Campground Review - Jellystone Park, Sturbridge

Upon arrival at Jellystone Park in Sturbridge, MA, I noticed that it was a very wooded park, which I like. I also noticed it appears to be an older campground. It is also very hilly.

Our campsite was on a hill, next to some cabin sites. The site was a decent size for our hybrid. I noticed a black plastic pipe running down the side of our site. I discovered that was the water supply line.  The electric pedestal was high and in the back of the site. Apparently, most sites I saw shared pedestals, so an extension cord is recommended.   Cable hookup was a distance away.  Behind a cabin, there was a cable junction with a splitter to connect to. I would have needed a 50 foot coax to connect.

The handful of full hookup sites were in the open. The road that these sites were on had the dump station, with several sites within feet of the dump station. I looked at one pedestal, and it appears to have just 50 and 20 amp outlets, so a 50 to 30 amp dogbone is recommended.

Sunday morning, with temperatures just below freezing, we were experiencing brownouts. This, in my opinion, should not be happening when people are not running their air conditioners.

This park did have 2 pools including one with a small waterslide. There was also a small lake with beach. Many sites were on this lake, although the best seemed to be seasonal sites. There was also a small bar and cafe on the 2nd floor of the camp store.

The restrooms and shower facilities were cleaned daily, but showed their age. They were also no heated. The water was hot, but shower heads were aimed towards the curtain and was more like a garden hose and not a nice shower spray.

There is a honeywagon and propane service.  I needed my 5lb tank filled, but the office said they could only fill 20 and 30 pounders. In my opinion, anyone who fills propane should be able to fill any size tank.

I think I would try this lark again, although not in the heat of the summer. My main reason is due to the power issues that I was having.

Camping Trip - April 2013 Jellystone Park, Sturbridge Ma

This past weekend, I was able to score the weekend off by being awarded a job that didn't go to work until Tuesday.  So, we took advantage of the free camping available at Jellystone Park, Sturbridge Ma.  This was one of those working weekends, where we had to rake and paint for our campsite.  Not bad, as the "Bill" would have been $140.  Not sure how they came up with that, being off peek, and not fully hookups.  I wonder if the "Other Fees" involved was to raise it up so they could get more of a tax break at the end of the year.

That Friday when we arrived, it was quite warm.  I was in shorts, and sweating.  We arrived, checked in, and noticed this was very different than Strawberry Park.  This definitely an older campground.  And very hilly.  I drove to my site, and we noticed it was covered in leaves.  So, we got the rakes out and raked where we were going to park the camper.  Then, I parked it, maneuvering around some trees that were very in the way.  I got it in the area of where I wanted to park, and took out the level.  WAY OFF.  I figured went 4 "legos" (leveling blocks) high, using all 16 of my legos.  Hah, no go.  So, I repositioned them, and using a steel rake, dug out the high side a bit.  I was able to level off.  But, not without one tire being in the air because I didn't have enough blocks.  I wedged a chock under it as much as I can.  On the list, another set of 10 blocks....maybe more.

That night, we had MAJOR rain, as a cold front blew in.  Woke up in the morning, and saw the floor under the AC a little wet, and a drip coming from the AC.  With some help of my friends on the forum, I decided to tighten my AC down a bit.  Overtorqueing the bolts can be just as bad, but I noticed mine felt VERY loose.  So, I just torqued it by feel.  Also, when I woke up, you can tell a front went though, and I had to turn the heat on.  BRRRRR.

The Saturday, Jennie and I raked, as I sent Julie and Jay to paint.  We must have raked 15+ 60gal bags of leaves up.  We didn't do a perfect job, because this is camping in the woods.  This isn't a championship golf course.

That Saturday night, it got cold, with predicted lows in the just below freezing.  I hooked up the heated mattress in the bunk, made sure the little electric heater was on (why waste propane), and had an extra blanket.

Woke up Sunday to the familiar sound of my camper being energized.  I am still not sure weather it is the microwave of the converter making that noise.  I decided to turn off everything high wattage that was electric.  Checked the voltage at an outlet, and found it just above 100 volts.  Yup, my Surgegard was doing its job and shutting off at low voltage (this brownout will be a part of my campground review).  I can't believe a campground was having a brownout in April, before people are using their ACs.

All in all, I would go back there again, but due to the brown outs, not in the heat of summer.  Here are some pics of the weekend.  Here is what I found out this weekend.

• 16 Leveling blocks is not enough, because it takes a lot to make a ramp
• Looking at some sites, a 25 foot 30amp extension was needed, future purchase
• 50 foot water hose may also be needed
• 50 foot cable TV wire could have been used, but we managed with no TV
• A patio rug is needed
• An extra step could also be used when the curb side needs to be raised

 

Julie happened to take a pic of me heading to the store for the supplies for raking.  Raked at least 15 bags worth of leaves.

 

I love this an the next few self pics of Julie.  She is growing up WAY too fast.

 Jay sporting the pink gloves...

 Jennie and Julie

 Ex Lynn, MA pumper with the cast of Jellystone

 Me with Jordyn, all 3.8 pounds of her.

 Our folding stool (purple and green) came in handy as it was needed due to raising the curb side up to level.

 The permanent site across had this face on a tree...staring at us all day.

Campground Review - Strawberry Park Resort

This past weekend, we spent the weekend at Strawberry Park, located in Preston, Ct.  They had a special that weekend.  Camping for the entire weekend was $40, with early arrival and late departure.  And, to add to it, you participated in sprucing up the place, you get a $40 credit on your account for a future stay.  That is like camping for free.

I arrived at the campground to see they were in full swing getting ready for summer.  Additional drainage was being installed, and roads were being prepped to be paved.  To me, paved roads are not necessary at a campground, but this is more of a resort.

This place had a lot of seasonal sites.  Also, the sites were sort of close together, but not uncomfortably close.  My site in particular was the perfect size for my 21BH.  I guess that is why they ask for RV size and if it has slideouts.  They knew my unit would fit in my site.

I also noticed that the sites were not all the same.  My site appeared to be a small seasonal site, complete with meter, 20, 30, and 50 amp hookups.  My water hookup was very close to the ground, and I had difficulty hooking up my water regulator.  My site also had a brick patio, which I saw many others didn't.

Because it was early season, not all activities were available.  Surprisingly, one of the pools, which was heated, was open.  We didn't bring our bathing suits.

One plus, they changed their pet policy.  The old policy was that you had to drive your pet to the pet play area.  That would be impossible if you had a coach with no toad.  But now, you can walk your pet around the park as long as you're responsible.

Because the park seems to be great, and it is a little over an hour from home, we would most likely stay there again.  Staff was great and friendly.  There seems to be a lot of activities for adults and kids alike.  I would recommend this park to my friends.

Camping Trip - April 2013 Strawberry Park

Our shakedown trip in or Rockwood Roo 21BH went GREAT.  We went to Strawberry Park in Preston, CT.  They had a special this weekend, where it is $40 to camp for the entire weekend.  Then if you do some cleanup, you get a $40 credit for a future stay.  I will do a review blog on this campground sometime this week.

On the way there, we stopped at Pilot Station in North Stonington, CT, to be weighed.  That, will be another blog.  The weather stunk on the way.  We had rain and wind on the way there.  I had readjusted the weight distributing hitch before leaving, since the dealer did not adjust it.  It towed pretty well.  I may need to adjust the cams a bit more to make sure they are centered in the bars.  Everytime I make a minor change, I should make sure that they are centered.

We had a nice relaxing weekend.  That was our intent.  We did have to make a trip to the local Wal*Mart to pick up a few things.  We also have started a list of things, including things NOT to forget.  Yes, we forgot something big...CHAIRS.  We get to the campsite, and we are like "Oh $&*$(, we forgot the chairs!!"

Repairs -
- Recaulk bathroom shower
- Front tent bunk snap pulled out
- Fix snap on bunk end
- Check breakaway -  can't hear the brake magnets when pulled.

Mods -
- Add a switch and dimmer to control 1/2 the outside plug for my Globes. I have the Polymer Products globes with 8watt LEDs (40 watt equivalent). They are great for cooking, but too much for relaxation
- Change the plumbing so that the water filter only filters a dedicated spigot on the sink.  Too much loss of pressure with the good filter, which isn't needed for the whole camper.
- Install a black tank flushing system

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

 Julie having fun on the jumping pillow

 Julie getting her face painted

 Night shots of the camper

Movie night at the neighbor's camper

 Jen enjoying her dinner

 Campfire with the neighbors

Jennie's birthday cupcakes.

Trailer Mod - LED Awning Lights

A popular mod going around is the installation of LED Light Strip under the awning.  These relatively inexpensive item gives the camper a nice glow to it.

On the forums, pretty much everyone I see installing these had an electric awning.  I have a good old fashion manual awning.  They had a nice hole to run a wire through, I didn't.  I had to make my own hole, and that was the most nerve racking part of this mod.  If you can avoid making holes, that is the best way to go.

 

The dreaded hole in the camper.  I hope I know what I am doing...

 

The bushing.  I felt that this was the way to go.

 

I decided to cut the connectors off, since I was not going to drill a hole big enough for the connectors.  And they wouldn't go through the bushings either.

 

.Little help from my father, all wires soldered and each individual wire was heat shrinked, then the hole cord was heat shrinked. One nice thing about the Dometic LEDs is that the controller has terminal screws.  I wish this one did.

 

Don't forget to clean the surface for better sticking.

 

I was able to use nearly all of the LEDs.

 

A little test.

 

One more Test.

 .

 

A little silicone.  Goes on white, dries clear in 1 to 2 weeks...as what the package says.

 

I still don't have the finger smoothing down yet.  Hope that when it dries clear, it looks a little better.

I also put some silicone on the ends of the strip, as recommended by someone on one of the forums.