Rich_by_the_Bay
Moderator Emeritus
Well, we took our new RV on it's maiden voyage last weekend, billed as a technical shake-down cruise. It's a Class B and a half (i.e. bigger than a van, smaller than most class C's). Destination was Fort Desoto park, a gorgeous beachfront destination with heavily wooded campgrounds - souhern pine, palmetto, live oaks, spanish moss.
The RV was great: all systems worked well except the water heater, which I am working on (looks to be a pilot light issue). It was a hot night as usual, and we admittedly took some perverse pleasure at just pulling in and being all set while our neighbor campers spent an hour putting up their tent, drenched in sweat. Cooked dinner, watched a DVD of the old Robin Williams movie "RV" as we fell asleep (nice sound system). Felt almost self-conscious at not having to do anything but enjoy. Fridge provided nice cold drinks and produce, microwave great for quick cup of tea or a reheated meal.
We have a nearby place here where you can pre-cook meals and freeze them, and plan to stock up on nice ready-to-cook meals before our next longer trip, so the cooking will be more optional.
Sophie the Big Black Dog loved it - country walks, cozy den, no obvious distress. Couple of folding camp chairs and decent nonalcoholic
wine (alcohol not allowed in most gov't campgrounds). Dolphin sitings. Lots of Class A's around, too -- many decked out for what looked like a long stay.
Things are really cozy in this RV, as expected. But the way it's set up allows one of us to be at the dinette table up front (front seats swivel 180 degrees to face a small table) while the other is lounging on the sofa bed in back, 15 feet or so away.
The vehicle is impressive. It's a Dodge Sprinter diesel, 23 mpg, decent handling, ABS, small enought that now that I am used to it, it's SUV-like in feel.
Moment of truth on Sunday as we addressed the issue of waste water. We'd agreed that we would confine our use of the RV to..., well... liquid waste only for this trip. I followed the instructions and tips I had gleaned from various web sites, pulled up to the dump site, donned my gloves, and 5 minutes later we were on the road. Anticlimactic.
I added a 3 foot pour of concrete to the sides of my city driveway allowing us to keep the Pod (new official name) in the driveway while we can scoot around it to the garage in our cars. Motion detector alerts us to any visitors as a spotlight goes on.
Conclusion: so far so good. One more shake-down to the Venice, FL area (kayaks and bikes for rent), then a 5-dayer to St. Augustine and Charleston where we hope to hook up with Astro and anyone else en route.
The RV was great: all systems worked well except the water heater, which I am working on (looks to be a pilot light issue). It was a hot night as usual, and we admittedly took some perverse pleasure at just pulling in and being all set while our neighbor campers spent an hour putting up their tent, drenched in sweat. Cooked dinner, watched a DVD of the old Robin Williams movie "RV" as we fell asleep (nice sound system). Felt almost self-conscious at not having to do anything but enjoy. Fridge provided nice cold drinks and produce, microwave great for quick cup of tea or a reheated meal.
We have a nearby place here where you can pre-cook meals and freeze them, and plan to stock up on nice ready-to-cook meals before our next longer trip, so the cooking will be more optional.
Sophie the Big Black Dog loved it - country walks, cozy den, no obvious distress. Couple of folding camp chairs and decent nonalcoholic
wine (alcohol not allowed in most gov't campgrounds). Dolphin sitings. Lots of Class A's around, too -- many decked out for what looked like a long stay.Things are really cozy in this RV, as expected. But the way it's set up allows one of us to be at the dinette table up front (front seats swivel 180 degrees to face a small table) while the other is lounging on the sofa bed in back, 15 feet or so away.
The vehicle is impressive. It's a Dodge Sprinter diesel, 23 mpg, decent handling, ABS, small enought that now that I am used to it, it's SUV-like in feel.
Moment of truth on Sunday as we addressed the issue of waste water. We'd agreed that we would confine our use of the RV to..., well... liquid waste only for this trip. I followed the instructions and tips I had gleaned from various web sites, pulled up to the dump site, donned my gloves, and 5 minutes later we were on the road. Anticlimactic.
I added a 3 foot pour of concrete to the sides of my city driveway allowing us to keep the Pod (new official name) in the driveway while we can scoot around it to the garage in our cars. Motion detector alerts us to any visitors as a spotlight goes on.
Conclusion: so far so good. One more shake-down to the Venice, FL area (kayaks and bikes for rent), then a 5-dayer to St. Augustine and Charleston where we hope to hook up with Astro and anyone else en route.
