BajaNomad

RV Caravans

cascabel 6 - 1-16-2006 at 03:38 PM

Drove to CSL in November towing a boat. Just got back last night after driving the family Suburban for 17 hours. Ran into no less than three RV caravans going down and about six coming up.

As a consequence of both trips, I have a request for all the wagonmasters of RV caravans. PLEASE, PLEASE have your people separate by several car lengths while you are under way. You drive at 55 mph and when you close up, no one can get around you - particularly with a boat.

Thanks.

I gotta agree with you...

eetdrt88 - 1-16-2006 at 04:40 PM

nothing worse than trying to pass a wagontrain of RV's...it seems logical to leave room between you and the next guy so the passerby doesnt have to try and outrun 4 or 5 rv's all at once,but it seems sometimes on the road logic gets thrown out the window:no:

bajarich - 1-16-2006 at 10:10 PM

If I catch up to a caravan that I can't get passed, I just pull over and take a break from driving and let them get way ahead of me. Driving on somebody's back bumper for miles and miles isn't much fun.
I can't even imagine driving a large motor home 1000 mile on Highway 1 right on someones back bumper. I think that the only one having fun in that line would be the leader. It's not the way I want to see Baja.

elgatoloco - 1-16-2006 at 11:22 PM

Lighten up on the rv's. If they don't stay in close contact they may take a wrong turn and get lost.;D:P

Bedman - 1-17-2006 at 02:30 AM

RV's.....and I drive one. You couldnt have put it better. There's no need to bunch up and make everyones drive miserable. Almost every RV has a CB and I've heard that the caravans require they use some sort of communication to avoid those type of problems. I haven't been unlucky enough to come up behind one of those.

On our last trip I did come up on the Carnaval/Circus folks heading South. Just outside of El Rosario. Overloaded and pee poor drivers. I attempted to pass the last one in the line. He had so much touble controlling his tractor that was towing, a 40foot trailer, that was towing a 25 foot travel trailer. Yup, that's right 65 feet of wandering, swaying trailers. He was all over the road, not just a little bit, I mean 6 foot into the oncoming traffic. So, I sat behind them all the way to Catavina where they pulled over. Top speed on the flats was 45 and on the grades top speed was 10 MPH. I was so relieved to get passed them.

Oh, and when you get ready to pass an RV....Turn on your headlights, so WE know your back there. If I'm in front of you, I will turn on my LEFT turn signal and SLOW down so you can pass safely.

Bedman

Bob and Susan - 1-17-2006 at 06:09 AM

I saw two this week...

both were "parked" a gas stations...

I know for a fact

Hook - 1-17-2006 at 12:22 PM

that the caravans associated with the Vagabundos del Mar Club specifically recommend that members keep enough distance to allow passing. They are well aware of the problems it causes.

cascabel 6 - 1-17-2006 at 04:08 PM

Agreed, Hook. The problem is that those recommendations don't always get translated into reality. Rember, you've got transpeninsular highway rookies behind the wheel of most of those rigs. The result is them bunching up and creating a dangerous condition that need not exist. I suspect the wagonmasters can make a difference if they will take heed of what is being said in this thread.

Phil S - 1-19-2006 at 08:45 AM

I've been driving now to Loreto for the past fifteen years, every year, and recently doing it twice because of our going home for Christmas & coming back. I've encountered numerous caravans going south & north. I can't remember one time that I've had any problem with "bunching". It is probably the most frustrating experiences however of making this trip, other than getting through L.A. traffic without being "pushed up to 80 mph" Good thing I'm comfortable driving those speeds through L.A. and my vehicle is large & 'safe'!!!! One year I did tow down my 'boat'. I can certainly appreciate anyones frustration of 'hitting a bunched up' caravan that is driving slower than them with a boat behind him.

Hook - 1-19-2006 at 10:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cascabel 6
Agreed, Hook. The problem is that those recommendations don't always get translated into reality. Rember, you've got transpeninsular highway rookies behind the wheel of most of those rigs. The result is them bunching up and creating a dangerous condition that need not exist. I suspect the wagonmasters can make a difference if they will take heed of what is being said in this thread.


You're assuming that the recommendations were just published in their newsletter.

I'm talking about being involved in towing caravans with radio contact and being aware of bunching all the time.

Pompano - 1-19-2006 at 11:17 AM

Sure are a lot of caravans this year. They are everywhere, it seems. Santispac, Burros, Ray's ranch in Mulege, Maribells, Pemex station, Coyote, you name it..they are there.

I have met more caravans than I can count but never had much of a problem with them in my time on the Baja road. Maybe because I pull trailers a lot myself and drove large rigs back home in ND on narrow winding country roads. We talk to them with our CB's and make some arrangements. With some cooperation, it all goes smoothly..hey, this is Baja.

My complaint years ago about caravans was purely jealous....they would suck up all our produce, gasoline, beer, dairy products, etc. as they came south like a plague of locusts.

For the most part they are easy to get around if you wait your opportunity. (Or you could just relax, drive the speed limit, and ride caboose.) Anybody else remember the old giant billboards on the Road showing the rabbit on a stretcher and the tortoise looking on? "Speed Kills." Now all gone, like the old telegraph poles.

Debra - 1-19-2006 at 03:25 PM

I also know for a fact that most (Baja Winters, Good Sams...to mention only a couple) have CB's and radio to each other to assist with rigs getting around them....but, as was said, many are not experienced with driving Mex 1 (why else would they pay the big bucks they do for an excort?) and may not know how to back off and assist someone trying to get around...I also have driven a Moho south and I'll tell you that it's hard enough to make sure you have enough road for that wide rig, let alone try to watch behind you to help someone pass. I haven't been part of a caravan, so I just pulled off at any wide spot I could find (no easy task) to let faster rigs pass.

As to resource "sucking" caravans??????? Not much we can do about that except roll up on them and ask for a cold cervasa! Bet you will be invited for dinner too! :yes:

bajajudy - 1-20-2006 at 06:09 PM

I have always wondered why anyone would want to caravan with that many other vehicles. I have found that trying to follow someone makes you more concerned with keeping up than driving safely. They are totally self sufficient so what is the fear factor? You stop, you balance the rig and you have a c-cktail and dinner.....am I missing something here?:?:

Pompano - 1-20-2006 at 06:31 PM

Did you ever hear of just one covered wagon headed into unknown territory? If so, it was very foolish. It's an adventure for caravaners and they have a guide..a wagonmaster. Most rigs do it one way, then split off on their own. We have met dozens of caravaners over the years who have decided to make Baja their home. The main thing is...you get introduced to and grow to love Baja. Many more people are discovering the joys of traveling in style. Some are fortunate to be able to have both lifestyles...nomads and homebodies.

Sharksbaja - 1-20-2006 at 06:33 PM

Ahem....Judy, you ARE missing something traveling solamente................................................................................................... Moral support!:bounce:


Oh, and someone to get drunk with before dinner:lol:

wilderone - 1-23-2006 at 03:09 PM

"transpeninsular highway rookies" - apropos

Was driving behind a string of three such rookies. Got slower and slower - what the? Finally the last one - the one I'm behind of course - STOPS in the middle of the lane on the highway. He doesn't move, I'm sneaking a peak on the left - oncoming cars. Another peak, finally can pass. What's he doing? The first one has pulled off the road and the other two are trying to do likewise - like there's 150' ft. of parking space on the side of the road. They seem to think they're the only ones on the road. I had the advantage of being behind them as they slowed to a crawl and then stopped. What about the 18-wheeler who's barreling down the highway and encounters these fools stopped in the middle of the highway? Vagabundos should do more to educate them. Or the "wagonmasters" should instruct on such safety and courtesy driving tactics.
I'm just glad those vehicles can't get to where I go.

Skeet/Loreto - 1-23-2006 at 04:13 PM

You Youngins quit Picking on us "ole Farts in Motorhomes" All we are doing is spending your inheirtance!!

This is our first trip out of the US, we have been told it is Dangerous, so we must stay close to our Wagon Master!!

Be nice you will be here before you know it/

Pompano - 1-24-2006 at 09:34 AM

Exactly, Skeet. Cut them some slack..they have as much right to explore Baja as the rest of us. I am a very experienced Baja Road driver and don't find them a danger at all. On the contrary, they are going the speed limit...unlike me.. and I expect you, too?

Dangers? I have 4 surfboards at mi casa that I have found over the years laying on the Baja roads...not good speedbumps, but will definetely wake you up. Now they are picture boards hanging from the rafters in my gameroom.

I've always wondered . . .

bajalera - 1-24-2006 at 12:13 PM

what it's like to travel in one of those little hordes. Is fear of an unknown place, or of Mexico, or of having vehicle problems, the main reason people join? Are they mostly made up of people who've never met previously, or of people already friends? How much do the trips cost?

Have any caravaners found the caravaning experience so wonderful that they now post on the Nomad board and travel Baja independently?

Debra - 1-24-2006 at 01:30 PM

All or the above Lera....Usually they are first timers and feel the need for the added security. Some can be very expencive. "Baja Winters" basically just escorts, one way or round trip. I'm not sure what the cost is now, but, in 2000 they charged about $400 each way. Others can be in the thousands and included side trips many meals and such. Keith (Baja Winters) is now deceased, but, his friend has taken over (with Keith's wife) and. They stage at the KOA in Chula Vista which is how I got to know them (my Moto home is there and we used to stay there for months at a time when my Hubby was working "off-station" in San Diego (I much prefer camping to Hoteling!) Over the years we have been there many, many times when the caravans meet up for their trips south...always a very friendly and fun group to be around. Another thing "Baja Winters" does is you can splinter off the group along the way, rejoin on the way back or just go on your own. It all effects the price. Pretty cool thing for folks that might be un-easy.

Pompano - 1-24-2006 at 02:34 PM

I talked to one of the caravaners the other day at Ray's Santispac cafe. He had a tow vehicle I was interested in and we also talked at some length about his experience with the caravan. He said the cost was $450 from San Diego to Cabo..all camp spots included and other goodies. He and his wife were fairly typical of this group of 15. First time to Baja and thought the money was well spent to get to know the customs, road conditions, laws, and best areas. He was a retired 49ner who had hauled 30 years for Consolidated Freightways...a 'corn flakes' if any know the trucker terminology. He said that after the group gets to Cabo, they will go off on their own. I know from others that this is the norm rather than the exception. While certainly some are afraid of the Hollywood hype about Baja and Mexico, I really don't think the majority of people who drive these rigs require a sense of security. It is not a job for timid people and the ones I have met have been solid, self-confident ladies and gentlemen. The very act of wanting to get off on an adventure seems to me to make them Nomads in a very real hands-on way. Makes me very eager to get out and RV this coming spring-summer.

We have met caravaners in groups from a half dozen to 100. Plus one camper rally numbering over 5000 in Manitoba a few years ago for Airstreamers. We had an Airstreamer then for camping/fishing in the beautiful lake areas of Manitoba and all these trailers were whizzing by, calling us on the CB to come join them! We were on a quest to the wilderness, though and passed up the invitation. We have also seen large caravaner groups in the Australia outback. They all seem to have a ball.

Some of the custom coaches run to a half-million dollars or more, so they are usually pretty well maintained. The bulletproof, fulltime plush 5th Wheels are $100K plus with new powerful tow vehicles. Makes them a little safer than most trucks plying the Baja Road today..and certainly much, much safer than the old cattle-killing trucks of yesteryear.

YO ho-ho..the wind blows free....OH, for the life on the open sea!

Debra - 1-25-2006 at 07:09 AM

Pompano: Santispac is one of the places they use for overnight (the cove on the esturary south) funny though, their "wagon master" forgot to check the full moon and one morning they woke up to 1 to 2 feet of water under their rigs. :O :lol: They all had a sense of humor about it though. RV's are really a great bunch of people.

Pompano - 1-25-2006 at 07:27 AM

That has happened to us all at one time or another, I reckon. I recall a few of us campers pulling onto the flatlands late one night near the rio at Magdalena Bay and waking up to a lake under us...it was actually kind of cool. Like being on a cruise. We splashed around and enjoyed the moment.