March 29, 2014 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Buying a 5th Wheel

I know it’s been a long quiet stretch, but things have been happening. Back in December we finally got our new truck…Ford F350 4X2 (which we special ordered) and immediately after we special ordered our Open Range. It was a long cold winter, but finally the Open Range came and today was PDI day!!! That’s pre-delivery inspection …which I didn’t know either before I did this lol. We did a ton of research on the internet and read waaaay to many horror stories, so Lee and I were both pretty keyed up for the event expecting the worst. Well I was more than pleasantly surprised …it went beautifully. Not only was it the first nice weather day in forever…the sune as actually shining…the RV was all setup and ready for inspection when we got to the dealer, Flagg RV in Uxbridge, Mass

Our service tech’s name was Paul and he was an older gentleman with a VERY thick Massachusetts accent. At first Lee and I thought..oh here we go…but Paul was fantastic. Based on advice we had read, I video taped the entire walk through and after a couple of our questions showed we had done our homework, he slowed down and really explained things. My favorite thing about Paul was if he didn’t have the answer, he flat-out said he didn’t know and then would find someone to give us the answer. Huge credibility points with me. The only downside was when the salesperson came back…asked how it was going, and when I said it was great…he actually said “I told you so.” Seriously who teaches these people…geez. Other than that moment, the walk through was great though and we had electric, started the generator, turned on everything thing in the camper including heat, AC’s, and the TV’s…which looked fantastic running off the antenna. I would have never thought the picture would be that good. At one point I was standing in the kitchen and turned around and it felt like home!!! What a tremendous feeling.

The only thing we were not able to test was the water but it was clear water had been run through it and it was re-winterized as the shower had some wet in it still. Lee goes back Weds morning to get the hitch installed in the truck and they will be walking him through hitching/unhitching, leveling etc. I felt completely comfortable and we had an excellent walk though of the warranty we purchased from the finance guy David. That was actually one of the most pleasant financing experiences I have ever had. We talked in detail about the warranty (which we had researched ahead of time) and ended up getting platinum coverage, plus unlimited towing, RV tech travel coverage (so they can come to you), and a $100 deductible for $2300. I had asked to extend to the longest time possible and got 7 years instead of 5 for a minimal up charge…it’s well worth it to ask. I maxed out on warranties for the new truck as well…normally I don’t get warranties but in this case we thought it would be well worth the piece of mind.

So we are now the proud owners of a new truck and RV ……so enough talking already here’s the pictures 🙂

RigTrace

Bathroom…had fits over weather to get a colored bowl or a glass bowl went with colored because essentially I am lazy !!!

Lee’s chair..oh yes even in the camper there will be no fighting over this chair 🙂

We intentionally had them take out the right side couch and are building a computer desk in this slot…cost us an extra $230 to take it out but well worth it because we got carpeting that way on the floor underneath which is usually not carpeted

Very excited about my wooden blinds…they cost $400 more but I hate regular blinds because they always get bent. The valances gotta go though they look terrible

Drawers are full length deep (not all are) and the counter covers the double sink underneath. The fancy faucet has a pop off sprayer too which is very cool

Really big microwave and oven…was excited that you don’t have to light the burners with a lighter , but you do have to light the pilot underneath

Love love love my kitchen…nicest one I have ever had

Washer dryer combo…the only weird thing was they didn’t have Splendide but a Pinnacle instead…after asking they said it actually costs them more and is comparable…Splendide’s weren’t available until May

This was the biggest thing…we downgraded from a King to a Queen bed and I am SOOO happy with it. Not only does it open the room up they also went ahead and put in the little side shelves which we thought we would have to build ourselves. Super cool. the mattress is not so great at first glance…but we knew that would probably require an upgrade at some point

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October 13, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Closing Up for the Winter

So it’s the last camping weekend before we have to close up the camper and since we are planning on buying a new one in February not only does it need to be winterized, but also completely cleaned out and ready to sell. In order to winterize, you need access to water, sewage, and power so we went back to Swanzey Lake Campground for out third visit. While we were hanging out and relaxing, we realized this was definitely the location that we wanted to try as a seasonal camper. Seasonal campers buy a year-long pass and stay in the same site, which eliminates the need for the constant tear down and set up of the camper…a huge plus!! Also, you don’t have to pay for storage through the summer months because you keep the camper at the campgrounds.

We had the opportunity to stay at 13 different places this summer (more activity in a summer than we have ever had in our married lives:) ) and it’s funny that we actually came full circle. We booked a seasonal site at the very first place we camped at, Swanzey lake Campground. Although it wasn’t either of our overall favorite for the year (mine was Tree Farm Campground and Lee’s was Oxbow Campground), it is the closest to our house and offers a little bit of everything…wooded sites, a lake, a beach. Plus the folks here have been very helpful to us newbies.

Lee went to the office to get a packet and found out there were only 4 available seasonal sites left…yikes!! We walked around to see them and luckily one of my favorite n sites 102 was on the list. Sold!! I am particularly fond of the big rock at the back of the site. So this is our new camping home for 2014. The cost for a seasonal site is $2700 from April 15th – Nov 1st which is pricey, but in New England they are all pretty expensive so it is in line with prices we got from other campgrounds and still way cheaper than a one week vacation.

One thing that was very interesting was as soon as Lee paid the deposit, the entire campsite experience changed. The women at the office/store started introducing him to other seasonals and the security lady, Vicky, who drives around and keeps an eye on things, stopped by and introduced herself. Apparently there are lots of activities for seasonals only…who knew. Definitely going to be a different experience and I am looking forward to trying it out.

Once the fun stuff was done it was time to get down to business. Although we have been sharing most of the chores Lee is definitely taking the lead on the tear down and winterizing. He did a lot of research online and learned that the tanks have to be flushed multiple times (he’s done it five times so far as i am writing this). Once they are completely flushed, an air compressor is used to blow out any remaining water and then a special RV/Marine antifreeze is put in the lines. Luckily our local Walmart carries it or it would be another trip to the camping store. In addition ALL the food must be taken out of the camper. He thought canned goods would be fine, but apparently they can burst if they freeze solid then thaw..so that’s good to know. And of course all cloth of any kind must come out. Essentially if a rodent could use it for food or a nest …must be removed. Finally, you put Bounce dryer sheets everywhere!!! Don’t skimp and buy an off brand… rodents and spiders don’t like the smell so you put them absolutely everywhere. The batteries are disconnected, but the propane tanks can stay.. they just need to be turned off and covered. The camper is also swept on the top and sprayed off the get some of the grime off. It is going to take Lee a couple of days to do all of the tasks and thankfully I get a pass and get to work on other things 🙂

It’s sad that we are done, but what a terrific summer. We camped for over 40 days in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. We bought our first RV, went to our first RV show, and picked out our second RV. We bought our first truck and have picked out our second, a diesel. We stayed at a farm, a casino, and on the ocean. We took a magical hike, tried tons of new recipes, and learned so much, not the least of which was how much we enjoyed each others company. It was a great time and I can’t wait until next year to see where the journey takes us. You won’t be hearing much from us until February when we start the process of buying our Open Range, so talk to you in the spring.

Lessons Learned

Don’t leave canned foods in the camper in the winter because they can explode
Take all cloth and food out of the camper for the winter
Use an air compressor to blow out the water in the lines before putting in the antifreeze
Put Bounce Dryer sheets EVERYWHERE.
The bathroom sink is connected to the black water tank

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Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Search Amazon Here
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

September 28, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Traveling Long Distances – Bloomsburg, PA

We got up later than we would like, and didn’t get out of the campground until 9:15. The weird water connection reared its ugly head as Lee had to disconnect the sewer hose with no water flush … Yucky. Back on 80 though and heading East.

I’d like to take a moment and talk about gas. Doing research we have seen as much as a 50 cent difference between turnpike gas prices and truck stop gas prices and it is definitely worth it to wait until a truck stop then get off the turnpike and right back on. Couple of issues though.. If you want to combine bathroom breaks inside the Pilots are definitely the cleanest but they are often not RV friendly to pull in and out of. Along this trip we have tried TA, Loves, Pilot, Kwik Trip and regular Flying J and there were things we didn’t like about all of them. Mainly almost all are a nightmare to get a RV in and out of. Finally in Pennsylvania we discovered Flying J’s with RV Stations. Fantastic! Islands specifically designed for campers with a $5 dump station right in the island. Clean restrooms, no fighting with cars, easy access in and out. Can’t say enough and we will definitely be on the lookout in the future. Plus we having a Flying J card and save on every purchase inside. They only give gas discounts if you drive a diesel, but that will be the case when we buy a new truck.

Lee did the research this time and found a campground in Bloomsburg Pa… The halfway point left until home. The drive through Pennsylvania was absolutely beautiful. Much better than 90. The leaves are starting to turn and the views were often breath-taking. Indian Head Campground ended up being a little father from the highway than we would have liked and the drive to it was not promising. Pulling in we saw numerous old trailers parked in a row ( repossessions maybe) and a funky little camp store. The lady running the store was very sweet though and we were a little concerned as we pulled into our site. The site turned our to be terrific. Concrete patio, large open field in front of us and we got to hear the concert from the city fair next door for free :). Unfortunately although the campground has a lot of potential, I have to rate it 2 out of 5 pinecones. Needs a major cleanup.

I cooked chicken and potatoes and we setup much smoother than last night. Lee took his time and it went much smoother. Overall much more relaxing day. Tomorrow we head home. Miss my girls.

Lessons Learned

Use your Gas Buddy app as prices may vary as much as 50 cents from state to state
Flying J’s with RV Stations are the best places to stop and get gas

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September 28, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Traveling Long Distances – Bristol, Indiana

Back on the road… Sorry to leave the farm behind and a little nervous about trying to book travel as we go. I have read many posts about how folks don’t book their campsite until very close to the location… Many times just driving in and seeing what they have available. I wanted to give this a try as the allure is maximum freedom, but have been nervous about it all going horribly wrong since before we started the trip. We knew today would be a long day, as we had to get through Chicago. The idea was to follow the GPS and try to squeeze through avoiding rush hour traffic. Might have worked too, but a truck was broken down in the middle lane on the outer belt, leading to a traffic delay that had us hitting Friday afternoon rush hour. Not good :(. Lee and I have been switching off driving every two hours or so, which is working much better, and he got stuck with most of the Chicago traffic. He was a trooper though and while we were creeping along I started to look for campsites.

There aren’t any campsites close to Chicago, so I started looking around Gary, In. Unfortunately Notre Dame was a home game on Saturday and the campgrounds were treating it as a holiday weekend with a minimum 2 day stay. I think I dealt with the curve ball pretty well though, and we decided we would just need to go a little farther down the road. I found Eby’s Pines Campground in Bristol, Indiana…right off route 80 with an off-season price of $37 per night. I didn’t want to risk just showing up, and I was glad I didn’t because the office closed at 8pm. The lady who checked me in over the phone was extremely nice, stating if we were late they would tape our pass and map to the office door.

Once out of Chicago I took my turn driving and we realized we were closer than we thought because right before Bristol we passed the time zone change and lost an hour. Still fewer miles is good and we made it by 7:30 right when we lost our light. The same woman was at the desk and she was very helpful and we went over to site 172. Lee had never setup the outside totally in the dark, but he got the head lamp out and got started. Unfortunately there was no water near the sewer pipe on this site and he had to stretch the hose to the site next to us. Thank heavens we carry extra hose, because the office was closed by the time we knew we had a problem. A really nice man at the site next to ours came over and offered his assistance and then invited us to hangout at their campfire. Great vibe at the campground with quiet laughter and lots of campfires surrounding us, but because of the water issue and extreme closeness of the sites have to rate it 2 out of 5 pinecones. Still worked good for a quick overnight.

I situated the inside pretty quick and then started the fire in the dark. I had thawed chicken and knew it would take a while to cook. Luckily, I had been hanging onto some instant rice which tasted great with the BBQ chicken and some slaw I threw together. Very filling and relatively easy. We were exhausted at this point and went to bed. Tomorrow is another travel day and hopefully less stressful.

Lessons Learned

Don’t drive through Chicago at rush hour
Use you Gas Buddy app to check gas prices well in advance. They could vary as much as 50 cents per gallon state to state
Carry extra sewer hose
When booking campgrounds on the fly keep in mind the offices are not open 24/7 like a hotel
Check for local events around where you think you might say, could impact availability and price

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September 28, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Staying on a Farm

Tuesday we drove to Luck, WI, which is a very small town of about 1000 people. Our daughter Katy’s boyfriends family lives outside of town on a farm and offered to let us stay on their land. I was a bit nervous as this would be our first time camping on someone’s property. As we got off the interstate, Katy had warned us to be careful of deer and she wasn’t kidding! At one point 3 deer crosses the road in front of us and we had to slow to a crawl. The sun was setting which made visibility poor and we were navigating by GPS coordinates so things were a bit tense. Then I saw a bald eagle on the side of the road eating a dead deer. Amazing, it was so huge and I wanted to stop and get a picture but we were seriously losing the light at this point and pushed on. When we made it to the long driveway it was country dark… With no moon but lots of stars. Katy and her boyfriend Micah and his parents Jim and Linda rushed out to greet us and it was hugs all around. What a wonderful welcome after a long day on the road.

Jim offered to park the trailer next to his barn and Lee quickly took him up on the offer. He parked it neatly and in no time we were hooked up to their water and power and partially deployed. Linda held dinner for us, so we ate pork roast, potatoes, carrots, and bread. I have to stop here and say Linda and Jim are the most hospitable people I have ever stayed with and they fed us WELL. Almost everything they cook is raised on the farm and there is nothing like fresh, wholesome home-grown food. Plus they are serious foodies and everything was spiced with farm grown herbs. All I can say is wow. We stayed up talking until I was so sleepy I had to call it a night and was sound asleep in about 2 seconds flat.

The next morning we woke up before the roosters. In the field next to our site, they have game hens and a pen on laying hens with 4 young roosters so were forewarned about the farm alarm clock. Lee’s an early riser and was proud he beat the roosters. We finished setting up and enjoyed the beautiful morning sunrise. Katy came over as soon as we were up and we spent some time catching up with our beautiful and feisty daughter. Linda came over and let us know she was making breakfast and French toast and sausage followed. So good. I started to feel a bit guilty about all the meals, but Linda really wanted to feed us and we were more than happy to keep eating 🙂

Jim took the day off work (a rare occurrence) just to hang out with us and gave us a tour of the farm. Jim and Linda have 27 acres, and his brother Mike and his wife Barb work the acres next door as part of a non-profit sustainable farm they run. The farm is called Ananoth Community Farm and supplies vegetables for a local co-op. The brothers also have 4 cows, 4 pigs, and tons of chickens which they use for their own needs along with selling the excess to friends and neighbors. One of the coolest thing is Mike and Barb have interns from nearby colleges come and stay and work the farm. There is a separate bunk house for the interns and they work and learn about sustainable farming. Barb was also teaching some of them how to can and make homemade Applesauce … Yum. Even thought they were deep in the potato harvest, Mike took the time to answer my million questions about how he kept the plants so healthy without pesticides. One of the neatest things was that they plant eggplants as a throwaway crop to keep the bugs off the potatoes. I guess eggplants taste better… Genius.

It was a lovely 3 days with great conversation, great food, and capped off by an impromptu concert by the brothers and their wives around our campfire one night. Beautiful music sung by absolutely beautiful people and I am very grateful that I got to experience it. It truly was difficult to leave and I can’t wait to come back for a longer visit in the future.

Lessons Learned

Staying with friends is great
Water and electric from a barn works perfectly
Farm fresh food really does taste so much better
Fresh herbs are amazing

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Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Search Amazon Here
You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.

September 24, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Traveling Long Distances – Joliet, IL

Got up this morning and left for Joliet, IL. It was weird to not stop and stay In Columbus, but we were excited about continuing our road trip. Couple of things about Indiana… The roads really suck. Super bouncy and ill maintained. But there are tons of RV dealers everywhere you go. It was hard not to stop and look. Tom Raper in Richmond, IN seems to be the biggest dealer, but there were lots of others. We made need to bargain shop out this way when we buy our 5th wheel. One other good thing about the drive was Indiana flat and the mpg in the truck went up and gas was way cheaper. Hooray for the Gas Buddy app.

We made it through some pretty intense traffic south of Chicago and landed at the Hollywood Casino in Joliet, IL. Part of the purpose of this trip is to try things we have heard about but unfortunately things were pretty disappointing from the start. The casino was near an industrial area and although it was green the train sounds were pretty common. Also no fire ring. First time we ever saw that, although a nice woman I spoke to who stays at casinos all the time says they rarely have them. Since Lee has been wanting to buy a portable fire ring and I have continually said we don’t need one… not so good for me. I had to say the dreaded “you were right and I was wrong” 🙂 Also it was $55 a night and although all the literature said that the sites had full services, when we got there, no sewer hookup. So we used a dump station for the first time. The dump experience went pretty well. I had read a lot about how nasty dump stations were, but it wasn’t so bad and we dumped before we parked and again the next morning. We filled up the gray tank completely in one day though…got to get a handle on our water usage.

We deployed pretty quickly and one thing I did like was every site has a concrete patio. The patio allowed us to quickly set up. It was quiet there too and I didn’t realize why until Lee said … said no kids. Makes sense no kids in a casino campground. It was neat and orderly with well-groomed grass, but definitely not our speed, although the older couple next to us said they like casino campgrounds because they are very safe. They also said the bathrooms are very clean. We talked about going to the buffet but it was 17.99 a person (no discount for staying on site or coupons available) and frankly I didn’t want to spend the money. We ate spaghetti instead, which I had made at home in advance and frozen into camping size two people batches. Delicious and inexpensive. Finally we were settled so decided to go over to the casino. It was incredibly lame. I wasn’t expecting Vegas, but for those prices, I expected more. There were only a few blackjack tables open and although there were lots of slot machines none of my favorites. We took $40 out (paying $6 in ATM fees) and played for less than 30 minutes on $20 a piece. In Vegas I can play for an entire week on $20. Love those nickel slots and high payouts 🙂 Very disappointed we left and went back to the camper and called it a night.

Even though it was a bust we did learn a lot. Casino camping is not always the bargain everyone says if is. Plus I absolutely know I don’t like tearing down and setting up in a new place everyday. This every day moving is pretty wearing and luckily Lee agrees. Can’t wait to get to Luck, WI and stay in one place for the day.

Lessons Learned

Casino campgrounds aren’t all they are cracked up to be
Indiana roads are super bouncy

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September 22, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Traveling Long Distances – Columbus, OH

This morning we woke up early, and decided to go watch the sun rise at Niagara Falls. With unwashed hair and pajama pants we drove over to the State Park. It was fantastic. We didn’t have to pay the $10 for parking or deal with any crowds and a nice man took our picture for is. It was lovely and quiet, exactly what it should have been and I loved it. I know a lot of folks do things like this all the time, but for use venturing out on a whim un-showered and is definitely NOT the norm. I don’t think Lee has ever done it in his life. That’s what is so amazingly awesome for us in being a camping couple. The more relaxed lifestyle has so many cool benefits and makes it clear what really matters in life. See below for how happy we look 🙂

As we traveled along to our hometown of Columbus, Ohio we discovered Gas Buddy is a fantastic app. We used it and found gas for 50 cents cheaper per gallon on the Seneca Reservation in NY. It also showed Erie, PA was 50 cents cheaper as well. When your filling up a 36 gallon tank, that is a significant difference. Oh and the speed limit in Ohio is 70 now. That was nice! Lunch today for me is leftover hot dogs. The microwave doesn’t work without power but the gas stove does, so a quick heat up in frying pan (along with sauerkraut of course) and I am good to go. Well not so good to go.. The best laid plans. First off I took a nap in the truck and woke up disoriented. Then the camper was parked so that the inside leaned quite a bit which made the experience similar to what I imagine eating lunch in a fun house would be like. Heating up the hot dogs worked well, but we don’t have fresh water in the tank so no good way to clean the pan. I really need to spend some time thinking this through, but we are learning 🙂

We had dinner at the in-laws along with my mom at Bob Evans and some nice conversation. It was fun to show everyone the camper in person. We also parked the camper right outside my in-laws house so $0 for camping fees tonight 🙂 Next stop Hollywood Casino in Joliet, IL.

Lessons Learned

When you stop for lunch pick a flat place to park
Think ahead on how to clean your dishes and dispose of your trash after having a hot lunch
Niagara Falls is really neat first thing in the morning

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September 21, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Traveling Long Distances – Niagara Falls

So excited!!!! On our way to see our daughter Katy in Minneapolis. We are taking our camper with us and taking our time, stopping at several places along the way. Lee bought an Rand McNally RV GPS based on feedback from the seminar at the RV show and it is really great.

Huge screen, and terrific information including fuel prices, weather patterns, upcoming campgrounds etc along our route. The only downside is it occasionally freezes up, but overall wish we would have had one of these a long time ago. MUCH less stress for the navigator and best of all you tell it the height of your trailer and it makes sure to route you away from any low clearance areas. They are pricey but it came with a lifetime of map updates. We also bought a large paper Rand McNally Road Atlas. Way better than a cell phone for a high level overview of your trip. Starting to feel like Rabbit in Twister… “Rabbit is good, rabbit is wise.” :).

As we were driving on the NY turnpike we stopped at rest stop and I noticed a tire pressure station designed for trucks and RV usage. I have been concerned about tire pressure on the trailer for some time but it was never convenient to get it checked. Plus, Lee paid for an RV inspection and there were no issues or so we thought. The tire pressure was 40 PSI and it was supposed to be 65 PSI … YIKES!’ We spent the $2 (it took two go rounds to fill the tires) and according to Lee it is a much smoother drive. Plus we saw an immediate uptick in MPH from 7.2 to 7.6. One thing I would like to mention here is yes Lee is responsible for the more mechanical aspects of camping, but we are in this together. He’s human and could use a second set of eyes and opinions just as I can. After 25 years of marriage, I am wise enough to know it may be momentarily satisfying when your partner makes a mistake, but it’s lousy friendship and in the end you both suffer so why put yourselves through it.

Things were going great…Lee said driving was much easier with the higher tire pressure. We started having the “Where do you want to eat lunch?” conversation when I remembered we can pull over anywhere and eat :). We pulled into one of the turnpike service stations (needed gas anyways) and went into the camper and had lunch. Sandwiches and chips hit the spot and we were back on the road with minimal wallet impact!!!!

After many hours of driving we finally made it to the Niagara Falls KOA. The trip cost $250 in gas, but we made good time. It was raining pretty good when we arrived (glad to have inside jobs during the setup process) and since it’s just one night the setup time was pretty minimal. We went with just two chairs and a small table outside… No rug or carpet or anything. Inside I took a moment to reorganize the cupboards…really can ‘t wait to get a 5 th wheel for more cabinet space. Made a fire and cooked some hot dogs …leftovers for lunch tomorrow 🙂 I made some crunchy slaw substituting walnuts for peanuts since Ralph the chipmunk ate all of ours a couple of weekends ago. Gotta restock. Oh and speaking of that we bought a magnetic notepad and put it on the fridge so when we realize we are out of something we can make a note right then and there. Works great …except Lee forgot to write down the peanuts in all the chipmunk excitement.

The campground is not so great. It is close to the falls and has a small amusement park next to it (we can see the top of a roller coaster from out camper), but at $65 a night off-season with minimal tree cover it really doesn’t have anything to recommend it. The wifi setup was not great, (we never could get it to work right) and although it might be a fun place to bring kids definitely not our speed. Rating it 2 out of 5 pine cones. Can’t wait until tomorrow night when we stay at our in-laws for free 🙂

Lessons Learned

RV GPS works great
Don’t make assumptions about your tire pressure. Check frequently.

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September 15, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time at an RV Show

Lee and I had read so much about RV shows on the various forum that we decided to take a weekend and drive to the Hershey, PA RV Show which is one of the biggest RV show in the northeast. I travel quite a bit for work so had some free hotel points available and the drive was only 6 hours for us, so it seemed like a fun way to see what was out there. We have been talking about 5th wheels as the next logical step in our adventure and this would be a great way to see most of the available new models in person, plus I had read the seminars were really great and you could find neat vendor items that weren’t easily available anywhere else. We were pretty excited (you would have thought we were kids going to Disney World) and we ended up getting up and on the road by 4 am. The drive was fine and put us down at the park by 10:30 which was really good timing.

We bought a 3 day pass for $30, which was well worth it since we didn’t have to stand in the long line as much on Saturday and off we went. Our strategy was to walk the aisles and look at floor plans, then pop into anything that looked interesting. This was pretty important as the grounds were absolutely huge and walking up and down into the steps into the RV repetitively can play havoc with the knees. We are still pretty young and in good shape, but 10 hours walking in a day is not part of our normal routine 🙂 I also am a little claustrophobic, which can be an issue when dealing with some models. So Lee was kind enough to pop in, and then stick his head out and give me the nod if he thought it was worth going into. This really was incredibly generous as he must have saved me the steps on at least 100 models. We really like the floor plan where the living room is raised and in the front and we looked at this type by all the manufacturers (hence the 10 hours per day of walking) and also liked one floor plan where the rear was a living room with a door. As we walked we realized what criteria mattered the most to us.

Price – we are not independently wealthy so anything above $70k was rejected out of hand (This may sound as a lot of money and certainly is, but we are considering this our vacation home and it would be tough to buy a condo in Florida for that money)
Weight – we are resigned to buying a larger truck but any weight over 18,000 and you are constantly watching what you carry. I don’t want to vacation like that where you can’t boon dock in a national park because the fresh water you need weighs too much. The models we liked were around 16,000 lbs which gives us an extra 5,000 lbs for stuff.
Separation – we love each other, been married for 25 years, but at times frankly we need to go to our separate corners. Since I know in those situations Lee will grab the premium space, that leave me with the “other” area. Unfortunately in 90% of the models this is a very small bedroom which is in front and not a great place (for me) to hang out
The feeling of claustrophobia. I never realized I had an issue with this until we started looking at campers, but many models I walked in and walked right back out. Kitchen islands for example (which are all the rage now) enhance the feeling of claustrophobia so any model with a kitchen island was out. Low ceilings same thing, so any models with particularly low ceilings not possible.
Bathroom shower you can easily turn around in. Don’t need a tub but the little seats so you can easily shave your legs a big deal.
Cabinet space in the bathroom. So many models have almost none and the ones we liked had lots which was a huge plus.
Cabinets with full depth drawers. I can’t tell you how many models we saw where you would see these fancy drawers and you would open them up and they would be shallow. Made me crazy.

In short walking around was a great way to determine what really mattered and significantly reduced the choices. We narrowed it down to 5 then 2 then finally 1. The winner is the Open Ranger Roamer 386FLR . Incredibly excited!!!

Two cubbies with couches that become full beds which will be great if the girls all come to visit

The TV hides behind the fireplace and there is a front window very rare

A standard queen mattress will fit rather than a short queen. The problem with short queens is you are stuck getting a RV specific mattress which are really expensive.

On the outside Lee loves that the propane tanks are 4 – 20# and they are on slide-out trays, the hard sewer case permanently attached and did I mention TONS of STORAGE. We plan on trying seasonal camping next summer (leave your camper on the same site all season long) and the extra storage will allow us to avoid schlepping stuff back and forth.

In addition to seeing darn near every 5th wheel on the grounds, we also went to see some seminars. I really enjoyed listening to the wisdom of folks who have been camping since the 1960’s and learned tons which I have shared in the lessons learned section below. Combine all that with excellent meals at Bob Evans and Texas Roadhouse and we were VERY happy campers!!! The only downsides were I had made arrangements to meet a couple I had “met” on RVForum.net (something I have never done before, but since every talks about meeting when they are at events together I decided to give it a try. Despite tons of texts we were unfortunately unable to meet up which was a bummer. Also we stayed in a Residence Inn using free points I had and it was a pretty crappy. Normally I like Residence Inn’s but this one was not up to their usual standards. … I should have known what I was in for when the clerk gave us room 113 on Friday the 13th 🙂 One positive thing though was I realized how much nicer it is to vacation in our camper then in a hotel and it really went a long way towards solidifying out decision. I suppose in a way the universe was watching out for us.

Lessons Learned

Matching your truck to your trailer – Presenter Walter Cannon (on of the founders of RV Safety & Education Foundation)

Pulling and towing are two totally different things. You can pull many trailers with many trucks but can you safely stop it at 70 mph??
GCWR = Gross Combined Weight Ratio
GVWR = Gross Vehicle Weight Ratio (for a diesel truck this info is found in the diesel supplement of the owner’s manual)
GAWR = Gross Axle Weight Rating
Payload = weight trailer resting on the truck bed or hitch
Truck GVWR = base weight + options (ie: 4×4 weighs extra) + hitch + weight of passengers, firewood, tools, bikes, etc
The way I understood it (and I am by no means an expert) the weight of a 5th wheel is essentially divided into thirds. One third on the rear axle, one-third on the front axle, and one-third on the hitch pin (payload). Your towing safety can be fine in one single area but not fine in another. Indeed according to RV Safety.com, over 50% of the vehicles weighed are over weight.
When assessing your safety you MUST look at the weakest link and make sure ALL areas are safely rated. RV Safety weighs vehicles using full -time RV’ers across the country and will help provide an assessment. In addition, we spoke to Peter from Ford at the event and he is VERY helpful in educating us about towing safety. We met him in the safety seminar (which he used his lunch break to attend) and then talked to him later and he was absolutely amazing. He worked with us once we picked the trailer to help us determine what Ford truck will work. That being said, everyone (including Walter and Peter) stated salespeople lie about this issue all the time. Whether they are truck salespeople or RV salespeople, they often tell you the towing ratios are fine to make the sale. The only way to be sure is to an independent source weigh both truck and front and rear of trailer and do an assessment.
Make sure you have a full tank of fuel when weighing the truck
Make sure you take into account the weight of a full tank of waste water (8 # for every gallon of waste water) and/or fresh water especially if you are planning on boon docking.
Finally, don’t listen to me on this. Visit RVSafety.com and research with the experts.

Extended Living in an RV – Bob and Cheryl Marx

I was really curious as to what a “snow bird” couple would say about spending extended periods of time in an RV. Since we are going seasonal next summer and thinking about maybe taking a two-week cross-country trip I was dying to hear the wife’s perspective. Unfortunately Cheryl didn’t speak at all, but she did answer one-on-one questions at the end. Some of this doesn’t apply to us, but I found it fascinating anyways and there were some awesome tips. Well worth the hour and a half plus it was nice to sit for a while and take a break for all that walking.

Prescription emergency options

Local Pharmacist can mail them if they are not narcotics
National chain’s will fill them in a remote location (Walmart, Walgreen, etc) as long as they are not narcotics

Check with the campground to see where the closest medical facilities are in case of emergency
Carry hard copy medical records with you if going on an extended trip. Medical facilities will NOT accept electronic copies on a flash drive due to virus issues
Mail forwarding
1. Give prepaid envelopes to a family member or neighbor and have them forward mail (cost roughly $5.50 a week
2. Post office has a snow bird mail forwarding service $25 to sign-up and $15 a week
3. Escapees Club out of TX offers a mail forwarding service for those folks going on extended cross-country trips
Every year check your RV for weight and/or clutter. You collect things in an RV just like in your home and in such a small space it can quickly get out of control.
Carry different credit cards than your spouse so if either the wallet or the purse are stolen you can cancel those cards and still have access to credit if away from home. Great tip!!!
Check fuel prices from state to state as state taxes can make a big difference and fill up before leaving the cheaper states even if you are not on empty. For those who smoke the same would go for cigarettes. Gas and cigarettes were WAY cheaper in PA than in NY so we stocked up on both prior top leaving Hershey to come home.
RV specific GPS’s are great. You can type in the type of vehicle you have and it will route you accordingly and show fuel and gas stops that are appropriate to your size along the way. Lee was looking at one of these and did not buy one, but after listening to Bob rave about his we are going to get one.
Check local papers for restaurant coupons if you get tired of cooking, you can get some great deals
Agree to driving time up front and stick to it. If you can only drive 5 hours a day, plan your route accordingly.
Many people don’t make reservations at campgrounds in advance when in “traveling” mode because they don’t want to be held to a schedule. We are going to try that for the first time on the way back from Minnesota in a couple of weeks. Will let you know how it goes.
Try to finish traveling by 2pm every day if possible. Not only do you have a better shot at getting a prime campsite, but you miss the rush hour traffic.
Only use encrypted wireless for any sensitive information (ie: banking websites). This one seems obvious but honestly never really though about it much.
If you want to meet people put four chairs out at your campsite. This was a great piece o advice because if someone comes up to chat you can invite them to sit down and I guess this is camper code for let’s chat!!!

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September 8, 2013 by Lee and Tracy

First Time Feeding A Chipmunk

It’s been awhile since we’ve been camping. My father-in-law was in town visiting and we missed a couple of weekends of camping. Since it was a short weekend, we decided to go back to the very first campground we visited, Swanzey Lake Campground , and see how we liked it after all of our other experiences. It was more crowded than I remembered, and noisier so I think I will be downgrading it a pine cone, but we still enjoyed our stay.

First off, we were out of practice. The easy routine we had developed after the last couple of months was definitely missing, although once we setup things were definitely smoother. The best part was we made friends with a very feisty chipmunk Lee named Ralph. We had a bag of peanuts Lee was feeding him and he got so brazen that he was all over our campsite. Lee is a videographer by trade and he put together this short video to show Ralph at his finest 🙂

I also had read something about making my own fire starters out of pine cones dipped into paraffin wax and wanted to give it a try. Finding the pine cones, melting the wax, and then dipping was a very fun hour or so. Not sure how well they will work but it was a fun thing to do and I felt very industrious and thrifty while doing it. I hate paying what they charge for fire starters, so I hope these work. Update: They didn’t really work which was a shame because it was fun. If you’re looking for a thrifty alternative to fire starters tortilla chips or Doritos work pretty well.

My favorite part of the weekend( besides snuggling of course) was just hanging out and really relaxing. It has been awhile since I have felt the particular relaxation that comes with camping and I missed it. I also cooked three new recipes and they were all a big hit which is always great. See below for the specifics if you are interested. Next weekend a visit to the big RV show in Hershey PA to look at fifth wheels and the week of the 23rd it’s our first week-long camping trip, driving out to see our daughter in Minneapolis, MN and maybe our first experience with boon docking. Stay Tuned!!!

Lessons Learned

Your experience in the same campground may vary from trip to trip
Dipping pine cones into paraffin wax is a fun and economical) way to make fire starters

Sausage Stuffed Biscuits with Country Gravy

Pam butter flavored cooking spray
1 roll prepacked biscuits Pillsbury Grand Butter tasting biscuits
1 roll breakfast Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 package country gravy mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Slice sausage into 1/2″ patties
Lightly brown each patty on both sides in a medium skillet over medium low heat (They do not need to be cooked through)
Unwrap biscuits and gently separate into 2 pieces on sprayed cookie sheet
Place a sausage patty on the bottom part of the biscuit then lay the top of the biscuit on the patty. Gently mold the top biscuit half so it is around the patty. (It doesn’t need to be perfect)
Cook sandwich in oven for 14 minutes
Make sausage gravy per packet instructions
Place sandwich on plate and cover with sausage gravy

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