My plans for the spring/summer/fall were pretty much set when I left the RGV for Utah. Or so I thought. The job in Utah went as planned but while I was there I started calling around Salem Oregon for monthly sites. I was going to try working for Amazon as a regular temp in Salem until August, then quit 30 days prior to my Amazon CamperForce assignment in Troutdale Oregon to finish up the year there.
Well, it seems that with the pandemic, many RV parks are filling up with fulltime residents. In very old fashioned terms, monthly sites are harder to find than hen’s teeth 🙂 Just as I was ready to give up on Amazon for the summer, I got a text from a temp agency that I’d previously worked with. They were starting a new program for warehouse jobs with a company in Minnesota. Not only was the pay higher than Amazon but this company also picked up the entire campsite fee, non-taxable. Overall, much better than Amazon.
So, I did some new trip planning and off to Minnesota I went. I even had a few days to stop over in Grand Forks ND and visit my favorite Chinese buffet there while camping at the nearby Air Force Base. I did my orientation and drug testing right there in Grand Forks, then left the next morning for Thief River Falls. And that’s where I almost ran out of options.
They’d known for awhile the size and power requirements of my RV. I arrived at assigned campground, found the reservation tag on my site and just started shaking my head. It was a 50 amp full hookup site but would be fairly challenging backing in to since the sites were crowded so closely together. I commenced my maneuvering and quickly discovered that the site was just too short for my 5th wheel, by 3 or 4 feet. Getting out of the site when the neighboring sites were occupied would’ve been impossible.
I called the temp agency (since the camp host was still nowhere to be found) and they offered another site elsewhere in the same campground. That site was certainly long enough for me but had no water or sewer. The temp agency said they would deliver water and a pump-out truck twice a week. While not ideal, I could live with that. Unfortunately, the electric service was only 30 amp. With daytime temps frequently in the 90s, the inside of the RV would’ve been unbearable with only 1 AC at a time running.
Already thinking about where else I could spend the summer, I called the temp agency again and explained the predicament. To my surprise, they had 2 other options for me. I quickly unhitched and checked out the other 2 places. I settled on a place only a few miles away and got settled in. The TV reception isn’t great but I have my full hookups and a quiet park.
Now, I just have to decide how long I’m going to stay here and whether or not I’ll work for Amazon this year. Just finished my first week of training so that decision will certainly wait for a month or 2.
This will probably be my last hike here in Utah, at least for this year. It was close by, just a short drive from the RV. I might have walked or ridden a bike to the trailhead if I’d known about their pricing. It’s $10 per vehicle, up to 8 people but only $4 per person if you walk or ride in. AllTrails listed this one as moderate to strenuous. There’s several hundred feet of elevation changes. At the start of the trail that’s done via switchback trails. If you do the optional Sleeping Rainbow loop, those ups and downs are more straight forward. BTW, that loop had pieces of petrified wood scattered all over the place. Just out of curiosity, I picked a piece up and it was surprisingly heavy.
petrified log at the trailheadmuch better signage on this trailThe view down to the parking lot, about halfway up the trail
This hike was very convenient when I had mechanical problems with the truck. The trailhead is only 1.5 miles from the RV so I just added a few miles of road walking to the actual hike.
I was warned beforehand to wear (or at least take) water shoes since the trail crossed back and forth over the Escalante river numerous times. Turns out it was a very dry winter in UT with very little snowpack to melt so getting my feet wet was not an issue. The low river level was actually kind of helpful. In these parts they don’t do a real good job of marking trails. Back east, if I saw a tree trunk down across a path, it would mean I needed to turn left, right or back the way I came. Around here it just means that’s where the tree fell. With the low river level, my most reliable indicator of the trail was frequently the stone bridges built by other hikers to cross the river. And of course, looking at the boulders strewn through the river, my inner kayaker came out and thought it would be a great river to paddle at higher water levels.
The goal for today’s hike was about 3 miles in, some petroglyphs on a rock wall. Fortunately, when I arrived there were was a couple there who agreed to take my pic standing next to the petroglyphs. As an added bonus, they were in a giant, natural amphitheater. And just walking along the river I had to wonder why there were no rock climbers here. It looked like a paradise for them.
Enjoy the pics!
How do those trees ever take root?The actual riverJust walk across the obstacleSpookyTop of amphitheaterMe and the petroglyphs
I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile and decided to actually write after seeing some YouTube videos. Those videos involved travel trailers being towed down the highway and swaying so much that they eventually caused major accidents. In each case, the TT would have been a total loss for insurance purposes.
Many people think RVing is a happy go lucky, carefree way to see the country whether it’s for a vacation or as a way of life. Whoa! Not so fast. I’m just going to discuss the traveling part of RVing, not the actual camping part of it. And of course, my perspective is that of someone towing a large 5th wheel RV with a one ton pickup truck.
I’ve been doing this now for about 15 years and had my share of problems while driving. What I hadn’t considered until just recently is how lucky I’ve been. I’ve always maintained emergency roadside assistance and, while it can be problematic in some situations, it has certainly saved my bacon on many occasions.
One of the more common, but still dreaded, problems we face as RVers are flat tires or blowouts. My first flat tire on the 5er happened on a secondary road in central Florida. There was nothing dramatic about it. I felt and heard nothing so I have no idea if it was an actual blowout or if it started as a flat and progressed to the tire shredding. I only knew it happened because I was watching my side view mirrors and noticed small black debris kicking out behind the RV. I found a safe place to pull over and walked around the RV. I found a tire that was more gone than there. What was left was wrapped around the axle. I placed my call to roadside assistance and gave my location and problem. While waiting for the mobile mechanic, I got the spare ready and made some minor repairs where the tire had beat up the RV wheel well. Assistance arrived within 45 minutes, cut the old tire off the axle with a hacksaw and mounted the spare. All things considered, fairly painless.
I’ve heard first person accounts of far more chilling incidents of wheels coming totally detached from the axle and rolling down the highway alongside the tow vehicle. How would you like to see that in your mirror? And then there’s the people who experience blowouts on the front axle of a motorhome or tow vehicle. Those are trickier because you need to immediately do something that’s counterintuitive. Your brain is probably screaming at you to hit the brakes as the vehicle veers to one side or the other. The proper way to handle this situation is to accelerate just enough to keep the vehicle going in a straight line, then start gradual braking to get off the road.
I’m not a mechanic so I never even thought about this next problem, until it happened to me 3 different times. I’m talking about broken axle hangars. They’re welded to the frames of towed RVs and keep the axles in the correct position. Again, although the break downs were inconvenient and cost money I could have put to more fun uses, I was very lucky each time (2 different 5th wheels). The first 2 times, I discovered the problem at interstate exits where I could get fast assistance. The first time I noticed lots of blue smoke in the mirror as I was exiting the interstate. I stopped on the exit ramp to investigate. About all I knew for certain was that 2 tires were rubbing together. There was a large truck stop at this exit so I slowly pulled into their lot and parked. There was a trailer and tire shop just across the street. I spent the night in the RV in that truck stop and walked across the street first thing the next morning. They sent a truck to align the axles enough to drive it across the street, welded the axle hangar and put a new tire on. I was on my way within a few hours. The other 2 incidents were fairly similar. It’s like I was surrounded by 4 leaf clovers.
How about clutch problems on the truck? Inconvenient? You bet. Lucky? Also true. One time my clutch stopped working as I was coming down a stretch of interstate called Dead Man’s Pass. There was a rest area at the bottom that I was able to get safely into. Another call to roadside assistance. They found a mobile mechanic who came to the rest area and had me back on the road within a couple of hours. The second time was definitely more involved. I had to get my truck and RV towed to the nearest big city. I already had campground reservations and the roadside assistance covered that tow 100%. The truck cost me a little extra since I wanted a different transmission shop to do the work instead of the closest one. Once again, my travel plans were only delayed a couple of hours. The transmission shop was within bicycle distance of my campground (where I was going to be for at least 6 weeks anyway) and a new clutch was installed within a week.
I could go on with a few more personal examples but I think you get the drift. As I said, I’ve been very lucky, or at least I think so. Others may not be so lucky. I see internet posts all the time from younger people who still need to work for a living but they want to ‘live the RV lifestyle before they’re too old to enjoy it’. These are usually the same people who have to start a Go Fund Me page when they encounter problems, or stand on an interstate exit ramp with a ‘God bless’ sign, or beg relatives for help getting a new set of tires. Folks, I’m not making any of this up. I’ve seen evidence of each of these situations.
I guess the moral of this post is: RVing is NOT all rainbows and unicorns.
My primary reason for coming to UT for a month was to see more of the countryside. I was able to complete a very nice hike this morning to Lower Calf Creek Falls, between Escalante and Boulder UT.
The owner of the place I’m working suggested that I download an app called All Trails. This made my life so much easier finding local trails to hike. It also mentioned that this was a very popular hike and could get crowded at times so I planned on a very early start. I arrived at the trailhead about 7:30 and found plenty of parking spots open. There’s also a small campground, mostly suitable for tenters, vans or small Class C motorhomes.
If you’re just hiking here, there’s a day use fee of $5, envelopes at the kiosk. I filled out the envelope, paid my money and hit the trail. I’m still getting acclimated to the elevation so there was some heavy breathing involved due to exertion. Take away the altitude and there might still deep breaths just from looking at the landscape.
I didn’t time this hike, and there’s no cell service so I couldn’t use my fitness app but it probably took about 90 minutes to get to the falls. There were a few stops just for photo opps, numerous ups and downs on the trail and lots of deep sand to walk through but it was worth it. The temp at the falls dropped considerably.
By the time I got back to the parking lot, it was full and cars were parked on the side of the road. Seems like I timed this one very well.
Those sandy parts of the trail? A lot of that sand wound up inside my socks. I found that out when taking off shoes and socks after getting back to the RV. If you find yourself in this part of Utah, I would highly recommend this hike.
My planned departure from the RGV was delayed by several weeks due to getting Covid vaccinations. My age group became eligible and I was lucky enough to find a clinic that had cancellations. Figuring in the 2 week wait for the second dose, I eagerly got my first shot. The second dose at the same clinic was delayed but I was able to find an opening at a local WalMart and saved a few extra days by doing that. I’m happy to report that I suffered ZERO side effects from either shot.
Since my departure date was chiseled in Jello, I hadn’t made any reservations although I did have a short list of places to stay depending on how far I felt like driving each day. My first day drive was supposed to be a short one, just up to Ft. Sam Houston RV park in San Antonio. I assumed that at this time of year there would certainly be open sites for me. Just in case, I called 2 days prior and discovered they were booked solid. I would have to bypass a commissary trip and a stop at an old favorite Chinese buffet there. I found another small RV park less than 1 hour NW of San Antonio and headed out.
After my last 2 trips in the RV, I was very apprehensive about mechanical breakdowns. Maybe doubly so since I had personally replaced 2 leaf springs. I was absolutely relentless about checking my sideview mirrors for signs of trouble. Anytime another vehicle (especially 18 wheelers) passed me, I made sure to look at them to see if they were signaling something. As the trip progressed, I worried a little less but it was always lingering just below the surface.
Made it to my first stop in Comfort TX with plenty of daylight left and no problems. The park had a nice, pull through site for me and Dakota and I were able to relax for a few hours before settling in for the night. Naturally, I checked driving distances and options for the next day.
My primary plan involved getting to Littlefield TX for a (free) night at Waylon Jennings Free RV Park. This is a small, no-frills park but they had 30amp and water, and a nearby Sonic restaurant. According to the website, you can stay for 4 24 hour periods without paying anything, $20/night after that. They have donation/payment boxes in the park. Since it was such a good deal, I left a donation anyway. Again, I deliberately made it a short driving day so I had time to relax and eat before going to bed.
I planned to drive to the western side of New Mexico the next day. Depending on how I felt, I had 2 options on my list. But it’s nice to be flexible too. I spotted a billboard for a casino RV park that was in the general area so I called them just to be sure they were open. (One other casino park had closed completely due to Covid.) I was in luck. They were open and had plenty of open spots. All pull through and all full hook up. The only downside was their restaurant. It was still open for dine-in but they discontinued the buffet because of the pandemic. I’m not a gambler but I did walk from the RV park back to the travel center for some snacks. If you don’t like snakes, you might not want to use the shortcut.
The next morning I was rolling westward again, crossing into AZ. I was still relaxed driving, with no signs of anything getting ready to fall off. But a couple of things combined to make my heart drop a little. The first was the radio. There was a commercial on the radio that featured a car horn. Those should be banned, just like the songs that have police sirens in them. With all the other road noises I had to contend with I couldn’t be sure if it was a real horn or not. So I checked the sideview mirror and saw a Class B conversion van very slowly overtaking me on the left. Like they were studying something on my RV so they would know exactly what to signal as they pulled next to me. They finally came even with my window and weren’t even paying attention to me. The driver was intent on watching the road ahead and the passenger had her nose buried in her phone. Just one of those coincidences.
I made it to Flagstaff and left the interstate for secondary roads for the remainder of the trip. I rolled the dice on my next stop and did not make a reservation, figuring I’d be there early enough to snag an open spot. I arrived at Cameron Trading Post very early in the afternoon and had no problem getting a spot. If you’re traveling through the area and want to stay here, I would recommend reservations. It looked like quite a few people were using this park as a home base to visit local attractions, including the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It was a very pleasant experience dealing with the staff. It reminded me of how most businesses were reacting to the pandemic a year ago. They sanitized a pen before handing it to me to sign the credit card receipt. The park itself is rather small and does not have 50 amp. Some of the RVs were hanging out, either at the front or back of their sites and there were some interesting ruts left after rains. I pulled into a site that I thought would be perfect to get out of in the morning, until someone pulled in next to me and pulled pretty far forward. The next morning I opted to back out of my spot instead of trying that tight turn. During the afternoon, I ordered curbside pickup from their restaurant ( a very tasty chef’s salad), then wandered around a bit. They have a decorated underpass for pedestrians to use.
And on the other side of the highway is a suspension bridge that I couldn’t quite figure out until I walked right up to it. Apparently, its sole reason for being is to support a gas pipeline going over the wash.
You can see the pipeline just to the left of the bridge.
This is the part of the trip that got more interesting. Although only a secondary road, route 89 had quite a bit of traffic. There were a lot of RVs even though it’s still early in the season. I had filled up the tank in Cameron but knew I wouldn’t make it to my final destination on that tank alone. I only saw 1 truck stop on this route using my Trucker Path app. I got lucky and spotted a Maverik fuel station in Page AZ that had an RV island. The rest of the trip was much slower than the previous 4 days. Like I said, there were lots of RVs on the road and lots of tourist destinations. While driving on UT-12 there was a warning sign about rock tunnels ahead with a clearance of 13’6″. Well, that got me worrying again. My RV specs say it’s 13’2″ tall but I’ve never measured it myself. And 4 inches just doesn’t seem like a huge safety buffer at 50mph. As I approached the first tunnel, I aimed for the center of the road where the clearance most likely exceeded what was listed on the sign. I also slowed down, rolled down my windows and held my breath, all in the hopes of hearing any damage to the first rooftop AC unit in time to stop and save the second AC unit. Made it through both tunnels without a scratch and pulled into Escalante about an hour later. I’ll be here for a month, putting in minimal hours for my site and hiking the local countryside as much as possible.
As my time in the RGV comes to a close (for this season), I need to report on the Chinese buffets. Naturally, since the area is largely Hispanic, I didn’t expect many buffets but did find 2 within a reasonable driving distance. The first is the Grand China Buffet. I checked their Google reviews before making the drive. Since we were still in the middle of a pandemic, I also paid attention to the mitigation efforts listed on the website. I was pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant had implemented social distancing for seating, mandatory face masks, and gloves for use at the steam tables. (Full disclosure: they add $0.20 per person to the bill for those gloves.)
On to the food. They had a very good variety on the steam and cold tables, along with a small sushi bar and small Mongolian BBQ. Apparently, they discontinued the ice cream for Covid precautions. I was disappointed that they did not have one of my favorites – frog legs. They also don’t ever serve crab legs. But, the middle of the day fare is pretty decent. Besides the normal items, they also served squid and coconut shrimp. I returned here on almost a weekly basis. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area.
An honorable mention goes to Lin’s Buffet in Weslaco. I only visited here once. It was decent restaurant but with a slightly smaller selection than Grand China Buffet.
Some of you may have wondered how RVers do their laundry. It’s a valid question. For the recreational RVer with several kids getting dirty every day, they might be miles from the nearest laundromat. And what about the fulltime RVer?
As it turns out, either could use the laundry facilities at the campground or RV park where they’re staying. Most places have washers and dryers available at fair prices. Of course, they come with pros and cons, some justified and some not. Let’s start with the pro arguments. They’re very convenient. Many times, you don’t even have to drive to it. Just load up a laundry bag, grab your quarters and walk to it. Again, many also have soap/bleach/dryer sheet dispensers available. It gets you out of the RV for awhile and you generally have a table available to fold clothes, if you’re into that. Can you remember the last time you cleaned your personal washer and dryer? Probably not. The machines at campgrounds and RV parks are typically cleaned on a daily or weekly basis.
What about the cons? Well, especially at a campground that caters to kids, many people want to do laundry at the same time. You might have to come back to start your load. Or you might have to deal with one of the rude people who don’t stay with their laundry. They typically think their time is more valuable than everybody else so their laundry will sit in the machine for an hour or more after it’s finished. Feel free to remove those loads and just place them on a nearby table.
If you’re close to a town, even a small one, you can generally find a commercial laundromat. These are great if you have a lot of stuff to wash. They have multiple machines and sometimes even machines capable of handling multiple loads (for an increased price). This can be a real time-saver, especially for large families. And while you’re in town, you can always restock groceries when the laundry is finished.
And now we come to the part of the discussion that almost always generates lively debate – putting a washer and dryer inside your RV. Most of the larger RVs you see now are plumbed for laundry and you have a few options. Both of my 5th wheels were plumbed for washer and dryer but I never seriously entertained the thought using those areas for the intended purpose. Others absolutely must have their own washer/dryer with them when traveling. Some love the convenience. You can do laundry on your terms, without worrying about others or facility hours. Some also claim that they would never use a commercial facility because somebody else’s germs/dirt might still be in the machine. Whatever!
Regardless of the reason, once you’ve decided to have onboard laundry, you still have choices to make. I’ve seen some units that could accept a full sized washer and dryer, just like you see in a house or apartment. That would be great if you have lots of laundry at once (like with kids) but you would need to be camping with full hookups for that. A washing machine will fill up a gray tank rather quickly.
I’ve also seen units where the space was designed for a stackable washer/dryer. If you haven’t done any small apartment living, you may never have seen one of these units but they do a fine job, although the loads would be slightly smaller than a conventional washer/dryer.
And last (and certainly least in my opinion) are the all-in-one units. That’s right. Just one machine to wash and dry. I’ve never looked at these seriously since most comments I see online talk about the very small loads they can handle and the very long time it takes to complete just one load. That being said, I’ve finally figured out a situation where a unit like this would make sense to me. Drumroll please! A nudist park!! You still have clothes, towels and bedding to wash but there’s really no rush to do any of it and the loads would be very small to begin with. I just recently realized this since I’m staying at a nudist RV park and noticed how long it takes me to generate enough dirty clothes for a visit to the laundromat.
I thought my trip from SD to KY was a helluva trip. This trip said ‘hold my beer’. I was able to leave Campbellsville a day earlier than planned and got to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville AL without any problems at all. It was a good idea that I looked closely at Google maps routing before I left KY. It would have had me on a very narrow, winding back road, just like it did on the way in. I avoided that stretch and the associated white knuckles that accompanied it. I had to call Redstone from a rest area to make sure they could take me a day early and all was good. I didn’t even have to stop for diesel. One tank lasted the entire way. Maybe there’s something to short driving days after all.
So, the plan was to stay at Redstone Arsenal until the day after Christmas. Usually I prefer driving on major holidays because of lighter traffic. This time, the memory of my last trip was still very fresh. I really didn’t want to break down on Christmas day, or New Year’s for that matter and take forever to get help. I spent a few days in Huntsville relaxing and even managed to visit a Chinese buffet that I’d been to before. Pulled out on the morning of the 26th and made it about 15 miles down I-565. A car pulled up next to me and started motioning towards the back of the RV and also pointing to his nose. I immediately started checking mirrors and slowing down. I was able to stop in a safe place at the next exit to figure out what was wrong. That spring hanger weld that cracked in Arkansas? Yep, it cracked again in Alabama. Maybe I just need to stay out of states that start with A. I started making phone calls looking for a mobile welder. After several fruitless hours, I broke down and called my roadside assistance. They couldn’t find a mobile welder but offered to find a tow truck that would put the 5th wheel on a flatbed. Well, they failed at that also. I was getting ready to spend the night on the interstate when a local deputy checked on me. After I explained the situation, he called a local towing company. They were able to respond about an hour later with a mobile welder. He was very concerned about the propane line next to the hangar so he made a very temporary repair and suggested a local welder for a more permanent fix.
I was able to spend that night in an RV park with electric and water so that was great. The next day, Sunday, I called the welder to get on his radar before he opened on Monday. He actually came to the park on Sunday to look at the RV. I wasn’t able to find another buffet in that town but I did top off the tank with some very cheap diesel. Monday morning I was at his shop at 0700. Besides the spring hanger, he found worn bushings and recommended replacing leaf springs at the first opportunity. I pulled out of his shop with plans to reach Duson LA that night.
As it turned out, I got tired faster than anticipated and only made it as far as Hammond LA. I’d called ahead and they gave me directions to their ‘overnight’ row and said to pick any open spot. I got there after dark and at first it didn’t look like any of the spots had electric. I had to get out of the truck to find very small outlets at the back of the sites. Found one with 50 amp and had to go around the loop again to get to it. Well, I suppose I could’ve backed up about 100 yards but I really didn’t feel like doing that in the dark after another long day. The next morning, I woke up to peacocks wandering around my site. After paying in the office I hit the road again – and made it about 2 hours down the road.
I pulled off to fill up again at a truck stop. While I was looking down the line of the RV, I noticed one of the tires looked low. OK, no biggie. I’m in a truck stop with a big empty parking lot. Plenty of room to safely put the spare on. Then I looked at the other side and noticed the tires rubbing against each other again. I finished filling up and pulled slowly into the parking area. The other side (same side with the broken spring hanger) had a broken leaf spring this time. Oh well, it was still fairly early in the day and there was a trailer repair shop less than 2 miles away. I could limp there without a problem. Unfortunately, they were all booked up and couldn’t help me other than providing a phone number for a mobile tech. The mobile tech was very busy. He managed to get to me just after 4 PM to get measurements on the leaf springs so he could get parts from the trailer shop before they closed. He had another job to finish before he got back to me so I filled the time by walking to the DQ across the street for a blizzard and changing the flat tire. That was the first time I saw a rock embedded deep enough to lose air. The mobile tech returned and replaced both leaf springs on that side and I was able to find another RV park to spend the night just 5 miles down the road in an easy pull thru spot. Early the next morning, I was first in line at a local tire shop getting a new tire.
Back on the road again for Texas. By this time I was hyper sensitive to any problems with the rig. I cringed a little every time a truck passed me, just waiting for them to signal another problem. Sure enough, after leaving the interstate for a state highway, a trucker signaled me to look at the back of the RV. One of the nice things about Texas is that they have ample shoulders on their highways so I immediately pulled over. I walked towards the back of the RV like a pedatory animal, eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary and nose sniffing for burning rubber. None of the tires were rubbing or low on air. I crawled under and didn’t see anything broken. I searched for another few minutes and couldn’t find anything wrong so I hopped back in the truck and continued driving. A few miles down the road, I remembered that I’d just changed a tire recently but didn’t use the torque wrench on the lug nuts or check tightness after 50 miles. I pulled off at the next truck stop and got the 1/2 inch ratchet out. Sure enough, some of the lug nuts weren’t as tight as they should’ve been. Maybe the trucker spotted a slight shimmy on that wheel. On to my next scheduled stop, a place to lay up until after New Year’s day. It was a nice enough park, lots of live oaks. They escorted me to my site, avoiding the low hanging branches on the way. I had hoped to get the leaf springs on the other side replaced at a local shop while I was here but they were either closed or couldn’t get the parts for several days. My biggest problem at this park was a split sewer hose which was easily repaired and fire ants that were displaced by heavy rains.
I left that park very slowly and carefully to make sure I didn’t hit any limbs and made it to my final destination without any further problems. My assigned site for the next few months was a 90 degree back in spot, which shouldn’t have been a problem except the permanent residents around that site had ‘stuff’ that came right to the edge of the road. Due to that ‘stuff’ I couldn’t make it from the good side. Had to go around the block to come at it from the other direction. Oops. Couldn’t make the last turn because of previously mentioned ‘stuff’ too close to the road. Had to back out of that turn to the next intersection, go around the original direction, but back down the street from there. I was very fortunate to have a 5th wheel neighbor assisting with spotting and suggestions. Without much further ado, I got into the spot, auto-leveled and started relaxing. The weather was great for setup.
I just finished my recent assignment for Amazon a couple of days ago and wanted to write about it before I start forgetting stuff – a common old-age malady.
Why then vs now? Well, this is where I worked my first peak season for Amazon back in 2012. It was a lot more personalized then. The head of Camperforce actually came to the rec center in the RV park to give us our initial briefing. He provided lots of information and answered lots of questions. We knew who to approach with additional questions. Now? Not so much.
We all received emails to report to the fulfillment center (FC) on a certain date and time. Virtually all of the required paperwork had already been completed online. Yet, they managed to screw that up this year. I was one of several people who did NOT get their initial paycheck direct deposited. I provided all that information a few weeks before my start date. For some reason I checked the ADP website a few days before that first payday and discovered they did not have my direct deposit info. I quickly input it. I noted the test deposit the day before payday, too late to do any good. There’s an active CamperForce group on FB and I had warned others to check their info. Someone else advised that paper checks would be held by HR at the facility for pickup. Great! I went to HR the day after payday and asked for my check. The young lady went through the entire stack twice before telling me it wasn’t there. If they had mailed it to my FL address I really didn’t want to wait 2 weeks to be able to cash it. I called a central number for Amazon, they opened a ticket to have a specialist call me. They called and agreed to cancel the paper check and reissue as a direct deposit. What really ticked me off about all this? After all this, someone more senior in local HR contacted me via FB and told me my check had been there the whole time, even provided a pic of the envelope. Suffice it to say that nobody in CamperForce was very impressed by SDF1 HR.
Anyway, back to the work aspect. Training was minimal and abbreviated, mostly because of the coronavirus. They were trying to minimize the possibility of getting infected throughout the building. They still had Learning Ambassadors who would shadow you while working to help and answer questions. I didn’t need any hand holding so my ambassador was able to spend more time with other newbies.
Since I’ve worked previous peak seasons, including here, I was pretty much working at full speed the first week. I was mildly surprised that they were offering overtime that soon but gladly took advantage of it. They allow CamperForce to work a max of 60 hrs a week and I did that a few times, Probably would’ve done it more but I did need some time to shop, do laundry, take care of the RV, etc. Physically, it hasn’t been as bad this time around. The first time I had all sorts of blisters and chafing rashes. Maybe I was just trying to work too fast then. This time I was only bothered by rare, minor foot problems. I made an effort NOT to work as fast. They have performance metrics, which workers are able to check for themselves. If you fall into the bottom 3% of the entire building, somebody is going to come talk to you. I never heard of anyone being talked to and I never got anywhere close to bottom 3%.
The coronavirus precautions were very prevalent but not always enforced as well as they should have been (in my opinion). We had a small percentage of Covidiots who would wear their masks properly and behave when they were in areas where they might get caught by a supervisor, but were much more lax in the far reaches of the building. I stayed as far away from them as possible and apparently did well. 3 days before my last shift I took a free Covid test in the building and it came back negative.
It got very lonely this season, again, mainly due to the coronavirus precautions. It’s tough to have casual conversations while wearing a mask and maintaining 6 foot separation so I mostly just worked, ate and slept. The money was definitely good although I’m still waiting for the end of season bonus money.
I will probably not return here next year. My current travel plans will have me in the Pacific NorthWest over the summer and that’s just too far to drive back to work. I might work for CamperForce again in Portland if they offer that again. Or I might just sign up as regular employee at the facility in Salem OR. We’ll see as the time gets closer.
