Keep It All Going -- RVs, OHVs, Boats, Camping Gear

Our outdoor recreational equipment often represents a significant investment and we will want to protect that investment so we get as many years use from it as we can.  Lack of maintenance or improper maintenance can quickly result in premature wear and tear and/or complete failure of equipment and gear.

No matter what form your outdoor recreation takes, you have to invest a little time and effort and sometimes a little money to keep it all going so you can use it when you want to.  Motorized equipment usually requires the most effort and attention but even non-motorized camping equipment needs a little attention now and then to keep it in top shape and extend its useful life.  If you let things go, sooner or later it will catch up with you and your equipment will let you down -- usually at the worst possible time and place!  You might be surprised how little effort it actually takes to keep things in good shape.  Pretty much always a lot less time, effort, and money, not to mention inconvenience, than it takes to fix things once they break down.

Preventative Maintenance is the term usually used to describe what we do to keep our gear and equipment in top condition.  It consists primarily of performing required cleaning, lubrication and adjustments and is usually done before any problems have begun to show up.  Taking care of apparent problems falls under the category of repair rather than Preventative Maintenance.  Proper Preventative Maintenance can usually prevent many problems from every reaching the level where repair or replacement is required.

Motorized equipment (RVs, boats, OHVs) usually have owners manuals to guide you in required maintenance.  If yours didn't come with one you can usually purchase one from the dealer or find one online.  Lacking any owner's manual basic, some basic regular maintenance needed is to change the oil, oil filter, air filter and fuel filter.  Most vehicles also required regular chassis lubrication.  Chain driven vehicles like motorcycles and ATVs need to have the chains cleaned regularly and lubricated before every ride.  Air cooled vehicles need to have the cooling fins cleaned and any air access ways kept clear.  Liquid cooled vehicles need to have the coolant level checked frequently (before any trip in an RV and before any ride in an OHV) and changed according to vehicle and or coolant manufacturer's recommendations.  Coolant does break down and it can also get polluted by oil or engine gases.  Low coolant, caused by leakage, can result in catastrophic overheating which is usually VERY expensive to repair.  Radiators need to be kept free from dirt and debris and checked for leaks.

RVs and many boats are equipped with convenience systems that also required periodic maintenance.  Whenever your unit has a stove, furnace, refrigerator, water heater, water system, air conditioner, or any kind of electronic navigation or entertainment systems they will also need to be inspected and serviced as needed.  Owner's manuals for each device or system are the best source of maintenance schedules and procedures.  If you don't have owner's manuals for all your systems and equipment plan on inspecting and evaluating every one at least once a year, more if they get a lot of use.  Some things to check include any electrical or fuel connections, condition of burners on stoves, water heaters, and even gas refrigerators, lubricating any moving parts, and proper operation of on/off switches and safety devices.  Furnaces and air conditioners may have filters that need to be cleaned regularly.  Refrigerator cooling cools need to be clean and have nothing blocking the normal air flow required for cooling.  Water systems need to be checked for leaks.  Fresh water tanks may need to be purged and sanitized.  Waste water tanks need to be dumped and cleaned regularly and proper chemical levels maintained.  Electronic devices may have wiring or connectors that need to be inspected.  Any frayed wiring or loose connectors should be repaired or replaced ASAP.  Damaged circuits may not only degrade performance but may cause loads that can burn out internal components or even cause a fire.

Any vehicle with wheels and tires will need to have the wheels and tires checked before every trip and wheel bearings service according to manufacturer's specifications or at least once a year.  Tires need to be checked for proper inflation, adequate tread, and inspected for any sidewall damage.  Tires with inadequate tread or sidewall damage need to be replaced ASAP.  Proper inflation is necessary for comfort, performance and safety.  Of course this includes boat trailers as well as RVs, camping trailers, and tow vehicles -- as well as your daily driver!

Most motorized equipment needs to be exercised regularly to keep it in good shape.  If possible, it is best to take your RV, trailer, or ATV for a shore drive or ride at least once a month while it is in "storage" during the off season.  If that isn't possible, just starting the engine and running it for 10 or 15 minutes to let it warm up and shifting through the gears will help lubricate at least the engine and transmission.  When running your ATV, be sure to turn off the gas and let it burn up all the fuel in the system before storing it again.  Today's ethanol containing fuels go bad and gum up the fuel system pretty quickly if you let fuel sit there for a while.

Boat have their own special maintenance needs.  Motorboats have engines and drive trains that require service; sailboats have masts, rigging, and sails to take care of and often have auxiliary engines too.  In order to get the most of of any boat, you will have to keep it in good condition.  Not only that, you must keep them in good condition for safety!  Mechanical failures out on the water can be far more vexing and dangerous than in a camper or OHV on land.

Non-motorized camping equipment still needs to be inspected and taken care of on a regular basis.  Burners on appliances such as camp stoves and lanterns need to be cleaned at last once a year.  Pumps on liquid fuel appliances need to be checked and properly cleaned and lubricated periodically.  A few drops of oil on the leather gasket on lanterns and stoves will help keep it from getting dried out and stiff.  Fabric items, such as tents, awnings, packs, and sleeping bags need to be kept clean and stored where they are protected from moisture, sunlight, and pests.  Any tears or other damage should be repaired as quickly as possible.  Zippers on sleeping bags and packs need to be checked and possibly lubricated.  Tent poles and stakes need to be inspected and any damaged items repaired or replaced.  Tools need to be inspected and properly serviced according to the needs of each tool.  Axes, hatchets, and knives need to be sharpened.  Wood tool handles should be kept smooth and lightly oiled.  Metal parts of all tools should be lightly coated with oil to prevent rust or corrosion while in storage.

Disposable provisions can be both perishable and non-perishable.   Perishable items are usually removed after and replenished again for the next trip.  Non-perishable provisions, such as cleaning supplies and many first aid items need to be regularly inspected to make sure they are still serviceable.  Some items may have marked expiration dates, some may get used up, some may get worn out, and some, like Bandaids and adhesive tapes may lose their ability to stick.  All non-perishable items should be checked at least once a year and doing it more often (like before every trip!) will likely save you a lot of disappointment and aggravation.  Depleted provisions, sundries, cleaning supplies, camping supplies, automotive supplies, first aid supplies, etc., should be replenished before each trip.  Some specific things to check might include shampoo, dish soap, lantern mantles, motor oil, and spray lubricants.  Also be sure to check out any medicines (OTC as well as prescriptions) to make sure you have enough for each trip and they are not expired or contaminated.

Battery powered devices may be subject to battery failure or even corrosion.    Always remove ordinary batteries from flashlights and other devices before leaving them in storage for any extended length of time.  Check all battery powered devices and replace or recharge dead batteries prior to each trip.  If you find corrosion, clean it out as quickly and thoroughly as you can and put in new batteries.  A trick to prevent batteries from discharging excessively in storage is to flip one of the batteries in a multiple battery system around.  That lets you keep the batteries in the device but it can't get accidentally turned on.  Some LED flashlights depend on correct battery orientation and flipping batteries in them might damage the circuitry so exercise extra caution.

Things like camping chairs and beach umbrellas usually need very little maintenance but they can benefit from regular cleaning and occasionally the hardware may need to be adjusted and/or lubricated.  Greasy stains or bird droppings may speed deterioration or attract insects that can damage fabric.  Bent, rusted, or poorly lubricated components can cause excessive wear and premature failure.  Often even aluminum chair frames have steel components that can rust and could fail at the most inconvenient moment and leave you sitting on the ground!  Bent components might be carefully straightened but bent parts are likely need to be replaced eventually as bending (and straightening) them will have weakened the component.

Tools, like axes, hatchets, hammers, saws, and shovels should be inspected and kept properly sharpened.  Believe it or not, sharp tools are actually safer than dull ones.  Handles should always be smooth and tight.  All the tools in your tool box(es) should be checked regularly so make sure they are still there and are in usable condition.  Unpainted metal items should be protected by coating of light oil like WD-40.  Wooden handles usually benefit greatly from being rubbed with linseed oil.

Cooking utensils should always be kept clean and inspected for damage, such as loose handles or ragged edges.  Damaged items should be repaired or replaced.  Knives should be kept sharp and edges protected in storage both to maintain sharpness and to prevent you getting injured getting things out of the drawer or compartment.

Camp clothing should be cleaned and inspected.  Repairable items should be properly repaired as soon as it is reasonable to do so.   Often you can patch camp clothing in ways that are quite attractive and the patches themselves can become part of the camp ambiance.   Decorative patches or even recycled military insignia can often be used to make attractive repairs. Worn out or unrepairable items should be discarded and replaced.  No sense letting useless stuff take up valuable room in your valuable and limited space!  Some worn clothing might be recycled as cleaning rags or, if you are really crafty, braided into rugs!

Keep it going!

Off Road Riding Areas

What make a good off road riding area?  Actually there are many different type of terrain that can provide interesting off road riding experiences.  Here are some common factors to think about.  Some basic things to consider include what type of activity you will be doing (dirt bikes, ATVs, horseback riding, etc.), your level of experience (you will enjoy more difficult and challenging terrain only after you are experienced), weather (be sure to dress appropriately), and number and level of experience of riders in your group, how much time you have (limited travel time means you need a place close to home).

1.  Access to riding trails and/or open areas.  The next big necessary feature is access to good riding trails or open riding areas.  The most enjoyable outings we had in southern California were in places that provide both good trails and open riding areas.  What makes up a good trail depends on what you are riding, your level of expertise, and your expectations.  I like trail systems that provide a variety of riding experiences, some for young or novice riders and some with more technical challenges for more experienced folks.  Rolling hills can provide hours of moderate level entertainment.  Open riding areas usually offer plenty of fairly flat places for novices to learn and may often include rolling hills and sometimes even more aggressive hill climbs and technical challenges.

2.  Reasonable access to necessary resources.  The definition of both ''reasonable access'' and '' necessary resources'' will depend on the user.  For some being within an hour or so of a small town where you can get necessary supplies is enough while some folks might consider full RV hookups a must (please note that places with full RV hookups seldom have good access to riding areas!).  I had a friend whose idea of roughing it was having to ring twice for room service!

3.  Plenty of room to camp.  How much room you need will depend on the size of your group.  Solo riders  or small families need only a single campsite.  Larger groups need room for multiple individual areas and often include motorhomes, camping trailers, and tent campers.  Our Desert Rat group usually staked out a nice big area that could accommodate about a dozen rigs arranged around a central fire pit like the circling of a pioneer wagon train.

4.  Appropriate terrain for your riding style.   Options might include trails, hills, beaches, sand washes, and open riding areas.  Some areas may have trails specifically designed for specialized learning, such as beginner's trails and even rock crawler practice tracks.

5.  Access to emergency services.  We all hope we never need emergency services when we are riding our OHVs, but stuff happens.  There are accidents.  Vehicles break down.  People get sick or injured.  We run out of provisions.  Most off road riding areas will be some distance from the emergency services and stores we are used to at home.  Invest a little time familiarizing yourself with where and how to get emergency services when you go off road.  Know where you have to go to get a signal for your cell phone.  Know where to find or contact rangers or law enforcement.  We were pleased that the California City Police Department posted signs all over the open riding areas near California City with their direct phone number.  Dialing 911 in that area would connect you to the California Highway Patrol a couple of hundred miles away.  Emergency response times directly from California City were much faster.  I had a number of personal encounters with California City Police, both out on the trails and when assisting other users to get help in town and am pleased to say they were always professional, helpful, and friendly.  They even sponsored volunteer Desert Indcident Response Teams to aid lost or injured riders.

6.  Appropriate weather.   For most OHV outings we want mild temperatures and sunny skies.  For snowmobiling we need snow on the ground but not too much of it still falling.  Rain can dampen more than spirits when you are riding a dirt bike or ATV but is probably less of a problem if you have a covered side-by-side.  Most of our family outings in southern California were to parts of the Mojave Desert but sometimes, in the hottest part of the summer, we would head a little further up into the mountains to escape the heat.  We once left the valley floor at 5:00 am when it was over 100F and arrived at our campground at over 9000 feet elevation a few hours later and needed winter coats!  Desert trails in the summer are very hot and very dusty.  Forest trails were a lot more pleasant, with little dust and even some shady portions to ride through.

7.  Not TOO far from home.   Ultimately you when you go off roading you want to spend as much time as possible riding you OHV, not getting there and getting back.  But given the nature of off roading, you should probably count on at least some driving.  Many of our favorite riding areas were more than 150 miles from our home!  That meant we generally only went there on 3-day weekends or other extended outings.  You may want to find someplace closer to home where you can swing by for a quick weekend or even after work ride.  Places for short outings don't have to have all the neat features you might seek for longer excursions, but they can still be fun.  After all, dirt is dirt!

Check with local land managers like the US Forest Service, your state Forest Service, or, in Western States, the Bureau of Land Management to learn about riding areas within their jurisdictions.  Local, state, and regional OHV clubs may also be able to provide some suggestions.  You should be able to get some good ideas from the Internet.  Do an online search for ''off road riding areas near me''  You may be surprised at the resources that pop up!  Personally I prefer getting recommendations from other riders so I can learn more details about prospective areas before investing the time and fuel to go there.

Never assume it is OK to ride just because an area is remote and undeveloped.   Many such areas are private property and you would be trespassing.  Trespassers can be arrested and could face stiff fines and maybe even jail time.  Many desolate remote areas were once used for mining and you may encounter loose tailing piles and dangerous pits that can lead to accidents that damage your equipment and your body!  You may even see well used trails that trespass on private property.  Just because others are blatantly trespassing doesn't make it OK, and the useage could be from the owner or other authorized users.  If you encounter a NO TRESSPASSING or PRIVATE PROPERTY sign, stop and turn around immediately unless you have specific written permission from the owner to be there.  Written permission is usually best, in case you have to prove your right to there to law enforcement.

While we are on the subject of riding areas, we need to cover appropriate behavior.  Off road enthusiasts get blamed frequently and often erroneously for trashing off road staging areas.  I have personally been involved in a number of clean up projects, both as an organizer and a worker, and in literally every case, most of the trash we collected was from illegal dumping by nearby residents, not stuff left behind by riders.  In one case we filled a 40 yard dumpster with the junk we gathered up, which included sofas, toilets, TVs, and car parts -- not stuff anyone hauls around on their dirt bikes or ATVs!  In talking with BLM land managers in southern California and Utah I confirmed that our experience was typical.  Very little if any of the refuse collected on clean up projects is the result of off road usage.  That being said, we should still do our part to take care of the steadily diminishing riding areas we have.  Always clean up after yourself.  The Desert Rat off road group I was part of in southern California always put in some time policing the area around our camp sites and staging areas to clean up any wayward trash before departing.  It only takes 15-20 minutes to make a good pass around your campsite picking up trash and it will payoff in keeping it nice for the next visitor -- which could be you!  Sometimes we had to clean up the area when we arrived because others had left it a mess.  Another important part of appropriate behavior is complying with rules.  We may not always agree with or understand certain rather oppressive rules but blatantly defying them only strengthens the opposition and leads to even more oppressive rules and sometimes complete closure of riding areas.  When you encounter offensive rules, contact the relevant land manager to express your opposition and find out if there is any legitimate reason for the rules.  Believe it or not, land managers are tasked with actually managing the land under their jurisdiction and that means supporting all appropriate uses, not just keeping people off of it!  I have generally been very pleased with the support I have seen from US Forest Service rangers, BLM managers, and California State OHV park rangers.  I once had to coordinate a clean up project with a BLM manager whose title included CONSERVATION so I was a little intimidated to start with.  He turned out to be very helpful and surprisingly supportive of our off road activities.  He even directed the leader of an environmental group at a college near our riding area to contact me for permission to participate in our event.  It was interesting seeing off-roaders and environmentalists working side by side for a common goal.  I think both groups were kind of surprised to learn the other group was made of good people.

You will usually find some popular riding areas within a reasonable drive of almost every major population center, at least in the Western states.  These places typically are easy to find and easy to get to.  In most cases they will include trails for a variety of riding styles and skill levels.  About the only downside is there will usually be a lot of other riders unless you go during some ''off'' time, like week days or during bad weather.  Sometimes having other riders around is a good thing.  They can be a useful source of information and even help if you need it.  Just observing them can be both educational and entertaining.  There are also more remote and less used riding areas that can be a lot of fun.  If you prefer solitude when camping, these might be a better choice for you.  Just know that if if anything happens (accident, illness, injury, breakdown) you will likely be on your own for at least a while.

When you find a good riding area should you stick with it?  The answer is a definite maybe!  There are distinct advantages to riding in a familiar setting.  You aren't likely to get lost. You will know how long it will take to reach various familiar destinations so you can plan your rides efficiently.  Riding familiar territory is fun and can feel comfortable.  It is a good place to train new additions to your riding group, whether be be biologically related to you or not.   I had been the "new kid" for so long I was surprised when on one outing I discovered I was the only ''old timer'' in our group of about 6 riders.  However, exploring new trails has a very strong appeal of it's own.  New trails can yield new challenges that help you extend your skills.  New trails let you experience different opportunities to test your skills and your equipment and enjoy new scenery.  New trails lead to new destinations and often each destination has its own set of desirable attributes and advantages.  Match your choice with your wants and needs for each outing.  If you are bringing new riders you might give a preference to familiar locations where you can share your knowledge and expertise.  If you are looking for increased excitement and new experiences, consider new riding areas.  I found it a lot of fun to explore new areas with someone who had been there before.

Only you can decide what  is a good off road riding area for you. 

A Trailer For Hauling Your Camping Gear

Do you need a trailer to haul your camping gear?  Well, maybe.  Depends on your camping style, how much gear you have, how many people are in your group, what kind of vehicle you have, where you are going. what kind of activities you will be involved in, and how long you are going for.  The larger your group, the more complex your activities, and the longer you plan to be gone, the more likely you will need room to haul more stuff.  You might also need extra supplies if your destination is very remote and you won't have reasonable access to additional supplies as needed.

If you normally go camping in a motorhome, camping trailer, or truck camper, you probably won't need a utility trailer to haul your camping gear.  You can usually stow everything you need in your rig.  But sometimes you may want to bring along more stuff than you have room for in your normal recreational vehicle.  Having more people than usual or going on a longer trip than usual typically requires bringing along more stuff.   In such cases or if you are a tent camper and don't have a large vehicle to transport your gear, you will probably want to consider buying or making a light-weight utility trailer to tote your stuff around.  Pickups, vans, and large SUVs might have enough capacity but ordinary passenger cars, especially the small, compact, fuel efficient ones we generally prefer for daily drivers, will probably need extra cargo carrying space.

Even if you are a tent camper you may or may not need a trailer to haul your camping gear.  If you drive a large SUV or a pickup truck you probably have all the room you need to transport your normal camping equipment.  Even a station wagon or a full-size sedan may be adequate.  However, in these days of steadily increasing fuel prices you may choose a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle for your daily driver.  Or if your family or regular camping group is large your gear might not fit in any vehicle, especially a smaller one.   If either is the case, you might need a small, light-weight trailer to transport your camping gear.  When I was a teen our family of 4 went camping in a '57 Hudson with sleeper seats and were quite comfortable for several days of travel and camping in and around Yellowstone Park and everything we needed fit comfortably in the trunk.  The same trip in a regular passenger car a year or so later required motel stops.

Some alternatives to a trailer might include a roof top carrier or hitch-mounted cargo rack or box.  If you have a vehicle with a roof rack you may be able to carry a lot of the bulky, lighter weight items like sleeping bags in a waterproof cargo bag secured to the roof rack. If you live in an area that gets little rain you might get way without covering your cargo, but whether you use a cargo carrier or a tarp it is still a good idea to cover the load to protect it from sunlight, wind, possible rain, and prying eyes.  Simply keeping things out of sight can provide a certain level of  "security by obscurity" and reduce thefts of opportunity.  Whenever you haul cargo outside your vehicle make sure it is securely anchored so it doesn't blow or bounce off during travel.  Avoid putting heavy items on roof racks.  Getting it up and down risks injury and having heavy loads up high can affect vehicle handling and could damage the roof.

A lightweight utility trailer isn't hard to come by.  Many home centers sell small trailers for home use and for transporting lawn mowers and other power yard equipment.  If you have a bent for do-it-yourself projects you can build your own trailer using trailer kits like those available at Harbor Freight.  They have kits for different size trailers.  A popular size is 48"x96", just right for a single sheet of 3/4" plywood to make the floor.  It is small enough and light enough to be pulled by a small vehicle yet large enough to carry almost all the camping gear you will need for the average family.  Flat bed trailers or utility trailers or even enclosed box trailers are all good possibilities.  What you choose will depend on your individual needs, budget, and availability.  Flat beds make it easy to load and unload wheeled toys.  Utility trailers help keep things secure in transit without having to tie them down.   You may be able to tarp both flat bed trailers and utility trailers to protect your gear against sun and rain.   Enclosed trailers provide the most security for your gear on the road and in camp and provide convenient extra protection against the weather.  You can often find small, inexpensive trailers for sale on craigslist.org.  I have used old tent trailers that were repurposed as motorcycle or utility trailers.  You might pick up an older tent trailer with a ruined tent pretty cheap (maybe even free!) and strip it down to make a utility trailer.

I have a camping trailer that started life as an Apache tent trailer.  Someone before me had completely gutted the little trailer to turn it into a utility trailer.  I actually got it for free on craigslist.  It needed a little work (including a LOT of cleaning and a new paint job to match our Jeep) and I upgraded from 10" wheels and tires to 12" for extra road clearance and an added safety margin.  One advantage to this particular trailer is that is has a clam-shell top that completely closes it during travel.  On one of our first trips we encountered very heavy rain.  So heavy there was about 2" of standing water on the freeway on a 6% grade!  Once out of the storm we pulled off the freeway and opened the clam-shell to access and mitigate the damage and were pleasantly surprised to find only 2 or 3 drops had gotten inside!  The clam-shell can even be locked for extra security.  It also gives us a convenience place to haul and store our camping equipment so it saves storage space in the garage and is always ready to go.

Packing your camping trailer may take some fore-thought and a little practice.    Basically you will want to load the heaviest components over the axle but you will need to maintain a certain amount of weight on the tongue to keep the connection secure and to avoid swaying.  Tongue weight for most small trailers should be in the range of 200-300 lbs but ultimately will depend on the overall trailer weight and how the load is distributed.   If there isn't enough tongue weight on the hitch (shoot for about 10% of the total loaded weight) the trailer may sway back and forth, kind of like the tail wagging the dog.  If there is too much weight on the tongue (more than about 15%) your vehicle may become less responsive, especially when turning and braking.  You may have to take your loaded trailer to a weigh station to find out how much it weighs.  You might be able to use a home bathroom scale to weigh the tongue, but use caution.  If it is too heavy for the scale you can damage the scale.  Trailer sway can be a serious problem.  My family and I have experienced at least two significant accidents due to excessive sway.  In one case the 28' toy hauler trailer  my son was pulling was too big and too heavy for the 1/2  ton pickup pulling it when it got caught in heavy crosswinds.  The other problem occurred when one of the bunk boards holding our sailboat broke, dumping the boat onto one of the fenders and crushing it down onto the tire so it created excessive drag on one side causing the trailer to sway.

Plastic tubs are a good way to pack and organize the things you put into your trailer.  Things like tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and camp chairs can usually be loaded in their own factory bags or even as is but cooking gear, provisions, linens, and clothing will be safer and easier to manage in plastic tubs.  I prefer translucent tubs so I can sort of see what is inside.  If you use opaque tubs you might want to label each one with what is inside to make it faster and easier to locate stuff in camp.

If you store your camping gear at home in your camping trailer be sure you remove perishable items between trips.  Putting perishables in a separate plastic tub makes this a lot easier.  Also make sure all your equipment is cleaned up before putting it away.  Left over food scraps will attract all kinds of pests, from microbes to raccoons and bears.  Microbes will turn scraps into nasty rotten messes and larger pests can do considerable damage to your gear and maybe even your trailer.  Bears have even been know to break into locked cars in search of food.  Animals in search of food may not be able to smell the difference between a few leftover crumbs and a whole sandwich, so cleaning everything up is critical!

Camping trailers can sometimes find additional uses in camp.  Once the gear has been unloaded you might put up a pipe frame to support a tarp over the top of an open trailer to provide a nice kind of pavilion to keep you out of the sun and rain and up off wet ground.  Some people even add sides or set up a free-standing tent in the trailer and use it as an off-the-ground shelter.   Not quite as complete as a tent trailer, but a step above sleeping on the ground.  You probably should not plan to cook in it, just as you normally would not cook in your tent, but it can make a safe and comfortable place to get out of the weather and for sleeping and to protect your personal gear.  Sometimes even an empty utility trailer makes a good playpen for younger children you might want to keep up off the ground and away from snakes and insects on the ground in many remote campgrounds.  You can install an awning on a box trailer to provide patio shade and protection from light rain in camp.  For an economy awning you might make your own using an inexpensive tarp and arms made from PVC pipe.  Similar canopies can be installed over the bed of open trailers.

If you use an open utility trailer you will want to tarp it to protect your gear against rain.  Having it tarped also provides a little bit of "security by obscurity" by keep your desirable items out of sight, reducing the chance of some passerby helping themselves to your property and helps minimize getting dust and dirt in your gear.  If you haven a enclosed trailer (like our little Apache trailer or a box trailer) you might even use the trailer for permanent storage at home.  Not only does that save space in your garage, shed, or basement, it keeps everything all packed and ready for your next trip.  Be sure you have a tongue lock or other security so it can't be easily stolen!

Some accessories you might want to add to your camping trailer might include a portable toilet (Portpotti) and a chuck box.  Portable toilets will give you comfortable sanitation where ever you go and a chuck box makes a good portable kitchen for use in camp.  A camping trailer may also give you room to carry extra tools you might need in camp or on the road.   I have a large, heavy-duty vinyl bag I use to carry firewood.  Firewood can also be carried in a box or even laid loose where ever there is extra room between items in your trailer, but having it in its own container keeps things cleaner and makes the wood easier to collect for your campfire.  Having a trailer may give you room to carry cots to make sleeping more comfortable.

Loading your trailer.  I talked a little bit a few paragraphs above about using plastic tubs to load and organize your camping trailer.  The other thing you will want to do is put the things you need to get to first when you get to camp where they are easily accessible.  Normally you will probably want get out your tent and camp chairs first, perhaps along with a canopy or dining fly for shade.  Sleeping bags should go into the tent once it is set up.  All your kitchen gear and supplies should be easy to get to because you may very well be more than ready for a good meal after your travels.  Lanterns and flashlights should be close at hand in case you arrive at your destination after dark.  Heavy tools usually find a good home somewhere near the bottom of things and often kind of out of the way since you probably won't be using them right away or often.   While placement for convenience is important, it should never override the need to load the trailer for correct balance and a proper tongue weight.d  Also make sure things are loaded so any shift during travel won't damage items or the trailer.

Used trailers can be a good option.  Few of us get to go camping as often as we would like and even personal utility trailers probably get little use so used trailers and likely to still have plenty of miles left in them.  Check out your local craigslist to look for bargains in your area.  Things to check will be tires, brakes (if so equipped), hitch, lights, safety chains, springs, an door/tailgate latches.  Tires will often look very good but may have ''aged out'', so check the date of manufacture.  Tires typically have a maximum usable life of around 6-10 years, depending on how they have been stored or protected.  If you are looking at box trailers, also look for any signs of leakage.  Check to make sure the floor is solid.  Used trailers might have been commercially made or homemade.  Homemade trailers can be very good trailers but you may want to pay special attention to how they are constructed.  A popular option for homemade utility trailers is to mount an old pick up bed on an axle.  The axle may be a trailer axle or an old car axle.  Old car axles are very sturdy but also add a lot of weight.  Commercial axles come in different weight ratings so make sure the axle is strong enough to handle the weight of your trailer and anything you plan to haul in it.  Most single axles are rated at 3500 lbs but you can find heavier duty models.  My custom made enclosed motorcycle trailer is on a single axle that has a 5500 lb rating.  You want to be sure whatever you buy will have the capacity you need (cubic feet of storage and weight rating) to handle whatever you need it to carry.  In most cases, almost any trailer is going to have more than enough capacity to haul all the camping equipment you need for the average family.  If you plan to haul ATVs or any other large, heavy pieces of equipment or have an unusually large family or regular camping group, you may need a larger trailer.  I once picked up an old 19'construction office trailer to haul camping equipment and dirt bikes.  It was big, ugly and heavy but it was cheap and it did the job.

Make sure the vehicle you use to tow your trailer is properly configured with a correct hitch for the trailer weight, has adequate power, tires, and suspension, and has appropriate connections for trailer lights and safety chains.  Trailer brakes may be required on heavier trailers, along with brake controllers on the tow vehicle.  Surge brakes are an alternative that provides self-contained brakes on moderate sized trailers.  Surge brakes use a special, articulated hitch on the tongue that pushes a rod into a brake master cylinder to apply the brakes on the trailer whenever the trailer pushes against the hitch as the tow vehicle slows or stops.

Small, light-weight trailers may or may not have to be licensed.  Some states required ALL trailers to be licensed, but some only require licenses on trailers over a certain loaded weight.  An unlicensed trailer may save you annual registration fees, but having it licensed may guard against theft or make it easier to identify and reclaim your trailer if it is stolen.  Normally if you are towing an unlicensed trailer with a licensed vehicle from the state of residence where the trailer license is not required, you will not need to have a license even a state where residents are required to license all trailers.  However, having the license might prevent you from getting pulled over from time to time when driving out of your state since local law enforcement might not know your home state regulations.  You may be able to defend against a traffic ticket but avoiding the potential problems in the first place might well be worth the modest cost of registering the trailer, even it isn't required in your home state.

Haul away!

Harbor Freight forTools and Supplies for RVers, OHVers, Campers and Boaters

I have mentioned Harbor Freight in a number of posts.  That is not because I receive any sponsorship or compensation from Harbor Freight, it is just because I have some experience with the products involved and have found them to be useful and cost effective and thought my readers might too.  They have lots of hand tools, power tools, garden tools, and other items that are useful to campers -- like tie downs, towing products, tarps, hardware, and even wheels and tires that fit some small tent trailers.  I became really familiar with their products when my wife worked as a rebuyer for their purchasing department.

You can find lots of Youtube videos about Harbor Freight tools.  They will include both positive and negative opinions.  Be sure to consider the background, qualifications, and bias of the reviewer together with both their intended use of the tools and your intended use.  You may need professional quality tools if you use them regularly on your job but less expensive options may be adequate for home or DIY use.

I have found Harbor Freight to be an excellent source for many tools for my RVs, OHVs, boats, and camping as well as for my mechanics and home maintenance tools.   You will sometimes see negative comments about the quality of tools from Harbor Freight.  While it is almost certain that high end name brands like SnapOn, Husky, and Craftsman will most likely last longer in professional use, I have pretty much found Harbor Freight tools to be more than adequate for my do it yourself projects.  The lower cost also allows me to purchase specialty tools that make jobs easier and sometimes allow me to do tasks that I could not otherwise do at all.  It also lets me afford duplicates to create convenient specialized tool kits for my motorcycle trailer, camp kit, RV, and boat.  Harbor Freight also offers a lifetime guarantee on just about all their hand tools.  In more than twenty years of buying and using their tools I have only had to utilize the guarantee a couple of times and both times they were very quick and friendly about replacing the damaged items, no questions asked.

Harbor Freight offers about the biggest selection of tarps I have seen anywhere.   They include light weight blue "poly" tarps, green farm tarps, more heavy duty silver tarps, and even real canvas tarps.  The selection and reasonable pricing always makes them my first stop when I need a tarp.  The normal prices are usually pretty good but keep an eye out for coupons and sales for even better savings.  Of course you an also find really light clear plastic painter's tarps too.

Another pretty complete category of useful items for RVers is the towing section.  You will find hitches, couplers, ball mounts, towing balls, lights, hitch pins, tie downs, safety chains, towing straps, anti-sway bars, tongue jacks, just about everything you need for towing trailers and even hitch-mount racks for carrying additional cargo and mounting winches.

Harbor Freight offers a variety of jacks and jack stands that can be useful, ranging from small bottle jacks to 10-ton floor jacks and tall farm jacks like the ones often used off-road by 4x4 users.

Harbor Freight has a large selection of hand tools -- wrenches, pliers, screw drivers, sockets, ratchets, hammers, clamps, and pry bars.  They also provide a lifetime warranty on almost all of their hand tools.  I have had to use the warranty a couple of times.  One time I twisted a socket completely off of a cross-bar lug wrench trying to remove a stuck lug not on a 3/4 ton off-road truck.  Another time I twisted a T-handle allen wrench until the flat sides were twisted from tip to  handle.  I was impressed with the strength of the plastic handle!  In both cases I was clearly exceeding the normal application but received replacements on the spot without any hassle.

The reviews of Harbor Freight power tools are mixed.  If you look for Harbor Freight on Youtube you will get a variety of videos listing the "10 Best" or "10 worst" Harbor Freight items.  Sometimes they may tell you what to buy or not to buy at Harbor Freight.  Remember, all of these videos are personal opinions of the people who made the videos and they may or may not have their own bias and they may or may not have any real qualifications for evaluating the products.  My own experience has been mostly positive.  I have found things like cordless drills and even cordless impact wrenches to be well worth the modest price.  Did they hold up as long as brand names like Dewalt?  No, not usually.  But the prices were significantly less and usually the performance was similar or at least adequate while they lasted for my DIY projects.  In general I have found most DIY reviews were pretty positive while many of the negative reviews were from professionals who normally use expensive, high-end tools and use them a lot.  An inexpensive cordless drill was a welcome addition to the tools in my enclosed motorcycle trailer.

Harbor Freight offers a wide assortment of portable generators, ranging from small "tailgater" units to large ones that provide enough power to run your whole house in an emergency.   I have seen Youtube videos that both praise and criticize Harbor Freight generators.  Generally the ones from Harbor Freight will be considerably less expensive than well know name brands and may still be a good value even if they don't meet the same performance or longevity of the higher priced brands.  I have a 4500 watt unit I use frequently due to power outages in my rural area and in the two or three years I've had it, it has performed flawlessly.  It cost way less than half a "brand name"generator of the same size.

Harbor Freight is offering a line of winches that is an extraordinary value.   I have personally used a couple of their 2500 lb ATV winches and been very satisfied with them.  I have been eyeing the 12,000 lb Badlands winch for my 4WD truck.  At a regular retail price of $599 it is about 1/3 the cost of a similarly rated name brand winch and I have seen several very favorable reviews on Youtube from highly qualified professional users.  I have even noticed that a couple of popular off-road recovery teams uses the 12,000 lb Badlands winch.  I recently saw the 12,000 lb Badlands winch on sale for just $319!  And they have a hitch-mount rack specifically designed for it for just $75.  A similarly sized Warn brand winch typically retails for around $1800!

Harbor Freight has recently introduced some higher priced hand and power tools.  These might be of particular interest to professionals or those whose budgets can accommodate the higher prices.   Supposedly they will be closer in fit, finish, and quality to the high-end name brand tools but still less expensive.  When purchasing hand tools, especially things like pliers and wrenches and sockets, I look at the fit and finish and prefer those with precise edges and a smooth, shiny finish.  I have seen wrenches that looked like they had been cast in sand molds and avoid them!  Most of the hand tools that have failed me in the past would not have passed my current fit and finish selection criteria.  A lot of the wrenches and socket sets at Harbor Freight have a very nice fit and finish.

Harbor Freight often offers a variety of hardware you won't find any place else.  I find their "storehouse" offerings particularly appealing.  These are collections of small parts (nuts, bolts, fasteners, o-rings, nylon clamps, hitch pins, cotter keys, etc).  They usually come with their own plastic storage bins to organize them for ease of use.  A quick glance at my supply cabinet shows o-rings, hitch pins, cotter keys, metric nuts and bolts, SAE nuts and bolts, hose rings, hose clamps and cable clamps.  Having an assortment of commonly used hardware on hand has saved many projects and many trips to town!  They also usually have a good assortment of cable ties, ranging from tiny little ones handy for controlling phone charger cables to huge ones big enough to secure tents and sleeping bags.  On a related note, I figured out a way to keep the little plastic tubs in my dirt bike trailer nut and bolt storehouse from sliding out when traveling:  I cut some pieces of thin welding rod to match the height and width of the cabinet, then heated the ends and suck them into the plastic frames so they crossed in front of the drawers. It was a quick, cheap, and easy way to keep things from getting tossed all over the place towing the trailer to off-road locations.

Garden tools.  There are a surprising number of garden tools that might be useful for campers as well as for home use.  Axes, wedges, rakes, bow and pruning saws, and shovels are among the most appropriate camping choices as well as chain saws. Harbor Freight offers gasoline, electric, and cordless chain saws.  Bow saws and folding pruning saws are especially well suited for camping.   Folding saws are handy if you are hiking or backpacking.  Bow saws are a little stronger, cut faster, and are easier to use if you have a place to carry them,

Harbor Freight also has a wide assortment of gloves:  work gloves, garden gloves, welding gloves, mechanics gloves, latex gloves.  I rely almost exclusively on work and latex gloves from Harbor Freight for my home improvement, yard, RV, boat and car maintenance projects.  Their regular prices are usually very reasonable and they often have coupons that make them even more affordable.  I have noticed a dramatic increase recently in the cost of latex and nitrile gloves, thanks to COVID-19!

I have found  many uses for foam anti-fatigue mats which Harbor Freight has at a good price .  Be sure to watch for coupons for even greater savings, sometimes as low as $4.99 for 4-6 mats!  I have them in front of the workbench in my garage and in my motorcycle trailer.  I have also used them for a comfortable, anti-skid deck around and under my inflatable spa.  They can also be used to insulate the inside of boat cabins and are especially nice around the v-berth so you don't rub up against the cold fiberglass or metal hull in the middle of the night.  In addition to insulating the hull, the pads also reduce condensation inside the boat.

Harbor Freight stocks a good supply of safety items, such as goggles and face masks.   You will also find lot of other safety products, some you might not even have thought about before.  It can be educational just looking through the safety section.  I picked up some non-skid tape that has been useful on my RV, my motorcycle trailer, a utility trailer, and my sailboat as well as around the house.

Harbor Freight used to regularly offer coupons via print ads in many publications but has recently switched to online coupons.  Their coupons often provide substantial savings on their already low prices.  Use your favorite search engine to look for "Harbor Freight Coupons" to get the best prices on things you need.  Sometimes I peruse the coupons and take advantage of them to get items I might not even have an immediate need for if they are at a good price if I think I might have a use for them someday.  I like to be prepared.  They usually have a 20% off any item coupon that is especially useful when buying higher priced items at regular price.  Coupons are often a way to get customers into a store in hopes they will buy other things.  That being said, I have never had any negative experience buying coupon-only items at Harbor Freight.

They also offer an ''Insider's Club'' that gives additional discounts on selected items from time to time.  There is a modest annual fee to maintain your Club status but you usually recoup the cost quickly, especially if you purchase more expensive items where the Club savings on one purchase can often offset the annual fee.

Many Harbor Freight stores have side-walk sales from time to time.  These an be an especially good time to get excellent bargains.  Sometimes the inventory includes returned items offered at substantial savings.  When we lived in southern California we were even close enough to take advantage of the large side-walk sale at their warehouse in Camarillo, California.

In summary, I generally find Harbor Freight tools and hardware to be a good value.   As always, you should examine anything you are buying to make sure it meets your personal needs.  I would look to their higher-end offerings or maybe even defer to brand names for ongoing professional use but do-it-your-selfers may be able to expand your tool inventory at reasonable prices from their standard lines, allowing you to add many tools that would be way outside your budget if you bought professional brands and they will more than likely hold up well in occasional homeowner use.

Tool up!

Useful Rope Knots for Camping and Boating

Rope and twine are both very useful tools for camping, sailing, and many other outdoor activities.  For the most part to be able to use them effectively, you need to know how to tie them together and to objects you want to secure or move.  You can use ropes to secure loads on your truck, trailer, RV,  boat,  ATV, UTV, or side-by-side.  You can use ropes and twine for guy lines on tents and awnings and to tie things to your pack or keep your sleeping bag or tent from unrolling in storage and transit.   You can use ropes to move heavy objects.  Pulley systems are especially helpful in moving heavy objects as they can provide a mechanical advantage.  Basically that means with a pulley your can lift or move heavier objects.  To do so means you have to pull the rope 2 or more times the distance you are moving the object.  To move a 100 # load 1 foot with a single pulley attached to the load you would have to apply 50# of force for 2 feet.  By the way, a fixed pulley doesn't add mechanical advantage, it only changes the direction of the pull, which is sometimes very useful.  A pulley attached in the middle of the rope so it moves with the load adds mechanical advantage.  To calculate mechanical advantage count the number of ropes attached to the pulley(s) that move with the load.  In any case, the ropes will need to be fastened securely.  For this you need to know how to use knots and hitches.  You also need to know some basic rope terminology.

Rope terminology:  basically a  rope has two ends, the standing end (which is the long middle part of a rope not in the knot) and the working end (which is the part in the knot).   The working end is also sometimes called the tail.   A bight is a bend in a rope that does not cross back over itself.  A loop is a bend in a rope that does cross back over itself.  Knowing these terms will be helpful in understanding how to tie knots and hitches.

 
Knots and hitches are often thought by novices to be interchangeable or  just subtle variations of the same thing but there are technical differences.  Knots hold their form on their own.  Hitches fasten around an object.  Without an object, a hitch does not keep its form.  Knots connect two ropes or two parts of a rope together.  Hitches connect a rope to an object.

There are several commonly used knots and hitches that can be useful for camping and sailing.   Most are fairly easy to learn to tie.  There are many Youtube videos you can view to teach you how to tie knots so in this post I will mostly identify knots I have found useful and let you use Youtube to learn how to tie them.  And, yes, I realize they say there are no ropes on sailboats (only lines, sheets, and halyards).  However, lines, sheets, and halyards are all made of rope so it is reasonable to talk about tying knots in ropes on sailboats as well as when camping.

Initial learning is only the first step.  In order for knots to be useful you will need to practice them until you can tie them easily without giving it a lot of thought.  Some knots have little memory aids, like the rabbit, hole and tree used for bowlines, but they may or may not be useful.  I tried to learn the bowline, including its silly rabbit/tree memory trick way back when I was in Boy Scouts.  I finally learned how to tie it when I became a volunteer firefighter a few years ago.  But it wasn't until I got a sailboat and needed to use it frequently that I finally mastered it enough to be comfortable tying it.

Here is my list of common useful knots.  Click on the link for each name in the descriptions below for a Youtube to learn how to tie it.

• Overhand Knot
• Square knot
• Sheep bend
  
• Bowline
• Figure 8 knot
  
• Taughtline hitch
• Half hitch
• Clove hitch
• Cleat hitch 
• Stopper Knot
  

On overhand knot is about the simplest of knots.  It is the first step in tying the bow knot on your shoes.  It is not a very secure knot but it is useful as a safety knot to secure the loose end of a rope after tying another knot.  A Safety Knot doesn't hold any load, it simply secures the end of the rope so it doesn't get caught on something or come loose.  An overhand knot is  easy to untie.

The square knot is useful for joining two ropes of the same size.  It is kind of like two overhand knots stacked on top of each other but you have to make sure each end goes the right way each time you wrap the ropes around each other.  When it is properly tied a square knot looks like two inter-locking loops.  A square knot holds pretty well but not well enough to be used on life safety line.

Sheep bend is primarily used to join ropes of two different sizes together.

Bowline is used to make a secure loop in the end of a rope.  It is often used by sailors to secure a line or halyard to a sail or to tie a docking line to a pier.  It can be tied around a tree or other stable object as an anchor point for rope systems or around tools to hoist them to a roof.

Figure  8 knot  is another knot that is useful for making a loop in a rope.  There are several varieties of figure 8 knots including a simple figure 8, a figure 8 follow-through, and a figure 8 on a bight.

Taughtline hitch is a great knot for tent campers and for securing awnings on RVs and loads on trucks and trailers.  It has two distinct advantages.  It allows a kind of mechanical advantage to help tighten the rope and it is fairly easy to adjust if the rope needs to be tighter or looser.  A variation of it is also know as a "truckers haul" or "trucker's hitch".  When I first started dirt biking I didn't have any tie downs so I had a trucker friend show me how to tie a trucker's hitch and it worked really well.  Having the mechanical advantage to help cinch loads down tight is a very real advantage.  Here is a nice video on using it as a guyline hitch for tents and awnings.  The taughtline hitch does not use any pulleys for mechanical advantage -- it uses a loop in the rope as a pulley.  Doing a lot of pulling on that loop may cause the rope to wear and weaken but for how it is normally used it should last a long time.  If you see your rope beginning to fray where the two ropes rub together, replace the rope before it fails.

A half hitch is essentially the first step in tying a square knot.  It is usually used to secure the end of a rope after tying another knot or to guide a rope, such as when it is used around the handle of a tool to hold it in place while lifting it up onto a roof or up a ladder, with the head of the tool secured by another knot or a clove hitch.

A clove hitch is used to attach a rope to a ring, hook, or object by taking two turns of rope around the object and passing the ends under both turns to form two half hitches.

A cleat hitch is used to secure a docking line to a cleat on the dock or on a boat.  A properly tied cleat hitch holds securely but can be easily unfastened when the time comes.  There are many Youtube videos that tell you how to tie a cleat hitch, but the in the link at the beginning of this paragraph by Captain Tom I have found to be the best.  A common mistake when tying a cleat hitch is to wrap the line around the cleat too many times.  If you follow Captain Tom's directions you can always form a secure cleat hitch that is also easy to undo when it is time to cast off.  And it looks good, like you know what you are doing!  A properly tied cleat hitch looks like a figure 8.

A stopper knot is used to keep a line from pulling back through pulleys.  A lot of people use other knots such as a figure 8 or even a simple overhand knot as a stopper knot, but this one is more secure and yet is very easy to tie.  The video shows how to use it as a stopper knot along with another knot on a climbing rope but you can tie it alone as a stopper on a loose rope.  In a way it is kind of like a simple overhand knot but using two initial loops instead of one.

Avoid "knife knots".   Really tight knots are sometimes called "knife knots", because you need a knife to undo them!  Sailors often have a "marlin spike"on their rigging knives to aid in loosening tight knots instead of cutting the rope but it is always better to avoid getting knots so tight you can't undo them by hand, mostly by using the right knots in the first place.

If you want to learn more knots, check out Corporal's Corner on Youtube.  He has a number of videos on useful knots.

Knotty but nice!

Getting Emergency Medical Services (EMS) When You Need It When Camping or Boating

We are so very fortunate to have highly qualified Emergency Medical Services readily available to us most of the time.  However, the further you go off grid in your recreational pursuits, the harder it will be contact them and the longer it will take for them to get to you -- if they can even find you!  One of the most frustrating things I experience as a volunteer firefighter is not having good information about the nature of an incident and where it is.  Our designated coverage area includes many miles of highway, forest, river, and lots of campgrounds.  Fortunately modern cell phones with GPS can sometimes be used to locate a caller and hopefully they are near where help is needed.  I've even seen them used to track lost hikers and guide rescuers right to them!  But I have also seen situations where the GPS we got was far from the site of an accident along the highway.  Callers often have to go some distance to get a signal and not all pieces of electronic equipment are equally accurate.   If your pursuits take you into remote areas and many of our outdoor activities like hiking, camping, OHV riding, horseback riding do, it will be even harder for EMS personnel to reach you or even find you!  In some locations you will find it hard to even get a signal to make that most important 911 call.  It behooves you to know how to contact emergency medical services and how to help them find you!

As a volunteer firefighter and EMR (Emergency Medical Responder) I am acutely aware of the dangers lurking in outdoor recreational activities and the difficulty involved in getting emergency help when needed.  Too often our response is delayed by incomplete or inaccurate information about the situation -- or by how long it takes for someone to finally make the call.  Sometimes delays are unavoidable, e.g., the caller must travel some distance before they get cell service.  But sometimes people just wait too long before reaching out for help.  My advice, is always call sooner rather than later.  First responders would rather go on a dozen calls where they might not even be needed than have someone suffer or even die because they weren't called soon enough.   When participating in outdoor recreational pursuits, especially when going off road or off grid, plan ahead for how you will respond to an emergency if someone becomes sick or injured and needs medical attention.  Know where you will have to go to get cell phone service or obtain other assistance.  In some remote locations you may have to go to a ranger station to get help.  Sometime you can get cell service by going to the top of a hill or driving back closer to the nearest town.  Know where you have to go to get a signal so you don't waste critical time searching for one.  Seconds count in a life-threatening emergency!

Off shore boaters may be able to avail themselves of assistance from the Coast Guard, but sailors on inland waters may have to rely on park rangers and other local emergency response services.  Navigable lakes and rivers are often some distance from the bases from which emergency services operate and not all emergency service departments have boats to respond to marine emergencies.  Boaters often need to return to the dock or shore to meet emergency responders.

Campers, RVers, OHVers, boaters, and other outdoor enthusiasts often find themselves a long way from towns that have Emergency Medical Services.  Unfortunately, the kinds of activities we are often involved in increase the chances that we will need EMS.  Riding OHVs, working around campfires, maneuvering RVs and trailers, operating boats, rock climbing, and even just hiking can expose us to injuries we would not encounter at home.  At home it is pretty easy to dial "911" and get a quick response to get the help we need.  And then the time to reach the Emergency Room is usually pretty quick.  When we are out and about we may not have ready access to cell towers to even make the "911"call and once we do it will probably take some time for EMS resources to reach us, even if we give them good directions to our location.   Then it may take along time to transport the patient to an Emergency Room for treatment.  Thus it behooves us to make sure we know where to go to be able to make a call and how to help EMS find us.  Our rural fire department frequently makes use of Life Flight helicopters because we are 45-60 minutes away from any hospital.  In our area we have an insurance plane called FireMed that covers ambulance services and their premium service covers Life Flight.  You may want to obtain similar insurance in case you need efficient transport to the nearest medical facilities.

Today we all rely heavily on cell phones for basic communication.  The good news is that cell phones often have service in areas where there were never any land lines.  The bad news is that there aren't always cell towers near enough our outdoor activities to get service.Knowing where you have to go to get cell service just might mean the difference between life and death for an injured person.  Alternatives to cell phones might include CB and HAM radios that don't rely on cell towers.  Sometimes you can reach someone on the radio who has access to a telephone and can make that all important 911 call for you.  So, having and knowing how to use personal two-way radios could be a great advantage in an emergency.  CB channel 9 is the emergency channel but it is not as commonly monitored as it once was.  CB channel 13 is the unofficial RV channel.  However, the channel most commonly used by truckers is channel 19 and it has the best antenna efficiency so you might have better luck finding someone there.  You might be able to reach a trucker who is able to call 911 on his cell phone for you.  Be sure to give him the right information:  the nature of the emergency and the location, as correctly and concisely as possible.

Cell phone boosters are available that can extend the area of service for your cell phone, turning weak signals into usable signals.  Unfortunately they can't create a signal where there is none.  Cell phone boosters are kind of pricey, but you might find it worth the investment.  If you have anyone in your group that has any special medical conditions that might require fast emergency response, a cell phone booster might be a good investment.

Unfortunately, we face both higher chances of mishaps and slower EMS response times when we are camping or involved in other outdoor recreational pursuits.   Therefore we must be prepared so we can do our best to care for ill or injured companions and to expedite getting help for them when needed.  We can prepare ourselves to be able to care for sick or injured companions through basic and advanced first aid training, as frequently mentioned in this blog.  But we should also take steps to ensure we can expedite reaching EMS services and helping them to reach us.

There are a few things you can do to be better prepared if you do need to call EMS in a remote location.  First of all, I suggest you keep an eye on your cell phone reception as you approach your campground so you know where to go if you need to make an emergency call.  When boating, check your cell signal as you leave the dock.  Sometimes emergency calls can be made in fringe areas with weak signals, but just to be sure, know where you can get cell coverage when you need it.  Getting up on a hill top can sometimes help as it may get you above obstacles that would block the line-of-sight radio signals from the cell tower but if that isn't enough you should know how far back down the road you need to go to get cell service so you don't waste time searching for a signal, especially if you operate in waters.  Sometimes a cell phone booster in your vehicle and amplify cell signals in outlying areas.  Such systems typically cost several hundred dollars and will only work to boots weak signals, not get you a signal when there is none.  If you REALLY need remote access at all times you might consider a satellite phone, but those are still quite expensive to purchase and to operate.  Boaters may want to consider marine-band radios to expedite requests for emergency services, especially if you operate in waters under Coast Guard jurisdiction.    Land lubbers and boaters on inland waters may benefit from ham radios or even CB radios in some places.

Next, be prepared to provide accurate and concise directions so the 911 or other emergency response operator/dispatcher can tell the EMS team how to find you.   If you are in a developed campground, the name of the campground and your site identification should be sufficient to locate you.  However,  if you are in a dispersed camping area or out on a trail without clear landmarks to aid the EMS teams to find you, give the "911" operator the very best directions and distances you can.  You might be able to get geographic coordinates of your position from your cell phone or GPS and that would be helpful to emergency personnel trying to locate you.  If possible send someone down to an identifiable road or intersection to flag down the EMS vehicles and guide them to your location.  Be sure to give them a good description of your vehicle, tent, or other distinguishing characteristics of your camp site.  When boating always carry appropriate warning devices such as distress flags and flares.  Flares may be good for getting attention but are by nature, short lived.  Distress flags can be displayed throughout an emergency to alert other boaters to your need and guide  potential rescuers to you.

When you call "911" do your best to remain calm.  Think about what you need to tell them:  the nature of the injury or illness, when it happened or started, the age and gender of of the patient, and precise instructions for where you are and how to find you.  Also share any special circumstances, such as pre-existing conditions or physical disabilities your patient may have as that can have implications for responders.  You will probably we worried, frightened, excited, possibly somewhat flummoxed.  The hysterical reports 911 operators sometimes receive can be difficult to understand and can delay getting the response you need.   Try to be as calm and collected as possible so you can help them get you the help you need as quickly as possible.   Be prepared to listen to the instructions you are given by the 911 operator and carry them out exactly as given.  They are trained to provide proper directions for how you can best assist your patient until help arrives and help the EMS team get there as quickly as possible.  Be sure you understand the instructions you receive.  There is the story (fictional I hope!) about a hunter who calls 911 because his hunting buddy is was shot and he thought he was dead.  The 911 operator told him they should first make sure he was dead.  There was a short silence followed by a gun shot, then the hunter replied, Yes, I am sure he is dead!  I'm sure that wasn't what the 911 operator intended!  911 operators can often provide you with important, even life-saving, instructions.  Be prepared to do what you can until emergency services get there.

In some cases it may be beneficial to provide a signal to aid incoming responders.  In the day time that might consists of a brightly colored flag raised to where it can be easily seen from nearby access roads.  Or you might build a signal fire and load it up with green branches or leaves to create a column of smoke.  At night a large signal fire or flashing vehicle lights or flashlights can be helpful to responders who are trying to find you.  If you use a signal, be sure to let the "911" operator know what you are using so they can pass it along to the response team.  Just having someone stand where they can be seen from the road and jumping up and down and waving their arms can help rescuers find you.  Boaters will need to display distress flags or flares.  Aerial flares can be seen from a long distance but are fairly short lived.  Hand held flares can only be seen line of sight but usually burn for several minutes to help approaching responders to identify and locate you.  Displaying a proper distress flag throughout the duration of an emergency should be standard procedure.  Having someone keep an eye out for approaching responders and waving a bright colored flag (or shirt or jacket) to attract attention may be helpful.

Once you have called "911" stay with the patient at the location you gave the operator unless being there puts you and/or your patient in immediate danger.  If you must move, either notify the 911 operator, leave someone to tell EMS where you have gone, or keep your original location in sight.  It is usually best not to try to move an injured person before help arrives unless it is absolutely necessary.  Comply with all instructions you receive from the 911 operator to the best of your ability.

If you frequently visit places with little or no cell phone reception you might want to explore the options for boosting your cell signal.   Cell phone signal boosters are not cheap (several hundred dollars) but it still might be a good investment if you are often outside normal cell range.  If you or anyone in your regular group has been diagnosed with medical conditions that might make getting EMS help quickly a necessity, a cell phone booster may be well worth the cost.  Satellite phones are not dependent on cell towers and, since the transceivers for them are orbiting miles above the earth, they are usually not affected by mountains either.  Satellite phones are, however, still pretty darned expensive.  Phones start around $599 and can go up to thousands of dollars.  Plans start around $70 a month for 70 minutes of talk time.  You probably wouldn't want to use it for casual calls but it could be life saving to have those 70 minutes in a remote location.  Anyone with a high risk medical history or involved in high risk activities in remote locations should seriously consider getting a satellite phone for emergency use. If you have both high risk conditions and are involved in high risk activities you should probably consider a satellite phone as essential!

Another option for high risk situations is to carry a personal locator beacon.  A personal locator beacon, or PLB for short, is a personal electronic transmitting device that is designed to alert potential rescuers to a life-threatening situation in the air, on water or in remote areas.  They typically start a little north of  $200.  Higher priced units have more features.  All PLBs must be registered (free of charge) in the NOAA SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking) database to become active.  Once triggered during an emergency, the unit sends an SOS that alerts rescue teams to your exact location and tells them it is an emergency, likely life-threatening, situation.  PLBs don't require a monthly subscription.  Since you only turn them on when you need to send an SOS the batteries last a long time, up to 5 years.  When batteries need to be replaced the unit must be returned to the manufacturer for replacement.  Batteries should also be replaced after a unit has been activated.  I have heard that most manufacturers will give you a new unit if you have to activate one for a life-saving rescue.  Boaters sometimes use an Emergency position indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs), but they are quite a bit bigger and more expensive than PLBs and are usually only found on larger boats used in off-shore cruises.

Of course another option is for you -- or someone in your group -- to get certified in Emergency Medical procedures.   Even if EMS can reach you fairly quickly, having proper training can be useful until they get there.  Being able to provide appropriate immediate assistance can significantly reduce suffering and minimize complications. Sometimes it is even life saving!  If EMS personnel are far distant or delayed it is even more important for you to have qualified help with you.  Throughout my off road career I have endeavored to maintain first aid and CPR certification and more recently have obtained certification as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR).  An EMR is the first level of EMS and historically was called first responder.  If you are involved in any kind of outdoor activities where serious injuries may occur you should know how to recognize and treat life threatening bleeding and to be able to identify and splint broken bones.  Those skills could well be life saving!  EMR training does not require the hundred of hours you need to become an EMT or paramedic, but it does give you the skills you need to provide appropriate treatment until a higher level of medical support arrives and that will provide your patients a lot of comfort and may even be life saving.  I have never personally provided life saving treatment to a fellow off roader but I have splinted broken bones and prepared patients for transport and am thankful I have the training to recognize and respond to life threatening situations if necessary.

Get the help you need help when you need it!

Trailer Towing Tips

Those of you who regularly pull a boat or travel trailer probably already know about all you need to know about towing.  But for those who are new to towing or who only tow boats or trailers occasionally, you might find some value in the tips in this post.

Trailers can be a useful addition to just about any outdoor enthusiast's resources.  As your family grows and/or your accumulation of equipment increases, you may exceed the cargo capacity of your regular vehicle.  When you do, a trailer can conveniently add lots of additional load carrying capacity.  Many trailers also add extra capabilities.  Tent trailers, for example, get you up off the cold, bumpy ground and provide quite roomy and comfortable respite from unpleasant weather.  Trailers can carry bikes, tents, OHVs, and all kinds of extra equipment and supplies.  Trailers are often your only option for bringing along boats and personal water craft.

First of all, proper preparation of both the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle is critical.  Towing puts an extra load on just about all parts of the vehicle doing the towing:  engine, transmission, differential, brakes, cooling system and even the suspension and the frame.  ALWAYS be sure the vehicle and the hitch are rated to tow the weight being towed.  I have seen the results of attempting to tow a trailer larger than the towing vehicle is rated to handle.  They range from overheated engines and transmissions to spectacular accidents that totally destroyed both tow vehicle and trailer.  I saw a half-ton pickup towing a 28' travel trailer flipped by high winds like it was light as cardboard.  Both were totally destroyed.  The trailer fell apart to where the only thing left visible above the frame was the generator.  The rest was essentially nothing but kindling.

Avoid overloading your trailer.  You've all likely seen overheated vehicles pulled over on long grades, often the result of overloading.  Overloading will significantly increase fuel consumption and create very real safety hazards, and increase the risk of overheating, especially when negotiating mountain roads.  Many trailers are large enough that they can be easily loaded beyond their safe weight capacity.  Keep track of what you load and don't exceed the maximum weight rating.  Don't forget about how much stuff you might have loaded into you boat when you trailer it.  Boat trailers ideally are capable of handling more than the weight of the boat they are designed to carry but it would be a very good idea to weight your boat and trailer with it fully loaded with equipment and supplies to be sure you aren't exceeding either the trailer or tow vehicle weight rating.

Make sure all the tires on all vehicles, trailer and tow vehicle, are properly inflated and have a safe amount of tread and have not aged out.  Verify engine oil, transmission fluid, and coolant levels on the tow vehicle.  Know the condition of the brakes and wheel bearings and tires on the trailer.  Make certain the hitch you are using is rated to handle the load you'll be towing.  Hitch pins typically come in both 1/2" and 5/8" diameters.  Using a 1/2" hitch pin in a hitch with a 5/8" hole will result in unwanted movement and clunking of the hitch, possibly creating excess wear that may cause a premature failure.  Secure all loads (inside and out) so they won't be blown around at highway speeds or tossed around during changes in speed or direction.

Towing means you will need to make adjustments to your normal driving patterns.  First of all, your combined vehicle length and weight will be greater than you are used to and you need to compensate, -- slowing down earlier, giving yourself more room for accelerating, turning, lane changes, and stopping.  It may be difficult to judge when it is safe to pull back in after passing another vehicle when you have something in tow.  If necessary, err on the side of caution and give yourself plenty of room.  If someone towing a trailer passes you, you can help them by flashing your lights when it is safe for the to pull in front of you.

You also need to pay attention to what you are towing while you are towing.  Frequently check your rear view mirrors or backup camera.  A significant change in the side to side angle may indicate a flat tire.  Flat tires may also cause smoking and a rumbling feeling transmitted through the hitch.  If you suspect a flat tire, slow down and find a safe place to pull over as soon as possible.  Better safe than sorry.  If you don't find anything wrong,  you will have only lost a few minutes, but if you fail to pull over you will greatly magnify the potential damage.  Left unattended,  a flat tire can cause significant damage to a trailer and perhaps to other vehicles following or passing you.  One careless driver started wildfires all across Idaho and Washington because he continued to drive with a burning tire!  He was held liable for millions of dollars worth of damage and fire fighting costs.

Avoid sway.  Swaying can be caused by a number of things.  Wind often plays a significant part as do gust from passing trucks.  An anti-sway bar help reduce sway.  It consists of a friction bar between the hitch and the trailer tongue that dampens sway.  Having too little weight on the tongue can increase the risk of sway.  Make sure the weight on your trailer is properly distributed.  Boats with outboard motors hanging off the back shift a lot of weight off the tongue so removing the motor and carrying it in the tow vehicle or in the cockpit of the boat will help with weight distribution.  Our sailboat started swaying really badly on the way to the lake just 1 mile from home.  One of the wooden bunk boards that supported the boat had broken, letting boat fall down onto the fender, pushing it into the tire and creating significant drag on that side. If your trailer starts to sway, slow down until it stabilizes.   Pull over as soon as you can find a safe place to do so.  Try to determine what triggered it to start swaying.  Things to consider:  over steering, wind gusts, un-level roads, poorly distributed weight.  There isn't much you can do about roads or winds except slow down so they have less effect but if you caused the problem by over-correcting, speeding, or changing lanes too quickly, learn your lesson, drive prudently, and always make  small, smooth, slow changes.  If weight distribution appears to be a factor, shift some of the load to put more weight on the tongue.  If  you have a sway bar, try tightening it down more to increase the amount of friction inside of it.   Anti-sway bars typically have two parts.  One slides inside the other.  One is hooked to the hitch, the other to the trailer tongue.  One of the parts includes a friction material like that used on brakes.  There is a lever that adjust the amount of pressure and thus the amount of friction within the sway bar.  Note that sway bars on boat trailer might get wet and be less effective until they dry out.

Slow down!  The extra weight puts more strain on your tow vehicle and can seriously affect handling.  Trailers are more likely to sway or fishtail at higher speeds.  Maintaining a slower speed reduces the risk of fishtailing.  If you see or feel your trailer start to swerve behind you slow down right away!  You may have seen the speed limits U-haul imposes when you rent their trailers.  That has come from years of experience and hundreds of thousands of miles of towing.   In some states, such as California, vehicles towing trailers are limited to 55 mph, even on freeways with much higher normal speed limits.  In addition, slow down right away at the first sign of trouble.  If your trailer starts to sway, you feel an unusual vibration, hear strange sounds, or see smoke near the wheels and tires, slow down and pull over and locate and correct the problem before it becomes catastrophic.

State laws governing towing may differ so be sure you understand the limitations before you find yourself getting pulled over.   Some states have limitations or restrictions on passengers riding in a travel trailer.   Where is allowed it often requires two-way communication such as walkie talkies or some kind of intercom between the trailer and the driver of the tow vehicle.  Overall length and weight limits may also vary.  Some states prohibit towing more than one trailer while in others it may be permitted.  California, for example, prohibits towing more than one trailer but when I moved to Utah it wasn't unusual to see a large pickup pulling a travel trailer pulling a boat.

When is a trailer not a trailer?  In California where towing multiple trailers is prohibited I saw one-wheeled motorcycle trailers being legally pulled behind travel trailers.  That is because the one-wheeled "trailer" was not "articulated", that is, it was connected to the tow vehicle in at least two places, making it legally an extension of the tow vehicle instead of a trailer.

Trailer licensing varies from state to state also.  Some states required license plates on all trailers.  Some only required them on trailers over a certain loaded weight.  Trailer licenses typically follow the same renewal pattern as motor vehicles, but not always.  When I lived in California they introduced a "Perpetual Trailer License" that did not have to be renewed each year.  Typically you will be OK if the license status of your trailer is proper for the state of your residence, allowing, for example, an Oregon resident to tow a light weight, unlicensed trailer with his/her Oregon licensed vehicle and driver's license in another state even if that state requires all trailers to be licensed.

Tow away!