This is the planning & info thread for the September 2019 PA Truckstock
 

This is the place to find info and updates for the Central Pennsylvania Mountain Truckstock that will happen at Bald Eagle State Park in Howard, PA on September 19, 20, 21, 22, 2019.
Keep checking in here for more information.

It will be a blast. Hope you can make it, the more the merrier. Start planning early.

Thanks Tom for starting this thread.

Here is the info from the 2018 Central PA Mountain Truckstock.
"As I briefly explained in the Truckstock 2017 thread I am going to host the 2018 Truckstock. We will call it Central PA Mountain Truckstock. It is at the Bald Eagle State Park on September 20 to 23, Thursday thru Sunday.

The Bald Eagle State Park is in Centre County along Route 150 just about 8 miles north of the Milesburg Exit of Interstate 80, Exit 158 and 13 miles south of Lock Haven (Clinton County) where I live. the park is 23 miles north of State College, PA home of Penn State University. The address of the park is: 149 Main Park Road, Howard, PA 16841-3508. Phone: 814-625-2775

It is around a huge lake that was formed when they dammed the Bald Eagle Creek for flood control. So there is some great fishing and water sports here.

The Bald Eagle State Park is unique among the PA State Park system as it has a modern 16 room hotel called The Nature Inn. From their website: "Nestled within the natural beauty of Bald Eagle State Park, in the very center of the state, the Inn combines the comfortable amenities of an inviting bed and breakfast with sweeping views and door-step access to year-round land and water activities. Our walls of windows, huge decks, private balconies, and patios immerse you in nature and provide you with an unequalled natural experience." The link to the Nature Inn page is: Nature Inn

Of course there are also camper hookups, cottages, yurts, and campsites. Here is the link for the camping page: http://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/Fi...ages/Stay.aspx

This is a great opportunity for the Mid Atlantic FTE'ers to get together. I have already had verbal commitments from Dennis Pinto Plumber, Bill (halemail), Bob Jones (bobj49f2), and Tom Pineconeford. Plus many of the guys at Truckstock 2017 last week said they will probably come.

Don't register yet, however. I haven't talked to the manager of the park yet. I want to get a reduced rate if I can and let them know what our plans are. I will let you know when to register and what the deadline is. But plan now and save the date!

If you are planning a little vacation around this trip there is a lot to do in PA. Big attractions are Hershey Park, Gettysburg Battlefield, Lancaster County and the PA Dutch and Amish, etc. Locally we have a lot of Amish living here now. There is the Indian Caverns which is seen by boat, the Little League World Series headquarters and museum in Williamsport, The Piper Cub Museum in Lock Haven.

Let me know here is you plan to come and then later as we get closer to the date, let me know when you've registered.

Thanks! I want a lot of trucks and FTE folks here in Central PA!"

Here is the link to the whole thread. It has lots of important information: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-plan-now.html

Me too Pete! I'm looking forward to meeting you and lots of other PA, NJ, MD, NY, and Ohio FTErs, not to mention those guys coming from WI and MI.

Hey the New England folks can make it down there too. New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island - it is less than a full day's drive.
Tom

Absolutely! Didn't mean to omit anyone or any state. But if you are in a neighboring state to PA, no reason not to come.

And to those FTE Maniacs in Maine, like they said on the old game show "Come on down". And the same to the rest of the of New England states. And of course our overseas brethern are invited tko

Ill throw my name in again. I will try and keep that weekend clear to come out and go camping with you guys.

Sounds great Nick! Can't wait to see your truck.

I'll be there sometime maybe

Now Dick that's a start. keep thinking along those lines. And you have a panel truck too.

Jim

Thats great, Dick! The Bald Eagle State Park near Milesburg is not far from Erie. It'd be great to meet you and talk trucks.

All right! Sounds great.

Who is next?

I'm In! I just got off the phone with the reservation people. My reservation is for site 98 for three nights. I'll be close to Dennis and the yurt.

Jim

Sounds good, Jim! It will great to see you again! Ill mark you down in my book. It turned out good for you this year, didnt it. You couldn't make it, and we had to cancel.

Who's next? We got campsites, a couple cabins, and the Nature Inn if you don't like camping.

Yes, this year was a bust. I knew for a long time that I wasn't going to be able to attend your event, but consoled myself with the prospect of going to BJ's early spring Truckfest in St. Louis. That event unfortunately ended up getting cancelled too. I then toyed with the idea of just wandering off by myself into the U.P., but that didn't happen either.

Next year should be better! I have 11 months to get my signal lights working and some yellow stripes on my bumpers--Heck, I could maybe even have working wipers by next September.

Thanks Abe for hosting an event for us.

Jim

Cottage 1, 2 and 3 and Yurt B (handicap accessible) seem to be still be available - book 'em now, they are right near Yurt A which will be where the sheltered vehicle component repairs can be done, campfire stories will be told, and dancing girls will be invited to.
:D

Heck, if our FTE group can lock up those sites, we can have an endless amount of laughs and stack up the trucks near to each other.
(look for the Sycamore loop part of the campground)
Link to the campground booking map:
https://pennsylvaniastateparks.reser...mpgroundMap.do


.

Thanks, Tom, for checking out availability. The cabins are nice and sturdy.

Just waking up this thread, to remind you guys about this year's event. This is the time of year to tell your boss (or wife) what days you are taking for vacation in 2019.
So here are the dates from post #1 of this thread:

This is the place to find info and updates for the Central Pennsylvania Mountain Truckstock that will happen at Bald Eagle State Park in Howard, PA on September 19, 20, 21, 22, 2019.
Keep checking in here for more information.

It will be a blast. Hope you can make it, the more the merrier. Start planning early.

Thanks, Tom. Here is the original thread with all the info about the Bald Eagle State Park and the Nature Inn: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-plan-now.html

A new month, so a here is a new bump to the top for the September event.
Guys, the more of us that go the more fun it is going to be. Myself, I'll be driving an F3 more than 550 miles to get there and am really looking forward to convoy with other FTE members along the way as we get closer to the campground.
Tom

It appears that Yurt-B and Cottage 1 as well as 16 campsites are still available in the Sycamore loop where all the Ford Truck Fun will be happening. Other sites nearby in the state park are available too.
Reserve your spot soon. The closer we are together, the more trucks we can park alongside each other.
Cottages, B&B's, Hotel spots are also in the general area. But if we can raft up in the Sycamore loop it would be a hoot.
Tom

I'll be traveling east--maybe through Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. If Bob Jones is available and willing, I may proceed south through Wisconsin and meet up with him in Milwaukee. Then we could find our way through (or around) Chicago; and finally caravan through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania gathering momentum as we go. With or without Bob, I'd love to pick up members along the way. Imagine the adventure following Bob for 600 miles!

Jim

You can meet up with Indybeer. He lives in Danville, Indiana. He is an old Penna boy and can show you the way and he can bring his newly painted truck back to it's home state.

Abe, Bob as you know, is renowned for his navigational skills, having proven himself in the Kentucky and Tennessee mountains. He is not tied to his phone or his GPS like so many of us are. His good wife and a map are said to be all he really needs to get from point A to point B. Indybeer could maybe be brought in as some sort of consultant for him, but we'd have to be very low key about it. There are, as you may have heard, some whispered rumors on the internet that Bob's wife has, on occasions, given him bad advice on turns resulting in brief periods of disorientation. Bob has probably heard these rumors too, and he is bound to be sensitive about any implication that he (or his trusty F2) are not totally reliable in the mountains.

Having Indybeer with us as a sort of local mountain guide (e.g. modern day Daniel Boone), would be a good thing for all concerned, but Indy would have to play it cool. We wouldn't want Bob to get upset (or teased) about not being able to find his own way to a Truckstock. LOL.

Jim

Bumping this thread to the top. We are getting closer to September. Should be a good time to see as many of you guys that can make it.
Get your accommodation reservations in early.
Yurt B seems to be still available, as well as many campsites in the Sycamore loop.
Tom

I really want to go. Right now work is spotty so it all depends if I can keep busy. We haven't gone on a trip in at least five years. The last was down to TN for an FTE meet. I won't know for sure until almost the date of the meet.

Jim, if we do go we might just take one of the ferries across the lake. I would like to go to Manitowoc and take the Badger but they drive your vehicle on the ship for you. I don't think any of the teenagers driving the vehicles would enjoy rolling the F-2 on board. The Lake Express they have you drive your vehicle on. Either one, it's not any cheaper or a real time saver than driving through the Chicago/Gary area, the area I refer to as the "Arm Pit" of the country. They only only advantage is you don't have to drive through the "Arm Pit".

That sounds like a great advantage to me! I've been through that area once. Left a friend's house in South Bend to go to a Cubs game. My wife and sister-in-law are Michael Jackson fans so we had to go see the 4 room house (2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room) in Gary that he grew up in. At the time it was empty and they are planning to turn it into a tourist attraction/museum. It is a corner lot and there were weeds along the curb 2 feet high so I pulled them. Anyhow I would not want to drive an old truck through Gary/Chi-town.

Bob, if it is a last minute decision and the cabins, and yurts and the Nature Inn are full and you don't want to sleep in a tent there are nice motels in Milesburg right along Route 80 about 6 miles from the Bald Eagle State Park.

It's likely I'll have room in the Yurt I booked for any last minute arrivals, Bob. They are supposed to hold six people and I'll save a couple of spaces for you. I'm traveling alone so I can stay anywhere where there is room and swap the yurt's space in a way that works for everyone that shows up.
The important things are that nobody will have to sleep with a Harbor Freight $3 tarp as a tent over their heads in the woods near the campground, and of course that we have fun.
Tom

Hey Bob. Two years ago, I took our friend Dave's (49f3dls) advice, and went around Chicago via Highway 47 from the WI border south as far as Gibson City--then Highway 9 east to highway 1. I followed Highway 1 about as far south as Paris, and then made my way east into Indiana close to Terra Haute. This route had LOTS of stop lights through the Chicago suburbs, but the traffic moved pretty well and was low stress compared to Interstate 94 that I had been on in WI. There weren't any tolls to bother with, which was another plus. There was, however, construction, and lots of double clutching at the lights, but I would take this route again, all things considered. I had my first flat tire just outside Gibson City, and spent my first night there.

On the return trip, I took the Ludington to Manitowoc ferry. I saw all these young college age kids (many of whom were girls) loading cars and wondered if they would be able to drive my truck. An older guy appeared from somewhere, however, and drove my truck onto the ferry seemingly without a problem. I believe they gave me the option of driving my truck on myself if I really felt I needed to.

Bottom line Bob, I'll take any route that you think will work best for you. My truck's handling is much improved from two years ago, and I could even do some freeway driving if we needed to. I should have my rear view camera operational by Truckstock time. Hopefully, it will make driving in traffic less stressful--I believe you know all about panel trucks and blind spots.

I have a campsite reserved and a tent. I'd be happy to sleep in my truck and give you and your wife my tent--or vice versa. With only 3 people and one tent on a site, your staying with me would likely be free--we'd just have your second vehicle to "blend" in somehow. I'm looking forward to another adventure and hope you can get away for a few days from your business and be a part of it.

Jim

Thanks everyone, we'll just have to see how the time pans out. I need to get some maintenance done on the F-2 before I take another long trip. Nothing major, just go over the brakes again, a good tune-up, just a bunch of little stuff I've neglected. If nothing major happens over the summer I would say there's a 90% chance of going. Of course I'll have to figure out a route to get there. Jim, the route you took sounds pretty much like the one I tried to follow when we went to KY in '12. We got a detoured and ended up going through the southern part of Chicago late afternoon/early evening. Interesting in a 60 year old truck that most people can outrun. We made it and got into Indiana the night. We also had tire trouble and found a very helpful tire shop in a small town in Indiana who helped us out free of charge.

Bob and Jim, will you come route 80 the whole way?

I haven't look into it yet but yeah, has to be a route that has at least two lanes each way so I can cruise at a comfortable slow speed. I also like taking the back roads, avoiding interstates, to see the countryside and go through small two America. In every day life we try to get from point A to B as fast as we can. While cruising in an old truck you should seem more of the country, no need to hurry. That was one of the most enjoyable parts of driving the 800 miles to Shane's house. We got to see a lot of old buildings and during stops we once in a while we'd encounter someone who would come up and talk about old trucks and the times they had in them when they were new. You're not going to get that speeding down the interstate stopping only at waysides and fast food joints. One stop I would definitely make is to cross the river in the old ferry.

Bob, I am in complete agreement about wanting to see Small Town America. Highway 47 and Highway 1 in IL definitely qualify once you get beyond the suburbs of Chicago. I had a wonderful experience that I've written about in a quaint little church yard just north of Gibson City, IL. Small Town America is still alive and well, and experiencing it again is a big part of my wanting to go on another Truckstock adventure.

Dennis, I used to drive Highway 30 years and years ago when I student taught in Fort Wayne. I think my school, in fact, was located on Highway 30, and it was part of the route I used to get back and forth from WI.

Jim

In PA they call Route 30 the Lincoln Highway. It runs the southern part of PA. It goes right through Lancaster and into Philly.

After you get past Cleveland you go NE and get route 6. It is a two lane road in some places, 4 lane in others or at least a two lane going up hills. It is a nice scenic drive but you'll be a bit north of Bald Eagle State Park.

Rt 6 looks interesting. There just doesn't seem to be many straight roads in PA, and I can see that some fancy navigating through the mountains is going to be required. Ideally, my wife would come along to keep an eye on the map and road signs, but that is almost certainly not going to happen. She just isn't up for the kind of sketchy adventures that I seem to be attracted to. Hopefully, I'll be following Bob--I believe in Bob (and his wife)--their previous (alleged) Truckstock misadventures not withstanding. LOL.

Jim

Just an update. I was talking to my wife tonight about our day and she asked when was the meet in PA should she could make plans. Sounds like it a go, at least so far. She's even talking about touring PA to visit people we know in the state. She's a hars worker and needs time off. Shes looking forward to riding shotgun in the F-2. It just might turn into another 1600 mile trip, or more, in the old beast.

Just have to see how business goes in the next few months.