Gamers who RV / Trailer / 5th Wheel / Camp / Glamp

Any GWJers out there like to relax by the lake on the weekends? How about roaming the countryside in your 5th Wheel or Coach? Use this topic to post experiences or pictures and let us know how much fun you're having. You can keep the pictures of black-water tank disasters to yourself, though...

Kit and I bought a small pull-behind camper almost 2 years ago. Due to unfortunate life circumstances, it sat in storage for 8 months and then we traded it in for a slightly larger one. That cha-ching sound you just heard was me losing $6,000. It hurt since we aren't flush with cash. But, the larger camper, a 2017 Forest River Extreme Lite Vibe 21FBS, is right-sized for us. The first one we bought was a 17' Wolf Pup and it would have been just too small for us.

We spend as many weekends as we can visiting state parks, all within 2 hours of here. We did take one longer trip to Branson, MO, but hit some medium winds and rain on I-44 and I did _not_ like that drive at all. We're pulling it with a 2015 Ford Explorer Sport.

Tent camping? RVing? Motor-homing? 5th Wheeling? Trailer Camping? Tell us your stories!

-BEP

Yay topic!

I respect folks with travel trailers. Towing and maneuvering one of those, regardless of length, is no joke.

We have a thing. We've lived in this thing for... sheez it's been 4 years now? We wanted to drastically simplify our lives, save money, and travel. All of that has happened and then some, though we've been stuck in Florida for a while and will remain so for at least another 9 months.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/WYgYZCM.jpg)

Going somewhere in one of these things is like having your own traveling condo. There's maintenance to do, but compared with maintaining a sticks and bricks home it's easy stuff.

Not many can (or want to) choose full time life in an RV. As such I'm an oddball. However, I'm very happy to talk about traveling in them, modifying them, and maintaining them. Along with daily life in this thing I've repacked wheel bearings, drilled into the frame to replace rear stabilizers, replaced vent covers, done roof maintenance, replaced an air conditioning fan motor, cut speaker holes in the side, installed cellular and wifi boosters, replaced a toilet, done plumbing and electrical work, converted a dresser into a desk, built PCs perfect for traveling and gaming while being low power... it goes on and on. Kaycee (wife) does the towing, and together we've backed this behemoth into spots all over the eastern US hundreds of times.

Here's a tip. See the sun shade we have on our awning? It's easy and fairly cheap to make your own. Ours was about $50 total for everything.

Buy one of these mesh tarps. Get a size that works for you. Within a foot or two of your awning width, and high enough to stretch near the ground at an angle.
Buy some of these stretch cords to attach to the bottom of the tarp. (We use 9 of them. I found a 10 pack at one point, but they're VERY inexpensive.)
Buy some of these party light holders, which fit in the empty channel of your awning tube and hold the top of the tarp. (Likewise, we use 9 of them.)
Get some of your favorite tent stakes to stake the bottom down.

Setup takes about 10 minutes at most. Temporarily bringing it down for a storm takes less than a minute. Full teardown takes less than 5 minutes.

To set up:
- The first time, attach stretch cords to the grommets in the bottom of the mesh tarp (these can stay that way). Then unroll your awning until you can put the vinyl hangers in the channel. These can stay in the channel and be rolled up with the awning (without the S-hooks).
- Using a stepladder (we use a cooler), hang the mesh tarp by putting the S-hooks in the hangers, and the other end of the S-hooks in the grommets in the top of the tarp.
- Stake the bottom of the mesh tarp through the stretch cords into the ground to secure it.

To temporarily unhook if there's going to be strong wind (15-20 mph without extra tie downs.):
- From a step ladder, unhook all of the S-hooks and lay the mesh tarp on the ground. Then put the hooks away and bring the awning in. This takes us no more than a minute or so.

To take down:
- Unhook the mesh tarp and put away the hooks as above.
- Remove the stakes and put them away.
- Fold and roll the mesh tarp for storage (keeping the stretch cords attached).
- Bring the awning in if needed.

You can also use the same hooks for hanging light strings, solar lanterns, etc. even when the sun shade is up.

I'm taking delivery of one of these bad boys in about 4 weeks. We wanted something more comfy than our tent, with room for guests, that could also go with us anywhere the truck can go. We regularly camp 50+ miles off road through sand, over rocks, and across rivers.

Until now we've just been tenting it, with a 12v electric blanket run off a car battery for the wife on the really cold nights. It works, but it's not ideal. We're super stoked and can't wait to take possession! Already have like 20 spots we want to haul it to.

I'll definitely be back to post more once we've got her!

What a great tip, Lou. We camped in 104* sun about a month ago with 115* heat index. Anything to help with the heat/sun is nice.

Holy smokes. That is the most bad-ass pop-up I've ever seen. You're going to enjoy the crap out of that. The outdoor kitchen area with the accessible cooler/fridge is great.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

Holy smokes. That is the most bad-ass pop-up I've ever seen. You're going to enjoy the crap out of that. The outdoor kitchen area with the accessible cooler/fridge is great.

Right? I've been going back and forth for over a year on what kind of camper to get. My #1 priority was something that can go anywhere, which really narrows your options.

I started looking into truck bed campers, but with a 5.5' bed on my Raptor, the options were severely limited. On top of that limitation, bed campers are not easily removable, so leaving it behind while doing some high speed offroading really wasn't a viable option.

My next thought was an offroad capable trailer, but there are surprisingly few available. The really capable ones all fell into the small teardrop category, with basically just a bed you have to crawl into and a kitchen off the back. Better than a tent, but not quite what I was looking for.

I don't recall where I first came across the Opus, but I liked it immediately. Did a ton of research, watched a lot of videos, and annoyed the heck out of my dealer with questions. I put my deposit down on April 4th, so it'll end up being roughly 5 months from order to delivery, which isn't bad for something coming on a boat from Australia. Can't wait!

We hope to join the camper brigade in time. I know I have reached out to Lou before because the living free across the US is very interesting to me and my work from anywhere ability now. My coworker did this for 2 years and they visited all 48 states with their kid. I have dreams of it but we'll see what happens in time. I have seen the Opus before or one similar and would love that pull behind for camping. I'll need to make some hard choices.

Bob (our truck) has broken down. From the description I got from Kaycee he shuddered and stalled, which tells me it might be the FICM - an occurrence which happens every 250K miles or so in a truck like ours due to heat and the amount of power it handles. At least I hope it was the FICM and not something worse.

I really need to get a bluetooth scanner so I can track temperatures, voltages, codes, etc. One would have told me if the FICM was in the process of dying, and possibly alerted me if there were other problems. They're highly recommended by folks in the RVing community who tow with large diesel trucks. I have been ignoring that advice for a while now.

As is mandatory for Pacific Northwesterners, I camp and backpack a bunch. Lots of car camping recently to indoctrinate the kid into camp life.

I'm trying and get out into the mountains to camp in the backcountry at least a couple times this summer. Did a neat micro-trip a few weeks ago where I left work with my backpack already packed in the car, drove out into the Cascade foothills, hiked my ass up a mountain and camped by an alpine lake, then got my ass up at dark o'clock, struck camp, hiked out and went back to work.

I've just recently come to the point where I can see some kind of wheeled, more comfortable camping option coming as I continue to age and sleeping on the ground gets less tenable. No idea what that'll actually look like yet.

Best backpacking trip ever? The Enchantments. Not my picture, but looking back down there having dragged myself up it (with a 35lb pack) was epic!

IMAGE(http://deanmyerson.org/files/photo%20archive/2009/enchantments/chant023.JPG)

LouZiffer wrote:

Bob (our truck) has broken down. From the description I got from Kaycee he shuddered and stalled, which tells me it might be the FICM - an occurrence which happens every 250K miles or so in a truck like ours due to heat and the amount of power it handles. At least I hope it was the FICM and not something worse.

Sorry to hear it, Lou.

LouZiffer wrote:

I really need to get a bluetooth scanner so I can track temperatures, voltages, codes, etc. One would have told me if the FICM was in the process of dying, and possibly alerted me if there were other problems. They're highly recommended by folks in the RVing community who tow with large diesel trucks. I have been ignoring that advice for a while now.

When we upgrade to a truck and bigger trailer/5th Wheel, I'll keep this in mind. I haven't really trolled RVing forums, but I think I should start. There's a ton of information to be learned.

-BEP

That "micro-trip" sounds so incredibly odd to me, yet I bet it was pretty damned cool.

I can't sleep on the ground anymore unless I have an air mattress or something. I see people at the campgrounds we frequent in tents but using portable AC unit and stuff in their tent. Where was this when I was young!

There is something... refreshing? about waking up in a tent to the early morning sounds of the wilderness, especially if you're camping next to a stream / river. We don't get that in the trailer.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

There is something... refreshing? about waking up in a tent to the early morning sounds of the wilderness, especially if you're camping next to a stream / river. We don't get that in the trailer.
-BEP

My girlfriend coined a term for the kind of camping we like: "kinda tough, kinda stupid".

We spent the weekend by the lake with our camper again. It was only in the high 80s/low 90s this time so it's starting to cool down. Our new rule is "Unless there's a compelling reason not to, we're camping this coming weekend."

I played some more Zelda:BotW Master Mode. We went for a few walks. Kit played some time management games on her Surface and read the last book in a series she's been consuming. It was relaxing and that's what she definitely needed after a bad week at school.

Obligatory lake pic:
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/MM9Q255.jpg)

My trailer is here!!! *

Spoiler:

* Well, it's 220 miles away in Denver, and I won't have time to go pick it up until next week, but it's no longer on a boat in the pacific ocean or on a flatbed in California!

Serengeti wrote:

My trailer is here!!! *

Spoiler:

* Well, it's 220 miles away in Denver, and I won't have time to go pick it up until next week, but it's no longer on a boat in the pacific ocean or on a flatbed in California!

DAMN YOU! There was supposed to be a pic in the spoiler!!

-BEP

Just took my last backpacking trip of the year. A quick one-nighter up to a backcountry campsite 30 yards from a gorgeous alpine lake, complete with beavers building a lodge and a soundtrack provided by frogs. Had the place to ourselves - one mile into the six mile hike up, we got off the busy part of the trail, and didn't see another soul until we hiked out the following day.

Here's the beach at Wallace Lake that we took a quick skinny dip in to wash off the mountain-sweat before the final flat mile onto Jay Lake.

IMAGE(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1874/42955367410_f1e194cf7e_k.jpg)

The Washington weather gods smiled upon us. Forecast was rain, rain, rain. Reality held the rain at bay the entire hike up, waiting until we'd pitched the tent and gotten into it for some campsite hanky-panky, then BOOM - the thunderstorm kicked off, and lasted precisely until we wanted to get out of the tent to cook some dinner, when the rain abruptly stopped. Rained overnight, and was dry again the entire hike out. Love it!

I set myself a goal at the start of summer to find at least one remote backcountry campsite, and I consider this mission accomplished!

"Jonman - Master of Weather"

What a great time. Why is it the last backpacking trip? Climate? No more vacation time?

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

"Jonman - Master of Weather"

What a great time. Why is it the last backpacking trip? Climate? No more vacation time?

-BEP

I'm not particularly geared up for winter camping. Particularly given that most of my backpacking is in the Cascades, it's cold up there in winter.

And potentially dangerous. I've had some learning experiences in the last few years that came far too close to danger to want to repeat. That one time that we both forgot to pack our waterproof pants, then it snowed like a mofo while we were camping. Hiking out through thigh-deep snow, up a steep hillside to the saddle of the mountain pass, that we'd lost the trail on due to the snow, and we only had strap-on traction. Like, we should have had snowshoes and ice axes. Pretty sure the girlfriend was in the early stages of hypothermia during the last mile back to the car. I was ready to dump my pack and put her on my back if I needed to.

Boy did we laugh in a "we nearly just died" kind of way when we got back to the car, stripped off all our soaked clothes and sat there stark naked with the heater running for a good half hour.

But yeah, I'm less keen on pushing that envelope these days.

Taking her out for her first trip this weekend, but couldn't resist setting her up to check her out. I'll post more pics after the weekend, but here's one of her from the inside.

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B2yqQx1Xq-hZNYAnuTy8VNoNqs8aV81fAOUU_tu1d1EknK5auKUz9ZXwTlkZjmQPN_E8kSSgH4WstctGe3n8ENx0Fy9hgKQicbI6HT5CBK1_GYxNyecTa3G2DRUyiwjNILXFYjwedQ=w2400)

Hell, yes. That is awesome.

We had to bail on our camping this past weekend but we are definitely going this coming weekend.

I can't wait to see some pics of where you take that beast.

What are you pulling it with?

My guess: Subaru Outback.

My father lived close to you in Delta for quite a few years. I always enjoyed my trips out there to visit. He bought the KOA there after health made him retire from the New Jersey Dept. of Corrections.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

What are you pulling it with?

My guess: Subaru Outback.

Close... Ford Raptor

Serengeti wrote:
bepnewt wrote:

What are you pulling it with?

My guess: Subaru Outback.

Close... Ford Raptor ;-)

So nice. So nice.

-BEP

Rained all last weekend, so I didn't get any pics of the new setup really, just one:

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L7TQJ8UP2Hfw_nJq1c01xWzgRgHG-FFX4t6WkhIyYN6tRg3d0ywA0WVgJR1MzZelrtlTEQM6rtR_MDHG6BDyTLA9-QHcKACRDZHNDePZAOMXwMHgoztDklq2FhGyhAiJ3hQbfT3u-A=w2400)

She kept us dry and warm though, so mission accomplished!

Serengeti wrote:

Rained all last weekend, so I didn't get any pics of the new setup really, just one:

Looking nice. We went last weekend, too, and it rained almost the whole time. We canceled this weekend's outing for the same reason. Boooo... We love the sound of the rain, but I don't like putting the awning up wet and dealing with the wet carpet thing we have that's like the one you are standing on.

Serengeti wrote:

She kept us dry and warm though, so mission accomplished!

(two thumbs up)

Up until now, over here it has been the opposite: keep us dry and cool. Next trip out we will have to fire up the heater.

-BEP

Some pics from this last weekend in Utah!

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MFK8Yl50xlhEvnEN1c8qvtNPD1qiIOSYa76ScGeUP77bWi3uPRdaWko1iBp4Ix2Ohnuxys9-Ug_Hsw7vffVlTbzWpis6TTvDeHF9m1zu0cl2NKZOG1QQv2AXpS-hD9J3a7QxgHT3tA=w2400)

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kJt8bHf4aJB2Zy02pneV506UtQhYXwyO3tYll6bo0erhtuwUH32bCQ2t0zzGgTd2Ae8_cQmymyHiownT59vjXq20SN2Tau27zbafnAMeZtmQTboj0nL8P309F21aHACt7SHkQAMXTA=w2400)

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GwXVrsn0gTssRvapwtbkHfRjadLStAU1vRiCuhbCEWRYsqqWlFgqwV9_kq5mZFQb86BSjOkbYbElkcCZZNZIWyQGbhxcciCWhbT5LPHeMejxyQ-xG62GoVIkfq5DdNBY29VSIJUq3g=w2400)

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CJJnYDYuQnifaQWSdJLSEnjCa7JmjfXHuqDJbgc_ZD52Nc6uKrbXYY2CtGMteCyqUTwtG5IPyARgm3bH-AgUm2I4Sua5sbR5l7Efmxt-xsGvkzuv-3uj8KipGhqzAl91a-vMXpLfow=w2400)

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/F4LGpFWTuwU_wC73W6hhbj0EjZbZktWT8jAaOnePqQW7W2OIOCwUb8DeOQMv4I_DJYiwQw4k17gP8bXRr7ruUanKMWTvyM_s90C6xze3rFTSO8yNUqFGwG16MVaeu2HreYTJ6geRMQ=w2400)

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WY3Pg3oe-QWMG8by5yx4Yhmm4CQTyRL3ctFrPv9YvtXPG5yubEdiWPGj5QaL41VaDkgDChVSMHyJLcgcpzDEov3buM9DblOd1bW1MSPsa4j7PSyaUQ1caS8A4UqpTHAl-VcVuitaJw=w2400)

Man, what a gorgeous spot. A little jealous over here.

We're going this weekend and it will be cool enough to use the heater. Snuggle time!

The downside is I am on call and we're doing some maintenance to our production database nodes this weekend so I'll have to log on late Saturday night.

-BEP

Awesome thread. It might be fun for people to list their favorite areas. For me it would be Ozark National Scenic Riverways in SE Missouri. You can literally pack up a canoe or kayak and hit one of the rivers and just float and camp on any sandbar you want as it's all National Forest. Most of the rivers are spring fed so the water is crystal clear. There are tons of fish and wildlife and the scenery is beautiful with tons of cliffs and springs feeding into the rivers. There's also many well maintained camping/rest areas.

Here's a quick pic of one of our favorite spots we call the "jumping rock". I love to cliff dive and that's me being my crazy self doing a round-off flip. It's hard to tell but the water there is about 15 feet deep and goes straight down. Yes, we do always check the area every time we find a jumping spot. Even the ones we know in case there's something new that is further down and harder to see.

IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vgBhK2XsQDXZGdx1mnoHDZsbY9TjlPrZzahzUhjDUIRtT_-kmEx7R4ZpB39NLrOz6EO1wqCXIjfXmL1hCGNq_lJResAiAPxBdzzJ8v3koQOoODlnjglY0OEvpaYwYglCcaVX5LL7Fw=w2400)

Need to process your pic through a google link service first me thinks

Hobear wrote:

Need to process your pic through a google link service first me thinks

FIXED!

Totally off topic, but where is the truck driver thread? I can't find it anywhere.

MaxShrek wrote:

Totally off topic, but where is the truck driver thread? I can't find it anywhere.

This one?

-BEP