Our Newest Team Member.....

Happy Tuesday evening all.  It's Pod blogging this evening and I have some great news for you.  We've got a new member for Team R&T.  Our newest member goes by the name of "Yammie." Yammie is a Yamaha EF2400iSHC Inverter Generator.  

Yammie was brought onto our team for several reasons.  One being to open up the world of off-grid camping in the upper mountains during the summer.  Another was simply as back up power source for either the house or me during a winter storm or extended power outage.  Rob already has a large back-up generator which works great, but he says it's big, heavy, noisy, and thirsty too!

Rob has been researching camping generators for well over a year.  He told me he's looked at all different brands, sizes, price points, and reviews.  In the end, his choice came down to reputation, power output, fuel consumption, future needs, and the ability to find the best price with a 24 months same as cash financing rate.  

Today, Mr. Fedex delivered Yammie not only to the front door, but he sat Yammie inside the front door for Rob's mom.  Rob loaded Yammie onto Levi and drove Yammie around to the back for unpacking and testing.

Yammie came with proper documentation, which Rob read, and a few tools, and even a 12volt DC charging cable.

Before long, Yammie was unpacked, filled with the correct oil, and was ready for the first crank.  

Rob said Yammie even comes with a removable fuel filter to help keep any trash out of the fuel tank.  

The moment of truth was at hand.  Rob flipped the "on" switch, pulled out the choke lever, and pulled the starter rope.  I'm happy to report that Yammie cranked and ran on the very first pull out of the box!!

After letting Yammie run a good ten minutes to warm up and settle into a good run state, Rob connected his small ceramic heater.

Which of course was no problem at all for Yammie to handle.  Rob had even downloaded a decibel meter app on his phone and took a few readings from about four feet away.  Now he admits these are most likely not all that accurate, but they can give some idea of Yammie's noise output.

First is a reading of just the normal ambient noise of the area.....

Next is Yammie at idle, with no load.....

Finally is Yammie with the ceramic heater running on high (Rob estimates this to be 50-60% load).....

It's been fun welcoming our newest team member, and while Yammie won't go on every trip with us, I'm sure Yammie will be making a few very special camping trips with us in the future.

As always, thanks for checking by today.

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-Pod and Yammie!!

A Ride Along a Back Country Lane......

Happy Labor Day Monday everyone.  We back home, with most everything unloaded, put away, laundry being washed, grocery's bought, lunch fixed, and most all of the needful chores done.  Levi still needs a bath, the yard could stand to be mowed, but both of them may have to wait just a bit.  

We hope everyone has had a great Labor Day Weekend, no matter if you got no days, one, two, or three days, or heck even if you're retired.  

To wrap up our trip to the mountains this past weekend, we want to share with you some of our Sunday.  While the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most beautiful drives on the east coast, if not the whole of the USA, most people hop on the BRP at a major highway crossing, drive a few miles, hop off at another major highway crossing and continue along their way.  While the BRP isn't for making good time, it is all about slowing down and seeing the scenery.  

Most travelers of the BRP don't realize it, but there is a whole network of gravel one and two lane roads along the BRP.  Having travelled every foot of the BRP, we enjoy spending time on these back country lanes.  The views are amazing, the traffic non-existent, and the pace is as slow as you want to go.  

Thanks for riding along the backroads with us again today.  We're both busy getting ready for week two of school, so we'll be closing for now.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.

Keeping It Simple.....

Good Sunday morning to everyone.  We're lucky enough to be camping for the Labor Day weekend.  We're even luckier to be camping once again at Raccoon Holler Campground in Glendale Springs, NC.

We survived our first week of school (just barely), it wasn't easy, but we did.  Throw into the mix, doctor's appointments for both parents this week, and leaving town on the very edge of T.S. Hermine, we're very glad to be here.  

The decision was made early in the week to keep the trip simple.  This means a minimal set-up, eating out some, not cooking anything too complicated, and a lot of sitting at the campsite watching the world go by.  So far, we've managed to keep to the plan nicely.

We do have a plan or two for today, nothing too exciting, just a little back road riding.  Thanks for checking by today, and as always....

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.