Our takeaway: We can't wait for the next trip! We had a blast. Although I continue to fiddle with the Voyager brake controller (which I am convinced should be replaced with P3), we had no problems. According to my on board milage computer in the 4-Runner, we averaged 13.5 mpg @ 55-60 and had no issues in some pretty breezy conditions up the Eastern Shore and over Bay Bridge Friday and some really crappy 95 construction through Philly last night.

I had made a few minor mods before we left: Trimmed ply dinette locker covers and added finger holes for easier access, add 12v. plug to right of power panel, made easy access to storage below aft queen and converted curbside locker to bathroom (litter box) for Sir Captain Henry Morgan (the cat) with access portal below bed and opposite furnace.

With virtually no one at the campsite (4 of the 44 sites were occupied in the Bayside loop), we took the opportunity to drive around till we found the view we liked,  practice "docking", putting down the anchor, undocking, using dump station, charging house battery with jumper cables and trying to start campfire with purchased local green cedar (impossible). We stowed our bikes in the pod for the trip.

I could go on and on, but here's a handful of pics out of the hundreds we took. We will be going back!

P.S. I guess we are officially podders!

fred

Yes, there are about 150 wild horses on Assateague. They will bite and kick, so you want to keep a little distance. Every year (a couple of weeks ago) a few are rounded up and auctioned to keep the heard healthy. They are beautiful, as are all the other critters we saw. Lot's of wild turkeys this time of year too.

This guy walked past our pod as we were having breakfast Friday morning.

That is amazing.  Wonderful trip.

You will have a great time, I am sure!!

Just a couple more shots. You will note the hookups in the site beyond the turkeys. That's for the camp host and the only hookups in the park.

Have fun!

Hi PC,

I'll take some pics of the first simple mods we did - all taken from the wonderful experiences of the folks here. After a few days in the pod we got lot's more mods in mind.

I trimmed the forward (hitch end) of the port and starboard (roadside and curbside) locker covers in the dinette. They were impossible to lift without binding on the forward (wrap around) cushion and had no finger hole or pull. I took off an inch and added 3/4 inch to the divider. Now they lift easily after removing side cushion. We use pretty large plastic tubs in the lockers w/lids than can be removed easily.

I removed the silly screws from the forward piece of ply under the queen bed and added 4 small strap hinges between the two pieces and a finger pull in the forward piece. This makes it easy to lift, bending the mattress and a 40" 1x2 to brace up whilst we either tend to water heater or, much more importantly, Sir Henry's litter box which we keep in the starboard aft locker just behind head (bathroom). I made up a U shaped "divider" with some mdf scraps I have which we can leave in place or easily move to divide the locker space. I cut a cat size oval below the bed and opposite of the furnace for Sir Henry to step through and find his "space". I'll post some pics tomorrow. All my initial ideas came from the "Pod Mods... forum".

Like us, my guess is you will pack much more than you really need and will come back with a lot more and better ideas than you left with. 

fred

My Mom's driveway! She's 88 going on 38, has a plug in her garage, a ping-pong table in the basement, makes a great crab soup and will talk your ears off! 

I'm not sure about campgrounds near Westminster, but I bet the further west you get towards Frederick and western Maryland you can find lots. I think techntrek is a Marylander with a lot more experience with Maryland campgrounds than me. I could talk to you for hours about small yacht anchorages on the Bay, though!

P.S. Speaking of Maryland, I thought I should add this shot from St. Michaels, Maryland. We stopped for lunch at The Crab Claw and this was always one of my favorite sailing destinations on the Bay. This shot is from a section of the Maritime Museum, which had ample parking room for TV and pod.

Sorry but I don't know of any campgrounds near Westminster.  A Google search doesn't show any either.  There are some options towards Frederick but that isn't very close.

I would swear we stayed at one south of Frederick, somewhere along route 340.  I can't think of the name though.

No, not old hands at all. We're total rookies. Learned everything we know from the really old hands right here in this house. We've only had our 178 since last September and only have about 10,000 miles on it. Got a long way to go...

fred

Hey, ur a pretty handy guy with all the mods.  Great work.  I like the 4 battery hook up.  Must come in pretty handy.  The pictures are great.   BTW, are there toilets and showers at Assateague?

Bruce

Thanks for the compliments. No, there are no showers at Assateague. Just pit toilets, but when we were there they were very clean. Very few campers were there.

My battery setup is 2x6 volt 230AH Duracell EGC2s => http://www.samsclub.com/sams/duracell-golf-car-battery-group-size-egc2/prod3590220.ip - These

Yes, they have proven to perform great for us. Be aware though, they won't fit a regular 12v. battery box.  Too tall. I modified a couple of boxes for them to fit.

fred