WESTERN CANADA PLEASURE-WAY CLUB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2008

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1 WESTERN CANADA PLEASURE-WAY CLUB NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2008 Well thought it was about time to send out another Newsletter. We were hoping to hear from some of the members as to what they were doing all summer, but no such luck. I sure hope you were able to get away and enjoy some travels in Canada or the USA. NEW MEMBERS Eric & Judy Solomonson live in Edmonton, AB and have graduated up from a Westfalia to a 2005 Ford Excel Pleasure-Way. George & Agnes Sillery live in Wainwright, AB, and George is also retired from the military. Agnes is a retired Medical Lab Tech. They purchased their PW so they could take their Golden Retriever Muffin with them on their travels to save her the stress of going to a kennel while they were away. They bought their 2004 PW in July and already have made a trip to Rochester, Minnesota to visit their son. They attended the Rally in Oliver and then continued on to tour Washington and Montana on their way back to Wainwright. Jim & Jane Eby come from Salt Spring Island, BC. They bought/imported their 2006 Ford Excel in Denver, Colorado, which was a bit of a challenge but feel it was well worth it. They have been Rving in a 1992 Class B Dodge for the past five years, but feel the PW floor plan will suit them better for long term trips. Armin & Kathryn Sachse who live in Ontario during the summer and winter in Courtenay where they both like to ski and snowboard. They purchased their unit new in Courtenay in October As they are firm believers that people should support their local economy, one of the influencers was that it was built in Canada. They have put over 30,000 kms on the unit so far and will add another 5 to kms on their way back to BC in November. They looked at the big buses but chose the PW because they are more nomads than campers, and had a generator installed and love the remote wilderness provincial parks but also have stayed in some very fine RV sites. Kathryn is retired and Armin is semi-retired. They have 4 children and 4 grandchildren. They love to travel and are about to add Jordan and Egypt to the list of many countries they have visited. They do cultural and antiquity type tours with small groups of 4 to 6 people were they have some control over where they go. They have had some wonderful experiences that will live with them for years. They both enjoy photography and Kath does oil paints. Hayward & Donna Vaters live in Lloyminster, AB. They both originally hale from Newfoundland. Donna and Hayward dropped in to visit with us while travelling to Vancouver area this summer. They have a Plateau and enjoyed the PW Rally in Saskatoon a year ago. 1

2 TRAVELS On June 30 th we left for a trip to the Yukon and Alaska. The weather was beautiful when we started out and the roads were very quiet. Our first day out we came along the shell of a Class C motorhome and tow vehicle that had just burnt on the Trans Canada near Lytton, BC. This started a forest fire in the area and we heard later that night that the road was closed for a couple of days. We were glad we had been able to get through as it would have been a long way around. We didn t see near as many wild animals as we thought we would, except near Laird River Hot Springs were there are a couple of buffalo herds of 70 or more on the side of the road. We enjoyed the Hot Springs on the way up and back. Most of the campgrounds were very good, the worse one being Pink Mountain just north of Fort St.John and a close second was Montana Creek, Alaska where there are no washing facilities at all and for $40 a night it was suggested we go back a couple of miles to the gas station where there are showers. We enjoyed the Follies in Whitehorse, where we stayed at the Hi Country RV Park. It is a very nice park, but you are parked very close back to back. We seen several other PW s there both times we were there. We had thought at the time, we should have been keeping track of how many PW s we seen rather than wildlife. From Whitehorse we took a bus/train trip to Skagway, but only had 45 minutes in Skagway rather than the two hours we were told we would have. I think Santaland, North Pole campground was on top of the list with great washrooms. We actually got the most sun while in the North Pole. It is a neat little place with even candy cane street light poles. Tolsona Wilderness Park on the Glen Highway was great as a river runs through the bush and each campsite backs onto the river. It was also an enjoyable park and we had sun there and could clean out the PW from all the sand and dirt that accumulated from all the rainy days we had. You do a lot of driving between places of interest and apparently this was one of the rainiest summers in some time. It was interesting to see and we met several nice people, but I think all the pictures of Alaska must have been taken on the one sunny day they had one year. Even a lady who had one of the shops in Seward agreed with that because she wondered too how all the pictures are bright and sunny. I read one person s BLOG and they used Photoshop to take out the clouds and put in blue skies. They had also put in some of the pictures they had taken in 2005 for their 2008 trip. We came home thinking that our mountains in BC and Alberta are still more beautiful than any in Alaska. We did not get to see the great one Mt McKinley as it was in cloud the day we went through. On our way home we stayed at Sikani River RV Park, between Fort Nelson and Fort St.John. The owners there have a door prize and we won with the prize being a free night of camping. That was a total surprise and they asked us to let people know about their park. It is a better place to stay than Pink Mountain and it is right on the river. Because of the lack of tourist this year, down 35% so we were told, several of the campgrounds were closed. A PW couple we met who were in Alaska up to early September said some of the campgrounds were closing the 1 st of September because of lack of business. The Follies in Whitehorse also closed early. FALL RALLY Here we are in Oct and our Fall Rally has come and gone. It was a great success in meeting people and sharing ideas and information on Pleasure-Way s. We had six PW owners attend the Rally three from Alberta and three from BC. Pleasure-Way Industries supported us in our goodie bags by donating PW Clothing and PW name tags that convert into key chain holders and also some great coffee mugs that sit right in the coffee holder of the vehicles with the PW name on them and made of stainless steel. Very nice for sure. Members also received other items like flashlight key fobs and lots of papers and magazines on the area and the places to go and see. The Campground hosts were really good to us and supplied a meeting room free of charge. There were also three barbeques for our use, a swimming pool and a hot tub as well. All open and all working. We had camping spots held for our clubs use only and we were all together. The area is really beautiful and the RV spots are in a cherry orchard that is there for the use and the cherries are free. All you have to do is pick those big black 2

3 beauties. The cherry season was over, but we were able to get apples from the orchard in the back. Hence through popular demand we will be having another rally in June Everyone wanted to come back in cherry season. So please mark your calendars for that date. We will publish more info on the June rally as soon as we firm things up. Such as the best cherry picking times. We all had a great time and it was wonderful meeting all the members that showed up. The first night saw us all at a gathering to exchange information and ideas and to get to know each other. I read an from Pleasure-Way Industries on the expected 2009 Rally in Saskatoon. Quote: As for the 2009 Pleasure-Way Rally, we will be trying something new for next year. Instead of having one big rally in Saskatoon, we are encouraging our local chapters to host their own regional rallies. Pleasure-Way will support each chapter with money and product etc. We are testing the first one like this in Florida in Jan This way more people will be able to go to a rally. I will keep you informed as to what will happen next. Instead of there being one large rally next year, we will have a few smaller, more regionalized rallies. For example, we will have a Western Canada rally with me attending, $$ from Pleasure-Way (amount depending on # of attendees) etc. Eastern Canada will have theirs etc. UnQuote If anyone has any questions or does not understand the messages from Pleasure-Way, please feel free to contact me and I will get it all sorted out. It would be great indeed to have a Pleasure-Way rep at our June rally. On our Pleasure Way trek through the Okanagan Valley taking in Okanagan Falls with a stop at Tickleberry s for some of the best ice cream, Olala, Keremeos, and Osoyoos. We came across one of the best, if not the best Fish and Chip Restaurants in Keremeos I have ever been into. It is actually an Antique shop that sits only 14 persons at a time, spread out amongst the antiques. The chips are actually peeled and chipped when you order your food. Seafood at it s best. Yes, we have to go there again for sure. Now just prior to that we went into Okanagan Falls to a place call Tickleberry s. The ice cream was at it s best. Have you ever had licorice ice cream. It is delicious. Just ask George Sillery & George Bull about that. George S, Gary & George B After supper you would find us in the meeting room where Pauline and Gary Krenz taught us a new game of cards called Golf as it takes nine rounds for one game. What a hoot that was and very enjoyable for us all. But is sure does show you how quick you can forget your cards. Must be age so they say. 3

4 All in all we had a great three days and as I said it will happen again this June in the same area at the same campground for owners of Pleasure-Way RVs. We hope to come up with some new idea s and maybe travel to a couple of different campgrounds. We are open to any ideas. Hope to see you all out there enjoying yourselves. IDEAS AND MODIFICATIONS George Sillery came up with a great idea for us all. He has attached to his intake for city water the male end of a quick connect garden hose (Brand name Gardenia). The female end he has on his water hose. To connect it is a quick push on and snap, you are connected, same to disconnect. The male end stays on your motorhome and the female end stays on your water hose. I tried it out when I got home and now they are permanent on the RV and the hose. No more twisting to get the hose on or off. Gary Krenz came up with a great way of flushing your holding tank. He made a copper spraying end out of copper pipe that sits down into his black water tank from the top of the tank. He then ran a hose from there to the outside shower compartment. Open the compartment and connect a hose to the end that is there and flush your tank out. For more detailed info on this item. Contact Gary and I am sure he will help you out. Gary also installed a satellite dish on his RV and all the wires and required controls. Now this is another item to call him on if you wish to do the same. Gary & Pauline Krenz Edmonton, AB John Barker installed a new sewer pipe holder for his RV so now he can carry a 20 ft sewer hose with no problem. They found on their trip across Canada they needed a longer sewer hose. 4

5 Anyone wanting two shelves in their PW installed above the rear side windows give me a call and I will e- mail you on this modification. Great for watches, TV controls, DVD controls and anything else you want to store up there. The rear side windows on our RVs don t open that wide, only about one and a half inches. Take a good look at the track the opener slides on. You will see a plastic type stopper in the track. Take the inside screen off of the window and using a common screwdriver pop that stopper out of the track. Your window will now open about four and a half inches for lots of air. I cut the stopper and inserted about one inch back into the track to make it look as it was and also to stop Rosemarie from opening the window to wide. On our return from Alaska we met a PW owner from California at Mile 0 Campground in Dawson Creek. They had a pair screens from on the coach side windows for more air circulation. Rosemarie seen them and took a picture so she could make them when she got home. It is a really cool way of making screens for the front windows of the Pleasure-Way cabs. She demonstrated them for the ladies that were present. I can attest that they work well keeping out the bugs and letting in cool air, especially with our roof fan on. For all info on these screens contact Rosemarie Bull and she will pass on info and pictures for you. Screens for coach windows. 5

6 Daune Pendergast ed us some pictures of a towel rack he installed on the bathroom door, for extra towel space. I have more photos, if your interested I can forward them directly to you. Another good idea. We seen two great ways of making your table swing away when not needed. Contact Gary Krenz for making a slider for the large table and George for the small round table. The DVD Player. Some people have been having their DVD players shut off in the middle of a movie. It is said that the heat build up in the cabinet for the player reaches very high temps and causes the shut down. Yes it has happened to me twice. Solution, to cool the area inside the cabinet. Anges Sillery showed me an excellent and fast way to remove the DVD player, which I did. I then used a five eighths wood bit known as a spade to drill from the bottom of the cabinet four holes which I carried on through and out the top as well. The air will now circulate and keep that area a lot cooler. Cost was nothing. Time was approximately 20 min. I have been reading about two petcocks, which are located under your RV. There is one on the red line and one on the blue line. These lines will stay full of water if they are not properly drained. On my RV a 2007 Ford Excel they are located immediately before the rear left wheel just aft of the propane tank. To drain them, one can open the petcocks then take the screen out of your city water filling location and push the anti backup valve that is a small white button located in the middle of the area where your hose attaches. 6

7 The water will then drain from the petcocks as long as you hold the valve in. When empty, close the petcocks and put the screen back into the city water fill up and you are done. If you don t drain the lines they will stay full of water. No, the antifreeze will not go into these lines and mix with whatever water is there. That water then can freeze in cold temps, maybe not in the lower BC Mainland but certainly in the Western provinces. If you are not draining these lines you are tempting fate. I know I could fill more pages on modifications and ideas for our Pleasure-Way RVs. I think the best idea is to attend the next rally in the Okanagan and listen to what s new and also to bring your own ideas with you to pass on. Nuff said.tinker Agnes Sillery, John Barker, Bonnie Schamber, Esther Barker & George Sillery Bonnie & Wilf Schamber Cold Lake, AB 7

8 Sherry & Bill Musselwhite, Vernon, BC Rosemarie & George Bull Chilliwack, BC This is an Eaton Catalogue house delivered to Okanagan Falls in