible due to light brown dusting on dark canyon walls. The light brown dust must have come down from up above. The precipitation evidence was also noted closer to Dedeckera Canyon. Here there was a red hue where the wheel tracks were and some areas with a red clay which had dried where it pooled. The canyon I hiked also seemed to have more debris which could be attributed to heavy precipitation. I'd not been in this area for a few years and cannot locate my photos from that trip to compare with this trips photographs. If anyone has guesses on the scat with the quarter for scale I'd love to hear them. This is in the same area where the vertebrae were found. Not sure coyotes would be up in this area and I've seen larger scat on previous trips which leads me to believe it may be a mountain lion. There is also sheep droppings there too.

At the springs one individual stated the falls in Dedeckera Canyon weren't too bad and that my Tacoma and camper shouldn't have any issues. The last time I'd been through there it wasn't too bad. This time it took lots of rock stacking for each fall. Perhaps the jeep group that went through two days prior decided to make it more fun for their rigs. Sorry but no pics of the falls since I was busy trying to get through there unscathed. The bumper took a little bit on one fall but nothing too noticeable.

Due to the delay in Dedeckera I missed another great sunset. There was a bit of glow left at Eureka Dunes but not what it was a little while before my arrival. Most of the pics here are cell pics and some point and shoot. Speaking of my point and shoot camera, Canon G15 with a magnetically mounted polarizing filter...it started acting up and will probably be taking at trip to the Canon service center.

I did get another of the sleeping pads and it fit perfectly in the camper. Not sure if my lifting struts are worn out but it seems as though they aren't doing as much to lift the roof. It is time to get a new set with a stronger weight capacity. Might have to put up the plastic pipe shower tank on top. I did get the camper weighed as well in Mojave. The result was 6420lbs.

My tarp awning wasn't used on this trip and instead the REI Alcove was used. A friend who was supposed to join cancelled after I had left and the Alcove would have been a way to leave our campsite in Saline and hopefully no one would take it. The tarp would have worked fine this trip. Either way the sun in Saline was pretty strong during the day and I migrated in the shade of the pop-up.

 

[ski3pin]

ETAV8R, thanks for the nice report on your trip. Yes, recent photos I've seen on the net of the steps in Dedeckera show that they've eroded deeper. We haven't made it out that way for awhile to see for ourselves, but there is so much up that way "on the list." The scat looks like coyote to me. We enjoyed your photos!

 

[craig333]

Nice shots even with the difficulties!

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Like your lightweight awning in pics 6 and 7, Eric. Looks like it is easier to erect that the square "Easy-up". Do you have a make and a model?

And looks like we were both close as I was at the springs Oct 22nd to the 30th.

Lastly are you going to attend the rally in Occotillo Wells next week (Nov 10-12th)? If so would love to see your improvements in the first person.

 

[ETAV8R]

Thanks for the compliments. It has been a while since I did a trip report.

Jim, we were there around the same time. I left the 30th as well. The shade set up is the REI Alcove as mentioned in the trip report. It's a bit heavy (17lbs) compared to the tarp set up I've used on a few recent trips but not close to as bulky/heavy as an EZ-up. The Alcove has served me well on many Saline trips and can withstand quite a bit of wind and rain.

No plans to go to Occotillo but I am off so who knows.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Thanks Eric I will check out the REI Alcove nest couple of days.

Would love to see the rig and you if your around. Saturday we are going on a desert "tour" led by Rich&Kim should be a blast.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Interesting REI doesn't show the "Alcove " shelter just the Alcove wind walls??

This item from Kelty looks closer to the picture??

 

[ETAV8R]

That looks like the REI but rebranded. I have an older REI camp kitchen thing that was rebranded. It is more functional than whatever they are selling as REI now. Need to put that one on craigslist because I don't use it anymore.

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Was reviewing the 2013 video Bill Harr took at the 2013 rally and noticed the camper you have on your truck is a different color from this one. Did you change campers in the last 4 years?

 

[ETAV8R]

This is the only FWC I've had on the truck. Silver Spur color from the factory.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Thanks for the report. Looking forward to getting back out to Saline. Watching the Hornets dance is always fun, but they sure are noisy when they fly over my house on their return to Pt. Mugu!

 

[ETAV8R]

Well after the last trip and enduring some loud rock noises in Dedeckera Canyon I knew I should get a real skid. Noticed a black November sale Pelfreybilt was having and picked up an aluminum IFS skid. This thing is very stout.

 

[ETAV8R]

Some news for the Oxcart. Since I got the camper I'd been searching for red bulbs for night vision. After some posts here on WTW about using colored photography gels to cover the inside of the lights I picked some up on Slamazon in various colors. I wanted to do red on one side and warm the white on the opposite side. Mission accomplished with the help of my horror fright heat gun. I cut each gel in quarters and can do four lens covers per gel sheet. One picture is provided to show how I held on the gel to the inside of the lens/light cover. Then I used the heat gun on low and after getting the gel soft I would use a small towel to press it to the shape of the cover. I did get some creases and there is a small amount of white light that comes from the red side but overall I'm happy with the result. They are easily removed if I want to get that cold white light back.