Ep. 165: Door County | Wisconsin RV travel camping parasailing kayaking
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
- This episode of Grand Adventure is sponsored by XInsurance, providers of customized insurance policies that cover gaps in traditional insurance coverage. With specialized products available for diverse markets, Xinsurance helps minimize exposures and maximize true peace of mind.
Learn more at XInsurance.com
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Door County is sometimes referred to as the "Cape Cod of the Midwest". It's a peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan, bounded by the lake on its east and Green Bay on its west. It's home to beautiful beaches, historic lighthouses, rolling fruit orchards, and beautiful resort towns, harbors and marinas. In this episode of Grand Adventure we get derailed by yet another breakdown, necessitating an emergency whirlwind trip to Michigan's Lower Peninsula, but still find the time to tour the county, paddle our kayak out to an island lighthouse, and even go parasailing 500 feet above the deep blue waters of Green Bay with Wisconsin Water Wings, all from our campsite at Beantown Campground in Bailey's Harbor!
Filmed: August 1-8, 2020
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:08 Not again!
1:43 Exploring Door County
12:01 Off to Michigan for an axle rebuild
16:41 Beantown Campground
20:02 Parasailing with Wisconsin Water Wings
27:33 XInsurance
28:48 Kayaking to Cana Island Lighthouse
33:58 Wrap-up
FOR MORE INFORMATION
* XInsurance XInsurance.com
* Wisconsin Water Wings Parasailing parasailrides.com
* Stiletto Sailing Cruises stilettosailingcruises.com
* Beantown Campground beantowncampground.com
* Door County doorcounty.com
* Travel Wisconsin travelwisconsin.com
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Welcome to Grand Adventure, a TH-cam channel that focuses on RV-centric outdoor activities including not only of course camping, but also mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, skiing and more, always filmed in stunning 4K.
We're based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and invite you to come along as we travel all around the western U.S. My wife Patricia and I, and dog Zoe are avid boondockers, so you'll seldom find us in RV parks or even dry campgrounds. Instead, we're usually camped in some of the most remote and beautiful spots that you could ever pull a travel trailer into. And unlike most other RV channels on TH-cam, we're not RV dealers or full-timers -- we're "long-timers" who tend to hit the road for weeks or months at a time, while maintaining a sticks-and-bricks home in Utah.
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#RV #travel #Wisconsin #parasailing #doorcounty #AmericanHeartlandTour2020 #RVlife #roadtrip #vacation #kayaking #lighthouse #lakemichigan #greenbay
Spectacular place. Lovely quiet towns, bays and inlets. Almost totally unknown outside the upper Midwest. Surprised you didn't cover Peninsula State Park, the place is joyous! The Door is gorgeous in the fall.
We agree on all of your points, Michael. We actually did cover Peninsula State Park in the video beginning at 9:00.
Holy socks! I was under the impression those spindles just bolted on ! Nobody deserves what you’ve gone through on your bearings and axles!
Wish you luck
Thank you Jeff. They're not only welded on, but they need a jig to weld it precisely to avoid any wobble.
Grand Adventure good to know
Wow, that parasailing was phenomenal!
Honestly Lynne, it was a blast!
Really nice Mark. I noticed all the smooth panning, the blending of the narration with the music and the great sell of that area! Truly enjoyable.
Thank you so much for noticing! It's not easy cranking out a video each week when you put 30 hours into producing just one, but we feel it was worth it. We sincerely appreciate your comment!
Thanks for highlighting Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan in your travels, we do have a lot to offer up here. Have traveled those same roads many times.
You definitely do have a lot to offer, Jim. Coming up in a few weeks we'll be bringing visitors to Bayfield and the Apostle Islands as well. We've been wholly impressed!
Mark, thanks to this video my wife and I have decided to visit Bailey’s Harbor/Door County next August. Beautiful videography and commentary have inspired us - thanks for taking us along!
That's wonderful, Bob! We're so happy that we've been able to inspire your visit, and we're certain that you'll fall in love with the area as we did. And while you're there, stop off and say "Hi!" to Capt. Doug in Ephraim on our behalf. 😉
Top notch video. You show the whole story . On the road repairs are a concern. Lucky day to get someone flag you and then have RV dealership access so close. Door is beautiful and parasailing guide, views and experience : amazing great time.
Thank you folks! Every time that we've experienced a breakdown, we've been able to find some fortunate element to be grateful for. This one had a few of those!
Wow that para sailing was insane, that's sucks about the axle, but is sure looked liked you made the best of a pretty bad situation, absolutely amazing video.
Thanks so much as always, Scott! Glad that you enjoyed it.
And more great kayaking! Thanks!
Thank you Mary! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video! My wife and I go to Sturgeon Bay every spring and fall. We haven’t made it up there this year due to the virus, my wife works in the medical field and would have to quarantine if traveling out of the great state of Illinois(not)! Really miss going up there! Beautiful country, and the taxes are lower than Illinois, then again most states are!
And compared to where we're from, the taxes there seem crazy high! But it's a beautiful area, Scott, and here's wishing for you that you get the chance to return to Door County very, very soon. Thank you so much!
As always we really appreciated all your hard and perfect videos and explanations. It’s so cool! Thanks again.
So nice of you Eva, thank you sincerely!
Wow Marc, that parasailing might be a new bucket list item. Awesome video. Thanks. Unfortunately we too experienced a bearing failure just yesterday at Black Canyon City here in AZ about an hour from home. Not fun...
Oh no! Hope it worked out OK for you in the end, Earl. It stops you in your tracks. And if you get the opportunity to try that parasail, definitely do it.
Very nice video Marc , Jo-Ann and I enjoyed it.
JT
Glad you enjoyed it, JT. Many thanks!
Great video as always and very informative. Hopefully no more issues. Sept I'm boondocking at Lakeside truckee for 4 nights. Since my August was changed do to us having to evacuate our house from the fires in Solano county. We are back safe. Don
So happy that the fires spared you Don! And enjoy Tahoe! Thanks so much for watching and for commenting, as always.
Sorry about the mishap with the trailer. But somehow you still managed to create an epic video. We plan to visit that area next summer. You may have inspired me to try parasailing! Thank you for your awesome virtual tours.
Thanks so much! We appreciate that more than you know.
We usually watch on TV and I can’t comment or like. It would be nice if TH-cam could correct that glitch if that is how they gauge your viewing response.
@@ibbabrady that is indeed part of how they gauge. We use a Roku TV and I know that we can like, but we can't comment either that way. When I am watching someone else's video on our TV I usually have my phone in my hand to comment, but that's just me.
Well Marc you just put door county on our bucket list 👍, that area is just fabulous, and now I want to try pairasailing too, the video footage was great, been on the michigan side many times but not on the upper Wisconsin area, migh suggest you try House on the Rock in Spring Green Wisconsin, very interesting place, thanks for sharing your grand adventure with us 😀 👍
Thank you Gary! We're nearly in Fargo now, but we'll make a note for our return about Spring Green. And when you make it to Door County, definitely give Capt. Doug a try -- he's the parasail op in Ephraim. I felt completely safe in his hands, and tell him that we said "hi".
Fantastic video quality, as always. Heading up to Peninsula State Park Camping in my little teardrop camper in about two weeks. Really looking forward to it.
Thank you! You'll surely have a wonderful time, we liked what we saw of that park. Hope you'll join us in 30+ minutes for our video premiere from the UP: th-cam.com/video/I8hzAmPodtg/w-d-xo.html
Another outstanding video Marc, Thanks..........
Glad you enjoyed it and thank you, Captain!
Another great video of a beautiful area. I remember the post about the travel troubles. That’s such a bummer. What great luck where you found out about the wheel. Once again, Love the history. We stayed at a provincial park called Sturgeon Bay here in Canada. Tasty looking treats. What a cute town. Oh wow. POWs. Very interesting. The water looks a bit rough that day. I love these towns near water. POWs used as labor? 🤔 I have lighthouse envy 😆. Wisconsin looks beautiful. Oh woah. First time in a hotel? That actually is good. I know other RVers have spent weeks or months. I love how you give an overall feel for an area. And what a great attitude about the road issues. Nice little campground but we still prefer state parks and provincial parks. Larry misses his early parasailing. What views. I can imagine insurance for parasailing would be tough. Interesting way to get to that island. I can’t wait to visit areas like these. Thanks for sharing. Alice
We love reading your comments, it's like a recap of our episode from start to finish! 😄
Grand Adventure 😂🤣 just in case you forgot
Looks like a great time! Thanks for sharing.
We had a wonderful visit, and look forward to returning.
Wonderful! Thanks
Our pleasure Joyce, thank you!
Another great video, Marc. Can't wait for the next one.
More to come George! Thank you.
Wonderful video. Amazing detail. Loved it. You haven't invested in a grease gun yet, I see. Still very lucky with your break downs.
Thanks Bob! Ha! If I had a way to attach a photo to this repy I'd show you two grease guns sitting in the bed of the truck. 😉
you'll love the UP, Taquamonon Falls is beautiful
We spent 2 weeks there, one week at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the other at the Keweenaw Peninsula. We loved them both!
Evo needs to upgrade their wheels and suspension. But a good thing you were still able to get out and about.
Agreed Janet. That's one advantage of a trailer, you can drop it and go. Motorhomes have their own set of advantages. It's all a trade-off.
Wow, such a great episode! Loved the Lighthouse shots and of course the kayaking! What a treat to do the parasailing! It looked so fun and man what great views! One of your best Grand Adventure! Excellent work!
Wow, thank you so much Tom!
Great Job Mr G!
Thank you so much!
Beautiful thank you.
Thank you so much!
Grand Adventure was that a different hub you had to fix? Too bad happened again.
@@SandiFrankie unfortunately, same axle (different side).
Someday will you do a video on kayaking? This was a terrific one. Thanks, Mark!
Thank you Arthur! What did you have in mind? Whenever we take the boat out we try to integrate it into the video, like this one.
@@GrandAdventure I was wondering why you selected your particular kayak. What accessories you use. Safety equipment. How do you keep your lunch dry... things like that.
@@vpelleri1 Roger. It would be a bit silly for us to focus on that boat as I've owned it for about a dozen years, and I bought it used for a bargain. It's an old Greenland-style hull that I still love even though they're "out of style" these days. I'm a firm believer in an enclosed sit-in kayak as opposed to a sit-on-top, and the longer the better for tracking and stability. I prefer having a rudder too, especially when beating upwind. I always carry a bilge pump, bilge sponge, whistle, knife, throw bag and PFD, although I sometimes opt to just carry the PFD on board and not wear it if the water is warm and calm, and there are others around. A sea (touring) kayak typically has dry holds for carrying stuff including lunch. Hope this helps!
Simply beautiful, Marc. I have family in Green Bay and thanks to this episode, I'll head up to Door County instead of overstaying my welcome!
Thank you Kevin! You won't regret it, it's been one of our favorite destinations this season. It welcomes tourists, yet in many ways it's beautifully understated.
Fantastic vid Marc.
Appreciate that as always John!
How scenic! Enjoyed the history, Mark. Crazy having to drag your axle around lake Michigan! But all worth it (hotel aside!). Love it that you went para sailing! Stay safe and free! 😉🇨🇦🌲👍
Thank you as always Marian, same to you and yours!
Interesting ...who would have thought. Nice country too. Looked cold tho. I crossed Lake Michigan by ferry
once in summer over to Mich. and nearly froze!
Might have saved you time.
We looked into it Curt, but it was only going to save us about 30 minutes so we opted instead to see a part of the UP that we wouldn't see otherwise, including the Mackinac Bridge, and part of the lower peninsula, too. And the temperatures were perfect while we were in Door County, hovering right around 80 for highs.
Lighthouse footage was my fav!
Living up to your handle -- thank you!
Can relate too well. Heading to Glacier we had a fuel pump injector fail on the pick up. Ugh
So sorry Spell Madam, hope that you got everything sorted out.
Great job Marc.
Thanks again.
Thanks as always Mark!
Another stellar production!
Thank you so much as always!
Great video.
Thank you Alan!
Simply AMAZING!!!! 👍Great video!
Thank you very much!
thanks Marc, that was fun, love the drone shots.
Thank you as always, Joe -- glad that you enjoyed it!
great video Marc
Thanks so much! Appreciate it as always. 👍
Very cool video! Trees were already starting to change, yikes! Thanks Marc
Thank you as always Stu!
We were just there last year! Fabulous lighthouse tour and the john deere tractor ride over the lake was scary but really memorable.
Thanks for sharing your experience Karis! It is a wonderful place. They weren't doing tours of the Cana Island Light and the light tower itself was closed as well, both due to COVID, but they were still permitting self-guided tours of the house and the island.
Grand Adventure thanks for bringing back such wonderful memories ❤️
Wow! I'm so impressed that you went up in that parasailing adventure. Come to think of it, you are all around a pretty brave guy. :D Was amazing to see so much water! That's one big lake.
It's like a giant inland sea, Suzane. And you apparently didn't notice my white-knuckle grip on the harness. 😄
Its fun to see places I have been in your great videos. Looking forward to going back in the next couple of years.
We're so happy to refresh your memory Diane, Door County was one of our favorite stops this summer on our #AmericanHeartlandTour2020!
Iam new subscriber Arabic lady citizen thank you for showing us such magnificent landscapes and beauty of nature you as guide tourist and encourage us to read information about places you visited would you mind if add some main information about places you visit to increase our cultural level as foreigners and for all viewers as well iwish for your channel more progress and success good luck stay safe blessed
Thank you Khatoon, we're thrilled to have you along! We'll definitely keep your suggestions in mind.
Hey sorry you had another axle problem. I hope it wasn't the one you just had fixed. Crazy thing is, that bearing didnt look burnt at all. Thanks for the great video!
Alas, it was indeed the same axle. Thanks so much!
Cool. My dad and mom were light house keepers (pilot island) during WW2 when he was in Cost Guard. It is also in that county. Sorry bout ur axel.
Thanks John -- that's really cool about your folks! But my, what a lonely lifestyle -- Pilot Island is barely more than a rock.
very nice
Thanks!
Wow!! That was a long one!
😁👍🏼
I like that early scene of driving through the town and was wondering how you did that effect of driving on the wrong side of the road. 😳
Did Patricia go Para Sailing with you? 500 feet is WAY up there!
I believe my father told me that the Mackinac Bridge was built the same way as the Golden Gate. (Suspension) It must not get too much sun - it looks a little pale compared to the “Golden” Gate. 😉
Beautiful and peaceful country up there... however, kind of cold in the winter.
So sorry that you had an axle failure again. (I just read the thread written by the “rocket scientist”. Being an engineer, it perked my interest.
Do you still have the monitoring system for your wheels and tires? If so, did this not give any indication that something was starting to fail?
Noticed your nice new camera on the boat. 👍🏼
Last of all.....a 60 second commercial in a 35 minute video is nothing to me. You continue to put out a product that gets better and better. Not only do you put much time into it, but there are expenses - like this episode. (By the way, utube throws in their commercials as well)
I will NOT be unsubscribing.
Ram
PS. Do you have a Patron account set up?
Hey Ram!
The effect of "driving on the other side of the road" is just an optical illusion created by the wide angle of the lens on the DJI Osmo Pocket. It's actually being held out the window, but not as far as our driver's side mirror extends.
Nope, Patricia stayed back at the trailer with Zoe for work when I went on the parasail.
The Mackinac Bridge is indeed a suspension bridge, with a crazy long span, too.
The TPMS system didn't alert us in a timely manner, which surprised us as it notified us immediately when we developed a valve stem leak earlier in Missouri. I'm a bit stumped by that, and need to discuss that with the manufacturer.
That camera on the boat is actually still the DJI Osmo Pocket, just enclosed in a waterproof housing.
Appreciate everything as always, bud! And no, we don't have a Patreon -- that was a conscious decision on our part. We don't like asking for something for nothing.
bill in phoenix. i lived in Baileys harbor for two years in my Sisters Cottage, and now she lives in Sturgeon Bay. there is not a road i haven't driven in door county too. i miss Baileys harbor so much. O that camp grand was right across the street from my cottage too.
We're thrilled that we could bring you back there Bill! Bailey's Harbor was adorable, we can imagine that living there must be wonderfully peaceful, at least in summer. Winters, though, we'd think must be bone-chilling?
I have a friend who built a small house on the peninsula, now 3generations of his family enjoy it.and he has a fleet of kayaks as well.lol
That's wonderful heartwarming, Connie!
Marc, WOW that is a long ways up. Don
Yes it was Don! And so invigorating!
Nice hangout, Marc... I did that once as well, in the Caribbean. Fun experience.
Gord
It certainly is, Gord. I ended up going a heck of a lot higher than I'd expected!
@@GrandAdventure You were in drone territory!...😉
@@gorrdd actually 100' higher than legal drone territory, and into helicopter territory.
@@GrandAdventure My ride seemed like maybe 300', based upon piloting landing pattern estimations. How high is legal drone flight?
@@gorrdd while there are some exceptions, depending on structures or land forms, drone flight is limited to 400'.
Isn't the freedom of flight like that amazing? I haven't ever parasailed.
But you've flown ultralights, JJ -- it must be a very similar sensation.
@@GrandAdventure I have a old video of me in a gyrocopter. I flew trikes but sold my plane now.
@@waterandlandadventures4319 I'm nevertheless jealous, someday I'd like to fly. Mrs. Grand Adventure took a few flying lessons but never kept going.
👍👍😊
Great job Marc, as always. Watch all your videos and I subscribe. We've gone to Door County a few times in the last 10 years. The fall is our favorite time, with the colors. But, my favorite thing are the Fish Boils. Did they not tell tell you of the famous fish boils in door county? We'll be going there in a October, reserved a spot at the Peninsula State Park.
Thanks, Marc.
Mark K.
Thank you Monk! Nope, they held out on us about the fish boils, no one said a word until we were out of Wisconsin. 😄 We're certain that Door County is positively stunning in the fall, enjoy your trip to Peninsula State Park!
That was one of your best adventures! Marc. The scenery and water scenes were very inviting. I love that area. The relative remoteness of the lake is just great.
I gather that was axle number three repair. Same one as before? Did they give you any guidance on the issue of alignment? Just curious.
The parasail ride looked the same as when I went up. Yes, it looks only about 300' but apparently is 500'. Elevation above water can be very tricky to judge.
There wasn't much bow in the line. Which means only wind causes that and they won't take people up when it's windy.
Gord
Thanks so much Gord!
In all honesty, as much as we appreciated the RV dealership's hospitality and willingness to act upon our situation immediately, they weren't really strong in the guidance department. In fact, I was pretty much on my own to locate either a new axle, or a new spindle and a welder willing to take on that job. No matter, the dealership was extremely patient with us "camping" in their back lot and got right to it once we got back from Traverse City.
When we got back on the road to head to the UP I pulled over to check on things and, son of a gun, the axle had again spun around 180 degrees so that the camber was reversed, just like it did driving to Lake of the Ozarks. I was beside myself, and by some miracle I located a single-bay auto repair shop in the middle of the woods of the UP that was actually still open at 4:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon. On top of it, the owner/mechanic had just left a 20-year stint in the military as a jet fighter mechanic. We managed to get it spun back into its proper position, and he indicated that the nuts on the U-bolts cradling the axle were barely more than hand tight. I wish that I could say that I was shocked, but I wasn't.
As far as the wind goes while parasailing, my understanding is that it's a factor of both wind speed and wind direction. The boat captain is constantly maneuvering to stay upwind of the parasailer and I'd guess that if the wind were to increase by a few knots, the captain would merely dial back the throttle a few knots.
@@GrandAdventure Thanks Marc... great explanations to go along with grand adventures.
I hope the other guy got you set up properly with the U bolts adequately secured and that this will be the last of your axel issues. Always good to have an aircraft A&P work on anything mechanical.
Yeah... light breezes shouldn't be an issue.
Gord
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot would make good bumper music for the Great Lakes videos.
Wish we could've used it, Bill! But then we'd be giving all ad revenue to Gordon Lightfoot. I can tell you, though, that the song played in my head the entire time we were in the Great Lakes.
@@GrandAdventure Sorry about that! I forgot about the royalties issue. It was just a passing thought. Maybe chanties of les voyageurs from the 17th century? Public domain, by now...
@@williamlevenson5607 don't apologize! No reason to. And don't think that we didn't have the same idea.Yes, some old sea chanties would've been perfect.
@@GrandAdventure A-OK. Can hardly wait for next week's video. Thanks, Marc.
@@williamlevenson5607 great to see you at tonight's Premiere Bill, thanks for coming.
We love your videos, interesting and very informative. However, the music is very annoying to us. Something softer and a little quieter would be wonderful.
Appreciate the feedback, Linda. We always try to match the music to the mood of the visuals in each segment; hence the more aggressive music during the parasailing in this episode, for example, or something more atmospheric and ethereal in a serene setting. But we'll take your suggestion to heart.
Love the videos, look forward to them each week. Hows the tundra holding up and any regrets with your rig? I conversed briefly with you in 2018 when I purchased mine and love it , but I'm certain yours has been tested more throughly than mine.. l haven't gone off road hardly any but quiet possibly may pull the camper from Western NC to Silverton this up coming year , and will probably venture into the mountains some . Any pros or cons you'd like to submit ?
Great to hear from you, John! We're still thrilled with the Tundra, and have still done absolutely nothing to it but scheduled maintenance. We're now at 112K miles and bought it at 35K miles, with a substantial portion of our mileage incurred while towing. Toyota's quality and resale value are both, in our opinion, second to none.
As far as cons, our biggest beef is the gas mileage compared with its peers. It's awful! We're happy to get ~15 mpg without towing, and ~7 mpg while towing. That's not such a big deal with gas prices low as they are right now, but would be a bigger sticking point if gas prices shoot upward. Tundras also tend to have fewer "bells and whistles" than their peers, they're more of a straightforward pickup truck without some of the more luxurious options.
As for our situation, I suspect that we're approaching a crossroads. As this is our second summer out of the past three spent "long-timing" in our trailer, we're starting to think that a modest upgrade may be in our future. Nothing too big so that we can still get into remote boondocking locales without issue, but just something with a bit more living and storage space as we're actually contemplating getting rid of the sticks-and-bricks house. Maintaining a home in Utah while we're traveling 6 months out of the year or more is getting expensive. I'm also getting tired of replacing axles on this travel trailer 😄 and our list of necessary repairs when we get back home is growing, including issues with both slides. With all the miles we tow, if/when we upgrade it may make sense to go to a fifth-wheel configuration for the increased stability while towing. If we do that, it will probably mean leaving Toyota as much to our disappointment, they don't make a 3/4-ton or a diesel, which would not only provide more torque and towing capacity, but also much improved fuel economy.
Time will tell.
Love Door County. Hope you did the fish boil and saw the goats on the roof of the restaurant in maybe Fish Creek?
I think that you might mean Johnson's Restaurant in Sister Bay, with the grass roof? We did, Mike, although we didn't get to attend a fish boil this time. We should've stayed at Door County for 2 weeks instead of 1, especially as our axle problems abbreviated our time to enjoy the area.
@@GrandAdventure Yes you are correct. Been a while since we visited there. Glad you enjoyed it. Safe and happy trails.
@@mikehampton4453 same to you and yours!
Slight error on our website Marc, it's actually parasailrides.com, maybe you can correct it thanks, Doug
Fixed, thanks Doug!
I really enjoyed your video. 👌🏼⭐️
Greetings from Albania. 👋🏼🇦🇱
Also, Let’s build each other Up. 💪🏼
You stated that another motorist had to flag you down in regards to the axle issue. I know you installed a TPMS system on a previous episode. Did that not give you any feed back on the tire. Did the tire on that side blowout or the temperature rise to where the TPMS system would warn you of a problem. I ask because we installed a TPMS system as well this year and wondering how well it worked in your situation.
That was a shocker Todd, but no...the TPMS didn't alert until some minutes later. We plan to take that up with Tireminder to see if we had some setting wrong. We never did find the tire and wheel to do any kind of forensic examination.
A month or two back in Missouri we did develop a leak in one of our tires and the TPMS did give us timely warning to change out to our spare before a blowout could happen.
We tried to find a RV spot for a 43 ft Motorhome and couldn’t get one. People get the big sites way in advance since there are not many big sites in most of the campgrounds
We can believe that. We had a hard time finding any spot whatsoever, but it's definitely easier for a 26' travel trailer.
New England? Where Marc? We did not know that.
Jeff, I grew up in Norwich, in southeastern Connecticut down in the New London/Groton/Mystic area. I was last there in 2017 when my mother passed away and we had to take care of her affairs and sell the house. It's the "other Connecticut".
@@GrandAdventure Wow. Had no idea Marc. We're from RI and now live in MA. Happy to have you on the property if you're ever back in this neck of the woods.
@@jeffl8246 that's so kind of you, thank you for your generosity! One day we'll get back there, my sister is still in Danvers. We were supposed to get to Quebec this season and then return via New England, but COVID changed all of that.
Didn't you get some axle work done recently ? Thats a bummer though.
Yup, same axle too.
My only question is what is the weight limit for Parasailing? Does he have enough HP and parasail to get me airborne?
I honestly don't recall the weight limit, but I seem to recollect that it was something like 400 lb. But don't quote me on that.
no way i could ever pay RV park prices.
It definitely gets expensive cumulatively. However, if you're full-timing and not maintaining a home (not our case at present), it's much cheaper than a sticks-and-bricks lifestyle.
Great Job as always. Does your wife kayak with you
Thank you Paul! Very rarely does my wife join me on the water, as she's not a fan of kayaking and gets a little claustrophobic in sit-in kayaks, too.
@@GrandAdventure Too bad you seem to be having a great time on the water.
@@paulc7549 I don't mind solo kayaking at all. In fact, I find it to be incredibly peaceful. it gives us a chance to spend some time apart, which is a good thing when you're living in 250 ft² for 6 months together. Sometimes you just need your private time.
Sorry, Marc, but as a real 'rocket scientist' who ended up building chemical plants around the world, I have to probe this axle issue.
In it's condensed form, we're taught in FMEA, that failures result from a failure of: [a] design/engineering, [b] manufacture, [c] installation, [d] operation, or [e] maintenance.
So, after the first failure, what did you change? after the second failure, what did you change? after the third failure, what did you change?
And, as always, your work is top-shelf. Hard to imagine how your channel hasn't been able to pull away from "Rusty78609".
LOL! I had to look up that "Rusty78609" reference. 😄
Thanks for your input! I'll answer your questions with more complete information than I've previously shared publicly:
1. The first failure was actually in summer 2018, we had a bearing failure outside of Albuquerque, NM. We incurred no resultant damage, replaced the bearing and continued on.
2. In the meantime we've made sure to have our bearings preventatively cleaned and re-packed at regular intervals.
3. The second failure (this time the driver's side front wheel) was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota earlier this summer. That's the one that wrecked the driver's side front spindle. Our OEM used Lippert axles, and when one could not be found it was replaced with a Dexter axle with the same specs.
4. From Sioux Falls, once repairs were complete we traveled a short distance to Sioux City and stayed for a few days before embarking upon a 7-hour drive to Lake of the Ozarks, MO. Shortly before reaching Lake of the Ozarks, I was pumping gas and noticed that something looked amiss. On further inspection I discovered that a) the axle had rotated 180 degrees out of position, such that the camber was now reversed and was pointing downward instead of upward, and b) the nuts/bolts holding the hubs to the new axle were either missing, or barely still there. I tightened the remaining nuts, said a little prayer and nursed the trailer to our destination. The guy who did the repairs in Sioux City drove down and replaced the hubs again, using a little Loctite and different nuts that would bind better when tightened (with a tapered inner face like lug nuts, instead of the flat nuts that came with the hubs), as well as rotated the axle back into its correct position and re-torqued the U-bolts holding the axle to the frame.
5. We thereafter covered a couple of thousand miles before the incident in Wisconsin. We were flagged down by a motorist that our passenger side front wheel was missing. The result was the axle spindle that you saw in this video, and despite searching for a couple of hours we never found the wheel. As you could see in this video, the outer face of the hub disappeared with the wheel. We got a new spindle from a Dexter distributor and had it welded onto the axle, and replaced the hub/brakes on that side. The new hubs have lock washers on the bolts that hold the hub to the axle, and I could be wrong here but I don't remember seeing lock washers on the ones acquired in South Dakota. I had the welder in Michigan check the torque on the bolts holding the hubs to the axle. We also bought a spare of everything just in case -- spindle, hub, bearings and brakes.
6. About 100 miles after leaving Wisconsin, I lost my trailer brakes (that was exciting! Thank God it was flat) and when I got out to inspect, I was shocked to see the axle again rotated 180 degrees out of position. In so doing it wrapped and snapped the brake wires around the axle. I grabbed my wire stripper and some wire nuts to reconnect the brakes, but they'd only work intermittently because it turned out that the wrapping also stretched the wires leading from the front axle brakes to the rear axle brakes, resulting in the ground fault error reading on my brake controller. I needed some additional jacks to rotate the axle myself, and by dumb luck I found a former military jet mechanic at his single-bay auto repair shop in the middle of the UP forest at 4:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon to give me a hand. He reported that the U-bolts holding the axle to the frame were barely more than hand tight, leading to the obvious conclusion that the RV dealer in Wisconsin never torqued them down properly. We torqued them and applied a bit of Loctite, and rewired the brakes once we found where the ground fault was occurring between the axles.
7. And here we are probably 700 or so towing miles later, and (fingers crossed) so far, so good.
@@GrandAdventure
Appreciate the dossier. Didn't mean to put you to work ... you already have two jobs!
So here's my take, ala NTSB:
[1] b, c, and/or e;
[3] insufficient forensics but apparently b, c, and/or e once again;
[4] [c]
[5] probably the most disconcerting ... again insufficient forensics but you're suggesting [c] as likely cause;
[6] [c]
You understand it's all speculation from 2,000 miles away [a displaced New Englander serving a life sentence in Virginia].
But I have to wonder ... could all these failures have as their root cause vibration? Could your specific combination of the rig, load/balance, tires, etc. be setting up a destructive dynamic situation? It would 'excited' at certain speeds. Who can forget the Tacoma Narrows Bridge incident in the 1940s? [Not that either of us was around then to see it but I did study it in school.]
@@affromma yep, harmonic vibration. The thought has caused my mind, too. Add to the fact that with all the boondocking we do, we really have beaten the snot out of that trailer on some roads.
I'm going to take it to my trusted mechanic in SLC when I get back, as we have a few other issues to address anyway. I'll be anxious to hear his feedback.
@@richiefields4799 hopefully we'll get to some day meet both of you.
@@richiefields4799 you're too kind, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
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Wow, you've been doing your research! That's very impressive! We'll have to get you to start writing the scripts for our videos. 😉 Thank you for sharing with us what you learned about Wisconsin -- I believe that's more than most Americans could tell us about Wisconsin. 😄
Such a shame... I've followed your channel for a long time, thoroughly enjoyed it, when you first started out, now just a commercial zone. I get it, you need sponsors, just don't shove it down our throats... sorry, had to unsubscribe. Best of luck to you Marc...
Sorry to see you go, sincerely. The sponsor message lasted for 60 seconds of a 35-minute video. If you truly understand that we need sponsors I can't imagine how it could be done less intrusively. Travel expenses, camera equipment, and mechanical upkeep all cost us money to produce Grand Adventure. In fact, the breakdown in this episode alone cost us well north of a kilobuck. We can only hope to one day break even.