So far I've been at Boyd's for a couple days and couldn't be happier with it, or with Key West in general. The weather is a perfect 80 degrees and low humidity and gentle breezes. The park is very lush and tropical. I was expecting a glorified parking lot and blazing sun, so this is quite the happy surprise.
I'm warming up to this inflatable kayak. It's been nice to have. Today I paddled out to the Atlantic (and back). For the life of me, I don't really see how these things fit back in the bag. After this trip, I may get a plastic tote to put it in. On the trip down, the kayak bag was a nice wedge to hold my electric bike in place without it banging around in the back. It's been a real joy this trip. I was able to run from Stock Island all the way down to the end of Key West (near the cruise ship docks) down around Duval street and downtown and back around the US 1 loop back to Boyd's. I clocked this at 12 miles and still had full power when I got home. I really think this bike will go the advertised 50 miles.
Today I strung up some LED christmas lights I bought at K-Mart. That's about as festive as I'm going to get this year. I'm in good company though, as others are doing the same thing and the park is full-up. There are a handful of other B's of various sorts. The guy next to me has a Roadtrek 210, and there are 3 Sprinter based vans of various flavors. Most of the rest are big-rigs. It amazes me that they can park them in these close quarters.
This trip has been going so well, I've decided to extend a bit. I've headed over to Fort Myers Beach. The Red Coconut is a dreadful park. Just crammed together, overpriced, etc. All these supposed rules I guess are just for people like me, and not the regular population. So tomorrow I'm moving to the San Carlos RV park on the inland side of the waterway. I rode the bike over there and it seems like a lot more relaxed choice.
Just an update on the van. The Travato continues to perform above expectations, but not without incident. A few bits of information for potential Promaster/Travato owners:
Firstly, if you suddenly discover that you have no 12v power, look to the switch along the floor that is the main battery disconnect switch. It's in the perfect location for the dog to play with it and shut off all your 12V. Of course, that doesn't come to mind until you've spent 30 minutes perusing the owner's manual.
Secondly, if your house sound/dvd system stops working (like it isn't getting any power), and you've checked the main fuse box, and still no solution, before you take it to a dealer, unscrew the front facia and pull out the radio. On the back side, is a hidden 10 amp fuse. Inspect that fuse and you'll probably find it's blown. Simply replace and you should be back in business. Of course, you'll probably have to find a hardware store and buy a long shaft screwdriver.
Thirdly, the screen door on the Promaster/Ducato is probably the best in the business. It works extremely well. But, in your enthusiasm, you grab the door from the top of the frame, it will surely pop off the track. To fix is fairly easy, you unscrew the bottom piece on the door frame, snap it back on the track, and then replace the two screws. 2 minute fix that I had to do twice this trip. I found that this would happen opening the door from the inside of the van - your vantage point is much higher than outside the van, and your natural tendency is to grab the door from a high point. Simply grab it from the mid-point or lower, and you won't have a problem.
Lastly, I finally clogged the shower drain pump, necessitating removal of the filter under the sink cabinet and cleaning it out. The permanent fix is to put a faucet screen in the shower drain inlet which is a lot easier to periodically clean. The drive train continues to perform flawlessly. 18 mpg traveling down Florida, 19 mpg on the causeway to and from the Keys, and 18 mpg again traveling across to Fort Myers Beach.
The only issue I've had with gray dumping was at Boyd's. At the back side of the park, there is a visible water level about 10" down in the sewer connection. So dumping was slow. You'd pump a little, then walk the hose back (lifting it) to empty it. Then pump some more, and so on. The hardware on the van has worked flawlessly. But in this situation, a pure gravity dump would be quicker and less of a hassle. At the park I'm at today (San Carlos RV Park at Ft. Myers Beach), the sewer connection is right at the back of the van, about 2 feet from my discharge. So I'm able to use my short hose and just pump it down. Almost the ideal situation.
Just an update on the van. The Travato continues to perform above expectations, but not without incident. A few bits of information for potential Promaster/Travato owners:
Firstly, if you suddenly discover that you have no 12v power, look to the switch along the floor that is the main battery disconnect switch. It's in the perfect location for the dog to play with it and shut off all your 12V. Of course, that doesn't come to mind until you've spent 30 minutes perusing the owner's manual.
Secondly, if your house sound/dvd system stops working (like it isn't getting any power), and you've checked the main fuse box, and still no solution, before you take it to a dealer, unscrew the front facia and pull out the radio. On the back side, is a hidden 10 amp fuse. Inspect that fuse and you'll probably find it's blown. Simply replace and you should be back in business. Of course, you'll probably have to find a hardware store and buy a long shaft screwdriver.
Thirdly, the screen door on the Promaster/Ducato is probably the best in the business. It works extremely well. But, in your enthusiasm, you grab the door from the top of the frame, it will surely pop off the track. To fix is fairly easy, you unscrew the bottom piece on the door frame, snap it back on the track, and then replace the two screws. 2 minute fix that I had to do twice this trip. I found that this would happen opening the door from the inside of the van - your vantage point is much higher than outside the van, and your natural tendency is to grab the door from a high point. Simply grab it from the mid-point or lower, and you won't have a problem.
Lastly, I finally clogged the shower drain pump, necessitating removal of the filter under the sink cabinet and cleaning it out. The permanent fix is to put a faucet screen in the shower drain inlet which is a lot easier to periodically clean. The drive train continues to perform flawlessly. 18 mpg traveling down Florida, 19 mpg on the causeway to and from the Keys, and 18 mpg again traveling across to Fort Myers Beach.
The only issue I've had with gray dumping was at Boyd's. At the back side of the park, there is a visible water level about 10" down in the sewer connection. So dumping was slow. You'd pump a little, then walk the hose back (lifting it) to empty it. Then pump some more, and so on. The hardware on the van has worked flawlessly. But in this situation, a pure gravity dump would be quicker and less of a hassle. At the park I'm at today (San Carlos RV Park at Ft. Myers Beach), the sewer connection is right at the back of the van, about 2 feet from my discharge. So I'm able to use my short hose and just pump it down. Almost the ideal situation.
A few pics from my trip of Key West and at Boyd's Campground. Last few were at Ft Myers Beach.Boyd's was a great place. The Red Coconut kinda sucked. San Carlos RV Park was great.
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