Front Stabilizers

There is now an option on the Altos for the addition of front stabilizer jacks. I took a number of photos of the installation at the last RV show, and I knew I would be able to retrofit them to ours. I ordered the same jacks online, and headed over to my favourite metal supply store to find some stock to create the mounting plates I needed. This store is a great spot, and I have been there many times. They have a large section of scrap material which you can just hunt through all sorts of various pieces to find just what you need. I needed to make a couple of flat pates and a couple of angled plates for the jacks to be bolted to.

The plates are riveted to the underside of  the trailer, and the angle bracket is glued to the frame, as there is no drilling of the frame allowed. The glue recommended by the factory is automobile windshield adhesive. I was a bit intrigued when I heard this, but found out it is a very durable glue that is strong, yet remains a little flexible. Makes sense, given how it is used. Once the plates were in place, the holes were drilled for the bolts and the jacks installed.

These are more convienient to use. We were using a couple of screw jack stands under the frame, which did work well, but this is a better solution. We do use a couple of Lynx Levelors, which prevents the arm from sinking into the ground. 

the jacks in use. they make a huge difference from not using anything at all

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2014 Day 16: Saturday

We have decided to leave today instead of tomorrow, we would like the extra day at home to get everything to rights before heading back to work on Monday.  The sky looks good but the forecast does say a high probability of rain this afternoon. Our plan is good to get out before the rain comes.

a hardy camp breakfast

a Brum's chocolate milk...an Ottawa Valley classic taste

So the two weeks of boondocking without services was quite manageable. The solar panels kept the battery charged up, and in full sun, generated more than enough power to run the roof fan and charge any devices. In the evening, we used our AA powered LED camp lights, which were excellent at providing lots of light inside the Alto. Watching the use of the waste tanks was also not a problem as in a campground there is generally lots of facilities round to utilize.

All and all it was a relaxing week for us....

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2014 Day 15: Friday

As we awoke we were greeted again by the sounds of the wind and the surf. Seems the wind has returned, but not nearly as strong as previous days. Another slow relaxing day, which is nice to have when you are on holidays.

Went for another walk, we have discovered a nice circular route which has us climbing the long hill in one direction, then heading back towards the public beach, then cutting through a trail in the woods to come out at the far end of our road. A nice little bit of exercise. 

The water is rough enough to have us wondering about getting out in the kayaks. Dale is not really a big fan of rough water. Sitting on the beach will be the alternative, as at least the sun is cooperating. Dale did get in for a bit of a float, I just waded a bit. Overall, the water has been chilly everywhere this summer.

Dinner this evening is naan based pesto pizzas with leftover chicken, done on the Q. We set them on the grill tray this time and it really seemed to help warm them up nicely, rather than burning the bottom before the cheese has melted. A good plan for the future.

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2014 Day 14: Thursday

Still quite windy today, but a little warmer. Power walk again in the morning, and pretty much hung around our site all day. The wind is just enough to make the water a little rough for paddling and sitting around outside only for the very hardy.

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2014 Day 13: Wednesday

Lots of activity during the night, I could hear someone outside next door. The wind was really howling, and from what I could see, all the campers were outside tightening down their awnings and tarps. It was pretty chilly as well, with the temp dropping into the low 50'sF.

The windy was still real strong in the morning, and we decided to pull down our awning as it was under quite the strain. We also moved the Santa Fe in front of the Alto to provide a bit of a block from the winds off the water. It was so windy the Alto was literally being buffeted. Everyone around us were doing the same thing, making sure things were well fastened down.

Another power walk up the hill, with the added benefit of the winds keeping the bugs away. Further from shore the wind was not as bad, but still very present. The day remained mostly overcast, so we hopped in the car and headed into Deep River to pick up a few things for the coming days. Deep River is a small little town, and a lot of the older housing here looks like a military base. This type of housing was probably built because a lot of people who work at the nuclear power plant up at Chaulk River live in Deep River. While in Deep River we wandered through an interesting store called Freddie's Trading Post, a combination of convenience/camp store and a consignment shop. Lots of local goods there and a great selection of a little of everything. Picked up a jar of homemade pickled eggs, an impulse purchase at the counter...reminds me of my Uncle Pat's big pickled egg jar that was always sitting on the bar at his Golden Lake Hotel.  

taste tested...and excellent

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2014 Day 12: Tuesday

Awesome day today, the temp was very hot. Power walk this morning got us going. There is quite the hill up from the water sites, so this made for a good leg workout. Walked over to the upper campsite section in the woods. We are so glad to be in the lower beach area, not only for the water, but because it is so much brighter. The wooded section can be dark and gloomy.

We went for swim and float, then headed out in the kayaks to paddle along the shoreline. We paddled west on the river up to a private campground. It was busy too, a large number of families on their beach. Chatted with a guy who owned a Cessna 170 float plane. It was in great shape for being a 1953 model. He maintains it well, replacing the motor and keeping it well serviced. Only a short time later we saw him taking off for a little flight around the area and back. 

Fried up some fish on the BBQ griddle for dinner, along with potatoes and yellow wax beans. Grilling outside was great as it kept the frying smoke and fish smell out of the trailer. We coated the fish with a light breading mixture called Fish Fry, which was quite tasty.

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2014 Day 11: Monday

Although feeling Riley's loss we decided to continue onto Driftwood as planned a day later since staying home the week would only make it worse and not bring our little guy back. Also by being away from the house out of his regular routine for a week may help Barley transition to now not having his buddy.

We were able to reserve one of our favourite sites, right on the beach. Being right on the beach is fabulous, the water is only a few steps away.

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2014 Day 10: Sunday

A very sad day today. Our plan was to head home early this morning to pick up the boys and bring them with us to Driftwood for the second week. Shortly after we arrived home, our little guy Riley suffered (what our Vet and we believe to be) a heart attack and passed away very suddenly. Riley was only a year and a half old, far too young to expect something like this to happen to him. Poor little guy, we and Barley will miss his enthusiastic and happy presence in our lives.

Riley. Looking very handsome.

Riley out camping with us. He idolized Barley and loved playing with his tail...being his fun mischievous self.

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2014 Day 9: Saturday

Another fine day shaping up, which is great as it is our last day here. Hard to believe it has been eight days since we arrived. The boondocking experiment has so far gone quite well. There are a few things to be mindful of when you are without services for an extended period, the key ones being electricity and waste water.

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2014 Day 8: Friday

The wind has calmed down this morning, as well as the breakers. Not a cloud in the sky, so it should shape up to be a great day. No plans today, just see where the day goes. Biked up to the park store and picked up a paper, so reading it was our morning's activity.

A nice treat to be able to buy a newspaper from a campground store, most do not have them and here there is a good selection...probably due to Sandbanks being one of the largest (if not the largest PP in Ontario). Being big readers of the daily paper and with endless time to read it, is especially nice.  

We noticed a car go by, stop, then back up to our site. A guy hops out and heads towards us. We knew what was next as this occurs all the time. He introduces himself, and tells us he has been eyeballing the Alto every time he drives by, and decided this time to stop and talk to us. He and his wife and two little children and are contemplating getting a trailer, as they are tired of using a tent. He has a keen interest in good design and said that after seeing ours had surfed the Safari Condo web site the previous night to find out all about it. Nothing like seeing the real thing though. We told him about our experience with the Alto and answered his questions. He kept remarking about the design and the expanse of windows. Turns out he is in the furniture design and sales business, which kind of explains his keen interest in the unusual design of the Alto. Later in the day he and his wife and children came back again. Camping is about meeting and talking to people like them who share the same enjoyment of being outdoors and camping with smaller trailers. They also live in Ottawa and were lovely people to talk to, and are very keen on camping in a light and compact way.

We then decided on a paddle, so we got the boats and gear down to the beach and headed out. Although the wind has gone down a bit, the surf is still pretty active. We headed towards the river outlet (off the Sandbanks beach), the start of a short connection between Lake Ontario and East Lake. East and West Lake are two small lakes that were formed long ago when the shifting sands and winds created a massive sand dune stretching between two long peninsulas. As we headed to the river opening, a large bull mastif dog came bounding our way. This is the dog beach area as well, so there were lots of dogs around. This guy was running and leaping circles around us, we were guessing he wanted to play with us but were not sure?  His owner who was watching and trying to call him back seemed to think that perhaps the dog thought we were giant dog toys. He literally towered over us as he bounded around, clearly enjoying himself, and we laughed once we realized he was friendly.

We continued on and it was a nice paddle right through a part of the park, then under two road bridges. To our surprise we came across a graceful white swan floating in the breeze.  On the river past the park on private land, there is a trailer park on one side and numerous cottages on the other. The river ends at East Lake which is surprisingly large when you finally reach it. Paddled a bit more, then headed back to the Sandbanks beach for a swim and a sit on the beach. Lots of people out today, taking advantage of the less windy conditions. 

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