Air Springs(!) & Other Van Modifications

Since Quigley-fying our van is not really in our budget right now, George added air springs to our van to help pick up the back end of our van.  With all the weight already inside the van, plus the ~400lbs motorbike on the rack behind it, our van was a little saggy.  Now the van sets level with the weight of the motorcycle on the rear axle.

We added a Victron BMV-600S battery monitor to keep track of the status of our batteries.

The brass-colored resistor below, called a "shunt," does the measurement of the current inflow and outflow from the battery. 

We added a very necessary set of  dual trumpet "ship's horns" from a 1948 DeSoto. The 6V horns are wired to a 12V system - they are very LOUD!  So loud, in fact, we can't find a fuse that will handle more than a 1-2 second burst.

We can't wait for someone to pull out in front of us!  They sound like a cross between big-rig air horns and a train locomotive!

Finally, we installed much needed amber fog lights and fixed our windshield wipers.  In keeping with the vintage theme of our accessories, the lights are authentic Grote 211's produced from 1946-1956.  Bought on the DesMoines IA craigslist, they were cheaper than new replicas.  And if we ever need food money, we can sell them to a vintage car collector and double our money!  Same with the great horns!

Pickens Nose Camp

We left Deals Gap to head towards Georgia to spend the night at Lake Chatuge.  George found another free lakefront campsite there that is supposed to be open year round.  When we arrived at the entrance though it was gated shut.  We searched and found Thrifts Ferry primitive campground about 60 miles from us and on the way to Anderson, SC where we were ultimately headed, so we headed in that direction.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse and the rain was pouring down.  We still did not have windshield wipers but we were making our way without too much trouble thanks to RainX.  I spotted a campground called Standing Indian in the Nantahala National Forest.  We had to navigate through some fog and the rain and when we finally arrived at the campground it was closed.

Our GPS had rerouted us through the National Forest to continue towards Thrifts Ferry so we followed it.  We began climbing the mountains and as we did the fog became thicker and the rain fell harder.  Our headlights were not penetrating through any of it and the RainX was no match for the dense fog.  We were not "outsmarting the elements" very well as the RainX motto suggests.  At times it felt as though we might drive right off the edge of the mountain.  The road was so narrow and winding without a single place to pull over.  We had to keep going.

Here is a short video of us driving through the Nantahala Forest at night.

Eventually we made it to Pickens Nose trail head.  Camping is generally not allowed at trail heads.  However, there was a wide open clearing and in that weather no one was hiking and we had not seen a single other car on the forest road.  George and I agreed that if a Ranger were to say something we had two choices; keep driving with no windshield wipers or fog lights and put ourselves and others in danger, or pull over and be safe.


We spent the night at the entrance to Pickens Nose trail listening to the rain and wind.  It was a fun night.  During some of the worst wind gusts it felt as though we were sleeping in a hammock!

The next morning we awoke, packed up our van and continued out of the forest.  Winding through the twists and turns in the daylight was a little scary.  We were glad we stopped when we did the night before.

We only had to stop once so I could clear debris from the road.

We eventually made it out of the forest and onto paved road.  A few hours later we were in Anderson.

Tail of the Dragon

To get to Santeetlah Lake camp from Townsend, TN we had to take US 129 also called the Tail of the Dragon.  Sadly, it was at night time and it was dark.   We couldn't see the many of the 318 curves and twists the road has to offer.  George was determined to take our motorbike out on US 129 to really enjoy all that this road has to offer.  We made a plan to take it out the next morning in the daylight.

When we awoke the next morning the sky was overcast and it was raining off and on.  The temperature was very warm and aside from the rain it was a perfect day to take a ride down the Tail of the Dragon.  Therefore we packed up our van and headed towards Deals Gap to find a staging area near the Tail to park our van and get our motorbike down.  Of course, we still did not have windshield wipers!

On the way we passed the Cheoah Dam.

Here we are riding on the Tail of the Dragon.

After we finished the Tail we headed for the Foothills Parkway.


We came across a tree that had fallen into the road but luckily were able to drive around it on our motorbike.

Santeetlah Lake Camp

We left the Smoky Mountains and headed for Santeetlah Lake in the Nantahala National Forest.  We found a great dispersed campsite right on the lake with spectacular views.

This was our morning view.

The houses on the lake cost a million dollars plus.  We got to stay and enjoy it all for free!

Next stop Tail of the Dragon.