Coos Bay Oregon

We are driving north after spending a week at Coos Bay, Oregon. FMCA had a rally there with seminars and social events. Our next spot will be 60 miles north in a little known campground, with only 15 spots, no services deep in the trees….exactly opposite of the rally.  

FMCA Rally

The FMCA Rally is a new thing for us and this is an area rally not one of the big International Rallys. We were at the Coos Bay Casino and while we were there we made good friendships that I expect to last a long time. Really I didn’t know what to expect. The things I liked the most were the vendor’s booths and the seminars. It was difficult to pick where to go and what to see. One of the biggest mysteries that we found was that putting solar on an RV is really new and not well understood. I think that the electrical installers all think that a tiny solar panel is an answer to keeping a battery charged when in storage (true). Both presenters in two different presentations said that solar panels are unable to recharge batteries. I know well enough to know that that isn’t true.

Roadmaster

The biggest surprise was the Roadmaster Company in Vancouver, Washington. We choose Roadmaster for our towing equipment mostly because our car was equipped with a Roadmaster base plate. I was happy to find a used Roadmaster Nighthawk tow bar that would go between our RV and our baseplate so that we could tow our car with all the wheels on the ground.

At the rally, Roadmaster did lubrication and inspections (for free). I was talking to Eric the representative for Roadmaster in the booth and I was relating to him that I thought the hinge assembly seemed really loose.

Eric sent one of the mechanics back over to the RV and after he inspected it we decided that it was tight enough to be safe but could be improved by a rebuild — and that they would do it for free except that I had to pay for parts. They had all the parts right there at the rally and the next day I found the rebuilt tow bar on my RV, already installed, right under my bikes. I felt really sorry they had to work around the bikes.

Trevor and I also discussed our electrical connection between the car and the RV. Trevor said he didn’t have time to fix that at the show and it was too bad that we were not going to be in Vancouver Washington… that it would be an easy fix. Surprise, we were heading to Vancouver as we proceed north. All we needed was an appointment.

At the rally I got the tow bar rebuilt free except for parts and an appointment to fix the car. I am very impressed with the level of service at Roadmaster, right at the FMCA Rally. Here is a link to Roadmaster’s website. Roadmaster

Suspension Tires and new awning.

I also got the suspension inspected, free except sales pitch and tires inspected and rotated, not free. Tami got a window awning and step covers, not free, but good deals.

Our post-rally hideout is along the coast just 60 miles north of Coos Bay. Rock Creek National Forest Campground is remote but just off the beach, lonely and tree-covered. At Rock Creek, we planned on sleeping. When at the rally, we were sandwiched into the pack. At the rally we had 700 neighbors; at Rock Creek, we had the place almost to our selves. A couple of campers came in and out while we were there.

After Rock Creek, we moved another 60 miles to Devils Lake State Recreation Area.

 Both before and after the rally we spent our time hunting waterfalls and lighthouses on the coast.

My favorite lighthouse is the Heceta Head, mounted along rock cliffs.  Yaquina Head Lighthouse doesn’t have the drama of Heceta Head but still takes a nice picture, especially in the spring.

Here is a link to the google map for the area.

Link to our 2018 Route.

Link to our route Boise to Coos Bay

Our blog page doesn’t allow comments after one month…  So much for me controlling it – I am not a coder…  Please comment anyway, by filling out the form at the bottom. Be sure to mention which post you are commenting on, I will be glad to manually insert them.