. I occasionally think we should upgrade our 1998 coachmen ,fiberglass M.H. then hear another story like yours and come to my senses.We put 10,000 miles on it last winter all over southwest traveling from ma. I think it’s a keeper. Love your vids and love Utah. Lived there for a bit in 1980. Our stomping ground was Logan Canyon and Bear lake. What a fabulous endless beautiful place.
Wow!! What a campsite!!! My wife says “No Way!!” A little too close to the edge for her. Great drone footage of the mini “Grand Canyon”. (Not that it makes any difference, but I grew up in the town of San Rafael in California) So nice to be back in Utah again with the awesome scenery. Interesting info on the MK tunnels, the pictographs and the Jurassic dig site. Sorry to hear about you rig falling apart. Yeah, I would say you’ve ridden it hard. Only four years! I hope we get more than four years out of ours. The trailer had a tough time keeping up with your truck it seems. We almost bought a Forest River brand. I like the double pullouts on your EVO - makes for lots of room. We like our Lance, but know that it is kind of pricey. Thanks for sharing! 👍🏼👍🏽 Ram and Kuuipo
Thanks as always Ram! I'd be willing to bet you will have much better luck with your Lance, they are known for better than average quality. Glad you enjoyed our site at The Wedge!
Outdoors RV makes a great product, but we full-time in a Lance that be bought after looking at those, as well as Arctic Fox and Nash. When we had a slide issue, the Lance factory repaired it at no cost to us (out of warranty). They really stand behind their units!
Thanks for the tips! We've heard nothing but good things about all of those brands. Of course, CZcams lag time being what it is, our decision was already made at the time this video aired. We'll reveal the outcome at tonight's Premiere czcams.com/video/vuaJHn0smF0/video.html
Ok just another place in Utah that I have to visit. What a place for a drone. Just wow!!! Yep looks like some decisions on trailer. But boy have you taken it a lot of off road places.
I was an immediate subscriber of your channel when I discovered it. Your videos are rich in content, with the historical details, travel tips and all. Really well done. Utah is an incredibly beautiful state. I moved here a year ago and I am really excited about all there is to explore. This will be on the list. Thanks for your inspiring videos!
Thanks so much Deb! We moved here 16 years ago and I swear, we still feel like we've only scratched the surface. Welcome neighbor, and thank you for your kind words.
Sorry to hear of your troubles with your travel trailer but thanks for sharing. It helps all of us. As for the video, another good one. I have not heard of that area.
Thank you David! Because our videos are a few weeks ahead of real time we've already come up with our solution, which we'll share in a couple of weeks.
Amazing opening shot! This might be the most impressive boondocking site I've seen you at! Incredible footage Marc and so well pieced together, great work my friend!
HOLY CRAP 😳😳, my wife couldn't hardly watch because your trailer was so close to the edge of the cliff 🙈🙈🙈, that is such a beautiful area, would love to see the dinosaur 🦕 dig . Sorry to hear about your trailer, I'm sure you will come up with a good decision 👍, stay safe.
Thanks Scott. As you'll see in Ep. 179 everything turned out to have a silver lining of sorts. The Wedge is one of our go-to spots for a reason. It's an amazing place, although I admittedly pine for the days when you could just roll in on any day at any hour and have your choice of spots.
One of my favorite places to play. You did it justice with your great photography. Iv'e been exploring "The Swell"for years now and keep finding new surprises every time I come.Thank you.
We find the same little surprises each time too, Bruce. For example that little arch in the video, I've driven past it countless times and never knew it was there. Thanks so much for both your kind words, and for watching!
We'll admit that we beat the heck out of that trailer, Bob, and as a result we're definitely being more careful with the new one. Still, we were shocked that it deteriorated so significantly, and so quickly -- as was our regular RV mechanic, too. I still think that it should've been designed more robustly, but hey -- they're only tools that can be fixed or replaced. That trailer got us to many wonderful spots, and in the end I wouldn't have changed anything.
For what it’s worth, Outdoors RV is designed for the more rugged terrain that you love to go to. I really hope you can continue with your channel, we love “going places” with you.
Awesome boon docking site, I bet the night stars looked like you could grabbed them. Those drone videos were spectacular. What a shame on the trailer issues good luck.
I had never been to that area until a few days ago. I decided to head up there just because of this video! It didn’t disappoint...one of the most wonderful places I have been to. I made a video too but it’s not nearly as good as Marc’s. 😂
I recommend a Coachmen Apex Nano which features welded aluminum framed walls and Azdel backed fiberglass sidewalls which will not rot, mold, mildew, or delaminate. We got ours at General RV in Draper.
Appreciate the feedback Todd! Our Evo was purchased from General RV in Draper and we had an exceptional sales experience when we bought that rig. Some of our browsing this time around was done there as well, and Paul in their sales department was a pleasure to work with. We appreciate a no-pressure sales experience and that's what we've always received there. We also appreciate your suggestion, we're looking at everything as we make our decision regarding how to proceed.
@@GrandAdventure While good content is obviously the primary reason for watching a video, music can either enhance the experience or do the exact opposite. There have been numerous times where I started watching a video of a popular RV channel (with great rv/camping content) just to turn it off after few seconds, because I couldn't stand the overpowering, modern pop music. My experience with your channel is that you are consistently choosing great music that creates a certain emotion. It's not straight cinematic but it really fits the scenery. I've actually found myself going through soundstripe to locate some of the tracks you have been using in your videos. I've even made a list of great tracks I've discovered through your channel :D
@@slaviapolandia7541 that's really cool Slavia! Seriously, often music selection is one of the most time-consuming parts of our editing process. It's important to us to have the music match the mood that we're trying to convey in any particular segment. You mention that "good content is obviously the primary reason for watching a video," but for us the soundtrack is part of that content, as is the narration, any background audio that we decide to use, etc. Good audio should complement the visual element, not detract from it.
Great footage in this video, as always. Sorry to hear of your trailer problem. If you haven’t already decided, check out Outdoors RV! They’re built to withstand boondocking and rough roads! We bought our 22FQS this year and love it! Check out Thompson RV in Pendleton, OR or Lassen R. In Albany, OR. A young couple here on CZcams filmed a factory tour of ORV, explaining how well their trailers are built, which really helped cement our decision.
Thanks for the tip Steph! We've gotten at least a half dozen or more comments likewise suggesting Outdoors RV -- they've certainly got a big fan base among our viewers.
Fantastic footage! I have been in that area a number of times and love it. Utah -- one could spend a lifetime exploring it and never scratch the surface. I am looking forward to your take on Goblin Valley if you have made one. ( This is my first time seeing any of your podcasts.) Thanks for posting this one.
Thank you James! Here's our entire Utah playlist czcams.com/play/PLjEHCrqmvs1_qGFJZ_niXV0tC62sOUAGe.html and Goblin Valley in particular: czcams.com/video/ODGccrhqnXY/video.html If you head on over to GrandAdventure.tv you'll find on the homepage an interactive map of our travel episodes from all across the U.S. Happy to have you along for the ride!
@@GrandAdventure Thank you for your kind reply. I will certainly check out the other posts -- especially the Goblin Valley one. FIY: There is a book called, "Desert Solitude" that speaks to the spirit of those special areas in southern Utah including the San Rafael. It is very poetic. Regards, JMH
Marc, so cool that this area is near your home base! Excellent videography and information on the area - gives us yet another possible camping location for a future trip. Those of us East of the Mississippi are jealous of all the BLM boondocking options available in the West - your videos take the jealousy factor up a notch in a good way 😉 So sorry about the trailer troubles - we’ve found there are huge differences under the skin from various manufacturers. They may look the same outside but very different between the walls. Hope your new solution treats you well - looking forward to seeing what you’ve chosen!
Thank you Bob! Glad that you enjoyed the scenery. We're much more educated now than we were when we bought that Evo in early 2017. No matter what we choose it's going to be an expensive lesson, but a lesson learned.
So sorry about your RV. Yes, this is disappointing to say the least. Our Jayco 265RLS was 4 yrs old and never had an issue; although we didn't put quite the same wear and tear into it. Hope you enjoy your new one. I would suggest a Grand Design, Imagine or Trancend model for you application. We have had 3 RV's now, and we can tell a difference.
Appreciate your feedback, Michael! Yes, it was disappointing to say the least. We made a decision on how to proceed several weeks ago, such is the lag time of CZcams production. We will reveal that decision tomorrow evening during this week's video premiere.
Hi Matc.....what a cool area!! I love it! Looks like a fabulous place to go once we lose access to our trails here in CO due to snow! I have been skipping all over your video library. Now I have found the "death of the EVO" edition. Bleh... I am really sorry that you experienced that level of failures in only 4 years. I watch the Adveterous Way channel also. They just discovered massive mold in their ceiling trusses. I will be watching closely how the manufacturer deals with that as we just ordered an Outdoors RV. Since ORV directed me to their channel for solar options in their trailer, I really hope the company stands behind their product. Safe travels!!
Thanks Alan! The Wedge is one of our favorite spots in Utah, although its becoming much more popular since it's within an easy drive of SLC and its presence is now more widely known thanks to the BLM's recent "Recreation Area" designation, and as the fame of the Good Water Trail spreads. The biggest failure of our Evo was the wooden structure, and inadequate structure to support the slides. I point the finger squarely at Forest River for that one. We were the rig's second owners, and if we knew then what we know now we would've been far more cautious acquiring that trailer. We hope that we've learned from our mistakes and had specific design parameters in mind when we bought the Durango. We've heard great things about ORV, so hopefully they'll make good on Adventurous Way's issues.
@@GrandAdventure Ut oh....federal designations #%^#$%^#$% Fortunately, most often I do have the flexibility to head out mid week. So, maybe next fall or winter, I can get up there. Sweet.....I haven't got to your video about your 5th wheel yet. I look forward to seeing it! Subject change-- With regards to internetting in your rig, are you still using the architecture that is in your older video?
@@campingalan Yes, we do still use Visible for internet on a daily basis. We have since supplemented it with a grandfathered unlimited MiFi through AT&T because we found ourselves this past summer in some places with weak signal on Verizon. This way we are covered either way. And we remain optimistic and hopeful for Starlink to come online for us sometime in 2021.
@@GrandAdventure I need to look into the Starlink more. Did you preorder it? That will be a huge force multiplier for the RV community and the rural community. I've always said that I'm surprised satellite phones didn't take off more. But, then again, those satellites are extremely expensive. And, our current ones are running out of bandwidth.
@@campingalan exactly. Starlink's low-orbit mesh is a completely different approach that reduces latency, too, because the signal doesn't have to travel nearly as far. We just signed up for the beta at starlink.com. There you can input your email and service address, and they'll notify you once your address qualifies.
Your music selections always match your videos, very tasteful. I appreciate your sharing travel trailer issues. It seems not if, but when slides malfunction. Great Heartland Tour, Haste Ye back!
Marc, I am so impressed with the latest quality of your videos! They were always beautifully done but it has become obvious that you spend considerable time and effort to make them even more professional. I for one, appreciate it. The drone footage is a great contributor.
Just a thought but it occurred to me that rv’s with slides would always be problematic when used as yours is. You go where the RV is being flexed and twisted repeatedly even more so than “normal”.. Perhaps you should consider something without a slide?
Thank you as always, Curt. There's some truth to what you say, but I firmly believe that we've done more damage on some rough freeways than we do inching over short periods of rough dirt roads. That said, we have not been gentle on this trailer. We recognize that, and realize now that a wood framed trailer was a poor choice for our needs.
Lovely to see your new footage of the Swell. You turned me on to visiting this area with one of your very early videos. Thanks for sharing your adventures!
Marc... I started watching your videos way back with the "Valley of the Gods" video. Your videos are so well edited....so polished....always look forward to them.
Ralph, I apologize for the delay in responding to you as CZcams inexplicably marked your comment as spam and placed it in the spam folder. Thank you so much for sticking with us this whole time! Your viewership is very sincerely appreciated.
Marc I never expect anything less than great video footage with great facts about the area. You are awesome at what you do and it is encouraging a lot of us to plan on traveling. Sorry about the rv problems. It may be time to trade it in. And I can't believe that a rv company who has seen your videos isn't going to realize that you could and would be a great brand ambassador. Your footage sells it's self. Thanks again for letting us join in on your Grand adventure. Kevin
Wow, thanks Kevin! You're very kind. We've got a bunch of options: trade it as-is, fix it before selling and replacing it, or fix it and keep it. We're leaning away from the latter as we've reached that fed-up point. The decision between the first two comes down to a financial one. We're admittedly not very good at marketing ourselves to brands, although we did reach out to one that we were considering and got no response whatsoever. We'll just keep doing what we love to do.
We have a Mobile Suite RV that has also had slide out problems. I think they all have slide out problems. A smaller RV trailer that I think looks bullet proof is Oliver. No slide. No problems.
I recommend a Black series HQ 19 off road trailer or and Outdoors Manufacturing trailer such as the 22 foot mountain trail series. I had a Jayco and traded it in for a back country series by Outdoors Manufacturing because the Jayco was falling apart after 4 years and 10, 000 miles!
😢 Sorry to hear that you had similar issues with your Jayco, Lori. If we do decide to trade, after this experience one absolute must-have for us is aluminum framing, rather than wood. Another will be to avoid Schwintek slides on any large slide system in the trailer.
I will be interested in what you decide on a new rig. We bought our current one (1st one) used from a family member. It’s been a great entry into RV camping but we have never found the layout to be right for us with the bed situated east-west requiring one of us to crawl over the other for middle of the night visits to the head. I have a theory that the used market will be flush with inventory when the Covid is passed, that is when we will probably move to upgrade. Loved the Wedge!
Timothy, I think that your theory is a valid one. Right now there's almost no used inventory out there because of the sheer number of first-time buyers this year that didn't have a trade-in. But many will quickly tire of RVing or realize that it's not for them, and that inventory will again fill the used section of dealer lots and classifieds listing private sales. And that first RV of yours will provide some valuable learning opportunity for you, as you've had time to determine what you like about your current rig and what you dislike, to prioritize your search for RV #2.
Absolutely breathtaking. I hope that with practice I can up my skills to even half of yours and I would be thrilled. Also, Craig keeps telling me this is why we "need" a drone! Thanks so much for sharing- Safe Travels!
Thank you very much! A drone simply give you a camera perspective that you can't get any other way. This video just highlighted that different perspective more than most.
Thanks 👍! We truly love flying that thing. And FWIW that opening scene was shot by my sister during her first stint at the controls. She had fun with it, too.
I was there a couple of months ago. I did not go to Ruin Arch or the new National Monument. Guess I will make it there next spring to do those two items. Also, the river was dry last August at swinging bridge when I was there. Hoping for water on may next trip there.
There's also the technical canyoneering of the Black Box, canoeing or kayaking the San Rafael River through the gorge when the water is high enough during spring runoff, mountain biking right along the edge on the Good Water Trail or the former railroad bed at the foot of Cedar Mountain, and much more.
I have never been to that area of Utah, very interesting... beautiful area. Sorry to hear about your trailer, mine is holding up well so far. But, I admit I don't havre any slides.
Thank you Dian. The integrity of having no slides is definitely superior, but there are two issues at play here. One is that first generation of Schwintek slides had all sorts of issues. Second and more importantly, though, Forest River built this wood-framed trailer without designing adequate wall support for those two heavy slides. It's simply poor design work, which is why I fault them the way that I do.
Another great video, Marc. We realize that even though we spent 6 days in Utah last year, there is so much more to see. Bummer about your trailer. Hopefully the folks at Forest River will see this, realize the viewership you have and agree to work with you on a solution. Good Luck and HAPPY THIANKSGIVING.
Thank you, and same to you and yours, George! I'll tell you, we've been Utahns for just under 16 years and we still feel like we've only scratched the surface.
I really enjoyed seeing the gorgeous scenery. I have to admit, I don't think I could stay there over night. It's way to near the edge! Shocking news about your trailer, very disappointing indeed.
Great work as usual Marc... The more you use a camper the more educated you become when you purchase the next one because you know more of how you intend to use it and you look at things you know will take a beating in the way you use it. Good luck in whatever route y`all take and looking forward to more Grand Adventures.
Thanks for sharing your adventures in this amazing area. Your videography is top-notch! By the way, for what it’s worth, we Utahns pronounce it San Ruff-ELL. Sure is “swell,” isn’t it!
Awesome, thank you Diane! Thanks so much for watching, and glad that you enjoyed it. We've been Utahns for 16 years, but while I've adapted to the local pronunciation of "Hurricane" I still can't bring myself to pronounce San Rafael that way. 😁
Yep, wood frame, broken leaf spring, axles twice, cracked frame, probably a whole host of other smaller issues you have never mentioned. They are weekender trailers at best. While the slides give you lots of room, they also weaken a structure that is not much to start with. I'm a no slide kinda of guy ;.}
And you've got that beast of a Bigfoot trailer, Charles. That thing will outlast the cockroaches. Thanks for keeping the running tally! 😆 Back in 2017 when we bought that Evo, we didn't know what we didn't know.
@@GrandAdventure I know what you mean. Before I bought my Winnebago View motor home in 2015, I could not even spell RV. Indeed you have beat the daylights out of that Evo, and truthfully, it has held up pretty well. Now this is a REAL beast of a trailer from the construction and suspension standpoint. czcams.com/video/luGtdOTCbw4/video.html
Thrilled to have you along, WW, and that sounds like such a wonderful trip! From Ouray, be sure to take a drive south a short distance to Silverton in the heart of the San Juans. It's one of our favorite places in Colorado: czcams.com/video/wte47AEZzwA/video.html
I took this ride headed back east and i had no idea this was here...Blew me away...Sorry you had problems with your Forest River ...I bought by class C triple slide in 2018 and haven't had a lick of problems that wasnt self induced except for our bedroom reading lights when out......
The Little Grand Canyon is amazing, isn't it? We're very happy to hear that you haven't experienced the same issues with FR's design that we did. In our case they simply didn't build enough structure into the walls to support those heavy Schwintek slides.
That is truly a fascinating and enchanting landscape and the drone footage really highlights the impressive features. That's a real bummer about your trailer, but it does present an opportunity. Looking forward to your decision. I'm giving some serious thought to replacing my Aliner with a "bulletproof" offroad teardrop type trailer for next year's trip to avoid the inevitable breakdowns, wear and tear on a 7-year old trailer. Vorsheer in Springville UT makes a model I really like. 🤔
Hmmmm John...never heard of Vorsheer and they're right down the road, so to speak. We'll have to check them out. There's an opportunity from this breakdown that we didn't address in this episode but will address in subsequent episodes, that unfortunately a small offroad-style trailer simply can't address. We'll get into that more as this develops.
@@GrandAdventure Didn't mean it to sound like a suggestion for you, just something I'm considering for myself. It's a relatively new manufacturer but it's getting excellent reviews. I tend to be a minimalist of sorts and a ruggedized teardrop trailer with a few creature comforts would fit the bill for me since I mostly travel solo.
The wedge, what an awesome lookin place. Sorry about the rig. Axle problem, slide problems. I seen it was $7000 to fix your slide and wall issues. Hopefully the insurance company will help pay some of the bills. Don.
Unfortunately, Don, that's not an insurable loss. As an adjuster by profession I knew that before we even got to this point. No matter what happens we're going to take it in the shorts financially, we'll just have to do what we can to minimize that impact.
Marc, that was another perfect place to have a drone! Definitely puckering in some of that footage. When you made the comment about sleepwalking in your narration, I was thinking the same thing as well as hoping Zoe didn’t chase something over the edge. I know you said you work for the insurance industry so you couldn’t easily use the excuse of “my trailer just slipped over the edge” to end your with the one you have. On a positive note, I’ll need to add that area to my list of places to travel!
Tim, as annoyed as I was with that trailer on this trip I was tempted to forget the wheel chocks. 😎 My sister nearly had a coronary at one point when Zoe chased a chipmunk that decided to escape by running to the rocks just over the edge. Zoe fortunately has a decent sense of self-preservation and stopped just short of the edge. She'd walk right close to the edge which bothered me far less than it bothered my sister, for Zoe is reasonably sure-footed.
Watching the drone footage at The Wedge actually made me feel uneasy just sitting in my chair! Precarious! I hope the trailer issue is resolved without too much hassle. They just don’t build quality in any of these travel trailers anymore it seems.
I love your amazing boondocking spots. And all the great drone footage. Larry loves the Wedge campsite. Looks scary to me. I can’t wait to hike places like this. And the petroglyphs is such a bonus ❤️ Dinosaurs 🦖? I HAVE to go. We hate slide issues. But I know you now have a solution 🤐 🤣 Alice
When you finally make it out this way, places like The Wedge are a must. Petroglyphs are a bonus that exist all over the place out here, and there are a bunch of spots where you can even find dinosaur tracks embedded within the rock.
@@DownsizingMakesCents I just got back from here and Marc isn’t kidding about how awesome this place is. I actually put my hand in a dinosaur track! Check out the video on my channel. 👍
Once again, great video. What a beautiful place there at the Wedge! I can't wait to see it myself someday. Sorry about your rig. Forest River makes some good products, but they aren't designed to take much more than highway driving. Hope you get that taken care of or get a more adventure-worthy model!
I loved I Utah for 6 years and never heard of the wedge. I think the next time we come in to town ,might be on our short list of places to explore. Sorry to hear about your trailer, hopefully whatever you need to do ,it works out !
I was lucky. When we moved to Utah we had exactly one friend already living here, and the Wedge was one of the first places he pointed us. We've been in love with the area ever since. Appreciate your well-wishes, too -- thank you.
How does it feel to be done with the Heartland Tour? You sure showed us some great places! Wow, the Wedge sure is gorgeous.... I have seen so many beautiful places in Utah via videos like this - we have moved Utah to the top of our list! That camping spot is absolutely amazing... Cool tunnels. Stunning video, Marc! 👍💗
Thanks Terry! Our emotions about the end of the #AmericanHeartlandTour2020 are mixed -- we had a great time and were sad to see it end, but we're happy to be back out west boondocking again, and we're also anxious for ski season. So it's a mixed bag.
It would be silly of me to suggest anything other than a travel trailer considering that you guys use your truck offroading. They do make “offroad” trailers but I am using air quotes on that one because let’s be honest... Repair on your trailer will cost thousands. In fact I would be shocked if its not $6,000+. Keeping that in mind I would suggest a DIY solution that you can build like a tank. In fact it would probably the most optimal solution. Start with something off roady and beef up suspension into basically 36 inch travel super soft shocks and stuff and stuff. Mortons on the move used a dually with lance over the cab camper for their alaska expedition but for a working man on the road being crunched up like that all the time is tough business. When I upgraded my class C 24ft to class C 29 ft this past year I was seriously kicking myself because my urge to use my 4x4 tacoma with off road worthy travel trailer was quite strong. In fact I probably could have upgraded tacoma for a 4x4 tundra or 4x4 dually with lance camper or whatever and whatever but all these inconvenient constraints really forced my hand like having a cat, family that wants to tag along etc. It is very unfortunate that your trailer is basically a paper weight but in a matter of speaking it probably paid for itself in experiences you were able to get these last 4 years. I am looking forward to finding out what you guys decide.
We certainly feel like we got our money's worth of experiences out of that trailer, but you're right -- Kyle's estimate is $7000-8000 to repair. And that's to repair, not redesign and rebuild. We've basically got 3 options: repair and use, repair and sell, or sell as-is. It all comes down to financials. If we go through either of the latter two options, they open up an opportunity that we'll discuss in our follow-up in 2 weeks. While something truly overland-worthy would fit our preferred mode of camping, it also shuts the door on that opportunity. So there's a lot of weighing of pros and cons involved.
That looks like a great place to set up camp, but a little to close to the edge for me. Like the drone footage. Sorry to hear about your rv problems. Hope you get it worked out.
Thank you as always Craig! There are other spots nearby that are a few hundred yards back from the edge, if that's something that makes you uncomfortable.
You definitely could, Michael. There were a bunch of similar small class Cs and Super Bs out there when we left on Saturday morning. There's nothing difficult about the road in.
@@michaelo9039 we put a Google Maps pin to the spot right in the video description (expand to "Show More"). Realize that the road actually dead-ends at the pin, although Google Maps shows the road coming up short. You can see the road on Google Satellite.
You're most welcome. We use a DJI Mavic Pro (1st gen). Everything we use to create Grand Adventure (including of course our drone, drone filters, etc.) we've placed in the "Photography & Videography" section of our Grand Adventure Shop on Amazon: www.amazon.com/shop/GrandAdventure?listId=29P8DKMLOCJAX
Thank you! It's gated, but the gate is easily removed, although for obvious reasons I would not want to explain in a public forum how that happens. Let's just say that it doesn't take much creativity to remove the gate. The tunnel seems very solid, although there is always a risk in going underground.
Thanks Marc. Another sweet adventure. I really liked this short excursion and the Dinosaur Park was very interesting. You indicated that they thought this area was some kind of trap to capture these beasts. Did they say who they thought created the trap enclosure? Was it man or another predator? Sorry to hear of your ongoing trailer issues. Slides are the ongoing weakness of all these RV's. Only a few of the top end motorhomes utilize a quality heavy duty slide that will last a decade or longer with allot of use. You are right, those simple screw mechanisms and support structures just can't handle the offroad conditions. By the looks of your images, I can see that water intrusion had weakened the wood frame support structures, warping them. Gord
They didn't say what kind of predator trap they suspected, Gord, and I never pressed the issue. To say that this National Monument miles from any paved road is understaffed, would be an understatement. The only official personnel we saw was the kid there to take our $5. That wooden framing wasn't warped by water, and there's no evidence of intrusion. Rather, it's from the torque of the slide operation. The structures built to support those heavy slides simply weren't adequately designed to handle that load. Compound that by the issues created by the first generation of Schwintek slides, and you have the recipe for our disaster.
@@GrandAdventure It was a double issue then. Slide mechanism issues plus faulty support structure. I think most all travel trailers are built like that... or is it just Forest River? I'm really liking some of the newer floor plans that don't have slides or don't require a full wall side to be extended. That puts a real crimp in your future travel plans. Gord
@@gorrdd ya think? 😆 I doubt that most all travel trailers have a wooden wall structure that's sufficiently inadequately designed to fail catastrophically on both sides within 4 years. For that I fault Forest River. My RV repair guy was shocked when he saw it.
@@GrandAdventure If the structure is made of wood, it will fail sooner or later. Something like that needs an aluminum frame. Steel is to heavy for slides, from what I hear. And wood joints just won't stand up. It needs to be welded aluminum. Even moulded fibreglass it too heavy. Carbon fiber, structurally, would be ideal, but way too expensive. I just assumed that all travel trailers within the same basic price range, used identical construction techniques in order to remain competitive. Wood joints might stand up to normal on road travel. But off road travel likely brakes them down prematurely. Gord
@@gorrdd the funny thing is, traveling at freeway speeds on highways or 10 mph on dirt roads, some of the highways we've been on have been a more jarring experience than the off-roads. But you're right -- I'll never own a wood-framed trailer again. If we replace, aluminum framing is a must.
Nice episode Marc. Great drone perspective of the trailer on the huge cliff. Nicely done. Is the Wedge about 15mi of dirt road to access? Is the road worthy of a 33' motorhome @ 15mph? Or too rough? Sorry to hear about your FR woes, but glad you got the slide in to get home. Real bummer, curious what your solution will be. You look a bit ticked at the end of the video, rightly so.
Thank you Tom! Your motorhome would have no issues. In fact, for most of the road in you could do 40+ as it's both graded and treated for dust, so it drives like a paved road. Certainly smoother than many (most?) paved roads we've driven. The Lower Wedge Road to get out to Camp 1 where we were can be a bit washboarded, however. Ticked? Yeah, and frustrated, too.
Wow.... jam packed with beauty..... Thank you!
Thank you Frances! We mentioned in another reply to you that Marc's sister is from Danvers; this was her moment traveling with us.
Wow 😍 what a beautiful place...as always superb. Thank you 🙏
Thank YOU!
We just spent New Years Eve on the Wedge. Amzing views! Love all of your drone footage!
Very cool! I'll bet you almost had the place to yourselves. And thank you very much!
. I occasionally think we should upgrade our 1998 coachmen ,fiberglass M.H. then hear another story like yours and come to my senses.We put 10,000 miles on it last winter all over southwest traveling from ma. I think it’s a keeper. Love your vids and love Utah. Lived there for a bit in 1980. Our stomping ground was Logan Canyon and Bear lake. What a fabulous endless beautiful place.
Appreciate your kind words, Patricia. Thank you! And yes, if you have something that is built well, keep it.
Wow!! What a campsite!!!
My wife says “No Way!!”
A little too close to the edge for her.
Great drone footage of the mini “Grand Canyon”.
(Not that it makes any difference, but I grew up in the town of San Rafael in California)
So nice to be back in Utah again with the awesome scenery.
Interesting info on the MK tunnels, the pictographs and the Jurassic dig site.
Sorry to hear about you rig falling apart. Yeah, I would say you’ve ridden it hard. Only four years! I hope we get more than four years out of ours.
The trailer had a tough time keeping up with your truck it seems.
We almost bought a Forest River brand. I like the double pullouts on your EVO - makes for lots of room.
We like our Lance, but know that it is kind of pricey.
Thanks for sharing! 👍🏼👍🏽
Ram and Kuuipo
Thanks as always Ram! I'd be willing to bet you will have much better luck with your Lance, they are known for better than average quality. Glad you enjoyed our site at The Wedge!
Very interesting place. Great highlights of it. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it, Spell Madam -- thank you!
One of the few channels I click into full screen mode as it starts. This was one of your best, Marc! Thanks for sharing, Bill
Thanks as always, Bill!
Outdoors RV makes a great product, but we full-time in a Lance that be bought after looking at those, as well as Arctic Fox and Nash. When we had a slide issue, the Lance factory repaired it at no cost to us (out of warranty). They really stand behind their units!
Thanks for the tips! We've heard nothing but good things about all of those brands. Of course, CZcams lag time being what it is, our decision was already made at the time this video aired. We'll reveal the outcome at tonight's Premiere czcams.com/video/vuaJHn0smF0/video.html
Excellent drone footage. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Joe, and thanks for watching! This spot is Exhibit A of how sometimes only a drone can really give a viewer the complete picture.
You’re channel pops up every time I search for something. Thank you. 😂
We love to hear that!
I'm working up a trip and there you are adventuring in the target area. Your awesome. Take care.
You too! Hope this helps your planning.
outdoors rv mountain series even has off road king shocks. take mine everywhere!!
Sweet!
Ok just another place in Utah that I have to visit. What a place for a drone. Just wow!!! Yep looks like some decisions on trailer. But boy have you taken it a lot of off road places.
The Wedge just kind of begs to fly around with an airborne camera.
Another winner from Grand Adventure! So was your Pinedale show. Both very timely for my travels.
Thank you Thom, so happy that we could help!
I was an immediate subscriber of your channel when I discovered it. Your videos are rich in content, with the historical details, travel tips and all. Really well done. Utah is an incredibly beautiful state. I moved here a year ago and I am really excited about all there is to explore. This will be on the list. Thanks for your inspiring videos!
Thanks so much Deb! We moved here 16 years ago and I swear, we still feel like we've only scratched the surface. Welcome neighbor, and thank you for your kind words.
Sorry to hear of your troubles with your travel trailer but thanks for sharing. It helps all of us. As for the video, another good one. I have not heard of that area.
Thank you John! Happy that we could introduce another area of Utah to you.
another great place i didn't even know about! thanks for the video
You're most welcome, Mickey, and thanks for watching!
Might be worth looking at Outdoors RV. Some of the smaller trailers would be OK with your Tundra. Great video on the Swell!
Thank you David! Because our videos are a few weeks ahead of real time we've already come up with our solution, which we'll share in a couple of weeks.
Always enjoy your videos.
And we always enjoy hearing from you, thank you Kelly!
Amazing opening shot! This might be the most impressive boondocking site I've seen you at! Incredible footage Marc and so well pieced together, great work my friend!
Thank you very much, Tom. That means an enormous amount to us.
You sure packed a lot of cool stuff into that "short" episode! Loved the Wedge drone footage. 👍
Thank you, glad that you enjoyed it!
HOLY CRAP 😳😳, my wife couldn't hardly watch because your trailer was so close to the edge of the cliff 🙈🙈🙈, that is such a beautiful area, would love to see the dinosaur 🦕 dig . Sorry to hear about your trailer, I'm sure you will come up with a good decision 👍, stay safe.
It's definitely worthy of a visit, Gary. And there are plenty of spots that are well back from the cliff. Thank you so much, appreciate your comment.
sorry to hear about the rv, another great episode though, the wedge looks awesome
Thanks Scott. As you'll see in Ep. 179 everything turned out to have a silver lining of sorts. The Wedge is one of our go-to spots for a reason. It's an amazing place, although I admittedly pine for the days when you could just roll in on any day at any hour and have your choice of spots.
Don't forget to stop at The Museum of the San Rafael in Castle Dale. It's well worth it.
HELLO from Castle Dale 😊
Hello there Shaman! We love your part of Utah.
One of my favorite places to play. You did it justice with your great photography. Iv'e been exploring "The Swell"for years now and keep finding new surprises every time I come.Thank you.
We find the same little surprises each time too, Bruce. For example that little arch in the video, I've driven past it countless times and never knew it was there. Thanks so much for both your kind words, and for watching!
WOW!
Glad that we could impress.
Can’t say I’m surprised by the slides not holding up. You truly use yours to a greater degree than most people would even think about using. 👍
We'll admit that we beat the heck out of that trailer, Bob, and as a result we're definitely being more careful with the new one. Still, we were shocked that it deteriorated so significantly, and so quickly -- as was our regular RV mechanic, too. I still think that it should've been designed more robustly, but hey -- they're only tools that can be fixed or replaced. That trailer got us to many wonderful spots, and in the end I wouldn't have changed anything.
Another great video...you’re a pro!
We're definitely not, but thank you nevertheless!
For what it’s worth, Outdoors RV is designed for the more rugged terrain that you love to go to. I really hope you can continue with your channel, we love “going places” with you.
We've had at least a dozen folks say similar things about Outdoors RV. But don't worry, Johnny, this channel isn't going anywhere, no matter what.
good luck on a new rig downsize to no slideouts! Best of luck!
Thank you.
Awesome boon docking site, I bet the night stars looked like you could grabbed them. Those drone videos were spectacular. What a shame on the trailer issues good luck.
Thank you Rick, it is indeed a very dark sky out there at night. The stars are spectacular.
Nice! It’s been a while since seeing that area. Thanks for sharing Marc!
Glad that you enjoyed it! We can never get enough of that area.
I had never been to that area until a few days ago. I decided to head up there just because of this video! It didn’t disappoint...one of the most wonderful places I have been to. I made a video too but it’s not nearly as good as Marc’s. 😂
I recommend a Coachmen Apex Nano which features welded aluminum framed walls and Azdel backed fiberglass sidewalls which will not rot, mold, mildew, or delaminate. We got ours at General RV in Draper.
Appreciate the feedback Todd! Our Evo was purchased from General RV in Draper and we had an exceptional sales experience when we bought that rig. Some of our browsing this time around was done there as well, and Paul in their sales department was a pleasure to work with. We appreciate a no-pressure sales experience and that's what we've always received there. We also appreciate your suggestion, we're looking at everything as we make our decision regarding how to proceed.
Out of all the RV channels on you tube, yours consistently features best, cinematic music.
Thank you Slavia! That means the world to us.
@@GrandAdventure While good content is obviously the primary reason for watching a video, music can either enhance the experience or do the exact opposite. There have been numerous times where I started watching a video of a popular RV channel (with great rv/camping content) just to turn it off after few seconds, because I couldn't stand the overpowering, modern pop music. My experience with your channel is that you are consistently choosing great music that creates a certain emotion. It's not straight cinematic but it really fits the scenery. I've actually found myself going through soundstripe to locate some of the tracks you have been using in your videos. I've even made a list of great tracks I've discovered through your channel :D
@@slaviapolandia7541 that's really cool Slavia! Seriously, often music selection is one of the most time-consuming parts of our editing process. It's important to us to have the music match the mood that we're trying to convey in any particular segment. You mention that "good content is obviously the primary reason for watching a video," but for us the soundtrack is part of that content, as is the narration, any background audio that we decide to use, etc. Good audio should complement the visual element, not detract from it.
Great footage in this video, as always. Sorry to hear of your trailer problem. If you haven’t already decided, check out Outdoors RV! They’re built to withstand boondocking and rough roads! We bought our 22FQS this year and love it! Check out Thompson RV in Pendleton, OR or Lassen R. In Albany, OR. A young couple here on CZcams filmed a factory tour of ORV, explaining how well their trailers are built, which really helped cement our decision.
Thanks for the tip Steph! We've gotten at least a half dozen or more comments likewise suggesting Outdoors RV -- they've certainly got a big fan base among our viewers.
Fantastic drone footage, just superb editing ! Thank you for all your great videos! Good Luck Blessings to you and your entire gang!
Thank you very much, and same from us to you and yours.
Good video as always.
Thank you as always, William!
Fantastic footage! I have been in that area a number of times and love it. Utah -- one could spend a lifetime exploring it and never scratch the surface. I am looking forward to your take on Goblin Valley if you have made one. ( This is my first time seeing any of your podcasts.) Thanks for posting this one.
Thank you James! Here's our entire Utah playlist czcams.com/play/PLjEHCrqmvs1_qGFJZ_niXV0tC62sOUAGe.html
and Goblin Valley in particular: czcams.com/video/ODGccrhqnXY/video.html
If you head on over to GrandAdventure.tv you'll find on the homepage an interactive map of our travel episodes from all across the U.S.
Happy to have you along for the ride!
@@GrandAdventure Thank you for your kind reply. I will certainly check out the other posts -- especially the Goblin Valley one. FIY: There is a book called, "Desert Solitude" that speaks to the spirit of those special areas in southern Utah including the San Rafael. It is very poetic. Regards, JMH
@@jameshanson536 That is certainly something I'll have to check out, thank you for the tip!
Marc, so cool that this area is near your home base! Excellent videography and information on the area - gives us yet another possible camping location for a future trip. Those of us East of the Mississippi are jealous of all the BLM boondocking options available in the West - your videos take the jealousy factor up a notch in a good way 😉 So sorry about the trailer troubles - we’ve found there are huge differences under the skin from various manufacturers. They may look the same outside but very different between the walls. Hope your new solution treats you well - looking forward to seeing what you’ve chosen!
Thank you Bob! Glad that you enjoyed the scenery. We're much more educated now than we were when we bought that Evo in early 2017. No matter what we choose it's going to be an expensive lesson, but a lesson learned.
So sorry about your RV. Yes, this is disappointing to say the least. Our Jayco 265RLS was 4 yrs old and never had an issue; although we didn't put quite the same wear and tear into it. Hope you enjoy your new one. I would suggest a Grand Design, Imagine or Trancend model for you application. We have had 3 RV's now, and we can tell a difference.
Appreciate your feedback, Michael! Yes, it was disappointing to say the least. We made a decision on how to proceed several weeks ago, such is the lag time of CZcams production. We will reveal that decision tomorrow evening during this week's video premiere.
Hi Matc.....what a cool area!! I love it! Looks like a fabulous place to go once we lose access to our trails here in CO due to snow!
I have been skipping all over your video library. Now I have found the "death of the EVO" edition. Bleh... I am really sorry that you experienced that level of failures in only 4 years. I watch the Adveterous Way channel also. They just discovered massive mold in their ceiling trusses. I will be watching closely how the manufacturer deals with that as we just ordered an Outdoors RV. Since ORV directed me to their channel for solar options in their trailer, I really hope the company stands behind their product.
Safe travels!!
Thanks Alan! The Wedge is one of our favorite spots in Utah, although its becoming much more popular since it's within an easy drive of SLC and its presence is now more widely known thanks to the BLM's recent "Recreation Area" designation, and as the fame of the Good Water Trail spreads.
The biggest failure of our Evo was the wooden structure, and inadequate structure to support the slides. I point the finger squarely at Forest River for that one. We were the rig's second owners, and if we knew then what we know now we would've been far more cautious acquiring that trailer. We hope that we've learned from our mistakes and had specific design parameters in mind when we bought the Durango. We've heard great things about ORV, so hopefully they'll make good on Adventurous Way's issues.
@@GrandAdventure Ut oh....federal designations #%^#$%^#$% Fortunately, most often I do have the flexibility to head out mid week. So, maybe next fall or winter, I can get up there.
Sweet.....I haven't got to your video about your 5th wheel yet. I look forward to seeing it!
Subject change-- With regards to internetting in your rig, are you still using the architecture that is in your older video?
@@campingalan Yes, we do still use Visible for internet on a daily basis. We have since supplemented it with a grandfathered unlimited MiFi through AT&T because we found ourselves this past summer in some places with weak signal on Verizon. This way we are covered either way. And we remain optimistic and hopeful for Starlink to come online for us sometime in 2021.
@@GrandAdventure I need to look into the Starlink more. Did you preorder it?
That will be a huge force multiplier for the RV community and the rural community.
I've always said that I'm surprised satellite phones didn't take off more. But, then again, those satellites are extremely expensive. And, our current ones are running out of bandwidth.
@@campingalan exactly. Starlink's low-orbit mesh is a completely different approach that reduces latency, too, because the signal doesn't have to travel nearly as far. We just signed up for the beta at starlink.com. There you can input your email and service address, and they'll notify you once your address qualifies.
Stunning video of the wedge! Absolutely marvelous.
Thank you Mark!
Your music selections always match your videos, very tasteful. I appreciate your sharing travel trailer issues. It seems not if, but when slides malfunction. Great Heartland Tour, Haste Ye back!
Thank you very much, and yes, we will be back.
Great video
Thank you Bill!
Marc, I am so impressed with the latest quality of your videos! They were always beautifully done but it has become obvious that you spend considerable time and effort to make them even more professional. I for one, appreciate it. The drone footage is a great contributor.
Just a thought but it occurred to me that rv’s with slides would always be problematic when used as yours is. You go where the RV is being flexed and twisted repeatedly even more so than “normal”.. Perhaps you should consider something without a slide?
Thank you as always, Curt. There's some truth to what you say, but I firmly believe that we've done more damage on some rough freeways than we do inching over short periods of rough dirt roads. That said, we have not been gentle on this trailer. We recognize that, and realize now that a wood framed trailer was a poor choice for our needs.
Oh by the way. I love the new 5th wheel
Appreciate that, we're pretty excited as you might imagine.
Lovely to see your new footage of the Swell. You turned me on to visiting this area with one of your very early videos. Thanks for sharing your adventures!
And thank you for sticking with us for so long! Glad that you enjoyed it.
Marc... I started watching your videos way back with the "Valley of the Gods" video. Your videos are so well edited....so polished....always look forward to them.
Ralph, I apologize for the delay in responding to you as CZcams inexplicably marked your comment as spam and placed it in the spam folder. Thank you so much for sticking with us this whole time! Your viewership is very sincerely appreciated.
Marc
I never expect anything less than great video footage with great facts about the area. You are awesome at what you do and it is encouraging a lot of us to plan on traveling. Sorry about the rv problems. It may be time to trade it in. And I can't believe that a rv company who has seen your videos isn't going to realize that you could and would be a great brand ambassador. Your footage sells it's self. Thanks again for letting us join in on your Grand adventure.
Kevin
Wow, thanks Kevin! You're very kind. We've got a bunch of options: trade it as-is, fix it before selling and replacing it, or fix it and keep it. We're leaning away from the latter as we've reached that fed-up point. The decision between the first two comes down to a financial one. We're admittedly not very good at marketing ourselves to brands, although we did reach out to one that we were considering and got no response whatsoever. We'll just keep doing what we love to do.
We have a Mobile Suite RV that has also had slide out problems. I think they all have slide out problems. A smaller RV trailer that I think looks bullet proof is Oliver. No slide. No problems.
@@kevinwheat390 appreciate the recommendation, we'll take a look at them.
brown Dog loves the water
Very true.
I recommend a Black series HQ 19 off road trailer or and Outdoors Manufacturing trailer such as the 22 foot mountain trail series. I had a Jayco and traded it in for a back country series by Outdoors Manufacturing because the Jayco was falling apart after 4 years and 10, 000 miles!
😢 Sorry to hear that you had similar issues with your Jayco, Lori. If we do decide to trade, after this experience one absolute must-have for us is aluminum framing, rather than wood. Another will be to avoid Schwintek slides on any large slide system in the trailer.
I will be interested in what you decide on a new rig. We bought our current one (1st one) used from a family member. It’s been a great entry into RV camping but we have never found the layout to be right for us with the bed situated east-west requiring one of us to crawl over the other for middle of the night visits to the head. I have a theory that the used market will be flush with inventory when the Covid is passed, that is when we will probably move to upgrade. Loved the Wedge!
Timothy, I think that your theory is a valid one. Right now there's almost no used inventory out there because of the sheer number of first-time buyers this year that didn't have a trade-in. But many will quickly tire of RVing or realize that it's not for them, and that inventory will again fill the used section of dealer lots and classifieds listing private sales. And that first RV of yours will provide some valuable learning opportunity for you, as you've had time to determine what you like about your current rig and what you dislike, to prioritize your search for RV #2.
Absolutely breathtaking. I hope that with practice I can up my skills to even half of yours and I would be thrilled. Also, Craig keeps telling me this is why we "need" a drone! Thanks so much for sharing- Safe Travels!
Thank you very much! A drone simply give you a camera perspective that you can't get any other way. This video just highlighted that different perspective more than most.
Thanks for sharing all your travels Marc. Best of luck with your rig issues and the upcoming decisions!
Thank you! We'll share our decisions in this Wednesday's episode.
Can't wait to see that! Stay safe. Thank you for these excellent videos! Good luck with the rig! 😉🇨🇦🐾
Once again we find ourselves thanking you, Marian.
You are awesome with that drone
Thanks 👍! We truly love flying that thing. And FWIW that opening scene was shot by my sister during her first stint at the controls. She had fun with it, too.
Beautiful footage of these marvelous canyons. Another great video.
Thank you! It's one of our favorite places.
Another excellent video! We never heard of this area but now put it on our bucket list! Thanks!!!
You should Steve! Thank you very much.
I was there a couple of months ago. I did not go to Ruin Arch or the new National Monument. Guess I will make it there next spring to do those two items. Also, the river was dry last August at swinging bridge when I was there. Hoping for water on may next trip there.
There's also the technical canyoneering of the Black Box, canoeing or kayaking the San Rafael River through the gorge when the water is high enough during spring runoff, mountain biking right along the edge on the Good Water Trail or the former railroad bed at the foot of Cedar Mountain, and much more.
I have never been to that area of Utah, very interesting... beautiful area. Sorry to hear about your trailer, mine is holding up well so far. But, I admit I don't havre any slides.
Thank you Dian. The integrity of having no slides is definitely superior, but there are two issues at play here. One is that first generation of Schwintek slides had all sorts of issues. Second and more importantly, though, Forest River built this wood-framed trailer without designing adequate wall support for those two heavy slides. It's simply poor design work, which is why I fault them the way that I do.
Another great video, Marc. We realize that even though we spent 6 days in Utah last year, there is so much more to see. Bummer about your trailer. Hopefully the folks at Forest River will see this, realize the viewership you have and agree to work with you on a solution. Good Luck and HAPPY THIANKSGIVING.
Thank you, and same to you and yours, George! I'll tell you, we've been Utahns for just under 16 years and we still feel like we've only scratched the surface.
I really enjoyed seeing the gorgeous scenery. I have to admit, I don't think I could stay there over night. It's way to near the edge! Shocking news about your trailer, very disappointing indeed.
Thank you Suzane. Realize that there are other spots much further back from the edge, too.
Love your videos,especially Utah! can’t wait to visit !!
Utah would love to have you, Joanne. Thank you very much for your kind words.
Great work as usual Marc... The more you use a camper the more educated you become when you purchase the next one because you know more of how you intend to use it and you look at things you know will take a beating in the way you use it. Good luck in whatever route y`all take and looking forward to more Grand Adventures.
Great video, as usual, Marc. I hope Forest River sees it and makes things right with you! Good luck!
Ain't that the truth, Captain. When we bought that Evo we didn't know what we didn't know. That hindsight becomes foresight for the next time around.
@@jonstone420 thank you so very much!
Hey Marc! I bet it feels good to be back in Utah!♥️
Sure does, Eula! But we've enjoyed our tour around the American Heartland this year, too. It's all good, apples and oranges.
Thanks for sharing your adventures in this amazing area. Your videography is top-notch! By the way, for what it’s worth, we Utahns pronounce it San Ruff-ELL. Sure is “swell,” isn’t it!
Awesome, thank you Diane! Thanks so much for watching, and glad that you enjoyed it. We've been Utahns for 16 years, but while I've adapted to the local pronunciation of "Hurricane" I still can't bring myself to pronounce San Rafael that way. 😁
Like the content of your videos
Thank you Robert, and we like the content of your comments. 😉
Wow, that opening shot is great! Your campsite is amazing too.
Thank you John! I presume that Todd brought you there at some point, didn't he?
Utah is beautiful. Its on the short list. 😃
It really is, Lori, and it deserves that spot on your short list.
Ugh. We totally get it. We’re in the process of fixing issues ourselves. No fun. Otherwise, beautiful video:-)
Thank you! Here's wishing you the best success with your issues. We'll reveal our solution next week.
Yep, wood frame, broken leaf spring, axles twice, cracked frame, probably a whole host of other smaller issues you have never mentioned. They are weekender trailers at best. While the slides give you lots of room, they also weaken a structure that is not much to start with. I'm a no slide kinda of guy ;.}
And you've got that beast of a Bigfoot trailer, Charles. That thing will outlast the cockroaches. Thanks for keeping the running tally! 😆 Back in 2017 when we bought that Evo, we didn't know what we didn't know.
@@GrandAdventure I know what you mean. Before I bought my Winnebago View motor home in 2015, I could not even spell RV. Indeed you have beat the daylights out of that Evo, and truthfully, it has held up pretty well. Now this is a REAL beast of a trailer from the construction and suspension standpoint. czcams.com/video/luGtdOTCbw4/video.html
@@GrandAdventure Now if you could get one of these, with the door on the right, imported to the US ....... czcams.com/video/qf9ZN0Am1H0/video.html
New subscriber great insight hopefully taking a trip to Ouray, CO from Simpsonville, SC this summer with my daughter.
Thrilled to have you along, WW, and that sounds like such a wonderful trip! From Ouray, be sure to take a drive south a short distance to Silverton in the heart of the San Juans. It's one of our favorite places in Colorado: czcams.com/video/wte47AEZzwA/video.html
I took this ride headed back east and i had no idea this was here...Blew me away...Sorry you had problems with your Forest River ...I bought by class C triple slide in 2018 and haven't had a lick of problems that wasnt self induced except for our bedroom reading lights when out......
The Little Grand Canyon is amazing, isn't it? We're very happy to hear that you haven't experienced the same issues with FR's design that we did. In our case they simply didn't build enough structure into the walls to support those heavy Schwintek slides.
Great opening shots with the drone.Very interesting area Mark.Thanks for sharing. So sorry about the major issues you have to deal with regarding RV.😞
Thank you so very much on both points, Brooke.
Great drone footage, thanks Marc!
Many thanks as always Stu!
That is truly a fascinating and enchanting landscape and the drone footage really highlights the impressive features. That's a real bummer about your trailer, but it does present an opportunity. Looking forward to your decision. I'm giving some serious thought to replacing my Aliner with a "bulletproof" offroad teardrop type trailer for next year's trip to avoid the inevitable breakdowns, wear and tear on a 7-year old trailer. Vorsheer in Springville UT makes a model I really like. 🤔
Hmmmm John...never heard of Vorsheer and they're right down the road, so to speak. We'll have to check them out. There's an opportunity from this breakdown that we didn't address in this episode but will address in subsequent episodes, that unfortunately a small offroad-style trailer simply can't address. We'll get into that more as this develops.
@@GrandAdventure Didn't mean it to sound like a suggestion for you, just something I'm considering for myself. It's a relatively new manufacturer but it's getting excellent reviews. I tend to be a minimalist of sorts and a ruggedized teardrop trailer with a few creature comforts would fit the bill for me since I mostly travel solo.
@@DrJohn493 no worries, suggestions are welcome.
The wedge, what an awesome lookin place. Sorry about the rig. Axle problem, slide problems. I seen it was $7000 to fix your slide and wall issues. Hopefully the insurance company will help pay some of the bills. Don.
Unfortunately, Don, that's not an insurable loss. As an adjuster by profession I knew that before we even got to this point. No matter what happens we're going to take it in the shorts financially, we'll just have to do what we can to minimize that impact.
Marc, that was another perfect place to have a drone! Definitely puckering in some of that footage. When you made the comment about sleepwalking in your narration, I was thinking the same thing as well as hoping Zoe didn’t chase something over the edge. I know you said you work for the insurance industry so you couldn’t easily use the excuse of “my trailer just slipped over the edge” to end your with the one you have. On a positive note, I’ll need to add that area to my list of places to travel!
Tim, as annoyed as I was with that trailer on this trip I was tempted to forget the wheel chocks. 😎 My sister nearly had a coronary at one point when Zoe chased a chipmunk that decided to escape by running to the rocks just over the edge. Zoe fortunately has a decent sense of self-preservation and stopped just short of the edge. She'd walk right close to the edge which bothered me far less than it bothered my sister, for Zoe is reasonably sure-footed.
very nice video, great nature. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, happy that you enjoyed it!
Another great video Mark !!!! Awesome drone footage and great info about the Jurassic Park. Love watching Grand Adventure as always. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
And we love you loving watching Grand Adventure was always, Chris. Thank you!
Watching the drone footage at The Wedge actually made me feel uneasy just sitting in my chair! Precarious!
I hope the trailer issue is resolved without too much hassle. They just don’t build quality in any of these travel trailers anymore it seems.
Thank you, we appreciate that. Repair is $7000-8000 and that's repair, not redesign. This is no small issue.
Beautiful video. So sorry to hear of the trailer trouble.
Thank you sincerely.
I love your amazing boondocking spots. And all the great drone footage. Larry loves the Wedge campsite. Looks scary to me. I can’t wait to hike places like this. And the petroglyphs is such a bonus ❤️ Dinosaurs 🦖? I HAVE to go. We hate slide issues. But I know you now have a solution 🤐 🤣
Alice
When you finally make it out this way, places like The Wedge are a must. Petroglyphs are a bonus that exist all over the place out here, and there are a bunch of spots where you can even find dinosaur tracks embedded within the rock.
@@GrandAdventure We can’t wait. Dinosaur tracts? Awesome.
Alice
@@DownsizingMakesCents I just got back from here and Marc isn’t kidding about how awesome this place is. I actually put my hand in a dinosaur track! Check out the video on my channel. 👍
Hello from salt lake city. I enjoy the videos
Glad you like them, neighbor!
Outdoors RV is in your future.
Boy, based upon the comments to this video they have quite a fan base among our viewers!
Zoe really loves your sister! 😆
That's because my sister is willing to keep throwing a tennis ball ad nauseum. Zoe found a willing victim.
Once again, great video. What a beautiful place there at the Wedge! I can't wait to see it myself someday. Sorry about your rig. Forest River makes some good products, but they aren't designed to take much more than highway driving. Hope you get that taken care of or get a more adventure-worthy model!
Thank you! We're very happy that you enjoyed it.
I loved I Utah for 6 years and never heard of the wedge. I think the next time we come in to town ,might be on our short list of places to explore. Sorry to hear about your trailer, hopefully whatever you need to do ,it works out !
I was lucky. When we moved to Utah we had exactly one friend already living here, and the Wedge was one of the first places he pointed us. We've been in love with the area ever since. Appreciate your well-wishes, too -- thank you.
Nice tour, as usual!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
How does it feel to be done with the Heartland Tour? You sure showed us some great places! Wow, the Wedge sure is gorgeous.... I have seen so many beautiful places in Utah via videos like this - we have moved Utah to the top of our list! That camping spot is absolutely amazing... Cool tunnels. Stunning video, Marc! 👍💗
Thanks Terry! Our emotions about the end of the #AmericanHeartlandTour2020 are mixed -- we had a great time and were sad to see it end, but we're happy to be back out west boondocking again, and we're also anxious for ski season. So it's a mixed bag.
Time for a new Rig
It may well be.
It would be silly of me to suggest anything other than a travel trailer considering that you guys use your truck offroading. They do make “offroad” trailers but I am using air quotes on that one because let’s be honest...
Repair on your trailer will cost thousands. In fact I would be shocked if its not $6,000+.
Keeping that in mind I would suggest a DIY solution that you can build like a tank. In fact it would probably the most optimal solution. Start with something off roady and beef up suspension into basically 36 inch travel super soft shocks and stuff and stuff.
Mortons on the move used a dually with lance over the cab camper for their alaska expedition but for a working man on the road being crunched up like that all the time is tough business.
When I upgraded my class C 24ft to class C 29 ft this past year I was seriously kicking myself because my urge to use my 4x4 tacoma with off road worthy travel trailer was quite strong. In fact I probably could have upgraded tacoma for a 4x4 tundra or 4x4 dually with lance camper or whatever and whatever but all these inconvenient constraints really forced my hand like having a cat, family that wants to tag along etc.
It is very unfortunate that your trailer is basically a paper weight but in a matter of speaking it probably paid for itself in experiences you were able to get these last 4 years.
I am looking forward to finding out what you guys decide.
We certainly feel like we got our money's worth of experiences out of that trailer, but you're right -- Kyle's estimate is $7000-8000 to repair. And that's to repair, not redesign and rebuild. We've basically got 3 options: repair and use, repair and sell, or sell as-is. It all comes down to financials.
If we go through either of the latter two options, they open up an opportunity that we'll discuss in our follow-up in 2 weeks. While something truly overland-worthy would fit our preferred mode of camping, it also shuts the door on that opportunity. So there's a lot of weighing of pros and cons involved.
That looks like a great place to set up camp, but a little to close to the edge for me. Like the drone footage. Sorry to hear about your rv problems. Hope you get it worked out.
Thank you as always Craig! There are other spots nearby that are a few hundred yards back from the edge, if that's something that makes you uncomfortable.
Looks awesome but don't think I could get my Winnebago View out there though it would be really cool if I could.
You definitely could, Michael. There were a bunch of similar small class Cs and Super Bs out there when we left on Saturday morning. There's nothing difficult about the road in.
@@GrandAdventure Thanks, do you have the gps coord by chance?
@@michaelo9039 we put a Google Maps pin to the spot right in the video description (expand to "Show More"). Realize that the road actually dead-ends at the pin, although Google Maps shows the road coming up short. You can see the road on Google Satellite.
Another great spot I didn’t know about! Thanks! What drone do you use, Marc?
You're most welcome. We use a DJI Mavic Pro (1st gen). Everything we use to create Grand Adventure (including of course our drone, drone filters, etc.) we've placed in the "Photography & Videography" section of our Grand Adventure Shop on Amazon: www.amazon.com/shop/GrandAdventure?listId=29P8DKMLOCJAX
Love the episode. Sorry about the trailer.
Thank you on both counts!
Love your video. How did you get into the tunnel? I read on a blog and pictures shown there are grated wire to block public access as it’s not safe.
Thank you! It's gated, but the gate is easily removed, although for obvious reasons I would not want to explain in a public forum how that happens. Let's just say that it doesn't take much creativity to remove the gate. The tunnel seems very solid, although there is always a risk in going underground.
Thanks Marc. Another sweet adventure. I really liked this short excursion and the Dinosaur Park was very interesting.
You indicated that they thought this area was some kind of trap to capture these beasts. Did they say who they thought created the trap enclosure? Was it man or another predator?
Sorry to hear of your ongoing trailer issues. Slides are the ongoing weakness of all these RV's. Only a few of the top end motorhomes utilize a quality heavy duty slide that will last a decade or longer with allot of use.
You are right, those simple screw mechanisms and support structures just can't handle the offroad conditions. By the looks of your images, I can see that water intrusion had weakened the wood frame support structures, warping them.
Gord
They didn't say what kind of predator trap they suspected, Gord, and I never pressed the issue. To say that this National Monument miles from any paved road is understaffed, would be an understatement. The only official personnel we saw was the kid there to take our $5.
That wooden framing wasn't warped by water, and there's no evidence of intrusion. Rather, it's from the torque of the slide operation. The structures built to support those heavy slides simply weren't adequately designed to handle that load. Compound that by the issues created by the first generation of Schwintek slides, and you have the recipe for our disaster.
@@GrandAdventure It was a double issue then. Slide mechanism issues plus faulty support structure. I think most all travel trailers are built like that... or is it just Forest River?
I'm really liking some of the newer floor plans that don't have slides or don't require a full wall side to be extended.
That puts a real crimp in your future travel plans.
Gord
@@gorrdd ya think? 😆 I doubt that most all travel trailers have a wooden wall structure that's sufficiently inadequately designed to fail catastrophically on both sides within 4 years. For that I fault Forest River. My RV repair guy was shocked when he saw it.
@@GrandAdventure If the structure is made of wood, it will fail sooner or later. Something like that needs an aluminum frame. Steel is to heavy for slides, from what I hear. And wood joints just won't stand up. It needs to be welded aluminum. Even moulded fibreglass it too heavy.
Carbon fiber, structurally, would be ideal, but way too expensive.
I just assumed that all travel trailers within the same basic price range, used identical construction techniques in order to remain competitive.
Wood joints might stand up to normal on road travel. But off road travel likely brakes them down prematurely.
Gord
@@gorrdd the funny thing is, traveling at freeway speeds on highways or 10 mph on dirt roads, some of the highways we've been on have been a more jarring experience than the off-roads. But you're right -- I'll never own a wood-framed trailer again. If we replace, aluminum framing is a must.
Nice episode Marc. Great drone perspective of the trailer on the huge cliff. Nicely done. Is the Wedge about 15mi of dirt road to access? Is the road worthy of a 33' motorhome @ 15mph? Or too rough? Sorry to hear about your FR woes, but glad you got the slide in to get home. Real bummer, curious what your solution will be. You look a bit ticked at the end of the video, rightly so.
Thank you Tom! Your motorhome would have no issues. In fact, for most of the road in you could do 40+ as it's both graded and treated for dust, so it drives like a paved road. Certainly smoother than many (most?) paved roads we've driven. The Lower Wedge Road to get out to Camp 1 where we were can be a bit washboarded, however. Ticked? Yeah, and frustrated, too.