National Rally

We're looking forward to the Trailblazers national rally in Branson, MO, which starts this weekend -- we'll arrive Sun. afternoon (21st). Who else will be there?

At last check there be @ 188 folks.
88 units plus off site folks and cabins.
but there where a couple more tryin.......

Arizona will be represented, we will be there on Sunday also.

We will be there on Sunday afternoon also.

Ron and Myra

Yep !!! We are in Tupelo Miss tonight... on our way to the National Rally... we will be representing Florida... the weather is looking good, slight chance of rain and of course it's summer..... Hot !!!

We be here where be yunz!

We be in space 62 where yunz

We be in "J" -- clear in the back row.

Now that we've been here a few days, I'll make a comment or two. The ABC (America's Best) campground is pretty decent. Nice, air conditioned bathrooms (and no-extra-charge showers) are welcome in the heat and humidity (mid-90's each day, low 70's in morning -- very humid/sticky), but the moderately steep hills within the campground make riding a bike a little chore, either lots of brake on the downhill or 1st gear uphill, with leg strain (we're not marathoners).

Trailmanors everywhere, with an occasional motorhome or other travel trailer mixed in here and there.

Monday night was a hosted cookout: pork, beans, green beans, rolls, etc., very good food. After supper was a "hillbilly contest," with lots of folks dressing up as hillbillies and entertainment provided by The Homestead Pickers, a nominally Bluegrass group (excellent), who did a little music in other styles, with comedy thrown in. It was a fun night.

Tuesday a demo Elkmont and a demo 2720SL arrived. The most important changes in the 2720SL, to me, were the new Carrier air conditioner (much, much quieter -- you can actually hold a conversation without yelling) and the extra electrical outlets: next to the heater on the couch and under the sink next to the control/display panel.

The Elkmont was a little bigger and roomier than I'd expected from the pictures, and was a nice unit, especially for aging knees and legs.

The Trailmini was also a bit roomier than I'd expected from the pictures, though it's still (my opinion) suitable for one person.

Wednesday we caught the bus at 9:00 AM to see Doug Gabriel in Branson -- an outstanding show. In the afternoon we went to see the New Shanghai Circus, drummers and acrobats. They were outstanding for what they do, but my personal taste is such that I love it for about 15-20 minutes, but 2 hours of only that is too long. Obviously not everyone thinks that way, however, and some of the things we saw were amazing, even though DW and I both nearly fell asleep towards the end of the first half -- we badly needed the intermission.

At 6:15 we caught the bus to the Branson Belle Showboat, a paddle wheeler (uses diesel engines, though), for dinner and show. The roast beef and veggies were outstanding, but the cordon bleu was just edible. The entertainment was outstanding, as you might expect, with singers doing show tunes/old favorites and Todd Oliver with his talking dogs (real dogs), a ventriloquist act. He was wonderful, with most of us rolling on the floor during some parts of his routine -- fun all the way through!

And all the entertainment we've seen or heard about is G-rated -- a welcome change.

All in all, except for the humidity (and 90+ temps), it's been a very enjoyable time.

Thursday at the Jubilee was a free day (nothing scheduled), and we (DW and I) rode the Branson Scenic Railway. I'm not sure what was "scenic," as it was mostly trees near the tracks hiding what scenery was there, but it was a nice ride on 1940s-vintage equipment -- the engine I could see was an F-9, and the cars, including the "Vista Dome" cars, seemed to match.

Friday morning was a club "business" meeting, then the tech talk session, which lasted over two hours, primarily a question and answer session. In the evening was a catered dinner, followed by door prizes, thanks, etc.

All in all a fairly good time, but it would have been much better if the heat and humidity were reduced -- temps all week were mid-90s or higher, with 71º the lowest I saw when getting up in the morning, and humidity never did seem to get below (my estimation) 95 -- even first thing in the morning I felt very sticky when outside, and water streamed off the TM from the A/C. I often felt as if I were carrying around my own salt water swimming pool.

Below are a few notes I made during the "tech talk" at the Jubilee. Mike (founder's son) was the main respondent.

1. The new Carrier air conditioner is a lot quieter than the older models. When asked about retrofitting, Mike said it could be done, but is "not painless," indicating there'd be considerable modification required, including cutting more out of the roof, redoing ducts, etc. Mike also mentioned that, for those who are handy, a shallow "V" could be formed from aluminum and placed inside the existing A/C, cutting the turbulence that causes a lot of the noise.

2. There's been a lot of talk in the forums about tongue weight. What I've seen has indicated that a "typical" trailer has about 10% tongue weight, while the TM has about 13%. Mike indicated that the actual percentage varies a lot, depending on loading (weight AND balance), and that the tongue weight is a "second moment of inertia calculation." He indicated that axle placement on the TM is carefully calculated to eliminate sway, provided the load is reasonably balanced, i.e. not excessively loaded behind the axle. Naturally I'm not expert enough to comment further, except that, as we all know, it seems to work.

3. There was a fair chunk of talk about the Elkmont and Mini, especially since an Elkmont, a Trailmini, and a 2720SL were on display. One thing that was interesting was that quite a number of folks seemed interested in a longer version of the Elkmont. While the factory has no current plans for such, I got the feeling they'd build one, if they had sufficient interest/orders.

4. The subject of WDHs came up. Mike indicated that 750 lbs was probably as much a WDH as we should use on a TM. It was evidently related to the repeated, sudden heavy weight transfer when the TM gets into a "porpoising" situation.