Camping Re-imagined

It was over twenty years ago when my wife had a suggestion that we should camp as a family.  So we went and bought a tent, which we promptly returned to Gander Mountain as it was missing parts.  We then bought a tent from REI, which we were using as of last year. Our camping trips have provided some great stories. The one constant through out our varied camping trips can be summed up in perhaps one word:  Rain. We have had short, but intense rains, all day rains and then there was our first major trip to Pattison State Park which presaged the storms to come:  6" in 3 hours on our first evening.   We had rain on most trips, some major storms in which there were tents in the campground that had collapsed, others left the campsite flooded which had us depart for home, and other times it was just so wet we left for home too.   Rain in itself is not bad, but heavy storms and all day rains of cold temperatures certainly put a damper on the camping experience. This past week my wife and I made a change to our method of camping accommodations.  We bought a small recreational vehicle. Our first shake down camping trip with two young boys was a September weekend over twenty years ago to Lake Kegonsa State Park, and going back to the past, our first shake down trip of our new RV was to this same park.  Having the RV begins a journey for us in which camping is re-imagined.

T@B 320S Boondock Lite
Day of purchase, June 4, 2019

The recreational vehicle we purchased is a small RV whose inside is smaller than the family tent we used when the kids were young, and which over the past three years my wife and I migrated back to due to head room, and space for the blow up mattress we started using about four years ago.  We thought having a blow up mattress was glamping.  It was two years ago, or there about, when  my wife and I had our first discussions about purchasing a camper about the time we retired. The idea being to go and enjoy the wonders this country has to offer.  At that time we knew we would need a new vehicle with which to tow, as the minivan was over 20 years in age.  We went to Jerry's Camping Center to get an idea of vehicle weight, and hitch weight, and all other oddities which I really don't understand.  The advice we received was:  Get at least 35% more tow capacity than what you think you will need as out west you lose about 2% of tow capacity for each 1,000 feet in elevation gain.  We also knew we wanted a vehicle that would store our current tent camping gear.  That led us to the Jeep Grand Cherokee with factory tow, which we purchased in July of last year.  I had the mantra, that I would prefer close to a 50% tow capacity.  With camping you can add toys:  kayaks, bikes, etc which all count to gross vehicle weight.  Hence, it is better to not have to worry about overload, and have sufficient capacity.

Solar panel and bike rack

Beyond visiting Jerry's a number of times over the past two years, we also went to the RV show in February at the Dane County Exposition Center.  My wife was wondering if I would ever pull the trigger on purchasing a camper.  I had joined some camper forum's and quite frankly, some of what I read made me wonder if I should buy one.  Yet, in April we visited Jerry's to look once again at Campers, including the Little Guy Mini Max, the T@B 400, and the Luna Sol, but also once again examined the T@B 320S.  We spent some time questioning the sales consultant about our needs and desires.  For example, I have never towed, and we are going from a tent situation where most of our camping is done in rustic campgrounds.  With no electric hookup, the camper would be dependent upon battery and/or propane.  The T@B 320S seemed to best fit the our needs.  We waited a couple weeks for a new shipment to arrive, and so on a cold and rainy Saturday  in mid-May we once again made our trip four miles to Jerry's to see the new arrivals.  In the show room was a 320S (S stands for shower and toilet) Boondock lite version, which provides 15" tires and higher ground clearance than the standard T@B 320's.  Being off grid in camper lingo is called boondocking, whether in a national forest dispersed camping (in the wilderness with out any services), or in a Walmart parking lot.  The order time frame which was 6 weeks in April was now four months.  Thus, I decided to buy the white with black trim that was in the showroom after having just arrived.   (I would have preferred the white with red.)  What made up my mind, quite frankly, was the cold wet spring this year which showed that Hovel camping weather will not go away. The camper is not a small investment, and additions of bike rack, solar panel, sway control bar, rear camera on the trailer, and brake controller were not insignificant.

All day rain, and mid 50 degree temps (high) at Pattison State Park, Aug 2017
Screen tent with home made rain-fly cobbled from old tents we bought cheap

Jerry's sold over 180 T@B units last year and is on pace for over 200 this year.  They had already sold two the day we  picked ours out.  While promised in two weeks, it took a few days more.  So it was on Tuesday, June 4 that we picked up our camper and promptly went to Lake Kegonsa State Park not far from our home or from Jerry's.  While we enjoyed our three night camping trip, we really did not put much to the test.  We did not add water or use the inside shower or toilet, nor cook inside. We used very little electricity.  With long days and pleasant nights we did not need the heat, although if we had an electric site and hooked to shore power we may have used the air conditioning to cool the unit down the first night.  One reason we chose the 320 is that at its size it is designed to get you outside.  Outside is the reason one camps.  We plan to still do our cooking, and cleaning of dishes outside and use the camp toilets.  The thunder storm on our first night this past Tuesday was not unexpected--it was after all a Hovel camping trip.  I have long thought to solve drought, people could send us camping.

Our Camp site in NE Wisconsin, August 2018
Yes, we had rain on that trip too

What the camper will provide is an ability to provide some heat when nights get cold, or a place to have some warmth and stay dry at those times when it rains all day and the temperatures struggle to get to the low 50's.  For example, our September trip last year the low got to about or below 40 degrees. It was cold even in 30 degree sleeping bags, with a wool blanket on top, and bundled in long underwear.  The days warmed sufficiently for me to swim, and there were only about ten other campers in the campground during that week.  With those not uncommon cold and rainy days we will no longer need to shiver in our screen tent playing Yatzee.  We can now play games in our T@B on those cold and wet days, and if adventurous we can turn on the heat.  As we grow more comfortable with the camper, I can see us using the inside shower when we are in a rustic campground.

Our T@B and Jeep Grand Cherokee
June 7, 2019

For two years we had been looking at campers.  T@B's (tear drops) and A frame pop ups were at the top of our list.   For two years, after first seeing the T@B at the dealer, we have never seen one on the road, nor in a campground.  But, that changed on Wednesday.  As I exited our campsite Wednesday late afternoon I saw a vehicle pulling a gray 320S.  After dinner that night we tracked them down, and it was a couple who bought a used 2018 from Jerry's last year and were on a shake out trip as their first trip this year.  They too live in the McFarland postal code area.  Of this first camping trip with the RV, the most amazing thing is I was able to back it in the camp site, although it took  more than a few attempts. To get it better positioned, we simply unhooked and moved it a little bit.  I am sure we will still have our adventures and stories to tell of camping in this small RV, after all our sleeping quarters have changed, not our desire for the outdoors and the adventures it brings. On second thought, our camping trips will now be beyond re-imagined, they will be a reality using the small camper.  We have yet to name the camper, but stay tuned for further adventures.

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