Twin Knobs Campground - Morehead KY

[rtguy007 74]

Well it has been just about a year since we went here. First impressions, it was great campground. No full hookup but had good cell coverage and power was stable during the rain storm that hit a few hours after we got there. This was my first father/son camping trip and it did not go well at all (not because of my son surprisingly).

 

Here is a picture of our site. It was really big and quiet. We were on a loop where sites couldn't be reserved. We were put on what at first I thought was an amazing site. 

 

 

After we got setup, we decided to checkout the camp store which was over by the beach. The beach was really nice and there were very few people there.

 

 

Then the rain came and kept us in the camper all night. This is where the fun began. We had just purchased our hybrid (Palomino 213x) so we had some learning to do. One of the things I learned, do not trust that the auto dump feature of your awning is going to work as designed. It was demonstrated by our dealer on our unit when we picked it up. They sprayed water on the awning for about 10 minutes until the weight made the arm towards the rear of the unit retract down so that the water would dump and prevent it from damaging the awning. Thinking that we tested it 2 weeks prior and it worked, I didn't think anything of it and left the awning extended during the rain. It wasn't windy at all. Just a lot of rain.

 

At 3am, I woke up to what sounded like the awning auto dumping the water off the top. While it indeed dumped the water, it didn't dump the water as designed. Instead of the rear arm dumping, the front arm buckled at the hinge because the gas shock locked up. The good part was the water was dumped off of the awning. Here was what it looked like after the sun came up.

 

 

Lucky for me, our dealer included the first year of some really crappy roadside service program. As we were told, they will come out and fix pretty much anything that could happen to us while we were out. The only part is that they did not have mobile mechanic support. After fighting with them for about an hour, I figured I would wait until my dealer opened and give them a call and see what I should do. In the mean time, I was flipping through the owners manuals and found out that Forest River also included a years worth of Coachnet for free. Called up the 800 number, real nice lady was able to identify where I was from my cell phone almost all the way down to the loop I was in. She said she would page out the mobile mechanic for the area I was in and he would call me shortly. Within 30 minutes, the mechanic called and said he will get it pulled back in so that I can tow the camper home. He was about an hour away which was no big deal since the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to come out and my son was waking up (he slept through this issue). Setup the table and got out the coleman stove. Made bacon, eggs, and pancakes (his favorite when camping). Finished up eating and he was watching TV while I was cleaning up everything and then the next issue popped up. A really loud thunk and the front bed was collapsed.

 

Not knowing what had happened, I went outside to see what caused the bed to collapse. Low and behold, the rain had apparently added enough weight to dead tree limb in a tree and it fell down on my bunk end.

 

 

It doesn't look to big in the picture but once I was able to get it pulled off, it was about 25 ft long and weight about 60 pounds with all the water that was absorbed into it. Lucky for me, my son was out of that bed (he slept there that night). There was no damage to the bed other than the support pole....or so I thought (more on this in a minute).

 

After this happened (less than 18 hours after we got there), I decided it was time to go. No sense in staying at what I now refer to as the cursed campground.

 

After I got the tree limb off, I went up front to the rangers station to let them know what had happened and to also let them know the mechanic was coming out to get the awning pulled back in. They didn't seem to concerned that anything happened at all. They took my site number and about 30 minutes later, a guy pulled up and looked at the bunk and said that it was odd that it happened. Then pulled the branch over into the brush behind of the site, took my contact information and said he would leave a writeup at the rangers station for my insurance company.

 

3 hours later, we had the awning back in, everything hooked up, and was working on getting out of this nightmare. Stopped at the rangers station on the way out and low and behold, no writeup was there. They said he didn't have time to do it. Instead, they gave me a business card with the name of the campground on it and said if the insurance company has any questions to just call "Bob" and he will tell them what he found.

 

If I could get past the fact that this stuff happened, I still would not go back here because of how unconcerned they were with the tree issue. One thing I did notice as we were driving out, there were many other sites where the trees had not been maintained and those trees had many dead limbs about ready to fall as well. It is a shame to because the place could have been a good location for semi close long weekend trips. 2 other people I work with highly recommended this place but after hearing what I went through, they also said they would never go back.

 

After all that happened, we were back in our driveway about 24 hours after we left. The problems behind of us and we learned a few things. Since that day though, we have not been comfortable in the hybrid. Knowing how quickly something could fall on those flimsy bunk ends has turned us off from using it much....until out trip to the Fort this past May.

 

Now....back when I said there was no damage other than the support pole. Once we got to the Fort in May, we setup and it was a beautiful day. We took an afternoon nap and when I woke up, I noticed that there was light coming in around the canvas towards the top of the frame. Sure enough, there was a 3 inch tear along where the canvas was mounted to the frame. Took it to the dealer when we got home and they said the only way they could have seen that tear happening was from the tree limb that fell on it. They wrote it up and the insurance just sent me the check to get it fixed. Right in time for me to trade it in in 2 days on our new Rockwood 8312ss. I can't wait to be rid of the hybrid. Hoping that camping will start to become more enjoyable and hoping to have a little bit more peace of mind with no bunk ends.

[Beckers 1,136]

Holy scary!! Thank God no one was hurt.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Every once in a while a camping trip just sucks.  Hopefully you have yours behind you.  

[rtguy007 74]

I am hoping I don't run into this again. We pickup the new TT tomorrow and leave Thursday for a trip to Elkmont down in the Smokies. I am a little nervous about it to be honest.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Elkmont is beautiful.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wow, what a scary trip!  I also thank God no one was hurt.

 

Congrats on your new TT.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Oh mercy... PRAISE GOD that your son was not in the bunk!  We have a hybrid and the thought of branches does freak me out    Our next trip is to a camground here in Ga, that has VERY little foliage.  Guess that can be a blessing...

[HappyRedhead......Betsy 16]

Glad everyone was okay!

That tree limb is exactly why we just traded our hybrid for a travel trailer. I grew up in a tent and pop up. My husband and I first purchased a pop up and then the hybrid. Why after 49 years did I all of a sudden become afraid of that happening?

Congratulations on the new TT!