Portable fire! Advantages of a gas fire bowl

Almost every great picture of families gathered around a campfire show a wood fire pit with everyone roasting marshmallows.  But when you actually start traveling around the country, it's quite surprising how many campgrounds don't allow wood fires.  Of those that do allow them, there are some that won't allow you to pick up dead or fallen wood on the ground; you must buy the firewood.

As we have traveled, it seems that most campgrounds prohibit wood fires or simply don't support them because they haven't installed fire rings.  We wanted a solution that would allow us to have a campfire almost everywhere we go, and that solution was to buy a propane gas fire bowl.

While wood campfires crackle, pop, and can smell good, they are actually a bit of a pain to use.  You have to buy the wood, get it to your campsite, open it, stack it, get stuff to light it, stoke it, add more wood, and finally douse it with water to put it out.   Fire pit cleanup can be a real pain for campground owners, and (technically) it actually may be illegal to carry firewood into some states from other states.

A propane gas fire bowl eliminates a lot of the hassle.  The flames look great, they are quiet, provide really good heat, have adjustable flames, and are clean, clean, clean.  Setting one up is a breeze:  get it out of your rig, remove the cover, connect it to an LP source, and turn it on.  When you're finished, turn it off, let it cool down, disconnect and put it away.

Although we've found that many campgrounds we have visited in the past year don't allow wood fires, every campground we've been in has had no problem whatsoever with a gas fire bowl - except Fort Wilderness at Disney World.  One of the big arguments against wood fires are the embers it creates and potentially spreads to nearby leaves and trees.  For the past few years, fires have raged across the country, and government and private campgrounds have greatly curtailed wood fires in campgrounds.  Gas fire bowls don't create embers and are much safer.  Fort Wilderness has an extra requirement:  you may use a fire pit or bowl as long as it is completely enclosed and has a top on it (the idea being that embers can't escape).  However, they have made no exception for open-topped gas fire bowls.  Here are the detailed rules at Fort Wilderness:

I asked around on Facebook and then searched the Internet for a fire bowl that could easily be used at the campsite, would be easy to carry, and could be used repeatedly without any issues.  A lot of campers told me to look at one of the fire bowls made by Outland.  The one we chose, pictured at the top of this article, is Outland's Firebowl Premium Portable Propane Fire Pit.  It sells on Amazon for around $150.  When you consider that you can have a camp fire quickly and just about anywhere, with little mess and no expense other than the initial cost and the gas, it really is a good deal.

The "size" of the flame can be adjusted with a knob on the side.  We have found that the lowest setting is all we need for a great camp fire.  The bowl comes with an attached 10-foot rubber (plastic?) gas tube with a regulator on the end for a quick connection to a propane source.  I went to Walmart and bought a 20-pound propane tank that can be refilled at many RV parks.  Although I haven't really made an accurate measurement, I'll guess that we can get 12 hours or so of fire from a full tank.

You can get a nice carrying case to keep the fire bowl covered while traveling.  The basic unit comes with a metal cover over the fake (but real-looking and reusable) rocks.  The unit comes with extra rocks.

When you unpack the Outland Firebowl, you simply open the rock bags and put them in the container (they tell you which ones go on bottom, middle and top).  Then you screw the regulator onto your propane source, turn on the gas at the source, then slowly turn the knob on the bowl clockwise.  As you do this, the gas enters the bowl and as you keep turning the igniter clicks and lights the flame.  Once the fire is going, you can turn the flame up by continuing to move the knob clockwise.  When you're finished, turn off the gas at the source, wait a little bit for the gas to leave the hose through the fire bowl (the flame will go out) and then turn the knob all the way counter-clockwise to be ready for the next use.  It usually takes mine about an hour to cool down enough for me to feel comfortable enough to put it back into my coach.

If you're interested here are the direct links to Amazon where you can check out the Firebowl and it's optional cover.  If you get one, leave some feedback here or recommend it on Facebook (and maybe post a link to this article!).  And remember, I don't get anything from Outland or Amazon or anyone else - so I have no reason to push anyone into a sale.

Amazon link 1:  Outland Firebowl Premium Portable Propane Fire Pit

Amazon link 2:  Outland Firebowl Carry Bag

Take care...and safe travels!

Tyron Bands

If you're always concerned about safety in your RV, and I'm a bit obsessed with it, you probably pay a lot of attention to your tires.   It's important to check your tire pressures, have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), keep an eye on the age of your tires, and maybe even take steps to cover them when you're parked for a while to protect them from the sun.

Right after buying our coach in the fall of 2015, we met another camper who suggested that we take a look at Tyron Bands (See the article titled Upcoming plans:  a new rim, a tow bar, the Tampa Show, and a bit of Fort Wilderness).  He told us that the military used them in some of their tires and that they helped prevent tire shredding in the event of a blowout.  They also provide something of a "run flat" capability when your tire blows.

I was intrigued by the concept because of the stories I had read on Facebook and some videos on YouTube about front tire blowouts on motorhomes.  When a tire blows, the rims shred the tire.  This results in increased loss of control and can potentially cause sparking which can start a fire.  These things have happened quite a few times.  When I'm driving my very heavy coach around turns on an Interstate while going 63 miles per hour, I'm always aware that a blowout can happen unexpectedly.  It's important to know what to do if that happens.  Here's a great video from Michelin about handling the RV if you have a blowout.

It seemed to me that instead of riding a shredded tire in a blowout incident, I'd rather have more control and possibly be able to drive slowly to the next exit and pull off.  So we had our dealer install Tyron Bands on our front tires.  It wasn't cheap:  about $1100 per tire.   But I just had to treat it as another kind of insurance policy, and this one would give me a lot of peace of mind while driving.

This video is from Tyron's web site about front tire blowouts and their product:

A lot of tire installers are either not familiar with the bands or are not experienced in installing them. Getting the bands on when you need to change rims can be a bit of a challenge (or so we've been told) for the uninitiated.  Tyron also has a tool kit (with instructions) that you can carry with you so that installers will have what they need to make changes.  We made sure that we got one of those, too.

Since we've had them on our front tires for two years, we're thankful that we've never had to experience their benefits.  But I've kept my eyes on social media for discussions about them.  When the subject comes up, many simply don't think they'd make much difference.  Others don't want to spend the money.  I can understand the reluctance, but I want every edge I can get.

On Facebook, I found that people that bought them generally did so for the same reasons I did.  And there were also a few testimonials from people (none listed here are affiliated in any way with Tyron) who had heard firsthand the experiences of others or unfortunately had to put them to the test:

• "I have a set on mine! Last summer while traveling through Knoxville Tn in the middle lane of traffic, I had a front right blow out. Because of the bands, I was able to negotiate across 2 lanes of traffic to the shoulder safely. No damage to my rim or rig. Considering a replacement rim can easily go for $1000 I think it's money well spent." -- Bob Hemphill
• "We have them on our front tires. Had our first blowout, after RVing for 30 years, and feel that our Tyron saved us from losing control, and only damage was to our generator tailpipe.

• "Today at 12:45 on I 75 sixty miles north of Atlanta. Blow out on our front right tire. Sounded like a bomb. My hubbie handled the wheel well. Thank God for the Tyron band. All is well. Good Sam took care of roadside assistance."
• "Had them put on my steer tires. I've talk with several people who have had blowouts with them on. All have been able to maintain control. I figured it was good insurance to get them. Hopefully I never need them" -- JoAnn Smith
• "I have them on our Monaco Dynasty. I have talked to people who have had front blowouts and it can get hairy real quick. Tyron bands keep the tire on the rim, allowing you to maintain steering control. The likelihood of rolling is minimized if you have a front blowout."
• "We bought our Class C from Lazy Days in Tampa back in August 2016 and purchased these bands. At the end of last month we headed out on a trip to Pittsburgh and ended up having a blow out on both front tires within 24 hours of each other. The tires did not shred and stayed on and we were able to drive safely to the side of the road. They worked great and did what they were designed to do. With that being said, Good luck finding someone who knows how to use the tool and replace the tire. When I did find someone the toolkit they provided didn't work with my rim. They had to take the tire/rim back to the tire shop to replace." -- Jennie Walker

There were others who said that they wouldn't "waste" the money.  But it's up to you.  For me, it was a no-brainer.  If you're interested, check out their web site:  Tyron USA.