A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 217 miles from Corpus Christi, Texas to Lockhart, Texas.
Month: January 2023
Travel from Corpus Christi to Lockhart, Texas
We drove our coach 217 miles, about four hours of driving, from Corpus Christi, Texas to Lockhart, Texas.
The map route, heading north:
The somewhat narrow road from the campground:
Joining South Padre Island Drive:
Oso Bay:
A pitstop at a picnic area for lunch:
A Hurricane Evacuation Route sign; totally reassuring:
Exit 69, nice:
Exit to Karnes City:
Refinery:
Pump jack:
Nixon, Texas mural:
Water tower:
Paladin:
Another stop for a short break:
Another water tower:
Lockhart, Texas:
Our destination, Lockhart State Park:
The welcome center:
A flood gauge:
Slide topper bracing to reduce flapping in wind
Our coach has fabric awnings over the slide-outs, commonly called slide toppers. These are a feature of premium RVs to prevent debris and water from coming inside when bringing in the slides, among other benefits.
But one downside of slide toppers is that they can be noisy in strong winds, as wind gusts cause them to flap up and down. And in very strong winds one can get concerned that they could get damaged.
One solution for flapping slide toppers is to bring in the slides, perhaps only on the windward side. But that reduces the living space, so is a hassle. And we can’t sleep in our bed with all of the slides in, as the bed has to be raised up in this situation.
Another solution is to brace the slide toppers. There are a few ways to do that, but the easiest is to use a rope and bungees across the middle of the toppers.
While in Corpus Christi we had a forecast of nearly 50 MPH gusts, which is a bit more than I’m comfortable with, so I decided to try bracing the slide toppers.
I ordered some mini bungees and paracord for that purpose; I got crimson cord to match our coach:
To get the paracord over the top of the slides, I used the window awning pole:
I tied a loop in the end of the cord, then temporarily taped it to the hook on the end of the pole:
I attached the cord to the hydraulic beams underneath the slide via bungees, which let me adjust the tension as needed; it doesn’t need to be very tight, just enough to stop it flapping so much in the wind:
(In the future I think I’ll get some tent rope tensioners to make that even more flexible.)
You can see the cord over the slide topper:
For the rear slides, which don’t have the hydraulic beams, the bungee is just hooked onto the bottom of the slide track:
This worked really well. The slide toppers still flapped a little when that wind arrived, but nowhere near as much as they would have without the bracing. I’ll definitely do this again for future high winds.
New mattress
Our Tiffin motorhome came with a fairly nice king-sized mattress on the bed, but it was a little uncomfortable.
As a Christmas present to ourselves, we purchased a new mattress. We purchased it online from MattressInsider.com; we got the “Luxury Gel Foam RV Mattress with Organic Cotton”.
Our old mattress was 72” wide by 75” long — what’s commonly called an “RV Short King”, being a bit narrower and shorter than a residential king (which is 76 x 80”). But the bed frame could support a 80” length; we used to use yoga blocks at the foot to keep it from sliding down. And I’m 6’1” tall, so a longer bed is better for me. So we ordered a 72 x 80” mattress aka a “RV King” size, 11.5” high.
Here’s a handy list of US mattress sizes (width x length), for reference:
- California King: 72″ x 84″
- RV California King: 72” x 84”
- King: 76″ x 80″
- RV King: 72” x 80”
- RV Short King: 72” x 75”
- Queen: 60″ x 80″
- RV Short Queen: 60” x 75″
- Full: 54″ x 75″
- RV Three-Quarter: 48” x 75″
- Twin XL: 38″ x 80″
- Twin: 38″ x 75″
(There are other variations, too.)
Here’s our old mattress, with a topper in an attempt to make it a bit more comfortable:
We had the new mattress shipped to Corpus Christi KOA. Unfortunately it arrived a week before we did, but they were very accommodating in storing it for us. Which was much appreciated, especially since their office was upstairs. When we checked in, a KOA maintenance guy helped cart it down to our coach:
Using the ADA wheelchair lift to get it downstairs:
Our old mattress; it was subsequently picked up by a local junk removal company, that said they’d donate it to a local charity:
The bed base has a split, as it can tilt the head upwards. The whole bed slides out from the wall at a press of a button, too, which makes it much easier to make the bed:
If you peek in the gap, you can see a bunch of wires below the bed:
We also got a Hypervent Aire-Flow moisture barrier from MattressInsider, to put below the mattress; it is supposed to provide better air flow to help protect the mattress; probably not needed in our situation, but can’t hurt:
The new mattress box:
Preparing to unwrap the mattress:
Once released from the multi-layer plastic wrap, it very quickly expanded to its full size:
Finally, we also got a zippered mattress protector to enclose the mattress:
We are enjoying the increased comfort of this new mattress.
Corpus Christi KOA Journey
We stayed at Corpus Christi KOA Journey in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A high-service waterfront RV park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-12-18
- Check out: 2023-01-02
- 16 nights
Weather:
- Mostly cloudy
- High temps ranging between 36-72°F, lows around 25-62°F
- Some strong winds, up to 47 MPH gusts
Noise:
- No road or train noise, occasional plane noise
- Some neighbor noise (especially a frequently screaming kid)
Site:
- #48, back-in, concrete
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Mostly level
- Medium site: about 65 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Concrete patio, picnic table, grill, adirondack chairs, fire pit
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
- 40 PSI water, conveniently located (we boosted with our water tank and pump)
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
- We filled the water tank and put away the water pipes, filters, and softener for a few nights where the temperatures dipped below freezing
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 40-75 Mbps down, 5-9 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
- AT&T: 44 Mbps down, 21 Mbps up, 37 ms ping
- Verizon: 20 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster (near entrance)
- Garbage pickup from site
- Package delivery to office
- Heated swimming pool
- Private beach
- Kayak etc rentals
- Weekly propane fill on site
Our review on Campground Reviews:
A prime spot right on the water
We have a motorhome, but very occasionally, I wish we had a toy hauler. This place would have been absolutely perfect for that as we were backed right up to the Laguna Madre with views towards North Padre island. The first few days, we didn’t have a neighbor on the passenger side, so we had unobstructed views, and it was amazing. And then we got neighbors (with the world’s most obnoxious screaming children, which was not as relaxing…so ignore the label at the top of this page that says “no minors”), and the weather turned to freezing and windy, and we both got sick…so we didn’t get to enjoy the campground or the area as much as we would’ve liked. But before all that happened, I couldn’t believe this campground was only a “Journey” when we’ve stayed at KOA Holidays that had fewer services and amenities. The staff are all amazing and friendly, even going so far as to allow us to ship a new mattress there and help us get it loaded into our rig. It may be one of the pricier places we’ve stayed, but it was well worth it. We camped at Corpus Christi KOA in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park:
The campground map:
Our site had a waterfront view — from the side and back, which isn’t as ideal as a front-in site, but the sites were angled enough to have a decent side view:
The patio site had everything including a propane grill (with tools), though it was too cold to want to actually use it:
Utilities:
It was time to regenerate the water softener, which involves adding two containers of salt, then flushing it out for a while:
A nice view out or window, at least when there wasn’t an RV in that site:
Views from behind the site:
A pelican on the water:
Working outside:
Afternoon view:
Sunset view:
Info:
Rentals:
A well stocked KOA store:
Playground and private beach:
A heated pool; a few brave people did use it (too cold air for us to want to swim, though):
Pelicans and gulls:
A deck; the map says that they want to add a fishing pier off here eventually:
A shore bird of some kind:
Grackle:
Grackles checking out garbage awaiting collection:
Paladin watching a grackle on our roof:
The staff does a really good job of cleaning sites between occupants:
Other RVs:
An empty patio site, and houses beyond:
A nice-looking newer Tiffin Allegro Bus (a 45FP floorplan); we don’t want a 45-foot coach, but I would like that rear exit door:
Nice paint job:
This KOA only has one cabin (plus a rental house next door):
Weekly propane delivery to sites; we took advantage of that to refill our 20 lb tank. They asked if we wanted to fill the coach propane, but we don’t have propane onboard — it’s an all-electric coach:
A van selling tamales also came around (the office sent text messages to announce these visits):
We tried the tamales, corn chips, and salsa:
As seems to be traditional in our holiday stays, I got sick, with a 100°F fever for a few days, and other fun symptoms. Of course, I did an at-home COVID test, which was definitively negative:
It’s just a cold, but not the most fun way to spend the holidays. On the other hand, it’s a good time to have it, if I must, since we were here for a couple of weeks, and didn’t have any excursions planned.
Oh, just as I was starting to feel better from my cold, Jenn had her turn with it. It’s so romantic how we share everything.
The weather wasn’t great; we had several very windy and cold days, with several fun alerts:
Hard freeze weather alert:
Since we were here over the holidays, we added some festive lights:
And a mini tree:
A nice RV park… probably not worth paying extra for a patio site we didn’t really use, but if the weather were nicer (and we weren’t sick), we would have enjoyed it more.
Video: San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 163 miles from San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas.
Travel from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, Texas
We drove our coach 163 miles, about three hours of driving, from San Antonio, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas.
The map route, heading southeast:
Leaving the campground, along the mile of dirt road:
A fuel stop; a later one would have been better, but this location was cheaper:
Paladin on the dash; not something we encourage. He was feeling a bit stressed about travel; sometimes he forgets about it:
I-37 south:
Paladin on the dash again:
Fortunately it wasn’t too far to a planned stop for lunch, which gave him time chillax:
I like it when I spot a roadside diner with adequate truck parking:
This was Kuntry Korner cafe in Pleasonton:
Menu:
Breakfast for lunch; not bad, if a little slow:
Back to our coach:
Onramp from the service road to I-37:
Paladin on the back of my chair:
There were several oil refineries near Corpus Christi:
Our exit:
Roadworks:
Buildings on stilts near the water:
Our destination, the KOA:
Check in:
Our coach and truck when checking in at the office upstairs:
Being led to our site:
Upgraded TST TPMS display
One of the first accessories I purchased for our coach was a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
Recently an RV technology site called TechnoRV announced an upgraded display unit, that is compatible with the older system. The new one has a larger display, and uses a touchscreen instead of buttons next to the display.
Here’s the old unit:
And the new unit:
I also got a weighted base, that attaches magnetically to the unit:
The unit on the base:
The new unit’s menu:
The old and new units next to each over; you can see how much larger and more clear the new unit is:
2023 travel plans
Enough reviewing last year; what’s in store for 2023?
We spent the holidays on the gulf coast in Corpus Christi, Texas. We are now doing a tour of more of Texas, including Austin, Houston, and Dallas. With a side trip to the US Virgin Islands for Jenn’s birthday (and to check off the Virgin Islands National Park) while our coach is being serviced. Then we’ll head back west through New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California, collecting a few national parks we missed previously, including Death Valley, Yosemite, and Redwoods. We’ll also go to Disneyland again, because why not.
Then we’ll head up the coast in California, Oregon, and Washington, and spend some time at Mom’s place while we take care of doctor visits and such. Then we’ll go east through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, into Wyoming, where we’ll spend some time at Yellowstone, before continuing on to North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, some new states for us.
Following that, a little detour through Colorado and New Mexico to attend the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta again (yes, we recently managed to snag an RV site at the fiesta). Then some more new states: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and finally we’ll spend next winter in Florida.
This route adds 10 new states towards our goal to visit all of the states.
The stops for this route have been mostly booked already; there are a few holes that don’t have reservations, as some places don’t allow booking this far out, but we’ll book them as soon as we can. And of course we will make changes as needed (and in fact have made some minor tweaks since making these maps, not affecting the route noticeably). But this is a fairly solid plan for the year.
Here is a map showing our proposed route on the states and color-coded time zones:
A more detailed map:
Here’s the same map with the routes and stops for 2021-2022 added; the 2021 Yellowstone trip is in brown, 2021 coach travel in green, 2022 travel in blue, and 2023 travel in purple:
The same map as an animated GIF, adding each year:
It’s going to be another busy year. I hope you’ll follow along via this blog and the YouTube channel.
Video: 2021-2022 motorhome travel timelapses in less than 6 minutes!
Was the 2022 timelapses video not fast enough for you? Hey, I understand; 38 minutes is quite long, even at 20x the original timelapses speed. This video combines both the 2021 and 2022 timelapse videos, and makes them eight times faster (i.e. 160 times faster than original timelapses), so you can see all our motorhome travel in less than six minutes!