Roadtreking Winter Freezeout Adventure

[Davydd]

OK you Roadtreking enthusiasts. Here's your challenge.

Mike Wendland posted this on Facebook. There are still openings.

"Mike Wendland For those who have registered for this event - we have a closed FB group set up where we will talk about and plan this event. That means you jeend to "Join" it to get all the info and sharing. It's at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1697339513886451/

I am getting really excited about this event! Bring on the snow! It's going to be a ball! And, yes, there's room for a few more."

This is it.

Winter Camping: Here We Come!Roadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

This non-Roadtreker is signed up and will be there.

 

[markopolo-ClassB]

I bet lots of those folks will want to see your ARV. Maybe some of what they see will filter back to RT HQ as "Can we have this also?" items. :thumbup:

Good luck & good times to you all.

 

[Davydd]

Looking at the list of attendees I doubt many know I have an ARV. I'm not a member of the Roadtreking:The Group on Facebook like about 6,000 others and I don't see many, if any, of those names in Wincrasher's Class B Campervan group. MikeS47 with an ARV is signed up as well. So it is not all Roadtreks.

Other than the Wendlands, I don't know if there will be other EcoTreks there. It shouldn't matter because there are electrical hookups.

I just wanted to try some winter camping this year and it would be more fun with a group and I have been to Tahquamenon Falls numerous times. That and, I think, America's only brewpub right in a public state park.

 

[gregmchugh]

Mike Wendland has had his current van for about a year, it is a CS Adventurous in the XL chassis...

How We Roll: Meet Our New Roadtrek CS Adventurous XLRoadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

He has a 1600 amp hour lithium battery bank, a prototype not the current Ecotrek, and the engine generator. He gives very few details and managed to throw in a ding at the "armchair engineers" here in the Class B Forum...

About the Amazing Lithium-ion Battery System in Our New RVRoadtreking : The RV Lifestyle Blog

 

[wincrasher]

I'll be interested to know what kind of reception you get from Mike and the EcoTrek kool-aid drinkers. Let us know if you get Mike on board and looking at the details of your rig.

As you said, there are a few - maybe a handful of persons from The Group in my little Facebook group. Just as well, as I don't need all their drama over there.

 

[gregmchugh]

I'll be interested to know what kind of reception you get from Mike and the EcoTrek kool-aid drinkers. Let us know if you get Mike on board and looking at the details of your rig.

As you said, there are a few - maybe a handful of persons from The Group in my little Facebook group. Just as well, as I don't need all their drama over there.

I expect the Advanced RV attendees will be welcomed just fine unless you spend too much time telling them that your vans are great and their vans are less than great. I expect in real life they are a little more civil than what you see online sometimes.

I noticed that the person who posted about the Motorhome Magazine Reader's Choice Awards on Ron's Facebook group yesterday also posted it on Roadtreking and it got deleted and she got booted from the group. Last I saw, she was challenging some of the fans who were questioning the accuracy of the awards and then it all disappeared...

 

[avanti]

I expect the Advanced RV attendees will be welcomed just fine unless you spend too much time telling them that your vans are great and their vans are less than great. I expect in real life they are a little more civil than what you see online sometimes.

And, I bet that ARV owners are a little more humble in real life, too.

 

[gregmchugh]

And, I bet that ARV owners are a little more humble in real life, too.

OK, that was a good one...

 

[Davydd]

I'll be looking forward to meeting Mike Wendland. In reading his blogs we seem to have some similar interests -- Snowshoeing, Apple computer products, Bourbon Trail Tour...

 

[gerrym51]

Davydd-

be honest your going so Mike will get Alvar envy-lol

 

[Davydd]

gerrym51,

You should go.

 

[wincrasher]

Maybe after he reveals his love for pork tenderloin sandwiches, your bromance will reach full bloom.

 

[Davydd]

Sadly you would have a hard time finding a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich in Michigan even though it is smack dab adjacent to Indiana.

Hey, but I love those UP pasties too. I seek a new one every time I go through the UP which is about every year.

 

[thefitrv]

<evil grin>Hey - I wonder if we could go? </evil grin>

Actually, we have no beef with Mike. We did a podcast with him once and he was super cool to us. And all our winter mods will be complete by then. Might be a good test.

 

[gerrym51]

gerrym51,

You should go.

Davydd- in all honesty cold weather and i have never gotten along. even if it was in my backyard .

I soon as i set outside in winter my nose starts running. i can go thru 10 handerchiefs a day. then my lungs start to fill.

for me winter is out to car-car to store-and vack on.

if i could get the wife to move south i would

 

[gregmchugh]

Our favorite UP pasties...

Houghton - Roy's Pasties and Bakery

Marquette - Jean Kay's Pasties and Subs

 

[gregmchugh]

Just posted by Mike Wendland, spots still open, any one is welcome to join...

I've had a couple of emails from folks interested on our winter campout next month up at the (hopefully) snow-covered Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula asking if it is a Roadtrek-only event. No! It is for everyone, no matter what kind of RV you use. We even have one person coming who car camps... yes, sleeps in her car...yes, even when it's below zero. This event is not a rally. It is not organized. We all just come and camp in the snow. Some take photos. Some hike Some snoeshoe. Some take long naps. Whatever. We hang out by a fire at night. There will be suggested places to eat but everyone is on their own. There is electricity at the sites. There are vault toilets. No showers. It's a ball! Here's details but come one and come all.

http://roadtreking.com/winter-camping/

 

[Davydd]

Right now it looks as if many will get together for the two evening meals. One at the brewpub at the park that I have been to twice before and one in Paradise at a new restaurant. If it is a joint venture get together I am game for that. If I wasn't and just wanted to winter camp I could head north right now.

Mike is right. It is not a rally where it is sponsored somewhat or detail programmed. The Lucky 13 RV.net B13 is billed as a Rally where it is highly organized and everything is planned for you including meals and entertainment. They have a carryover treasury every year, charge a fee, and get corporate sponsors to kick in to pay for some things.

For years we have been getting together with others with what we call socials. Someone finds an appropriate campground, picks a date, arranges for a block of sites to be reserved with the campground, announces it, and anyone interested makes arrangements on their own to come. Attendees then decide what they want to do. We have a BEE Social Group on Facebook for that purpose. I've hosted a couple of them at Grand Marais Municipal CG in Minnesota. This is pretty much what Mike Wendland has done.

 

[bobojay]

<evil grin>Hey - I wonder if we could go? </evil grin>

Actually, we have no beef with Mike. We did a podcast with him once and he was super cool to us. And all our winter mods will be complete by then. Might be a good test.

Don't know if it's so much as a beef with him, it's just that in my case I feel he's being deceptive to some of the folks that are newbies that he is a Roadtrek paid endorser, along with Campskunk, (and along with all their other endorsed for sale items)
Not to mention that RT can do no wrong....maybe that is a beef with them

DavyDD, you'd never last in Mike's group. One mention of ARV's superiority and you'd be "GONE in 60 Seconds"

 

[gregmchugh]

Actually, I have never seen anyone booted for saying positive things about other companies as long as you don't say something negative about others in the process. You should expect a lot of comments in response however extolling the virtues of Riadtrek. I managed at least once to mention ARV as a good choice for getting a van while I was there. It would be an interesting thing to see if an ARV owner joined and started talking about their van. I don't recall any owners of other vans talking much about how much they like their van. They are there but pretty quiet about their vans.