The Infield Guru: RV Camping

Showing posts with label RV Camping. Show all posts

Monday, July 27, 2015

RV Travel and NASCAR - Freeway Travel Apps

After completing a 1,200 mile round trip to Sonoma Raceway while towing a vehicle, I wanted to share with you THREE really cool smart phone apps and tips that are good during freeway travel.

1. Using the “GasBuddy” App.

Finding a gas station with the best prices that allowed easy
in/out access for my RV and Tow Vehicle was important.© Photo By Paul Wilkinson

This app was helpful in finding the least expensive fuel. It also informed us if there were more than one gas station coming up. This gave us options with regards to the size of my RV and length of tow to select a location that was easy to get in and out.

Your debit/credit cards may limit the amount of fuel purchased at the pump. On one occasion after I had reached my "limit", the price actually went down while I was standing there.

The price of fuel actually went down from when I started to fill my tank.
© Photo By Paul Wilkinson

2. Using the “Maps” App.

Although it was helpful in getting us in the correct general direction and ultimately to our final destination, we found that having the "fastest route" or "show traffic" updates on would result in multiple options which would unexpectedly update those instructions. Including those to randomly get on/off the freeway.

My stubbornness to get off the freeway when "told", actually saved us from "imaginary" detours and traffic.

3. Using the “Waze” App

Although I must admit I did NOT use this app for this trip, I have used it in the past. This app shows other “Waze” users who input traffic, hazards and other road conditions that could affect your travel plans including potential police speed traps looking for out of state travelers.

I am not the biggest fan of this app for several reasons; unless you have someone with you to input potential traffic issues, you're basically texting while driving. Also, the amount of data it uses and how quickly it drains your phone battery with continuous use in my opinion is somewhat excessive.

I am sure there are other helpful “Travel Apps” out there, so, what kind of “Travel Apps” do you use when on the road?

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**©2015 The Infield Guru. The Infield Guru is not affiliated with and does not endorse any track or driver. This article is for informational & entertainment purposes only. There are no guarantees regarding the availability or quantities of any offers that may be shown above. Prices subject to change without notice. Please contact the specific track or appropriate website for more detailed information regarding limits and expiration of these offers. If any links fail to open, check your pop-up blocking software or consider calling the tracks directly.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

"Infield Camping" at Stagecoach 2015

Stagecoach 2015 Lineup.
Internet Photo from www.StageCoachFestival.com

Last week was my first time "infield camping" at the Stagecoach Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. It took TWO years applying online just to be eligible to be selected by random lottery for a campsite.

Once selected I had a short time to purchase my site & tickets or they would be forfeited to the next person on the list.

For those not familiar with the Stagecoach Festival, it is a musical bonanza for country music loving fans. The 2015 line-up included headliners Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton.

Three performing stages including the "Mane Stage", "Palomino Stage" and smaller "Mustang Stage". This offered many options for viewing performances by top country acts, old country and some up and coming bands who performed 30 - 60 minutes sets with sellout audiences topping 75,000+ for the evening headliners!

If you're camping with friend arrive
together to camp together.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Campgrounds are open Thursday through Monday morning with RV parking on a first come first serve basis. So, if you're coming with friends, make sure you arrive together or you could find yourself in different locations.

A total of eight people are allowed per campsite which is monitored by RV wristbands that come with your camping package. Separate companion parking passes allow those that can't get in earlier because of work to arrive later. Entry into the music festival itself is closely monitored with micro-chipped wristbands and/or decals that are scanned at all entrances.

Microchipped wristbands allow entry
into the event/RV parking areas.
© Photo by Trina Rivera

There are NO daily "in & out" re-entry UNLESS you are in the RV campgrounds. With concerts starting as early as 1 pm and going until 12 midnight, makes for a LONG & potentially expensive day, as food and drinks are not allowed inside. In my opinion, this makes getting a campsite a must!

50 amp / 30 amp and dry campsites are SOLD OUT almost immediately when notice of availability are emailed out. Each are located in separate areas, so if your RV uses different amps than your friends, you will need a converter in order to park near each other.

70,000 - 100,000 + in the audience at Stagecoach 2015.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

This picture from SUNDAY morning shows how well the staff kept the campgrounds clean throughout the weekend.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Plenty of shower trailers offer FREE showers to campers. Porta-potties located in several locations were cleaned every morning so if you were out walking around made it convenient to not run back to the RV if you were visiting other campers.

The staff, guest services booth and security personnel are all super friendly. The campgrounds were as clean Sunday morning as it is when you first arrive. A recycling rewards program offers incentives to campers to keep garbage picked up for free t-shirts, food items or festival upgrades.

Guest services, security personnel and staff were all super friendly and helpful.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

This event is "Guru Approved" and I highly recommend anyone with a love for country music, camping and having fun, to put this one on your bucket list. I will definitely renew my camping pass next year.

Have you ever camped while attending the "Stagecoach Music Festival", "Faster Horses" or other similar music festival? SHARE you experiences with me here!

The famous Budweiser Clydesdale horse team making an appearance at Stagecoach Festival 2015.
© Photo by Joshua Rivera

Just like many NASCAR sites, some campers go all out to decorate.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

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** ©2015 The Infield Guru. The Infield Guru is not affiliated with and does not endorse any specific track or driver. This article is for information & entertainment purposes only. There are no guarantees regarding the availability or quantities of any of the above items. Prices are subject to change without notice. Please contact the specific track or appropriate websites for more detailed information regarding limits and expiration of these offers. If the links fail to open for you, check your pop-up blocking software or consider calling the tracks directly.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

NASCAR Infield - "Meeting Your Camping Neighbors"

If you're new to the NASCAR camping scene or moved sites from the year before, "Meeting Your Camping Neighbors" for the first time can be an awesome, awkward or horrible moment.

"Are they quiet?", "Do they party and play loud music?", "Will they get mad if YOU party and play loud music?". RV spaces in the infield are quite cozy so if this is your first time meeting them, then these and many other questions get answered quickly.

View from the top of our RV looking towards backstretch/Turn 3 at Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Depending on who around you arrives first can set the tone for the weekend by how they place their camp site. I prefer to park with the RV door facing towards a neighbor's door to maximize & share the "common area" between sites.

Others may want their privacy and have their doors facing away from you, which places their rigs on the site line nearest you, minimizing your usable space.

When I arrived at my site, my neighbors to the left ( as you look at the site from the road) had just arrived and were backed in setting up. They were a foot over my site line with their slide outs extended. My neighbors on the right were already in place at the far right with their door facing my site.

What made sense for me, was to pull in forward. Since my slide outs are on the driver's side, this allowed me to park as close as possible to my neighbors on the left. This opened the common area between myself and neighbors to the right, while allowing the maximum space for my neighbors on the left - a total WIN, WIN, WIN!

Everyone was happy with that set-up and it worked out great.

Worked out well with us and neighbors with this set-up.

Several things COULD have happened to make this story end differently;

1. I could have been an "A'Hole" and told the neighbor over my line to get back on his side.

2. I could have been a "HUGE A'Hole" and backed in and screwed both myself and my neighbors to my right.

What I actually did was what any civilized "non-A'Hole" NASCAR camping fan SHOULD do . . .

. . . get out of the rig, make introductions to BOTH neighbors and communicate with them to maximize the space. They could have easily been "A'Holes", in which option 1 and/or 2 could have easily come back into play, but that was NOT THE CASE!

I got pretty lucky this year when I elected to change sites at Auto Club Speedway I got some GREAT NASCAR camping neighbors!

This year we had GREAT neighbors & also met their cool friends.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Even after talking to our neighbors (RV pictured on right) when they arrived the year before, they decided it was best for them to back in leaving only a few feet between us. His generator & exhaust only a couple feet from my door. They would only talk to us when they came out to start their generator for the rest of the weekend. Maybe he thought WE were A'holes. but in reality they were "HUGE A'holes!" © Photo by Paul Wilkinson

So don't be a NASCAR camping scrooge! Get out, meet the neighbors, share a drink, a meal, laugh together and have some fun! Remember EVERYONE is there to have a good time.

Before you know it, instead of just being NASCAR camping neighbors, you will all become a piece of a larger NASCAR camping family and maybe even friends for life!

Visiting my friends & neighbors that were TWO sites over from me the year before.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

What do you and your NASCAR family do special when you see each other at the track?

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"Monte Carlo" (Cristo) Breakfast Sandwiches - Can You Say YUM!

Anybody can eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast while camping at NASCAR. But why not make some "Monte Carlo" (Cristo) Breakfast Sandwiches that EVERYONE will love? Can you say YUM!

What you need: (Makes approx. 8 sandwiches)

Easy to make "Monte Carlo" Breakfast Sandwiches.
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

1 Package "Texas Toast" Bread (regular bread works too..but why?)
1 Package of Sliced Swiss Cheese (or your preference)
1 Dozen Eggs or Large Carton of Egg Mix
2 -3 Packages of Deli Meats (your preference, we used Ham & Turkey)
1 Bottle of Syrup
Butter & some Powdered Sugar
Disposable cooking tin
Paper Plate, Plastic Fork & Napkins

Set-up, making & Clean-up is SUPER EASY!
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Directions:

Pre-heat your grill or pan for cooking.
Mix eggs in a cooking tin.
Coat two slices of bread (both sides) in egg mix french toast style & place on grill.
Flip bread when nicely browned.
Add 2-4 slices of meat, top with Swiss cheese, Top with second slice of French Toast.

Add butter & syrup to preference, sprinkle with powdered sugar and they are ready to eat! This is a great way to make friends with your neighbors if you have any extras. ENJOY!

Ready to Eat! Enjoy!
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

Your Camping Neighbors will
love any extras!
© Photo by Paul Wilkinson

What are some things that YOU do to for meals in the NASCAR Infield?

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NASCAR Camping Pet Peeves at the "Porta Shower" Trailers

NASCAR infield camping weekends can be one of the most fun things you can do. However, several things can make a good weekend go bad
by a few inconsiderate "attendees".

Most tracks provide mobile "Porta Shower" trailers in several locations so campers can "get cleaned up". RVs have limited size fresh & black water tanks, while tent campers have nothing and rely on this resource more than most.

"Porta Kleen" Mobile Shower Trailers Staged at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 2015.

Let me state for the record that I am VERY grateful they have these showers at the track, and in NO WAY do I blame the Porta Shower operators or attendants.

SEVEN - "Porta Shower" NASCAR camping pet peeves:

1. As refreshing as it is to wash off the dirt, sweat and grime - "HELLO, this isn't a "Turkish Bath"! Why are people spending 30+ minutes taking a shower? Get in & Get out! Brush your hair & put your make-up on back at camp.

2. When you leave the showers, let the person next in line know which stall you just used. So in the event you closed the shower curtain, we DON'T look like pervs trying to see which stall you left empty. Better yet, just leave the shower curtain OPEN.

3. If you're told which shower stall is available, don't go to a different stall as someone else leaves, otherwise you could get a visitor by the next in line.

4. Take your filthy pube infested, slimy bar of soap, brown stained underwear and empty shampoo bottles with you. It's a shower, NOT a dumpster! Enough said!

Internet image, source unknown.

5. Snake the line in a direction that stays out of the way of a main path or intersection. Making others have to ask you to get by you is just rude. If the line is going through a main path, leave a big enough opening for people to get through. Common courtesy people!

6. If the showers are set up next to the bathrooms - Please DON'T wash you nasty head and face in the drinking fountain....That's just GROSS!

7. Wear shower shoes or flip flops! No one wants to stand in your disease infected foot puddles.

I don't even know why these things need to be said, but some camping "attendees" need to know what our pet peeves are, as I have witnessed each of the above while at NASCAR.

What are some of your NASCAR Infield camping pet peeves?

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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

It's Race Weekend - Prepping the RV

It's race weekend and time to get the RV ready for an unforgettable week at the track. It's a little different getting ready in Southern California than some of you in other areas of the country after a long winter.

I try to take my RV out once or twice a month year round, so it's fairly easy to get it out of storage, wash off the dust (when needed) and drive it to my house. "Storage?" you say. Yes! I live in a community with a Home Owner's Association that does not allow me to keep it parked or stored at my house. The earliest I can get it without violating rules and collecting fines is 48 hours.

Check with your HOA or local ordinance when parking / storing your RV.

Because of these restrictions, much of my planning and pre-staging for loading is done in the garage and/or dining room table. "Garage - Dining Room?" you ask. Yes! Most of us in Southern California do not have cool basements like the rest of the world! (One word, Earthquakes!)

I also live in an area that has been experiencing "severe drought" conditions that can make washing RV's a "finable offense" & receiving the distinct title of being a "water waster".

Here are 7 suggestions to help you get ready:

1. Prepare/ print off a list of items that you will need for the week. Most of us have gotten to the track only to discover that we forgot an important item. It REALLY sucks if it's something you swore you would never forget again. Especially your Site Pass & Race Tickets!

2. Many tracks offer only "DRY" camping with NO hook-ups. So be sure to top off your fresh water tanks to ensure you are set for the week. Water & Dumping services may be available at the track but can be expensive.

Most tracks only offer "DRY" camping & charge additional
fees for fresh water/dumping waste.

3. When loading your RV/Camper, be sure to test ALL the systems, batteries, engine fluids & tire air pressure regardless of whether you plan to use them or not. This may help you to avoid having to call AAA for a tow later.

4. While cleaning your rig, be wary of any "critters" that may have made your RV/ Camper their winter home. This can include anything from ants, mice and bees! If you do discover mice droppings be doubly sure to review item #3.

Using an RV wash bay can help save water.

5. Utilize an RV wash bay or use a hose with a shut off nozzle and bucket to reduce any unnecessary water waste. This is a great time to examine the roof and check for interior leaks. Although it doesn't rain in SOCAL very often, sun damage can occur to the exterior roof, and severe storms in other parts of the country can increase your chance of interior water damage.

6. If this is the first time out since winterizing your RV make sure you review your owner's manual and/or authorized dealer's recommendation so that you do not forget an item and unintentionally cause damage to any of your systems.

7. Some of you ONLY take your RACE BUS / RV out for the races, so don't forget to update your license plate tags and insurance cards if its been in storage since you last had it out.

What are some things that YOU do to get your RV for the races?

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2014 NASCAR SEASON OVER – NOW WHAT?

The 2014 NASCAR races finished in grand fashion with Kevin Harvick as the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion. With the season over, now what?

Many of you living in areas with colder temperatures may be heading south or have already winterized your RV. This is a great time to make a list of those items needed to be fixed, modified or scheduled for maintenance. It makes no sense in scrambling around last minute to make costly maintenance, or repairs, that ruin your trip to next year’s NASCAR races.

If your RV requires service that must be completed by an "authorized dealer" - schedule those appointments early! Depending on the time of year, you may find some service centers are so busy, that getting an appointment could take over a month just for routine service.

For the snow birds heading south or even west - this is a great time to look at the 2015 NASCAR racing schedule to include one (or more) of those races in your trip. Don’t wait to purchase tickets for your infield camping spots or race tickets. Despite rumors of lowered attendance, tracks located in the "fairer weather" locations often sell out of their reserved RV camp sites quickly. Some tracks may offer less expensive outside unreserved camp sites or you can choose a nearby campground so you are near the track if you find either unavailable.

Tent campers can do the same thing. With many tracks experiencing rain, even snow, in 2014 don’t be discouraged from attending next year’s races. Look to replace or upgrade any gear that may have caused you issues with staying warm and/or dry so your next infield tent camping experience is even better. With upcoming holiday sales, this is a great time of year to make those types of purchases.

Adapting to different weather conditions can make
your infield tent camping experience more enjoyable
© Photo provided by Kyle McMillan

If you're over the tent camping thing - check out "Craig’s List" or other classified ads of those unlucky fans unable to attend next year's races. You might be able to find a bus, camper or RV at a reasonable cost.

You can find many Buses/RV/Trailers "For Sale" on
Craig's List or other classified web sites.
© Photos provided by Tracey Book Argue

If you have any helpful tips on prepping your ride or gear for next year’s races, please share. Don’t forget to follow on Twitter and Facebook by clicking the links on your right.

See you on the Infield!

The Infield Guru