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Old 05-31-2017, 03:38 PM   #1
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Things I learned on my first real camping trip with 15

I did a two-night overnight but no outside cooking in Nov and then an 8 night trip to my daughter's using the trailer as a hotel room, but this last was my first real camping trip in the 15A. Maryhill for 3 nights, then Pullman RV park for 2, then 2 in Spokane (hotel room) and then 3 at Osoyoos.

Towing: Check the tongue weight before the last minute. I thought I'd be fine since I more or less packed like the first trip, but it was too heavy. (Not something most people have to do but the Subaru allows for a wimpy tongue weight. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was going to only bring two xpens and loaded two more on to balance the weight and found out with four they could go completely around the trailer. Jack really enjoyed that.

Otherwise- towed just fine. 18 plus mpg including Snoqualmie Pass and the two passes on 3 W of Osoyoos. I could go as fast as I wanted to though once in awhile I had to downshift. Mostly I didn't want to go as fast as I could due to curves, though I got more comfortable through the trip. No sway. Worst problem was the stop and go approaching Deception Pass on the way home.

Packing: Packing bags are great. Not remembering what is in each one, not so much. Next trip I'll try to inventory bag color/size vs. contents and post that in the trailer. I thought about labeling the bags but mine are darker colors so might be hard to read.

Dutch oven cooking- I'm going to get a rubber bin for the pot and accessories that can travel under the bed and then come out for the duration of the stop. Having some parts in the car and some packed in cabinets was a pain. I'm also getting rid of my nesting pots that rode in the DO before- they aren't nonstick enough so I never want to use them. Easier to use the trailer space for a stove-top pot or two.

Matches- test the matches if they've been in the trailer all winter! (Thanks for the matches, Paul!)

Fridge- the door needs to be secured with the bungie when I close it as a matter of habit or Jack checks to see if the latch caught and gets into things.

I am creating my own spreadsheet packing list as some things I had this time were used (toaster oven) but won't be next time and others (television) were not used. I think I'll add a column for used or not so I can keep track of what's worth bringing along.

I found out the open storage front and back loses items when we are moving. I'd like to put up some kind of netting to hold things up there. I only had light things and they tended to fall out. Any ideas? I know the bigger trailers have cabinets front and back as well as on the sides but if you have used the open shelves what did you do?

I'm completely not using the under-bench storage in back due to having a permanent mattress. I'm looking into ways to DIY hinge the mattress, though, to make access possible. Although I really didn't use that much in my Campster, either, and I did have access to some of the space.

I have a removable wheel for my jack right now and am thinking of bolting it on permanently. Downside? I guess having to crank the jack up higher.

That's all I can think of right now except that I have to crawl under the bed to put the cover back on the electric panel. It was open and Jack knocked it off when he had a seizure (and turned off the power) so I'll have to fix that. I may have to pull the mattress out to do it as I could barely get in far enough to flick the switch.
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Old 05-31-2017, 03:45 PM   #2
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One of the first lessons I learned is to have a rain poncho on board. It is not always sunny and dry when you have to set up at a campsite. Loren
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Old 05-31-2017, 03:58 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy View Post
One of the first lessons I learned is to have a rain poncho on board. It is not always sunny and dry when you have to set up at a campsite. Loren
I can't recall ever setting up in the rain- well, I did in November with this trailer, but I didn't setup- I just parked the trailer and left it on the hitch.

I did learn on that trip to bring along some way to light the site so I could back in in the dark, since I didn't quite arrive in time. Since then I bought a set of four little LED lanterns that pop up and I figure I can put them out on the four corners of a site to help with parking if I have to do it in the dark again. (Funny- happened with the Campster, too, as I had no idea then that one needed to book campsites way in advance in the summer, but I didn't think of adding lighting that time.) Now I'll probably never need them.
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Old 05-31-2017, 04:10 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
...except that I have to crawl under the bed to put the cover back on the electric panel. It was open and Jack knocked it off when he had a seizure (and turned off the power) so I'll have to fix that. I may have to pull the mattress out to do it as I could barely get in far enough to flick the switch.
For a while, we regularly kicked open the electric panel even when just sitting at the dinette. Finally, I added some simple window screen hardware to keep the panel from dropping open, yet still allowing easy access. There are available at any hardware store: United States Hdwe.: Brn Storm Window Clip, WP-8831C
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Old 05-31-2017, 04:13 PM   #5
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Packing is easy when you only go to "one" campsite. Packing gets exponentially harder for long road trips to the unknown. I find I tend to use heavy/bulky items perhaps once or twice a month on my trips.


One good piece of advice I heard was make sure everything has at least two uses.
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Old 05-31-2017, 05:03 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by BCnomad View Post
Packing is easy when you only go to "one" campsite. Packing gets exponentially harder for long road trips to the unknown. I find I tend to use heavy/bulky items perhaps once or twice a month on my trips.


One good piece of advice I heard was make sure everything has at least two uses.
I was thinking about that in view of wanting someday to do a long trip. I could have had fewer clothes as it ended up warm enough in both sites that I washed clothes in between (never wore the cold-weather stuff.)
Camping this side of the mountains I usually use both the warm stuff and the cool stuff in a given trip if it is more than a couple of days.
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Old 05-31-2017, 05:07 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by ksitte View Post
For a while, we regularly kicked open the electric panel even when just sitting at the dinette. Finally, I added some simple window screen hardware to keep the panel from dropping open, yet still allowing easy access. There are available at any hardware store: United States Hdwe.: Brn Storm Window Clip, WP-8831C
Oh, that's good to know, as I just assumed it would stay closed if it started closed.
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