We are scheduled to head over to Quartzsite tomorrow morning.
Anyone there now? Is it raining?
How muddy is Plamosa Road likely to be if the weatherman is true to his word?
We are thinking about postponing a couple of days to see if the weather improves. If there is a lot of rain this week are there better drained areas to drycamp?
Drycamp may be an oxymoron this week in Q!
Don and Patty

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Originally posted by Don in Niagara:

Anyone there now?

Almost. Later today.

quote:

Is it raining?

We are north of Blythe, and it started at 8:15 last night, but lightly. It is getting heavier now.

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How muddy is Plamosa Road likely to be if the weatherman is true to his word?

That depends. I would not try to go to the usual spot the usual way, as it entails crossing a wash that is sure to be dicey. Even if thy are not running, many of the washes stay soft longer than you would think.

Most of the Plomosa area north of the highway has east and west washes that can be quite spectacular when it rains. You could find yourself marooned for several days if you are on the wrong side of one. We will check the area out with the 4WD and see what is what, but we will likely pick a high spot and not plan on moving for a while. Our 4WD likes mud, so we can get in and out for Doritos and beer or whatever.

I don't know much about the area south of the road.

Or we might just stay on State Trust Land north of town to be on the safe side.

Either way, Q will not be as much fun this year. the poor vendors already had a terrible windstorm in early December. Some were wiped out. Others had a lot of their stuff wrecked.

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If there is a lot of rain this week are there better drained areas to drycamp?

The problem in not whether or not the area is better drained or not. The problem is the drainage itself. Nature provides drainage ditches, and even if you are not in one, you can be on the wrong side of one. Or between two. Scaddan Wash nearer the road is pretty safe. The only drawback there is that there is freeway noise, but you are not likely to do a lot of outside sitting. We carry a crooked chimney for our fire pit, so we can operate it underneath the canopy, so we will be outside, anyway. An advantage of Scaddan Wash is that it is in bicycle range or town, but rain spoils the fun of that, too.

Roadrunner down south has some nice areas, too, but you will need to scout first to see what is taken. I suspect the rain will cause a lot of people to take the high ground.

Whatever you do, I would advise scouting the area with a toad first.

Two or three years ago, we were side by side up there, and after you left, we had some heavy rain, and a friend visiting almost got stuck. Only his superior driving skills kept him moving. For weeks later, his Brodie track in the adobe was a reminder. Have you ever seen a big motor home spin a cat's ass? Think of the Polar Express on the ice.

His subsequent visits were in his toad.

Thanks for the advice, Bill. We have postponed Quartzsite 'til Friday the 22nd in hopes it blows over by then.
Don and Patty

Bill i thought you weren't going to be there this year? We probably just missed you yesterday. We ran up in the jeep to check out where the bus rally is at to see how bad it was, and decide if we would stay home or go up. A little damp in a few places but no big deal. We ran out to Plamosa road and drove around looking for Barths but did not see any. Came back to town and had lunch at Mountain Quail Cafe and headed back to Yuma. We are going to head up today with the bus about 10 or 11am. Will try to get up to see you. Btw, we have had sprinkles here for 2-3 minutes twice in the last 2 days and the skies are clear this morning. Ed

We are on state trust land north of Kofa and Tyson, about even with the big city antenna on 95.

How was Mt Quail? They have new owners this year.

quote:

Originally posted by Don in Niagara:
We have postponed Quartzsite 'til Friday the 22nd in hopes it blows over by then.
Don and Patty

Friday should be good if the tent doesn't blow down on Thursday. It partially went down a coupla years ago during the car show.

We are in a really nice spot, but heavy rain will make sure we stay for a while. I will do some shovel work on a couple berms to help us back out without any turning, and hope the rain packs them down and firms them up. A tag axle makes off-roading more exciting. Even getting in here yesterday was exciting. You should have seen the look of horror on Susan's face when things got loosey-sinky.

But, we are planning on being in the area till March, anyway.

Looks like we will not be able to make the big show in Q this year. We also have cancelled our reservation at Santee Lakes near San Diego for next week.
And it's NOT due to all this darn rain!
I had the propane guy in to fill us up a few minutes ago and lpg was leaking out of the fill fitting at the tank almost as fast as he put it in!
So ... The Barth is going in on Tuesday for repairs. There is no apparent leak from the system when the tank is in use, only when it is being filled. To be safe, however, we are only using an electric heater for warmth ... it's all we really need here in the "Valley of the (liquid!) Sun".
Oh well!
Don and Patty

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There is no apparent leak from the system when the tank is in use, only when it is being filled.

Does this sound a little hinky to anybody else?

It may be the OPD valve is stuck - its cap is opened when the tank is being filled, and it vents propane when the tank reaches the full level.

Re: Propane leak - I had the same problem. The check valve on my original fill fitting failed, & the contents of the tank were lost, though it took a couple hours, & the facility had to close while my tank emptied. I wasn't very popular right then.

When I began to unscrew the valve to replace it, something flopped around inside the tank that eventually broke off & dropped to the bottom of the tank. When the guts of the valve were in my hand, it was obvious it had been a float-operated stop/fill device & it had failed. I doubt if it was an overfill protection valve because the tank had the standard manual overfill bleed valve mounted on the side.

I was unable to find a replacement, so I replaced it with a standard horizontal tank filler from the RV store.

Tank manufacturers still offer horizontal tanks with fill/stop devices, but I haven't found one on the aftermarket. That doesn't mean you can't.

I suspect if you want to change that valve without destroying the float as I did, you'll have to remove the tank & rotate it until the float arm hangs vertical & you can unscrew it without stressing it. If you're willing to sacrifice the auto-stop feature, it's a DIY project. The standard filler valve is certainly more reliable, though you better be sure you have the standard overfill bleed valve on your tank.

I have horizontal tanks and when this happens to me it is just that the guy did not get the nozzle on right.

Bill, Mt. Quail was fine for lunch. First time we have been there so have no basis for comparison. We also went there for dinner last nite. It was fine too.