Wednesday, October 6, 2010

From this........to this.


Backroads Information-Change in Sleeping Quarters

I purchased my first tent trailer way back in 1982.  I was tired of getting up to a cold tent on hunting trips in October.  So on a whim, with more money than sense I purchased a used tent trailer to try out.  We kept that trailer for 15 years until it more or less rotted away.  

We then purchased the trailer seen above.  I did not care about a bathroom, but did want a shower and this was one of the few tent trailers with a shower, but no bathroom.  My personal worst was twenty-three days without a shower while working in the back-country of Sequoia National Park.  Unfortunately, the solar shower was invented AFTER my days as a field Forester.  The trailer had a pop-up shower and I used it!

Tent trailers are perfect for backroads and hunting camps.  They sleep plenty of people.  Throw in an ADD-A-ROOM for additional cooking and eating space.  So even a bird hunting camp with four dogs and three bird hunters can be comfortable for ten days.  Eating dinner with three people and four dogs in a 10X10 space is a memory that I will treasure for years.

My daughter and wife enjoyed the trips in the tent trailer.  However, now as we enter our sixth decade Susie has decided that we needed more comfortable accommodations.  So our first step was to purchase a Dodge Ram 3500 Diesel Truck.  And I would like to thank all the RV'ers that expressed concern about whether we had "enough" truck to tow our tent trailer.

Yesterday, we purchased a 30.5 foot 5th wheel to compliment the Dodge Ram.  I guess we just could not take the comments about "enough" truck.  So I am on a learning curve about towing a 5th wheel, not to mention set-up.  The trailer is three feet greater than the consensus for backroads use of 27 feet.  We will be much more comfortable and I will be able to haul more of my toys.

I am trying to decide which of my telescopes, float tubes, canoes, camera's, fly-tying stuff, computers (you know one for general use, one for the telescope, one for hooking up to the GPS), and bicycles.  So far I know Susie is coming along for the ride and I am sure Bugaboo will appreciate the extra sleeping room in the 5th wheel.

Bird Season and fly-fishing is in full swing in October.  So the plan is to hunt and fish for the rest of this month and then get ready for travel to the southwest after Christmas.

Some of the upcoming boondocking locations will be in prime bird hunting locations!  So stay with this blog for those special places.  And keep your eye out for a 30 foot Cameo towed by a 3500 Dodge Ram.  Stop and say hi if you catch us on the road. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Congratulations on the new rig!

Looking forward to reading about your new boondocking adventures in it!

Linda Sand said...

Now you get to learn to watch out for low hanging branches. It's amazing how forests tend to have those. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting photos, what an upgrade.

Truly a home away from home!

Doug said...

Congrats on the new 5er! I just got a new one myself. I think you might have enough truck now.

Vladimir Steblina said...

Thanks to everybody for the comments. We remain set-up at Confluence State Park less than a mile from our house.

So far, everything works fine in the trailer. We are trying to figure out the fantastic fans.

Hook-up and leaving here will be interesting. We have a rather tight driveway so that will be the last hurdle prior to the trip south this winter.