"Camp" Shopbot

[thecustomsignshop]

Anyone interested in have a camping based shopbot camp?

Possible Sessions (I'm thinking):
- Around the camp fire chat w/Bill P.
- Pot luck dinner machining tips with Brady..
- Think tank sessions w/Bill Young
- Maybe bring in a SB Buddy?

Talked to a number of campground owners (and Shopbot owners) on the east coast between NY and SC, and many seem to have facilities available...

Many of the CG also allow daily guests.

I know a many of us have RV's, but for those who do not, many CG also have rentals cabins and tent sites.

Just wondering if their was any interest. Would be fun for the entire family..

[bill.young]

I'm in!

[billp]

I'll clean out the "rolling bedpan" and be there too!

[Brady Watson]

Count me in too!

I'll bring the carbide-tipped lawn darts


-B

[gabepari]

If you guys find yourselves wandering around the West Coast without your compass I'll join in the fun. I'll even bring some marshmallows.

Gabe

[billp]

Gabe,
Since this is pretty much a spontaneous concept there's really NO reason a bunch of Shopbotters on the West Coast ( or ANYWHERE else) couldn't do the same thing! Sort of like a "mobile User's group" !
I can see a bunch of little "Teardrop trailers"
http://www.socalteardrops.com/ circled around a bonfire.....

[thecustomsignshop]

Would anyone like to recomend a region to consider?

Talked to a CG owner in PA today at a camping resort, he said no problem, but again, that is in eastern PA. Features like a heated pool, tennis courts, AC lodge, lake for fishing could make for a nice weekend.

I'm more than willing to look into and even make the arrangements, just need some sugestions...

Doc, your welcome to crash at my rig if you want.

Got it, one session on how to cut out and make a tear drop trailer using a shopbot!

[dewey_dog]

Brady, you got a cut file for those lawn darts???

[3d_danny]

I'm ready.....

[billp]

Jim,
Thanks, but "the bedpan" has it's own (inflatable)
queen sized bed...Be nice to find someplace near the water so some of us could drag along Shopbot built canoes, kayaks, etc...!

[thecustomsignshop]

Doc, are you thinking beach(shore line) or inner coastal/bay type thing. Many camp grounds have lakes, but how big are we talking?

The campground in PA is by a state park that has a huge lake.. Possible - Lake George NY or in VA near Bill is Cherrystone Camping Resort, by the CBB.

[billp]

Jim,
ANY body of water would be fine by me. My kayak floats in a few inches...The Chesapeake area might be a good idea since it's reasonably accessible for us here in NJ, as well as for Bill Young, and Dan Dunn is currently in North Carolina so it would be almost "centrally located" compared to the Lake George area...
Also if we DO choose a site near the water we might be able to shame Brady into finally painting his Weekend Dinghy...

[thecustomsignshop]

Sounds like a plan, let me look into a few options for us to consider.

Brady, since I don't have anything that floats, that I know of, I'll give you a hand with some dinghy painting. Maybe even a dinghy wrap would work also????

[Brady Watson]

Not sure I want to bring the dinghy since it is awkward to haul on the rig with the A/C units up top etc. Most places have rentals anyway...

-B

[bill.young]

Hey guys,

Sorry to drop out of the thread..I've been in New York checking out the assembly of the MOMA house.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seaside5592/sets/72157605613635207/

Back on topic...

Falls Lake in Durham has water in it now...it's been dry for the last year or so...and is a nice place to stay with wooded lots for a very reasonable price. I usually stay at Holly Ridge when I'm working at ShopBot and it's less than 1/2 hour away from ShopBot. It's a long drive for you guys, though.

If we do it near me I can have the open house I've been wanting to do in the new building...2 new PRS tools. Along with Cherrystone, Kiptopeake State Park is not far from me and has a beach, but stinging nettles can be an issue for any water activities just about anywhere in the lower Bay during the summer.

Not sure about water access, but also maybe someplace in the mountains around the time of the VA camp in Charlottesville in the fall?

Or maybe try to talk Doug and John into letting us camp next to their shop in Kitty Hawk or maybe down toward Hatteras...the Outer Banks is ALWAYS nice! And John has an RV.

Just some possibilities,
Bill

[handh]

Will love to do a camping trip. I would be in for sure.

[ed_lang]

Maybe I can sell our 26' camper and get a pop-up so the longer distance to Durham would not cost so much in fuel.

Maybe I should gut the camper and put a Buddy in it and travel the country giving demos!

[myxpykalix]

You could be Bill P's assistant.
You know Pat Sajack has Vanna White.... although you're cute, you're no Vanna White!

[doug]

Hey guys, we would be happy to have you all camp out here on our property. Dumping facilities are lacking but most of the RVs are self contained. Water access is not a problem, 50 yards away. We are set for a camp early November but can do this earlier if we need to. Who knows, we may even have power this year. We are in the middle of building two houses on the back lots but stll have plenty of room for campers on the ront lots. Come on down, we'd be delighted. May have room for some indoor camping by then.

[Brady Watson]

I'd like to keep things in the mid-Atlantic area if we could @ a legitamate campground with full hookups and/or dumping facilities. I'm at about 30' with my rig & I know Jim is around 36 or 38' with his...I'm sure there is something in WV with a decent lake and less bugs than the coastal areas...Let's see what we come up with.

-B

[blackhawk]

Following Brady's suggestion, I will throw out a suggestion for camping in Virginia. I live in Pulaski County near Blacksburg, VA (Home of VA Tech). We have Claytor Lake that is only 5 minutes off I-81. They have full feature campground facilities, meeting facility, and even a swimming beach. The lake is from an electric generation dam on the New River with great scenery. It is pretty centrally located in the mid-Atlantic. My bot is a PRT Alpha 48x96 and is only 15 minutes from the lake if we need to do some cutting.

[bill.young]

Hey Brad,

I've got a son living in Blacksburg...works for me.

Bill

[handh]

Hey Brad,

Is this the state park campground, if so will they take reservations, that could be a problem also looking on their website they don't have full hookups and the largest rv is 35 feet. Mine is 35 so I would just make it but someone posted that they had a 38 footer, and I know that when a campground post that they can take a certain size that are very optimistic on that, sort of like tent makers saying it sleeps 8 when 2 people fill it up, lol. Maybe there is another campground close? What do you think

[blackhawk]

Jeff - I gave the office a call. Yes, they will take reservations and do recommend them. They do have a main sewer dump, but there are no direct sewer hookups at the campsites. Water and electric are available at the sites. The 35 feet limit is correct, but I don't know how hard of a rule that is. They are pretty easy going there, but I couldn't make any guarantees. There is another campground just a mile from the park. I will try and track down some info on them for large campers.

[handh]

Thanks Brad that sounds good, I know that it would be bad to get there and not be able to camp. Thanks again for the update. Wow this camping thing is sounding better all the time.

[thecustomsignshop]

Hey guys, also we need a CG that will support slides or pop outs on rigs. I'm 38+ and with a toad makes me over 45ft. If I bring my 24ft trailer with a buddy for demo's, than I'm around 60ft.

Dougs shop (in kitty hawk) is awesome for the november camp, right on the beach and you can't get a better host, the man can cook... I would not miss that camp and maybe that is our best option.

Was thinking VA or maybe West VA as an option. I'm kind of leaning towards a non state park option only because of the posibility of cabin/rv rentals for those who do not have an RV but want to attend a camp camp. Also near a hotel possibly...

The state parks may have issues with a shopbot machine running in the park and will not likely have the needed resources to put on a good camp. Could be wrong.

I will research this tonight based on Bradys suggestion and post a few thoughts for consideration. My family may also attend as might many others, for that reason I was thinking that some activities for them would be nice.

Agree?

[thecustomsignshop]

Found a few RV parks in the Blacksburg area, non that would be open to accomadating a shopot camp.

Would anyone consider the Harrisonburg area of VA?

Also the coastal area around Gloucester, Va?

Or south of VA Beach?

There is a few campgrounds that could accomadate us..

[blackhawk]

I have some more info on Claytor lake to address some of Jim's concerns. Claytor lake has several rental cabins and a few lodges located in the park for those who do not camp. In addition, there is a fairly new hotel just 2 miles outside the park entrance. For the family: the park has over a 1 acre beach with imported white sand, diving board, hiking/biking trails, gazebo, boat marina with jet ski and boat rentals, snack bar, fishing piers. I talked to the park manager's secretary about the large campers and setting up a buddy. Her "official" statement was that they are limited to 35 foot campers. But she said "they will ask you at the gate how long your camper is, if you tell us 35 feet, we are not going to measure it, do you get my drift." Basically, you could slide through anything under 40 feet. They have a huge parking lot near the marina, so if Joe brings his Buddy trailer, he could possibly park it there. The secretary said that we would need to get the park manager to approve and give us a special permit for the Buddy demo. The permit costs $10. She didn't think it would be a problem, but it is the manager's decision. What are the electrical requirements for the Buddy setup?
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/cla.shtml
Here is a link to the lake's website:

[thecustomsignshop]

Hey Brady, that is excellent information. I was not leaning towards a state park, but if it will work, great.

My only concern is being turned away at the gate, which has happened to me before, (granted, not at this CG) and with the cost of gas, I'm not sure I really want to take that kind of risk without sometype of CG near by I can use as a backup. (Since my rig is over the length allowed...)

Having said that, it should not stop the idea of a camp, shopbot camp. If the majority who will attend is cool with it, I say lets go for it.

[billp]

Guys,
If it makes things any easier to organize this I think the idea of bringing a Buddy to the Camp could be thought over. There are many Camps where we don't do any cutting at all, and since we are going to have a Camp in Virgina in Sept. anyway those people who want to see a machine ( granted not a Buddy) could stop by for that event.
I'm also thinking from the point of the other people in the campground; how'd you like to be set up with your family and rig, and then have a bunch of people show up in the space next to you with machinery and start cutting stuff?

[thecustomsignshop]

Agreed.

[blackhawk]

If we do decide to have the camp at Claytor lake and want to cut something, I live less than 15 miles away. I have a PRT Alpha 48x96 that is less than 3 years old. I would be glad to let everyone come to my shop for some cutting. I even have the space and electrical to setup Jim's Buddy if we wanted.

[thecustomsignshop]

Forgive me, I meant to type Brad, not Brady in my previous post.

[thecustomsignshop]

The general feeling seems to be focused on having a less formal camp. I can see a lot of positives about this concept or theme for a gathering such as this. Any comments?

[handh]

I agree Jim. Just having a gathering and us just having the chance to meet with one another and maybe even relax a little would be a great camp idea.

[bill.young]

Hey guys,

Here's a proposal. Kiptopeake State Park here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is on the water, has full hookups, can accommodate up to 40' RVs, and is usually not very crowded. It's also pretty much equal distance for everyone (except me of course!)...less than an hour from Va Beach and Norfolk, 4 hours from Durham, 3.5 from Charlottesville, 4-5 from most of NJ. I've got 2 new PRS tools and a PRT benchtop in my shop about 25 minutes away from there, and my old machine is close by too. Here's a link to their website.
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/kip.shtml

Any interest, maybe for a weekend in late July/early August? This wouldn't keep us from doing something somewhere else...the Kitty Hawk camp is always fun and the mountains around Blacksburg are beautiful in the Fall...but this might be an easy one to arrange for a first shot.

Bill

[billp]

I'm in, just pick a date with enough time so it's not too close to the IWF show please..... Weekdays, or weekends are both fine for me...

[thecustomsignshop]

Mid August for me please. I'm in NC on vacation July 16th-26th

[Brady Watson]

Aug 2nd-9th is already spoken for...I thought early September would be ideal since most of the kids are in school & the weather is ideal.

-B

[bill.young]

How about the weekend after Labor Day? Sept 5-7th

Bill

[billp]

Bill,
I'll have to opt out of any weekend after Labor Day as I have nine weekends in a row booked with Camps,Jamboree, etc. The weekend you mention has me down in Virginia for the Camp there..
That does not mean you guys shouldn't go ahead with the idea. I'm still hoping to do some "camping" after the Kitty hawk, NC Camp myself so maybe I can catch up with you guys then..

[bill.young]

Ah...how could I forget that! I wouldn't miss Ed and Jay's hospitality (and barbecue!)

So Jim Z., are you heading back through this area on your way back from Carolina?

Bill

[ed_lang]

Bill, how about a BBQ cooker cut on the ShopBot!

Would that be called SB-BBQ?

I saw the YouTube file where the ShopBot played Happy Birthday and then cut the cake, but don't expect Jay to cut the BBQ on the ShopBot. But making the Cooker is another story.

A little Yellow Duck told me that the breakfast will be worth the trip as well.

[thecustomsignshop]

Hi Bill.

Yes, but DW has to be back at work on the 27th when we head down in July. Unfortunatly, we won't have time to make it in July.

Talked with Bill P. Would it be Ok if we planned a gathering around the NC camp in November?

Most of us will be in the area anyway... Just a thought.

Bill, does November work for you?

To all "Camp"ers let us know what you all think..

[bill.young]

Hey Jim,

I'm planning on making it to Doug and John's for sure, so that sounds great. I might head down a day or so early and spend some time down toward Hatteras...it's nice down there in the Fall after the tourists go home


Bill

[thecustomsignshop]

Bill, just realized the camp was the day after Halloween, got the whole kid thing happenin and I won't be able to make it..

Sorry about that, my fault, but lets plan another one real soon.