HAH!! My old motor home gets 10 miles to the gallon-uphill or down, or on the level! Runs really great, looks good, is up for sale!
Only problem: Anybody who can afford to buy a motor home, isn't going to buy my 1978! If they can afford to buy it, then they can't afford to buy gas for it! And, if they can afford to buy gas for it, then they can also afford to buy a newer model! 10 miles per doesn't bother the neuvo riche'!
I've kept it in nice condition, and everything is up to par! I'll have to keep it, or turn it into a chicken coop later on!
I'd like to get a small pop-up to tow, but have to sell my coach first!
What a dither!
Rusty Jones

Dale, I agree. It is time to organize and clean all camping gear. Repair anything that needs it now, rather than wait til next year and you get it in camp only to find its broken or needs mending.

I recently read on another forum that you should not store your sleeping bags in a stuff sack as that will break the fibers, thus shortening the life of the bag. You should instead hang them up. I have two bags (a mummy and a rectangular one)that I am going to hang in a closet right away. The mummy style cost too much to shorten its life.

They also said that if the fibers break up the bag will not keep you as warm. It will lose some of its insulating properties.

My weekend is going to be a busy one seeing about of all my gear too.

Jo

Jo - have'nt had one of those mummy down filled sleeping bags in years! We were doing some fall hunting in those years, staying in an old timey canvas wall tent - and sometimes we'd get caught in an early season snow or sleet storm. Those bags were too hot for the warmer season areas so have since went with the run-of-the-mill bags found in Wally-Mart, Coleman Outlet stores & such. But when my Dad passed away a few years back I got all his fishing, hunting & camping gear. He had two "J.C. Higgins" sleeping bags that were bought at Sears (my Dad bought everything from Sears, swore by that company!) - they have a soft cotton duck outside and the interiors are a good quality of flannel; the labels sday they are filled with "100% Dupont Dacron polyester fiberfill". Now these bags were bought shortly after WWII, certainly before 1950, and Dad used them for fall hunting, plus I "borrowed" them on several occasions for some of my travels. Do you know I'm still using them for early spring and late fall outings ... and they are still going strong! Now, they have ALWAYS been rolled up and stored - I do see on the label it says this Dupont filling is "non-matting".

Bottom line: This country use to produce some tough, well-made, well-engineered gear!

Dale

My goose down bags were produced by Marmot in the US and have been in regular use since 1988 when purchased. They were the 4th replacements for my synthetic Dacron bags. The Dacron (Dacron Fiberfill & Fiberfill II) bags had cold spot and matting issues even though they were carefully maintained (we're cheap). Since then, I haven't had to replace the goose down bags and the difference in savings more than paid for the premium down demands. As a result I've purchased goose down for the kids once they were "potty trained" and their bags (MountainWorks, A16) are holding up similarly to my 3 Marmot bags. I have noticed from other producers there are lesser down bags that use smaller fill and feathers in the stuffing, have poor baffling and lousy covers.

Jo
We mainly use Kelty bags and have for many many years. Kelty does not reccomend storing a sleeping bag for long periods in a stuff sack. We have a place to hang them in the basement which is heated. So mold is not a problem.

We used goose down filled bags when I first went into the Army. Man I hated those things and still do. One small hole and feathers were either choking or poking you. You could not get them dry in the feild if they got wet and weighted a ton. I was one happy military camper when we switched to synthetic.

Kelty's Care guid for SYNTHETIC sleeping bags/

Cleaning

1. DO NOT DRY CLEAN.
2. Close zippers and velcro tabs.
3. Machine wash in front-loading machine (DO NOT use an agitator-style, top-loading machine. The agitator could cause damage to shell and insulation not covered under warranty) with cold water and mild soap (Ivory Flakes, Woolite, Sport Wash, Etc.) Not detergents. Do NOT use bleach or fabric softener.
4. Rinse thoroughly; double rinse if necessary to eliminate soap residue.
5. Line dry only. DO NOT use a dryer to dry. (Heat in dryer may cause damage to bag not covered by warranty.) Unzip & dry open.
6. Dryer can be used to fluff bag only, NO HEAT, fluff cycle only.

Storage
Between trips, it is best to store your bag in a large, cotton sack. Never use a plastic bag since it can trap moisture and encourage mold, mildew and bacterial growth. Try to never store your sleeping bag in a small stuff sack since, over time, this reduces the loft of the sleeping bag.

I totally agree with Hippy! The US army bags (I've examined these) are of high feather content and of inferior cover materials. They seem very outdated in comparison to any of today's top 5 down bag manufacturers that use ripstop covers, some breathable and waterproof, superior sewing technique, thick baffling, self-repairing zippers, etc. - not found on surplus-type down bags used by the military. The US military (surplus) down bags are J-U-N-K!!
Fortunately our dryer has an "air" cycle with no heat that works well with the goose down drying, although it takes about 2 hours to air dry them.

Thanks for the info, Hippy. My bags are both synthetic. The mummy bag came with a large cotton sack, so maybe it's okay to store it in that instead of hanging it.

Thanks again.

Jo