First Camping with the new Aframe

[Tomscat]

Our first camping trip with our new Aframe was to Big Lake, AZ.
Thoughts for our first time out.
Positive:
1. The unit goes up amazingly fast and easy... we would never go back to a PUP after owning our Aframe.
2. Loved having the bed already made up when we got to camp.
3. At night the temp was in the 50's and we stayed safe and warm inside.
4. The furnace was awesome.
5. The ease of pulling it. DH said it towed like a dream and was easy to make a U-Turn with.
6. The camping space we had was sort of tiny and the A-frame fit nicely.
7. When it was warm the fan cooled nicely.
8. When it rained we stayed dry.
9. It was easy to clean when we packed up.
10. The water heater was wonderful.
11. The outside shower was nice too.
12. It was fast to put back down.
Negatives:
1. I really disliked where two of the electrical outlets are. One on each end of the bed. There was no way to get to them the mattress covers them.
2. The mattress was very uncomfortable. (we will be getting a topper for it)
3. The counters are too low. (I'm 5-9) No fix for that. I sat on the bed to do the dishes.
4. When using the sink the bed gets wet.
5. The refrigerator is a pain. (I used for food storage mostly.)
6. Lack of a screen door. There was a lot of Horse flies and they wanted to be inside not out.
7. The outside cabinets will not stay shut unless you lock them.
8. The radio could not pick up even one channel...
Other thoughts... I wish there was a drawer under the Microwave, right now its just wasted space. Also it would be nice it there was a drawer under the bed too. It does have storage space but it's not easily accessible.

[Tomscat]

Big Lake, camp site 09

[cleancut39]

congrats on your new aframe. We identify with everything that you said as we went camping with ours for the first time last month. Don't buy a topper! It will not cure the ills of that bed. We bought one and ended up taking it back and buying a memory foam mattress. Now sleeping in the camper is just like sleeping in our own bed. We pick one up on line for 300.00. Remember that the full size bed is extra long 80 inches and not 76 inches. I hope this helps Happy camping!

[Laura June]

We have an A122, and I found that for washing dishes, I fill a dishpan with water and set it on the stove when closed. This raises it up far enough that it does not hurt my back. I put the washed dishes in the sink to drain. This little trick has worked well. It also keeps the bed from getting wet. I use a collapsible dish pan to save space. Thought this might help for one of your problems

[backpacker3]

Congrates on the new camper. We use paper plates and plastic silverware whenever possible and it almost eliminates washing dishes. With anything, you get some good and some bad, adapt to the world you live in and all will be good.

[D-mo]

We purchased a small plastic table, about the hieght of the BBQ ledge thing .. and place it outside to do the dishes .. and to keep our utensils and plates and stuff .. it prevents us from constantly going in and out of the Aframe and bringing in bugs, plus its easier on the back when doing dishes and stuff. The outside shower is used as a water source .... for those darn dishes ...

d-mo

[DGrissom]

Originally Posted by Tomscat

Our first camping trip with our new Aframe was to Big Lake, AZ.
Thoughts for our first time out.
....
Negatives:
6. Lack of a screen door. There was a lot of Horse flies and they wanted to be inside not out.

Other thoughts... I wish there was a drawer under the Microwave, right now its just wasted space. Also it would be nice it there was a drawer under the bed too. It does have storage space but it's not easily accessible.

I noticed that your unit had a light and a sink mod based on your pictures.

You may want to try Lee's screen door modification.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...128-16006.html

(Note: I am trying to debug a similar "Magic Mesh" modification on my A128s. It works. My wife and I cut it to fit, etc.. At this time I am having problems with Velcro sticking to the aluminum door frame. The heat causes it to quit sticking. As soon as this is fixed I may post pictures.)

The microwave cabinet looks pretty large. However, the wheel well seems to restrict a great deal of the space. I think that is why FR decided to not put a drawer there. We keep "MUST" items in it. First Aid Kit. Extra flash lights etc. It's still, for the most part, wasted, but now it seems important.

On the A128 models, it would be nice to have access doors on the sides of the back dinette to allow us to get items in and out without rearranging the seats to get to the items without doing the seat cushion "shuffle".

I totally agree. The refrigerator is a pain! While it works great and is a huge asset, it always seems like my wife or I are on our knees trying to find the ??? or !!! in it.

As stated by a previous message. The unit has a number of plus's and minus's. The minus's make you think "What can I do to get around this?". This seems to be a fun part of the experience for me.

[D-mo]

I would be interested in the reasons for the light and sink modifications ..
oh ... we keep our pots and pans in that below the MW area ... enough room for a stack of stuff, provided they are less than 2 quarts/litres.

cheers .. d-mo

[toleworks]

We also do dishes outside next to the shower. We use an extension cord that has multiple outlets that also has a flat plug that can be used between the outlet and mattress. The locks on the outside cabinets and shower can be easily replaced with non-locking knobs, just get the correct length. The OEM locks are pretty worthless anyway, I read that most of these locks use the same key and,if not, the doors could be easily pried open with a screwdriver. Love my new latches.

[kixonrt66]

My wife and I just purchased a Rockwood Premier A122BH hard side and we noticed right away that the provided interior sink is entirely inadequate for dishwashing purposes. We do most of our cooking outside anyway so we purchased a stainless steel "Kamp Kitchen" unit that sets up like a folding table under our EZ Up shade cover. This unit has a good size sink with a hose drain, a drain board, a rack for spices and cooking utensils, paper towels and a special shelf for a camp stove. The interior sink gets used for hand washing and brushing teeth, etc. So far the only thing we use the inside stove for is boiling water in a tea kettle. Our outside camping stove and provided BBQ grill works well for everything else. Dishwashing chores are best kept outside as they can get messy and are always wet.

Kix

[Tomscat]

Originally Posted by D-mo

I would be interested in the reasons for the light and sink modifications ..
oh ... we keep our pots and pans in that below the MW area ... enough room for a stack of stuff, provided they are less than 2 quarts/litres.

cheers .. d-mo

Modifications your asked about.... The camper was used and the past owner was a retired engineer. In the 3 months that he owned the camper he put in the extra faucet it works with shore water and by-passed the pump. We rarely have shore water so I doubt we will be using the extra faucet much.
The RED light is truck marker light with a toggle switch. It works as a night light.... or at least that is what we think it's for.
He also added in a 'high wind" kit. You can see it on one of the photos. Additional drains for winterizing under the sink.
He took out the front of one of the seat cabinet and it does make it easier to get to. (I will get a photo next time)
And several other things... I will try to get photos of things next time. He even kept a detailed log of what he did.... but not why.

[threegeeks]

We just purchased a Rockwood A124 and feel the same way! Your screen room looks pretty easy to set up. We set up the Screen room that came with the A124 and it was a pain. We ended up take it down permanently and will not used it again. Have fun!

[ssfreedom]

cleancut39. do you have the link for where you bought your memory form bed and what size? Thanks.

[Broadway Joe]

I bought a full sized queen mattress fro $139.00 from this site.
Cloud9 Memory Foam, On Sale items in Bed RX Made in the USA store on eBay!which came as three pieces.

1) 4 inch thick firm memory foam
2) 2 inch thick medium memory foam
3) 1 inch thick soft memory foam
4) mattress cover

HTH