[A/S] First trip out

["Tim Shephard"]

As many of you may know we finally took our '71 Safari out after a year of
working on it here and there.

We drove about 150 miles to Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area. This was our
first trailer camping trip ever.

I was towing with my '98 Ford Expedition with a 4.6L V8. The drive up was
uneventful and the truck/trailer combo performed well on flat and average
roads.

After we got into our full hook up pull through site, we found that the
campground had one toilet and shower for the 131 sites they had. Turns out
this campground is home to a lot of people who live there year round. The
guy next to us had been there 6 years.

I was planning on testing the shower but we ended up having to use it. I
was surprised that 6 gallons of water could last an entire shower. A quick
navy shower, but a shower. Three of us were able to shower, and the baby (6
months) was able to have a warm bath.

We cooked in the trailer only and that worked out fine. We also installed a
microwave which came in handy.

Between the stress of the us being first timers, and the baby with her
needs, we made it and are willing to do it again ;-)

Some things I learned:

- When the black water tank is full and backs up into the toilet, it leaks
as water was dripping from the underbody seams when I went to dump it :-(
- My small 4.6L V8 can only go 25-35mph when going up a 6-7% grade ;-)
- I can back up between two trees in only 15 minutes
- A 30 year old furnace that you fixed with out a carbon monoxide detector
is useless when you have a 6 month old baby
- A 30 year old furnace that you fixed even with a carbon monoxide detector
is useless when you have a 6 month old baby and your wife won't let you run
it
- Mountains is too cold at night for a baby without a working furnace.
- Don't do everything in one day, makes every one grumpy. Take more days
and do less.
- When the water heater stops working, you can use the microwave to heat
the water for the baby bath
- Babies don't like microwave water for a bath
- If your going to take the time to check the voltage and power plug safety
of the site, you must be prepared to switch sites. So check it first!
- After the first night, the trailer bed is comfortable
- Don't forget the Tylenol
- Trailer towed great. Need to always remember it's there.

-Tim
tim@t...
http://www.telecom-pros.com/tim/tim