Looks great. Thanks.

 

I had a problem with the camper sleeping on the air mattress for some reason. Even though last year I camped sleeping on an air mattress on the ground I still had a problem sleeping on the air mattress in the camper. The people from Time Out had a vendor booth in the Community Center in Sturgis. I decided that what I needed were the mattress pads that they sell. I went to their booth at the Community Center and asked if they had any of those mattress pads with them. As it turns out they did. I purchased a set.

While I was at it I also purchased a cargo bag which came with two duffel bags. I managed to strap trap both of these units to my Harley and take them to the campground. When you look at the photo it should make you laugh, but I made it to the campground without incident. I am sure that anyone who saw me hauling this cargo had to laugh also, but I made it.

I put the mattress pads in the bed area of the camper and laid down on them as a test. It seemed like they were too hard to sleep on. My next brainstorm was to put the air mattress on top of the mattress pads. That night I slept better than any other night at the campground. Also, for some reason, the air mattress didn't seem to lose any air. It seems like I always have to get up at about 2:00 AM and use the restroom. While I am up I usually need to add some air to the air mattress but not this time. When I put the air mattress on those mattress pads I never needed to add air. As a matter of fact I never added air the next night either or during the day in between.

Below is a photo of the mattress pads in their vinyl cover strapped to my bike. The canvas luggage carrier is folded up on the rear seat below the pads.

 

On Thursday I decided to do a little maintenance on the bike. First it would have to be clean. I would need a little help with that.

 

Not only were those girls beautiful, they were pleasant as well. They were trying to earn a little extra money during the Rally and I applaud them for that. They did a very nice job on the bike too. It was all for naut however. It rained cats and dogs on the way back to the camp ground and the last 1/4 mile is gravel which turned to brown mud with the rain.

 

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Great report/pics, thanks for sharing!

Really like those Time Out trailers!

 

I really did need to do some maintenance. I have been getting a Check Engine warning that said no front combustion. It only came on periodically. I couldn't figure out what it meant, and then it hit me. I must have a miss firing spark plug. I decided to change the plugs to see if that would cure the problem.

Doing my ride through the hills with Bob and his nephew, I managed to hit a bird. I thought nothing of it until later when I got back to the campground. I looked and found the windshield was cracked. Of course Black Hills Harley Davidson had a replacement. So I changed the windshield and the spark plugs in their parking lot. I never got another no combustion warning on the front cylinder code again. My entire trip was over 3500 miles. Of that, 2500 was pulling that trailer. The spark plugs and the windshield were the only issues on the entire trip. The spark plugs probably had somewhat over 35,000 miles on them.

Here is a picture of the crack in the windshield.

 

Here are a few photos of the main area of the elk Creek Lodge and Campground. They have a little souvenir store, which also contains necessities like laundry soap. There were a few other Time Out Campers there. In the Elk Creek Lodge building, pictured third from left, they served breakfast and an evening meal during the rally. I wouldn't say it was gourmet stuff but it was very convenient. They have some playground equipment for kids. They have a laundromat which I used after seven days on the road.

The cost was $126.00 plus $25.00 for electric. Those fees were for the whole week. That works out to $21.57 a day plus tax. I thought that was a great deal considering it was during the biggest event they have all year. They are open year round. You can also rent a small cabin, but you better reserve that early if you want one for the rally because they go quick. I enjoyed my stay there and I hope to go back there again next year.

 

Sturgis is a very congested town during the rally. They say that rally attendance was down this year. They are probably right about the attendance in the town of Sturgis but it looked to me like the amount of people in the Black Hills in general was up if anything. It seemed like there were a lot more motorcycles on the road than I remember in the last few years. Also, I saw more bikes leaving before the official start of the rally. Anyway, I braved the congestion twice to do what I like to do and that is to look at motorcycles. I am going to post a few photos taken in and around Sturgis with no explanation. I am only allowed 5 photos per post so there will be more than one post.

 

5 more.

 

The last 5.