Getting ready for first RV trip

[dm]

I bought a old travel trailer about a year ago and it looks like we will finally get to try her out. We had planned to go earlier in the year, but I had truck troubles on the way back from having the trailer weighed to make sure I wasn't overworking my truck. So I spent $ 5000 on a new engine and a few other goodies on my 2005 Avalanche and then it just got to hot. Of coarse I started reading some RV forums so I also purchased a Hensley hitch to be safe. Then I recently read where you should replace your tires every 5 years and the one's made in China had some problems. So I just checked out my tires and of coarse they are 5 years old and made in China, and I have split rim wheels. So Ive got new wheels on the way and they are suppose to arrive on Thursday, I am planning to leave on Friday.

This sure remind's me of my boating days.

 

[REWahoo]

This sure remind's me of my boating days.

Resist the urge to buy an anchor.

 

[dm]

Resist the urge to buy an anchor.

At least I don't have to pay slip fee's.

 

[NW-Bound]

So, how long will you be going? Can you tell us something about your plan?

 

[dm]

Just a short trip to see how everything works and how we like it. We are going to a lake a few hours away and meeting some friends there. We plan on staying for 3 or 4 days. This is new to us, the last time we went camping was 1980 and we stayed in one of those little dome tents.

Hopefully we will enjoy it and can start planning some longer trips. I think the fact that it has heat/air and a bathroom will make things much more comfortable than the tent.

 

[flyfishnevada]

You will love the quick set up. No putting up tents and hauling out ice chests. Just un hook it, level it, set out the chairs and crack open a cold one. The bathroom is great too. No more laying in the tent debating whether or not you can make it until morning or you are going to get up and make the 100 yard dash to the restrooms in the chill air.

Have fun and let us know how it went.

By the way, DM is my initials (Dan McMartin).

 

[audreyh1]

This sure remind's me of my boating days.

There are definitely some similarities! Although I think in general you get many more hours use out of an RV than a boat (unless you live on one).

Good luck on your shakedown cruise!

Audrey

 

[Eder]

Be careful with the rv thing...I got mine in March and still on holiday haha.

 

[dm]

Well we just made it back. We had a good time and no suprizes. There are of coarse a few things that we still need to work on, but nothing big. The truck pulled the trailer fine, all interstate and flat. Got 12.5 miles to the gallon, better than I expected.

Here are a couple of pics of our old trailer. It did bring a few lookers and we gave a few tours.

I guess the pics are too big, over 2mb. I'll post if I can figure out how.

 

[dm]

Here are a couple of pics of the trailer at the campsite. It was a pull thru with full hookups.

 

[Bingie]

Is that a Sliver Streak? What year? It looks very nice and just the perfect size.

 

[dm]

Its a 1964 Streamline, 26 ft. I'm not sure what the difference were from the Streamlines and Silver Streaks. They look pretty much the same to me.

 

[REWahoo]

Very nice looking rig!

 

[flyfishnevada]

Great looking trailer. I love those old trailers. Glad you enjoyed. Looks like you had the place to yourself.

 

[dm]

Great looking trailer. I love those old trailers. Glad you enjoyed. Looks like you had the place to yourself.

The pics were from early Friday. It started filling up some later Friday and Saturday. But there were still several spots open. I imagine it is getting late in the year and the kids are back in school.

In the future, on shorter trips anyway, I plan on leaving the house on Sunday and returning by Thursday. No need to fight the crowds if I don't have to.

 

[RonBoyd]

In the future, on shorter trips anyway, I plan on leaving the house on Sunday and returning by Thursday. No need to fight the crowds if I don't have to.

Ain't Retirement great? Everyday (any day) is Saturday.

 

[NW-Bound]

Now that shake-down trip was a success, how about a longer one? To Anchorage next year?

 

[nwsteve]

For those of you thinking of an RV trip to Alaska, here is a web journal of some friends that have just returned. Full Time RVing - Because We Can They took nearly five months to do it and usually did not cover more than a couple hundred miles per day to do it.
Click on their journal archives at upper left and you can follow their journey north and home. They post a lot of pics so it will give you some good insight.
Nwsteve

 

[NW-Bound]

Thanks for the link! I have only seen the first page, and I like what I read already.

We met people who had mechanical problems, and who just laughed those problems off as part of the experience. We met people who had mechanical problems and were not only sorry they had come, but declared they would never be back. Just think if you were a friend of either and asked them about their experience of "going to Alaska", what impression would you come away with, and what effect would it have on your thinking?​

I guess it is still an adventurous trip, or perhaps as adventurous as one wants it to be, meaning depending on how far and deep one likes to venture into the real wilderness. Heh, heh heh... I like it...

When I told my family of my intention, one of my nieces said she had read of some people who drove to Alaska, then could not hack it no more, so sold their RV up in Anchorage and flew back. Heh, heh, heh... So, wouldn't completing that trip turn me into a real RV traveler?

Heh, heh, heh... Well, what I will or can do is still nothing compared to the guy who rode a moped up to Fairbanks, but I will be proud once I complete the trip, knowing that some sissier souls fail at that. Now, I just have to make sure my wife does not happen to read anything like the above on the Web.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Awesome pics and great news about the first successful journey! I love the silver ones--we have a painted Airstream (the Argosy motorhome) 28 footer and just put down cork floors in her.

We are foolish enough to have both the boat and the RV, but we were always overachievers in the "how the heck are we going to keep all this cr@p running?" department. And yes, the slip fees are definitely in the RV "Plus" column.

I'd love to see the interior if you have any more photos.

 

[dm]

Here is a "before" interior shot.

 

[dm]

And some later ones.

 

[dm]

We had to replace many items, and still have some work to do, but we are getting closer to what we want. We replaced the mattresses, water heater, flooring, toilet, A/C, water lines, wheels and tires, and I'm sure a few other things that I have forgotten about. We still need a refrigerator, table, change some light fixtures, ect. The hardest part of the whole project was stripping off the old paint.

I did most of this during the colder months. I don't want to take time away from my golf game. It's sometime hard to find the time. It's a good thing that I don't have a job to get in the way.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I love the redone interior. Very modern. And the colors look great with the silver. What are the floors?

 

[dm]

The floors are a floating vinyl. I think Allure was the brand name, Home Depot carries it. The pieces basically have a sticky lap joint that joins them together, but not to the floor. The floor was easy to install, and its easy to keep clean.