A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 283 miles from Carrabelle, Florida to Clermont, Florida, including a picture-in-picture from the 360 camera on the truck being towed behind the coach.
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Posts featuring the coach.
Travel from Carrabelle to Clermont, Florida
We drove our coach 263 miles, about 5 hours of driving, from Carrabelle, Florida to Clermont, Florida. Our first travel day of 2024.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading southeast:
An interactive map, with possible stops:
We pulled our coach out to toad up:
Bye beach:
Look out birds; you can come back to your tasty roadkill after we go by:
We stopped in front of a gas station for lunch:
Gas station lunch; not ideal, but not bad:
Joining I-75:
A traffic cam, showing our coach:
A rest area stop:
Joining Florida’s Turnpike toll road:
The Villages:
“Florida’s Turnpike, The Less Stressway” (maybe if they improved the road surface a bit):
Another traffic cam:
Toll at the exit; our Freedom Pass transponder worked:
Arriving at our destination, Thousand Trails Orlando:
Normally in Thousand Trails parks you roam around to pick your own site, but TTO is different; they have people guide you to a site. We were directed to this parking lot to await a guide:
Guided to site:
Arriving at our site:
Not ideal, but nice to not have anyone behind us:
Fixing TV lift
One big issue that we got Davidson RV to investigate was that our main TV lift wasn’t going down reliably; it would often stop partway, requiring pressing the down button several times. They investigated, and determined that the lift controller was bad:
Here’s the TV laying on our bed while they investigated:
They couldn’t get a replacement in time, so as a temporary workaround, they installed a switch to bypass the controller:
I contacted the manufacturer, Venset in Denmark, and they referred me to their US distributor, Wood Technology.
I emailed Wood Technology, and Mike Fisher replied. We exchanged several very helpful emails, photos, and documents, discussing the issue and solutions. He provided me with a replacement controller:
The new controller, installed:
It was super easy to sync our existing remote control to the new controller, then I was able to successfully raise and lower the TV:
Here’s a peek of the lift mechanism:
Another potential issue that Mike discussed was that the curly cord could get tangled, preventing the lift from raising. So he recommended either cutting it out, or detaching the lower portion and rerouting the wire:
I did the latter, bundling the curly cord with the other wires coming from the TV:
That should avoid that issue. And we’re very glad that the lift mechanism is working properly again. Much appreciation to Mike at Wood Technology!
Ho-Hum RV Park
We stayed at Ho-Hum RV Park in Carrabelle, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice casual RV park, with the gulf literally feet from our front door.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-12-17
- Check out: 2024-01-07
- 21 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny, some cloud and rain
- High temps ranging between 52-67°F, lows around 33-60°F
- A little wind, gusts to 42 MPH
Noise:
- Highway noise
- No train noise
- Some neighbor noise, dogs, but few kids
Site:
- #48A, pull in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
- Rather unlevel, high on left and front; used hydraulic leveling
- Gravel site about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Picnic table on gravel
- No fire pit
- Clean site
- Waterfront, facing the water
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 32 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 50 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 48 ms ping
- AT&T: 57 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Verizon: 26-42 Mbps down, 26 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster
- Waterfront (gulf)
- Package delivery to office
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Nothing ho-hum here
We spent three weeks here over the holidays and loved the laid-back vibe and beachfront views. Watching the birds along the shore right from the window of our motorhome was wonderfully relaxing. There is some road noise from the highway, but it is pretty nonexistent at night. Some of the waterfront sites are a bit sloped and could be problematic for larger rigs, but ours was fine enough that our leveling system could cope. The staff were all friendly and helpful and the amenities were well-kept. We loved our stay so much that we booked our stay for the end of 2024 before we left. We camped at Ho-Hum RV Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our waterfront site:
It’s been ages since I flew my drone, but this seemed a perfect place to get some aerial photos:
Now that we’d made it to Florida, it was time to add its sticker to our coach:
We stayed here over the holidays, so of course we did our 20th annual The Lord of the Rings movie marathon, watching the extended editions of all three movies (though like last year, we split it over two days; not quite as much a marathon, but more relaxed):
One of the other guests dropped off a little Christmas gift:
We really enjoyed having the beach right in front of our site:
A fishing pier:
As you can see, there was quite a difference between low and high tides; I liked to watch the tide charts; fascinating how the two tides (from the moon and sun) merge and split to create single bigger tides or two smaller tides:
Our neighbor moved from a oceanfront site to one further back:
Most of the RVs on the oceanfront were motorhomes, fronted in, but there were a few trailers, backed in:
I’m glad we didn’t have a trailer next to us, with their door facing ours:
Other sites:
We’re planning to stay here again for the next holidays; this is the site we’ve already reserved for next time:
Beach area:
Dog park:
Rec room:
Entrance and office:
We enjoyed our stay here, and are looking forwarding to returning at the end of the year!
Video: Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 257 miles from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida, including a picture-in-picture from the 360 camera on the truck being towed behind the coach.
Travel from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida
We drove our coach 257 miles, about 5 hours of driving, from Spanish Fort, Alabama to Carrabelle, Florida. Our last travel day of 2023. (Yes, the blog posts are a bit delayed; we do things faster than I can post about them!)
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map, with potential stops marked:
Leaving the state park:
I-10:
Entering Florida:
“No stopping; photo opp in welcome center”:
We did stop at the Welcome Center rest stop for a quick break, though didn’t go into the Welcome Center:
Home of the Blue Angels:
Our coach at the rest stop on a traffic cam:
I had fun spotting our coach via other traffic cams too:
Bridge over Escambia Bay:
More traffic cams:
Another rest area stop, this time for lunch:
Sleepy Paladin enjoying the stacked dining chairs:
An interesting feature of the rest areas was a truck windshield washer:
We also appreciated signs that displayed the rest area truck parking availability (which was also available via the traffic website):
Speaking of, a couple more:
Then we exited I-10, for some highway travel:
Starting with a fuel stop:
While Jenn fueled up, I went in and got some Cokes (to help us stay alert) and snacks:
$284.62 for 77.787 gallons of diesel; we saved $22.17 off that with our discount card:
Paladin watching us from the dash:
Cotton field:
Blountstown mural:
The bridge where we entered Eastern Time Zone:
An uncomfortably narrow road:
A portion was also a little under water; not ideal:
Roadworks to alleviate the flooding; a tight squeeze:
Our destination for the end of the year:
A long drive, but then we were stationary for three weeks.
Tweaks at Davidson RV
We got Davidson RV to help us with a few other issues.
One was to replace our water pump, as the old one wasn’t performing well:
Another issue with fortunate timing was the entry step didn’t fully retract; they lubricated it, and it’s been fine since (I have been lubricating it with silicone lube, but have since purchased some better lube):
Finally, the USB ports on my side of the bed had stopped working, so they replaced them:
I could have done all three of those things myself, but easier to get them to do so while we were there.
Meaher State Park
We stayed at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A delightful state park with spacious sites and lots of wildlife. The I-10 freeway across the water isn’t ideal, but not too bad.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-12-03
- Check out: 2023-12-17
- 14 nights
Weather:
- Partly cloudy, some rain
- High temps ranging between 57-72°F, lows around 39-59°F
- A little wind, gusts to 28 MPH
Noise:
- Freeway noise across the bay
- No train noise
- Negligible neighbor noise, other than kids on weekends
Site:
- #54, back in, asphalt
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
- Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
- Asphalt driveway about 55 feet long by about 12 feet wide
- Grass between sites about 52 feet wide
- Picnic table on asphalt patio about 18 by 14 feet
- No fire pit
- Clean site
- Waterfront, though with the back of our coach facing the water
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 25 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 4-9 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- AT&T: 180-395 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 22 ms ping
- Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 9-12 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpster
- Waterfront (bay)
- Walking paths
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Gorgeous sunsets, distant hum of I-10
This is a lovely state park along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gorgeous views of the water, and various shorebirds. I-10 is visible, but the hum is distant and pretty much just background white noise. There are many nice walking trails in the park, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Sites were large and nicely spread out. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Meaher State Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site, backing onto the water:
Utilities:
Shortly before we left, I got out my telescoping ladder to clear off a bunch of large pinecones that had fallen on our coach:
Not too bad, though (a rare look at our roof; I’ve still never been on it, and this was only the second time I’ve used the ladder to clear stuff off it):
Behind our site:
“Do not feed or harass the alligators” — we didn’t see any, but they’re probably all brumating by this time:
We were warned that there were invasive ants in the area, and advised to sprinkle borax around the coach (which we did). We saw some ants, but none near our coach:
Other sites:
Cabins:
Tents:
The entrance station:
Baby turtle crossing:
Fungus:
Bathrooms:
Other bathrooms:
Picnic shelter:
Boat ramp area:
Kayaks etc:
Boat ramps and dock:
Kayak dock:
There were lots of birds in the area:
Some bees:
A small beach, popular for fishing:
A nice delta boardwalk:
A fishing pier:
One evening I went for a walk to the fishing pier shortly before the sun set, and enjoyed watching the sunset and hundreds of birds:
Back to our coach:
Another day, another sunset behind our site:
A very nice state park. We’d definitely stay here again.
Video: New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 146 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama, including a picture-in-picture from the 360 camera on the truck being towed behind the coach.
Travel from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama
We drove our coach 146 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading northeast:
An interactive map with potential stops; we actually only stopped at the Flying J:
Preparing to leave our site:
Hooking up our truck, with the City of New Orleans paddleboat in the background:
Rail crossing and onramp:
Drawbridge:
Bridge:
Another drawbridge:
I-10:
“Welcome to Mississippi”:
We stopped at a Flying J truck stop for lunch:
The truck parking was rather full. With our toad attached we can’t back up, and this parking area has back-to-back spots, so we could only park where there was two adjacent ones empty so we could pull through. It was a difficult turn and tight squeeze, but Jenn’s driving skills got it done:
This Flying J has a Denny’s restaurant, so we had lunch there:
I tried a rather decadent “choconana pancake slam”, just to be different:
Jenn’s was a bit more conventional:
Back to our coach:
“I love the way you look at me” Buc-ee’s billboard… a little creepy, perhaps:
I had fun spotting our coach passing by on traffic cameras:
Bridge:
An amusing info sign: “Cats have 9 lives. You are not a cat. Buckle up”:
Another traffic camera:
Alabama state line:
“Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama”:
I think these are electrical transformers:
Another couple of glimpses of our coach on Alabama traffic cameras:
Mobile, Alabama:
A tunnel under the Mobile River:
You can see it curving downward as it goes under the river:
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park:
Our destination for the next two weeks, Meaher State Park:
Check out the video from this drive, which includes a picture-in-picture of the view from the truck behind our coach.