Greetings from British Columbia

ExTenter · 03-05-2013, 11:48 AM

We have been toying with the idea of a RV for several years and always thought in terms of something compact and relatively easy to use, maintain and store. We were of course familiar with tent trailers – our neighbour had one. Living in bear country, albeit in an urban area, made us somewhat cautious about having only canvas between us and them. In fact we have a bear that frequents the small wooded area behind the house. Between that and no longer really wanting to sleep on the ground, we had pretty much given up tenting.

Well then along came the spring RV show and having a little more spare time on our hands being recently retired, we decided to have a look. Lo and behold, we spotted something new to us, pop-up hard side A Frames.

The A Liner was the first we zeroed in on and while the general quality and construction seemed good the price seemed a bit high. The larger model we preferred was pushing into the price territory of a smaller toy hauler that appealed as it would enable us to bring along the motorcycle. Then we spotted the Rockwoods. For comparable quality, better features and what we think is a better finish at a lower price, we thought the Rockwoods deserved a closer look.

One visit to the dealer a week later and we now await delivery of our A122! We did consider other models of the A Frames. The TH model was tempting, again thinking of the motorcycle, but at 640 pounds it could make for difficult loading on the tray and probably do bad things to the tongue weight. The length was also a problem for the garage. Having read through this terrific forum in advance, we knew that storage was a common though not insurmountable issue. Although one of the storage compartment models would just fit in the garage, we decided we had enough capacity in our Titan crew cab for what we want to bring along. Regardless, we've learned our lessons about packing light with both tenting and air travel. So the A122 seems to fit the bill perfectly, and with spring finally in the air in our part of the province we are really looking forward to test it all out.

Yukon Don · 03-05-2013, 12:01 PM

Welcome to the forum.
I'm sure you'll really like the A-frame.

Wiscampsin · 03-05-2013, 02:37 PM

Welcome to the forum. Hopefully you can test out your Aliner real soon!

caper · 03-05-2013, 02:48 PM

There are many great CG in BC. Our favorite is Living Forest RV park in Nanaimo BC. They offer many sites that are ocean side or ocean view. The Littlejohn's are great hosts. Enjoy your new trailer and welcome to the forum.

VTX Al · 03-05-2013, 02:51 PM

Greetings..... and welcome aboard.

...VTX-Al

**Terier** · 03-05-2013, 11:28 PM

Hi there! Congrats on your A-frame! I also looked at the Aliners and almost brought one. Like you I found the price pretty high but came close to signing the deal. While on the lot getting a refund my sister found my TT and wanted me to take a look. Since then I have looked at the FR A-frames and found them to be nicer and not so pricy as the Aliner. I know you will be enjoying your new trailer for a long time.

Good luck!

Night Stone · 03-06-2013, 12:37 AM

Congrats on your new A-Frame and

to the forums.

This is one of great places to meet and talk about camping, trailers and everything else related or non related to Camping

ExTenter · 03-06-2013, 10:22 AM

Thanks all from near and far for the warm welcomes! Already some ideas where to take ourselves. Despite years of tenting, we can see from going through this site an RV obviously means a whole new realm of possibilities. So many great people willing to share their experience and provided helpful advice. We're sure we'll be taking full advantage of this once we actually have and start using our little unit.

Hey VTX Al, is that as in VTX 1300/1800?

puff · 03-06-2013, 10:35 AM

Another B.C.'er.....yippie...

We're organizing to take over..!

VTX Al · 03-06-2013, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExTenter

Thanks all from near and far for the warm welcomes! Already some ideas where to take ourselves. Despite years of tenting, we can see from going through this site an RV obviously means a whole new realm of possibilities. So many great people willing to share their experience and provided helpful advice. We're sure we'll be taking full advantage of this once we actually have and start using our little unit.

Hey VTX Al, is that as in VTX 1300/1800?

'02 1800R with lots of bling - but gone now , just recently sold her. Still not over the separation pangs

...VTX-Al

puff · 03-06-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VTX Al

'02 1800R with lots of bling - but gone now , just recently sold her. Still not over the separation pangs

...VTX-Al

How could you sell your 1800......

I am having issues with when and if I can put insurance on mine...having a few nice days sure does not help.

ExTenter · 03-06-2013, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puff

How could you sell your 1800......

I am having issues with when and if I can put insurance on mine...having a few nice days sure does not help.

Not sure who you insure with, but if it's any help, I get my private portion through Coast Capital Savings (actually the private carrier they use is right there on the Island) and on my total combined package save just over $150 vs the more common Beacon policy. I believe the big factor is Coast provides liability & Beacon doesn't. My #s for last year are on a motorcycle sub-forum thread about this topic.

puff · 03-06-2013, 11:29 AM

Is Coast part of the Credit Unions..?

My "if and when" are not money related....I was struck by a front end loader at work that lost it's brakes...picked me up and tossed me. Having issues with my shoulder and pain/neck headaches....the list goes on.

ExTenter · 03-06-2013, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puff

Is Coast part of the Credit Unions..?

My "if and when" are not money related....I was struck by a front end loader at work that lost it's brakes...picked me up and tossed me. Having issues with my shoulder and pain/neck headaches....the list goes on.

Coast Capital Savings is a BC credit union and I think you can get the insurance with them even if you don't use them for banking. Closest branch to you is Nanaimo. You'd have to check that out thought.

Didn't mean to imply money pain; just that the motorcycle thread was about grousing about high rates and I was offering up my experience for what it was worth in terms of saving some - hopefully,

Wish you a good recovery so you can get back on two wheels soon.

puff · 03-06-2013, 05:50 PM

A better price than what I am paying now is very welcome, and thanks for the info..!

ExTenter · 03-10-2013, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by caper

There are many great CG in BC. Our favorite is Living Forest RV park in Nanaimo BC. They offer many sites that are ocean side or ocean view. The Littlejohn's are great hosts. Enjoy your new trailer and welcome to the forum.

I took a look at the Living Forest website and can see why that would be a favorite. However, BC Ferries sure is a disincentive for anything other than longer trips! Even our little A122 adds about $100 each way over the base vehicle rate. Have you noticed any difference to site availability on the Island with the recent ferry rate hikes?

caper · 03-10-2013, 03:35 PM

We could not make the trip this year. The DW and I are snow birds and because of the high cost of med. insurance to go south we stay in Canada. The BC ferries do add to the cost but we usually stay at Living Forest for the winter (5 1/2 Months). We checked the cost of CG on the mainland and paying $250 each way was still less expensive.

puff · 03-10-2013, 07:30 PM

BC Ferries have not decreased the rates

...if anything they have increased prices. Not fun for those of us trying to get off the island and very counter productive in bringing tourists to the Island.

This is a huge debate over here and unfortunately I do not see a solution in the near future..!

caper · 03-10-2013, 07:51 PM

It might cost less if the government did not run the ferry service. Anything that the government tries to run always costs more. Like most government run companies they are most likely top heavy with management. They say they are not making a profit but still give upper management big bonuses.

jonnys_walkers · 03-10-2013, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puff

BC Ferries have not decreased the rates

...if anything they have increased prices. Not fun for those of us trying to get off the island and very counter productive in bringing tourists to the Island.

I was told they now measure from the front of the tow vehicle to the rear of the vehicle being towed and charge $5.60 per ft plus $14.85 per passenger. For my wife and I to go from Victoria to the mainland it is $309.70 each way.

As April 01,2013 they have annonced another increase.

Why leave the island or why come to the island?

You may also like: