How long have you been tubing Reggie?

I started tubing in 1981. A friend and some of his buddies came by my house and asked me if I wanted to go tubing with them. It sounded fun and I went. The rest is history.

How does this tubing stuff work?

If you are going to use one of the many park and pay type Tubing locations, you will drive to the office, park, and pay for your trip. The staff will then load up the proper number of tubes on a trailer or truck and pick you up at your car. You will be delivered upstream to the start of the trip and float back down to the office where you are parked at. You will get out, change into dry clothes (if you are so inclined). Get back into your car and drive home, or some other suitable destination.

If you know the area you live in, and have your own tubes and a way to transport them, you can ask around and maybe find a small creek or river that you can go on without paying anyone. You will need to find two places along the water, one for getting in and one for getting out. Be sure to park a car where you plan to get out, or have someone meet you there. It might be a long walk back to your car, especially if you want to carry your tubes back or have and ice chest with you.

Where can I find a place to go tubing?

Here in southern Alabama there are several good places to go tubing within a two hour drive. One place that is only about 35 miles from Downtown Mobile Alabama is Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental in beautiful Loxley Alabama. From Mobile, take I-10 east to the Wilcox Road exit, turn to the left and go over the interstate and then turn right at Alabama Fireworks World, continue on for about two miles till you pass Styx River Water World and Styx River Resort. You will see a DEAD END sign but ignore it. About 50 feet past Styx River Resort you will start seeing the signs pointing to Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental. About one mile past the resort, the road will dead end at the office of Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental. In my opinion, Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental offers the best service and nicest people in the area. Give them a try and say Reggie sent me.

Another great tubing location is Blackwater River near Milton, Florida. The river starts in a national forest, flows into a state forest and winds up in a state park. The river does not flow through any farming areas or industrial areas and has a beautiful sand bottom with no gravel at all.

Check out my tubing links page and you will find links to companies in 24 of the U.S. States as well as several other countries that offer tubing trips. If you find any tubing sites I don't have listed there, e-mail them to me.

One way to find a tubing location in your area is to consult the Yellow Pages. In the Mobile, Alabama Yellow Pages you can look under "Canoes & Kayaks" and find five ads for places that take Tube trips.

Here are the ones listed in the Mobile Yellow Pages.

Styx River Canoe Rentals in Loxley, Alabama - 251.960.1161 or Toll free 877.Styx-River. (The closest one to Mobile and the best)
Adventures Unlimited in Milton Florida - 800.239.6864
Blackwater Canoe Rental in Harold Florida - 800.967.6789
Bob's Canoe Rental and Sales in Milton Florida - 800.892.4504
Escatawpa Hollow Camp Ground & Canoe Rental in Wilmer, Alabama - 251.649.4233
Sunshine Canoe Rentals in Mobile, Alabama - 251.344.8664

What do I need to go tubing?

Just some free time and a place to go? When I first started we only took tubes with us and that is really all you need. But the minimum I would take now would be an ice chest to put beverages, food, and cigarettes in. Towels and extra clothes are nice too. Sunscreen is an essential item.

How long does the typical tube trip take?

Well first off, let me say that there is no such thing as a "typical" trip. even if you go to the same river or creek two days in a row, something will be different. For example, the river may have dropped or risen some, different people will be out camping, sandbars that were occupied the previous day will be empty, or vice-versa. What you really want to know is how long can you expect to be on the river when you go tubing. That depends on several things. What time you get started, you don't want to be floating after the sun goes down, how high or low the river is, how often and how long you stop, and how much fun you are having. On the average, a tube trip will take from 3-6 hours. I usually arrive at the office around 10 AM and get out anywhere from 4-6 PM but you get to decide how long you want to tube. It usually takes 40 minutes to float 1 mile on average depth.

What is the minimum age requirement. I have a four year old son, can he go with a life vest?

There is no "official minimum age requirement." The best answer is to use your own judgment. During the last few years, as I have been vacationing, I have come to realize that not all rivers are created equally in tubing terms. Here in southwest Alabama and in Northwest Florida the rivers are very slow moving and have no large rocks in the water. But in Texas and North Carolina the rivers are full of big rocks and rapids. Obviously the answer to your question changes depending on where  you are going and the water level for that day.

From my personal experience, four years is old enough to tube here in southern Alabama. My wife teaches 1st grade and we have taken several  tubing trips with some of her students and their parents. Now most of her students are seven when we take the trip but they have younger siblings that go, some as young as 2 years old and they have had a wonderful time.

If your child can walk, swim, or is scared of the water are all things that need to be taken into account before you take a child tubing. Do you and all the other adults on the trip plan on drinking? Who will watch the child? What are the water conditions? Is the water clear and slow or dark and fast? Ask yourself these things before taking your small child and once again, use your best judgment. If you have any doubts, then do not take your child.

How do you take an ice chest tubing?

Take an extra tube and float the ice chest in or on the extra tube. I have found that a 48 quart Coleman or Igloo fit very nicely into a inner tube. I bought some floating nylon rope about two years ago and tied it directly onto my ice chest and never take it off. When the ice chest is not in use on a tube I just toss the loose end of the rope into the ice chest and close the lid on it.

How much does it cost to tube?

Depending on where you go the cost can be nothing (if you know a place to go and you have your own tubes) or around $7-12 per person and $3-6 for a cooler tube. Longer trips cost more. Some places will give you a break for bringing your own tubes or float, others will charge the same price to transport your tube as it does to rent one. It is best to call ahead.

I see you bring your dog tubing, can I bring my dog?

I have been blessed to have found a dog that enjoys tubing as much as I do. Girl* (my dog) loves the water and has no trouble swimming. In the 8 years that I have been taking "Girl" tubing I have run across a bunch of people who thought that taking their dog tubing would be fun only to find out that it is more trouble than it is worth. I can take "Girl" tubing because she tends to ignore other dogs, wants to stay with me and does not run or swim off and is very friendly (she has never bit or even growled at another person). I have seen people bring their dogs and have to float them on a tube because the dog refused to get into the water or keep them on a leash the entire time which is no fun either.

If you take your dog tubing, be aware that most kids you see will want to play with the dog and pet it. Strangers will want to throw sticks for your pet to chase and call your animal when you want it to stay with you. If your pet has a history of biting or growling at people or other animals, or tends to not stay near you, even when you are not paying attention, I would not suggest that you take your pet tubing.

If you do take your dog tubing, make sure (s)he has had a current rabies vaccination and you have proof of it with you, or at the least, have it in your car.

Now let me finish this answer by saying. I have seen several people bring their dogs tubing and they love it and behave very well, like mine does. If your pet is well behaved around strangers and other animals and likes to swim, by all means bring them. Like taking a child it requires more attention and preparation on your part but it can be very fun rewarding. On the other hand, your pet getting into a dog fight with another animal or biting a child trying to play with your pet can turn your trip into a nightmare. Make sure you are prepared to give up some of your good time and watch your pet.

* this name has been changed to protect the innocent.

How can you take a radio tubing?

Mankind has put a man on the moon, created clones of animals and invented disco, but the greatest accomplishment of mankind was the invention of the Bungee® Cord!  I have been taking a radio with me for the past 9 years and could not imagine going tubing without one now.  I purchased a Sony® Sports Radio (Splash Resistant) to take and it has been a good one but if you have an old boom box that your are not worried about getting wet use it.  I take two Bungee Cords and strap the radio to the top of my ice chest by connecting the Bungee Cords to the handles of the ice chest.  This works pretty sweet. I also use this method to take a portable grill for cooking along with me. The Bungee Cords work sweet to hold other things onto your ice chest for easy access while floating like a towel or cigarettes and a lighter.

Do you have any idea where I can buy toobs at low prices?

What I have always done when I need a few new toobs is bust out the old phone book, go to the yellow pages and start calling tire places. Look for the ones that have 24 hours road side service, that means that they do a lot of truck tires. These days most tires are tubeless but truck drivers will put toobs in a tubeless tire to help prevent blowouts. Usually when a tire needs to be changed they will change other tires at the same time. These shops just wind up with a bunch of old tires and more importantly, old toobs that are in great shape.
 
Just start calling and ask if they have any used toobs they want to sell. Do not mention that you want them for floating, they will know but just do not say it. I recently went through this and several places said that they will not sell them for floating because that implies some type of warranty or some crap like that.
Do not stop calling after the first one that says they will sell you toobs. Keep calling. Usually you will find one that will just give you toobs. You may not find one that will give the toobs to you but my advice is to keep calling.  I found one here in Mobile that was going to sell them to me for $5 each but then I found one that told me to come by and get what I wanted for free. I did offer to pay the guy that worked the yard and helped me round the toobs up but he refused any money.

 
The shop that wanted $5 for a toob said that they save the old toobs and sell them to someone that recycles them. He said that they get more for the toobs if they sell them to individuals for $5 each.

When is tubing season?

Here in Southern Alabama the tubing season runs from around the middle of April until the Middle of September. Although I have been as early as Easter Weekend a few times and as late as the beginning of October. My general rule of thumb is if the temperatures are in the 90's, it's tubing season. If we were ever to have a 90 degree day in December, I would go tubing.

Below is an actual e-mail I received from a gentleman in Ireland.  To all the people out there that say I know everyone who visits my site, Na-a-na-a-poo-poo!!!

Subj:   
Date:    1/9/99 4:21:41 PM Central Standard Time
From:    hiking@indigo.ie (Michael Desmond)
To:    RegSmith@aol.com

Hi Reg,

Saw your tubing page. tubing is some thing I would love to do But I have never seen it here in Ireland , where I live. So some questions. Since I cant rent or buy a tube , would an inner tube of a truck do? Would I need to glue a rubber bottom to it?

What is the minimum draft I need? Do I need a paddle? Can you go on fast water i.e. small fast running side rivers with small rapids? How much does a tube cost to buy i.e. the type you use?

Yours Michael Desmond.

Waterford Ireland.

Michael,
The answers to your questions are as follows...

Since I cant rent or buy a tube , would an inner tube of a truck do?
Certainly, as a matter of fact I prefer and use a regular black truck inner tube.   I do not know what the tire size designations are in Ireland but in the US a 10.00/20 truck tube is the perfect size for my big American butt and, it just so happens, it is the right size for a 48qt Coleman or Igloo ice chest. Isn't it ironic, 24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case.
Would I need to glue a rubber bottom to it?
Only if you do not want to get wet.  You see, the main reason I like to go tubing is that during the summer months the average temperature in Mobile, Alabama is about one zillion degrees.  Now I have been on some cool days and kinda wished that I did have a bottom in my tube but I have never tried it.  The way I see it, what's the point?  If you want to go down the river and stay dry, take a canoe.
What is the minimum draft I need?
To me, the minimum draft needed to float is about 6-8 inches, but since stopping and swimming is part of why I go, I like the water to be about 2-3 feet.
Do I need a paddle?
I paddle with my hands.
Can you go on fast water i.e. small fast running side rivers with small rapids?
Sure.
How much does a tube cost to buy i.e. the type you use?
A brand new in the box 10.00/20 truck inner tube cost about US $20.00.  Take this as an invitation, if you visit the US in the Summer, to come to Alabama and go tubing with me.  And if you do go tubing in Ireland, take some pictures and e-mail them to me or at the least, e-mail me back and let me know how it was.
Reginald Smith

What do I do if I smoke and my lighter gets wet?

What if your smokes get wet? Well, I guess you are out of luck.  But really, I developed a technique when I first started tubing that works great if your lighter gets wet.  First off, always take spares.  Second, always take a disposable Bic or some other type of flint/wheel butane lighter. Never take Zippo lighters or lighter fluid type lighters. Third, put your smokes and lighter in a plastic zip lock bag,  these tend to work best for me and are considered an essential tubing supply.  Zip lock bags work great but some times your hands are wet and you get the lighter wet, or worse, you drop the lighter in the river.  This technique of mine will even work on lighters that have been totally submerged as long as they are butane lighters.

Take the lighter and hold it up to  your mouth and blow all the water out of the lighter that you can, this usually only takes a few seconds. If you have a dry towel, lay if over a flat surface and run the lighter wheel in the direction you turn it when you light it until the friction causes it to dry out and start sparking, usually about a minute.  If this does not work you probably left too much water in the lighter, blow into it again to remove excess water and then try this step again.  If you do not have a dry towel you can find a tree with smooth bark and use the tree instead of the towel.

This always works and I have it down so that I can take a fully submerged lighter and have it lighting in about 1 minute.  I expect it to take novices to this technique a little longer but still get a usable lighter in just a few minutes.

(Note: It is normal for the lighter to give off more sparks than usual after being submerged. I think this is probably due to the water softening up the flint but I could be wrong.

How did you get to be mentioned and have your photo in Outside Magazine?

For those of you who do not know what this question is about, I was mentioned in an article and had my photo in the July 2000 issue of Outside Magazine.   The online version of the article does not include the picture but it mentions me by name and quotes me several times.

It all started back in late February 2000. I got an e-mail from a gentleman named Paul Scott saying that he was researching a story that would mention tubing and that he wanted to talk to me a little bit about tubing. Paul left a phone number for me to call back and do I did.  Paul stated that he was going to write a story for Outside Magazine that would cover tips and tricks the pros use in summer sports. The story would cover six different summer sports and one trick or tip for each one from an expert in the field.   Although the story would be very serious, Paul wanted to lighten` it up a little by including a "wild card" sport for humor and he was thinking of using tubing.   Paul had done a couple of searches on the Internet for tubing sites and had found mine.  Paul said that he was going to talk to his editor about the story and that if it was given the green light he would be calling in about a week to interview me.   Being a little skeptical, I kept this to myself except for telling my immediate family and telling them not to talk about it because it might not pan out.

After I did not hear from Paul for a couple of weeks I just figured that the whole thing had fallen through and that Paul would be writing about some other sport.   Then, one Thursday night, about three weeks later, Paul called me at home and told me the story had been given the "go-ahead" and he asked if I had about 20 minutes for a phone interview.  Well, even though wrestling was on, I decided I would rather get mentioned in a national magazine that watch all of WWF Smackdown that night and consented.  Paul and I talked for about 45 minutes and the whole part of the article dealing with tubing came from that 45 minute interview and my web site.  Paul told me that before the story went to press I would get a call from a "Fact Checker" for the magazine to make sure that all the facts were correct.

About two weeks later I got a phone call from a very nice lady named Quentin who was a photo editor for Outside Magazine. Quentin stated that Paul had finished the story and turned it in and that the part about tubing was very good.  She asked if it was tubing weather yet in Mobile and I told her that since it was three weeks before Easter, I did not think tubing weather was quite here at that time.  Quentin said, "That is too bad, we were looking to get some photos for the magazine."   Well at that point I spoke up and said "If you are going to put my picture in your magazine, hell yeah it is tubing weather."  Quentin asked if I knew any photographers in Mobile and I said "I will look and see what I can find and I will call you back"  I quickly talked to a few friends and got some names.  I called Quentin back (this was about 20 minutes later) and she said that she had already found one in New York who was originally from New Orleans and that the photographer was going to call me and set up a time and date to fly down and take some photos for the magazine.  "Oh, and one more thing," Quentin asked, "will the cooler and radio you use be available, and can you bring the dog?" Of course my answer was "Yes."

A couple of days later I got a call at work from a gentleman named Charles Gullung.   Charles and I decided on the following weekend, this would be the weekend before Easter and we had yet to crack 85°  in Mobile but, if I was going to get my picture in a magazine, and one that was going to quote me and use my name, I was ready to brave chilly water. Charles had family in New Orleans and was going to fly into New Orleans on Friday and call me when he got there.  If the weather looked nice he was going to drive over on Saturday and take the photos but if it was not going to be a pretty day we were going to do the photo shoot on Sunday.

The appointed Friday came and it was about 6:00 PM when Charles called me, he was still in New York and was going to be late getting to New Orleans.  Charles said that he would call me on Saturday morning.  Well, according to the weather forecast Saturday was going to be perfect and it was going to rain on Sunday.  Charles called me Saturday morning and said his flight did not land in New Orleans until 11 PM Friday night. I knew he did not feel like driving over and it was decided that we would just try for Sunday.  Sunday came and the weather was beautiful.  Charles called from his cell phone and they were running about an hour late but Ashley and I waited on them..Charles and his fiancee' met us at the Oasis at 11 AM Sunday morning and we took the short drive down to the river.

I had spoken to Tommy, the owner of Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental about the possibility of shooting the pictures and his place and he was very generous and agreed.   Tommy loaned us some tubes and we started taking pictures about 11:30 AM.  The water was warmer than I thought it could be.  I was not cold at all as the temperature was around 90° at noon that day.  Charles took photos for about 3 hours and must have used 35-40 rolls of film.  Charles and his fiancee' were very nice and professional.  The weather was so nice that day in fact, Ashley and I went tubing after the photo shoot was over and had a great time.

About a week later, I got a call from a "fact checker" for Outside Magazine.  The person basically asked to make sure the spelling was correct on all the names used as well as ages and dates.

Around the first week in June, I called Quentin at Outside Magazine. She told me that the pictures Charles took were great and that the story and photos looked good.   Quentin put four copies of the magazine in an envelope and mailed them to me. It was cool having copies before they were on sale. About two weeks later I saw the first copy on a newsstand.  Since then I have seen them all over town.

And that is how I got mentioned and had my photo in Outside Magazine.

Why do you use "toobing" in some places on your web site and "tubing" in others?

Well, that is a rather interesting question and one that does not have a real simple answer but here goes. The best answer is I am to lazy to use the "find and replace" command to change them all. But that is not the real answer. When I first started a web site on tubing, it was a free site on AOL and only my friends ever saw it. I used the word tubing exclusively on that web site. The name of it was something like http://members.aol.com/regsmith. When I outgrew that site, I started toobing.net, all the domain names using the word tubing were taken. On this site I use the word toobing exclusively. But I also started trying to get listed on search engines like Yahoo. Sites like Yahoo and Google use "spiders" which are robots that search the web and list sites based on the number of times a word is used on the site. Since I started toobing.net, I have gotten very high on search engines when someone searches for the word "toobing" but I get very low response when someone searches for the word "tubing." So I made a decision to use the word "tubing" on some pages in hopes of getting them listed on more search engines and this site can be found by searching for the words "toobing" and "tubing."