Plans....

[Benny]

Who needs them? Well I like to plan, although I have been known to just take off without planning at all. It has worked for me in the past right? Well this morning me and my other half decided to head up to the Sierras, great lets go. Get your gear together, I already have all my backpacking gear in the truck ready to go. Wait a minute what do you mean we should stay at the Westin in Mammoth? My lady's idea of roughing it is the Housekeeping camp in Yosemite. Well I refused to pay for the outrageous prices of the Westin. She's a bit spoiled from our other vacation where we've stayed at some swanky places like the Ritz Carlton, Le Meridian, and the Westin Villas.

This is a backpacking vacation...
but where do we take a shower and use well use the potty.
We dig a hole...
* no!

Okay, let's car camp for a few days and see how we do with that...
But, there are bears and mountain lions.
We'll be lucky if we get to see a bear, and we will likely never ever see a mountain lion in the wild.

I don't have much car camping gear so I make my way to REI early this morning, buy us a big ol 6 person tent recommend by a REI customer service rep. Got some other gear that I thought might make my lady and 6 year old son more comfortable. Spent a grip of money and I can likely camp with the best of them.

Off to Walmart for some goodies on the cheap and will get some stuff at the market later when we get on our way. Come out to my truck and notice my rear driverside tire is low... *! DAMMIT! Okay... breathe.. deep breaths. Gas station is just a block away. Fill the tire with air and get to another service station that can take a look at the tire and maybe put a plug in it or advise if I should just get a new set of tires. The guy says he could plug it and we should be good. Man that was crazy, I thought I was going to have to end up buying a new set of tires. New set, I know these tires are getting close to needing to be replaced. When I last rotated and balanced them about two weeks ago the guys said there was still plenty of tread but I may need new tires by the end of the year, it depends on my driving.

Well I start cleaning out my truck and loading everything including the kitchen sink.... Let me back up a bit, some of you may know I have a Truck Vault in my truck bed. Those things are awesome and nearly bullet proof so to speak. Well I cleaned and moved and put some of the camping gear in the Truck Vault, I had to make room for my pontoon which I plan on using. Kept loading more and more gear. Looks like I'm done after a few hours. Lock the truck... Wait where are my keys? crap I must have left them somewhere in the truck... Start unloading gear, no keys. Unload all gear, no keys. Let me open the truck vault, it's locked!! I have a spare with my house keys that were with my truck keys! Shiiiii..... well It's to late to call a locksmith and they will likely charge me more at this time of night. I will take my truck to a locksmith in the morning. I hope it goes well and I find my keys inside the Truck Vault.

Not sure if we should go now... seem like something is trying to keep me from going. The lady not really wanting to camp, the flat tire, the locked keys with the very important camping gear in the Truck Vault. Or I was just unfortunate today... I'm thinking of just getting a whole new set of tires in the morning, that plug in the tire is bugging me. Wish me better luck tomorrow.

[Dry Fly Rie]

Wow, that's a rough day, for sure. I hope it works out okay for you and the family.

[stanbery]

Benny
Good luck today.
Jon

[WanderingBlues]

Sometimes the Universe speaks to you if you're willing to listen...

[John Harper]

Tire plugs work fine, I have a couple in my tires, did them myself. Just check your tire pressure. Good luck on your adventure. The fish are calling.

John

[Wildman]

Benny....whatever decision you make, looking forward to hearing about the adventure. With two horse trailers with dual axles and three vehicles, something is always getting a flat (living on a dirt road....not sure where all the nails come from) I am on a first name basis with my tire guy. Also a 25 year member of AAA and swear by their roadside service as well. By the way.....did I mention that I have two hideaway keys for each of my vehicles?

[DrCreek]

10 bucks says he's northbound.

[Jimbo Roberts]

Are you kidding me?
You've bought the equipment.
Go!.... Go!.... Go!....

Jimbo

[duckdog]

Jim is right,AAA is worth every penny. I have had a plug in one of my tires on my commute vehicle for 3 years , no problem. That said, if I was taking my family on a long trip through the desert , in the heat of summer, and my tires were just about ready to be replaced any way -- I would be getting those new tires on before my trip. For me it's a no brainer. Driving around town on marginal tires is one thing. Long trips through hot country , fully loaded with family and gear is something else. My 2 cents... Go , absolutely, and have a great trip.

Mike

[Benny]

I have had AAA for as long as I could remember and have never had the need to use them. This was the first puncture for my truck since I purchased it back in 2003 this is the third set of tires and I'm at 135K on the odometer, these tires have worn much faster than the stock tires and my previous set. The tires still have plenty of tread left, just don't like the idea of the plug, but as many have said the plugs are usually a good fix.

Now we get to this morning, called the locksmith and we met up at his shop where he attempted to pick the lock. Mind you this guys success rate was really high with picking locks according to him. He was confident and said he thought he could get it open. About two hours later he comes and tells me that it's a tough lock to pick and he couldn't get it open. He said he could get it open by drilling it, I tell him go ahead and get it open, I need it open...
A half hour later he comes and says it's finally open. That's a tough lock to crack. The guy was drenched from working on the lock... He says it's $25, I gave $40 and called it a day. The guy worked his butt off trying to crack the lock without having to drill it, I think he was selling himself short on the work he put in.


The end result, well I got my keys...

As I type, we are discussing whether or not to head up. My lady is saying so many things have happened, but she still wants to go. So we will go. I'll post up when we are back.

[FlyKastr]

I hear you… Yeah, we don’t camp, not even glamping. It’s all about the bugs, rodents, and bathroom facilities. And don’t get my daughter started on bears after our trip to Glacier NP. Decent rooms or condos at Mammoth can run around $200 a night. Campsites are $15 a night.

To a fault, I tend to plan vacations like military deployments and am not good with risk or spontaneity. Our vehicle gets a lot of maintenance before a road trip and replacing parts is not uncommon. I guess it’s for the “peace of mind” because breakdowns are a hassle, especially in the wrong place. I’ve heard too many horror stories over the years.

I’ve had AAA for 27 years and it’s a convenient service, but can be hit-or-miss. My last experience was at Mammoth and I just packed up the car for the ride home. Of course, I noticed the flat tire after the fact. However, a gas station was less than a mile away, so I called AAA to get some air in the tire and avoid unloading the trunk. They never showed up after two calls. So I unpacked the trunk, put on the spare, and got a plug installed at the gas station. I wonder if they ever responded to the call.

Above all, best wishes for a great family trip and safe travels!

[midger]

Hope the trip works out better than the pre-trip did. More important, I hope you all have fun and find car camping enjoyable. I seriously doubt you see a bear and probably definitely won't see a Mt lion, but wouldn't it be cool if you do/did?