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Old 10-14-2014, 09:29 PM   #1
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Ending our first year camping.

It was an overwhelming success, we spent 27 nights in the trailer from May to August. We traveled to 3 states and one province towing just over 2000km. The plan was to stay close to home no more than 4hrs of driving and to go for 3-4 days at a time. It worked perfectly we never arrived home tired from the drive and my company didn't go off the rails while I was away.

We had two issues which is pretty good in my opinion for a first year.
Issue 1: My Avalanche just wasn't up to the task of pulling the trailer up long grades on a 90 degree day, the $1300 repair bill I got the week after we returned from Watkins Glen proved that. It was replaced by "big truck" was my 2 year old call it.
Issue 2: upon returning from a trip to Lake Chapman in PA I noticed the corner of our skylight sticking up from the roof. There was only a single screw holding the corner down and it had pulled free. 3 more screws and some self leveling fixed that problem.

Best Money Spent: it's a tie between the new truck and the anderson levellers.
Biggest waste of $: LED bulbs, I've tried three different sets of bulbs and the light is always seems to be too focused rather than warming a large area.

We made so many great memories this year, it's sad that we didn't get to use it at all this fall but my company has never been so busy and we welcomed a baby boy to the family a few weeks ago so our free time is somewhat limited.

2015 is coming together nicely now, we are back to Jellystone WNY in May, Watkins Glen the end of June and then just today I booked 7 days at Castaways in Ocean City MD for mid July our first beach vacation.

As for the 5er we borrowed for a weekend it was amazing, just not us. I felt guilty pulling into the site and it seemed like people were reluctant to talk to us. It was just too flashy for us at the moment, but probably perfect in a few more years.
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Old 10-14-2014, 09:50 PM   #2
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Great year end wrap-up. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Time to start planing for next year. Have a good off season.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:38 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Coopers_dad View Post
2015 is coming together nicely now, we are back to Jellystone WNY in May, Watkins Glen the end of June and then just today I booked 7 days at Castaways in Ocean City MD for mid July our first beach vacation.
Dad
Watkins Glen KOA, been there twice very nice campground. You will also like Castaways. Both campgrounds are very nice and I would recomend them to any one who would ask about them...

When in Ocean City (Castaways) ask about the "park & ride" it will save you a lot of aggravation...
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Old 10-15-2014, 06:51 AM   #4
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Sounds like you had a great year. We only spent maybe 10 or 12 nights in ours this summer. I didn't get it back from the storm repairs until late May, and it has been a busy summer with work. We just got back from a nice long weekend in the mountains, though, and I hope to go out at least twice more before I winterize it. Congrats on the new young 'un!
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Old 10-15-2014, 09:55 AM   #5
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It's always satisfying to read about someone else enjoying the lifestyle as much as we do!
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:43 PM   #6
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Excellent year many great memories for you folks.
We had a wonderful travel year. Cross country and back 3 months focusing on National Parks. We then setteled in Vermont for the month of Sept. This is a beautuful country and those of us who travel and camp have an inside track to enjoy it.
Our rig has been super and now has over 20,000 travel miles. We are just beginning the Journey!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love hearing about how we all enjoy RV camping and all it has to offer.
Go Well All!
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Old 10-15-2014, 05:37 PM   #7
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Congrats on the new addition! You are creating memories for the little ones that they will cherish the rest of their lives. Our daughter so fondly remembered our camping outings when she was little that she now owns a fifth wheel and takes her girls camping. Sometimes we even go together - Grandpa & Grandma with their trailer and Mommy with her trailer.

As retired folks we now get to do a lot more camping. We actually spend about 50% of our time in the trailer, we even live in it for 3 - 4 months in Florida in the winter.

There's no like like it! The best part of traveling with an RV is that no matter where you are located, you're home.
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Old 10-16-2014, 04:27 PM   #8
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Glad you guys had a fun and safe camping season. We also hope to go a couple more times this fall and congrats on the new addition to the family.
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Old 10-16-2014, 06:34 PM   #9
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Thanks everyone, just got 3 jugs of winter antifreeze for Saturday so the season is over for us. Still we had so many great adventures, more than enough to keep us excited and planning for next year. I bought my daughter a US east coast road map so we can plan our routes together. It's her job to make sure the trailer is still behind us and now she will be able to follow on the map. ��
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Old 10-17-2014, 08:33 AM   #10
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Thanks for sharing. I love reading this type of reports. Good or bad.
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Old 10-18-2014, 11:34 AM   #11
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Its over

I like the OPs post. We are done and winterized it was sad.

It was our first year and we camped in 4 different states and probably spent about 30 days in our camper. Our biggest hiccups were newbie items - frozen water line, running out of propane, etc.

I have never towed before and would say I am very comfortable backing now. Towing was hair raising the first time, now it is fine.

Best money spent - The trailer, have had a lot of good family fun. The next would be a folding bike.

Biggest manufacture issue was the black tank flush hose was kinked, a $1 plastic elbow fixed it.

Biggest waste - I bought a portable campfire to use with propane. Have had a fire everywhere we went with real wood.

LED- I would recommend these upgrades. The power draw is reduced enough to keep the power invertor fan off unlike when I used regular bulbs. But the toughest is to find the correct type. I bought some that were too low, but they are perfect for the bunk and bed night lights. I did find some much brighter and perfect for my use, will need to get some more. (thanks to other posters on here)

Overall I am very happy with the trailer in its design and manufacture. There were many little things the dealer never pointed out that I later found. These were all good things and very beneficial.

I cannot wait until next year.
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Old 10-19-2014, 05:36 AM   #12
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Smile

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robb View Post
It's always satisfying to read about someone else enjoying the lifestyle as much as we do!
This sums it up well.
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Old 10-21-2014, 08:21 AM   #13
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Just finished my first year with a trip to Talladega. Winterized it as we packed up to leave for home. Took it out on 5 trips for 24 nights in 3 states. Towed it 2,426 miles.
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