Camping...just beyond the campground, and how to navigate washboard roads comfortably in the B

Great places to stay, bad places to stay, offering courtesy parking? Let us know
Post Reply
silvertrooper
Weekend Camper
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:44 pm
B190 Year: 1996
Location: Seattle, WA

Camping...just beyond the campground, and how to navigate washboard roads comfortably in the B

Post by silvertrooper »

Here's a perhaps obvious tip but it took me a while to figure it out. I like to find Forest Service or similar federal campgrounds, then drive the FS road just past them to camp. Usually, within a mile, there are lots of campsites off the road. Many of them are just spectacular with access to the attraction for which the campground was located--riverside sites, great views, etc. Few people go to these spots because there are no services, but with the B190 what do we care?

I will say that I've never found driving on unpaved roads with the B very fun--I don't know what the heck those folks who install 4WD do (though that would make me more comfortable in the snow). I'm not that concerned with the vehicle, but rather all the stuff in the house part--everything bangs around and squeaks, it is kind of crazy-making. And to get to these magical campsites some amount of rough road driving is necessary. I did learn from a guy that letting 5-10 lbs of air out of your tires makes a washboard road passable. Those roads have always felt like they would rattle not only my teeth out, but every mechanical fastener in the rig. Down pressuring takes care of most of that, but you have to remember to fill 'em back up when you find pavement again.
Rugster
Weekend Camper
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:57 pm

Re: Camping...just beyond the campground, and how to navigate washboard roads comfortably in the B

Post by Rugster »

The big problem I have with driving off-road in the B190 is the low clearance, due to the propane tank and bash guard hanging underneath the van. It can be done on dirt tracks that are not too rough, but you still have to drive carefully and creatively in order to avoid that familiar metallic scraping sound, of the bash guard making contact with the ground! I am planning on having a 4 - 6" lift installed, to help alleviate this issue.

As for the washboard roads, of course, clearance isn't usually the issue. As you say, it's all the bone-rattling! My solution so far has been to drive very slowly, but if you have a few miles to go, it can make for tedious driving. Letting 5 - 10lbs out of the tires is a good, though time-consuming, idea. That would be my main problem with doing this - all the extra time involved. I sure wish there was a button on the dashboard we could push, that would automatically down-pressure the tires, then another one to re-inflate them afterwards!
silvertrooper
Weekend Camper
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:44 pm
B190 Year: 1996
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Camping...just beyond the campground, and how to navigate washboard roads comfortably in the B

Post by silvertrooper »

Rugster, the clearance was one of the reasons I got the B-190, limited as it may be. My dad has a Winnebago Rialta on a VW van platform. While it drives great and gets double the mileage I do, it's only got about 4" of clearance. Driving gravel roads, he's knocked the waste tank valves clean off--twice!

I like the lift idea, I think I'd do 4" because handling and vertical clearance (an issue for when I park in parking garages :lol: ).

I was pleasantly surprised when driving it back from purchasing it in Cleveland and inadvertently tested the clearance 8O . We got stuck in a massive snowstorm that closed the interstate and we crawled in a line of cars behind a plow into Sheridan, where we got a hotel for the night. Turning left quickly across the oncoming lanes to get into the hotel parking lot, I hit a lane barrier hidden by the snow. It was about the height of the concrete blocks at the end of a parking stall. Maybe a bit taller. It stunned the crap out of me! We got a *little* stuck on the rear sway bar bolts for a hot second. I think those are the lowest things on the vehicle. But the propane tank shield cleared no problemo.

It was funny even then and more so in retrospect: I'm driving a new-to-me van, in a massive snowstorm, and I'm stuck across a barrier perpendicular to traffic in the middle of the main drag in Sheridan 8O :roll: . Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic due to the storm and given that I was two wheels (front two) over the barrier, I decided we should just carry on and finish driving over it. We reversed a little to get a run-up, then drove *slowly* but steadily right over the barrier 8) . I was freaked out once we parked but amazed at how well the van did on something I would never try to drive over were it on a Forest Service road.

That's as many emoticons as I've ever used for anything anywhere.
Post Reply