V14E5- Revel Run in Gifford Pinchot

I've got two recording devices going, my phone and the GoPro. We're getting the water splashes on the camera lens. On our way to Vancouver, Washington this past weekend, Shannon and I stopped at Yaquina Head Lighthouse to experience the Oregon coast and to see the tide pools. Since it was raining so much, I left my good camera in the jeep. Sorry about all the wind noise. Saccades. I have a particular fascination with tide pools. I've only seen them a couple of times in my life. It's not though, it's like 55 degrees. Have you ever been to the ocean before? Oh, a thing! It's Tuesday, mid-October 2021, and we are in southern Washington, sort of near the city of Vancouver. The van, our Winnebago Revel, which I'm driving right now, has a very minor water leak under the bench. It's not a showstopper. We're still able to use the coach, but if we were to ignore it, then water would eventually collect under the bench and could be problematic. Since we weren't sure whether or not the van would have to be sidelined during its service, just to play it safe, we got a hotel room for a couple nights in Vancouver. Yesterday and Monday, I was running around making service arrangements, and as it turns out, they can't get us in until Wednesday. So today, Tuesday, I have the van all to myself while Shannon works in our hotel room. Since most of the time we're using the van behind the scenes for working and living, I very seldom have the opportunity to take it out exploring and stretch its legs a little bit. That is what I'm doing right now, exploring the backcountry in Washington in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This is beautiful. It's an idyllic dispersed campsite in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington state. It's right off the forest road, and it's a flat and shady grove on a soft bed of pine needles. It's not perfect. You can tell that it sees a lot of use because there are plenty of signs of human life and some trash, but not a lot. I won't hesitate to stay here and even clean up a little bit. I believe that fitting is leaking a little bit, and that's problematic. That has been replaced before. Guys are replacing the plastic elbows and pex fittings that Winnebago put in with brass pieces. See what this one goes back into here. Yeah, that's what it does. Yeah, just want to make sure. That is that. Everything is nice and dry. Now we just have to roll with it. Is this setting unreal or what? Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington, mid-October. This is what you get. Well, the guys took good care of the revel, and I believe they got the water leak under the bench sorted. They were also kind enough to let me observe the process, so next time it happens, I might be comfortable enough to take it on myself. So a shout out and a thank you to the guys at Elwell for your help and a very thorough repair. And this is RV ownership, particularly one with a bias toward backcountry travel. You figure an RV has electrical and plumbing systems that aren't too much different than that of a house, except this happens to be a house that you can drive down washboard roads, and you can also take it down an occasional gnarly track. Now as far as the four-wheel drive capability of the van is concerned, I am constantly impressed. I very intentionally took a stab at that eroded section of Forest Road, knowing full well that I might have trouble along the way. So yeah, I got hung up on the differential, but it was sort of a calculated stuck. I just wanted to see how the van would manage that terrain, and if I couldn't get myself out, I could send a message to Shannon and she could come get me with a jeep. After almost a whole year of ownership, I absolutely love the Winnebago Revel. It is a nearly perfect adventure mobile for full-time mobile living. It could use a more robust four-wheel drive system like that of a field van classic, which is based on the Ford E350, has stick axles, and a nice granular atlas transfer case. I would not get a van with intention of using it for recreational trail rides. I want it to be an RV first and foremost. But since we like to venture deep into the backcountry to find wondrous places such as this, it should have some respectable four-wheel drive capability. And I have to say the Winnebago Revel, which is on the four-wheel drive Mercedes Sprinter platform, checks those boxes very well, especially when outfitted with an aftermarket suspension. It's 9,000 pounds worth of van on relatively small tires, so it can absolutely go. But when it gets stuck, it digs in a lot like a boat anchor. The Jeep Wrangler obviously is still lighter and more nimble, so that is the better suited vehicle for tight trails, recreational four-wheel drive routes, and mountaintops. But if I were starting all over again, knowing how much time I spend actually living in the vehicle, I think I would have explored a van platform a lot sooner. This episode was a little bit shorter because it was a maintenance week, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed this amazing Washington scenery. What a profoundly beautiful place, and an amazing time of year to experience it. As always, thanks for watching, and I will catch up with you all next week.