Labor Day Weekend Family Camping

[grhodes50]

Here's a few pics from our family Labor Day Weekend camping trip.
This was our first time out in our new PT Crusader 315RST. Only two small issues with the trailer. The black tank rinse connection leaks and one of the tank valves has a very slow leak. It is one of the grey tanks, but I will have to check it out further to be sure which one.
Temps did get into the high 90's so the AC's did get a work out. The bedroom stayed cold, but in mid afternoon I noticed the kitchen/living area would get around 77-78 degrees. I set the fan for the bedroom AC to MED trying to force more air into the kitchen/living area. This seemed to help and dropped the temps to 72 in the heat of the day. Both AC's were set to 70 degrees.
Here's some pics of the camper;

[Wiscampsin]

Nice looking Crusader! Huge site too.

[grhodes50]

Here's some of the fish we caught. I only had 5 jug lines fixed up and we only kept them out for two days. We set them in an old river channel in the lake where it was 45' to 50' deep. We ran the jugs about 6 times and caught a total of 15 blue catfish averaging 8 lbs each. Most were caught on the bottom hook set about 5' off the bottom.
In the last pic we are fixing to do the final cleaning and prepare for cooking. The bottom 4 gallon bags of fillets are the catfish we caught. The top bags are crappie we had put back in our freezer.

[grhodes50]

Family gathered together for a good fish fry Labor Day afternoon. JMHO.....this is what it's all about.

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

Nice looking Crusader! Huge site too.

Thanks. We are really liking this trailer. It's our first 5'er.

We camped at Lake Eufaula State Park located in eastern Oklahoma. It's only 15 minutes from our house. Really nice park with large sites and only $23 per night with a one time park fee of $8 for FHU.
Easy access too. About 7-8 miles south of I-40.

[CampingGator]

It looks like you had a great time! Our trip last weekend had to be aborted because hurricane Hermine hit us and left us without power for two days. We have a rally to look forward to next week though. Keep on camp'n!

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by CampingGator

It looks like you had a great time! Our trip last weekend had to be aborted because hurricane Hermine hit us and left us without power for two days. We have a rally to look forward to next week though. Keep on camp'n!

Oh we did. Always fun when the family gets together. Fishing, tubing, swimming, boat rides and best of all.....sitting around the campfire solving all the world's problems...

Glad that power was all you lost. Enjoy your upcoming trip.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by grhodes50

Here's some of the fish we caught. I only had 5 jug lines fixed up and we only kept them out for two days. We set them in an old river channel in the lake where it was 45' to 50' deep. We ran the jugs about 6 times and caught a total of 15 blue catfish averaging 8 lbs each. Most were caught on the bottom hook set about 5' off the bottom.
In the last pic we are fixing to do the final cleaning and prepare for cooking. The bottom 4 gallon bags of fillets are the catfish we caught. The top bags are crappie we had put back in our freezer.

Nice camper and truck, nice batch of fish BUT for me I rather catch my fish with a rod and reel , catfish you can keep, me I will stick with my lake Erie perch and walleye

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Nice camper and truck, nice batch of fish BUT for me I rather catch my fish with a rod and reel , catfish you can keep, me I will stick with my lake Erie perch and walleye

I've heard a lot of good about the perch and walleye you mentioned, but haven't got to try them myself.

I know a few people who do not care for catfish, my DW included. That's why we usually have a few bags of crappie fillets in the freezer. Of course those are caught on rod & reel.

I always do a final cleaning before I cook the catfish. Trimming all the red off and squeezing the fillets under running water. That takes some of the strong taste out of them. When the meat is good and white.....they're ready to cook.
I have converted a few who told me they didn't like catfish.

Jug lining is just another way to fish. We enjoy it.

[CaptnJohn]

Great looking rig and easy to see you all had a great time. Then someone had to mention walleye and perch. I had a charter business on Lake Erie in the '90's. We always had a freezer full of walleye, best tasting fish that swims. Now living on the SE coast of NC ~~ yeah grouper,wahoo, and a few others are tasty but would love a batch of Lake Erie walleye with a few yellow perch.
Written with my mouth watering ~~~

[bareftn]

Oh I love crappies been a long time since I caught a big batch , back when I was a kid my friend and I would catch 300 on a weekend morning in the spring

[grhodes50]

Just thought I would mention......

There was actually only 10 of us camping in 3 rigs and 22 people there for the fish fry!

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Oh I love crappies been a long time since I caught a big batch , back when I was a kid my friend and I would catch 300 on a weekend morning in the spring

Yep.....find the right spot during their spawn and you can haul 'em in.

[daybreak]

Thanks for sharing, nice looking setup! I'm a tad jealous but our camping always ends up just the 3 of us, we can never seem to time it that we all camp at the same time, but hey we have fun too. I'm the only fish eater but never tried catfish, you clean it and cook it up fo me and I'll give it a try.

[Ree]

Originally Posted by CampingGator

It looks like you had a great time! Our trip last weekend had to be aborted because hurricane Hermine hit us and left us without power for two days. We have a rally to look forward to next week though. Keep on camp'n!

Hurricane caused us to be evacuated from the FL panhandle. We returned home south of Gainesville.
We still were very wet. Chomping at the bit to get out again! Our tow vehicle did not want to go home either, had to drag her home by AAA. We are all safe and now dry, feeling very blessed!

[Ree]

Thanks for sharing, beautiful family celebration, rig and yummy looking vittles!

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by daybreak

Thanks for sharing, nice looking setup! I'm a tad jealous but our camping always ends up just the 3 of us, we can never seem to time it that we all camp at the same time, but hey we have fun too. I'm the only fish eater but never tried catfish, you clean it and cook it up fo me and I'll give it a try.

Come on down. We never turn anyone away from our campfire or dinner table.

[Ree]

Thank you! May see you some day! We have family named Rhodes in Colorado.

[dcr126]

Great pictures, looks like a fun time and a very nice set up! Thanks for sharing :-) We took our Crusader 315 to the Beach in NC. 15 min from home. We did learn something new about our RV, the black tank wasn't registering the whole time so I decided to switch the toggle from Black 1 to Black2 and it read correctly! We only have the one black tank but the control panel has 1 and 2 on it. So far we are enjoying the Crusader.

[MarcS]

Awesome new camper. Great looking site. Fantastic on the catch! Getting out there and camping with family and friends is truly priceless.