Reflections of our First Pop Up Camping Trip

[maccve]

Well, we went on our first camping trip this weekend and for the most part, it was a success. Our kids had a blast and we made it safely towing the camper to the campground and back home...

Our trip started Friday morning as we loaded up and headed to Branson MO to the Silver Dollar City Wilderness Campground (a very nice campground by the way)! Our plan was to attend Young Christians Weekend at SDC. As we got closer to our destination, I kept checking the radar on my phone and saw we were going to get deluged with rain...so I told the family we need to hurry and try to get camp all set up before the rain hits...I thought, "No Problem..." we would just pull in unhook and level and then hit the power winch and raise the roof on the camper and be all set up before the rain would hit....

Well, unfortunately, my battery was dead....for some reason, my shiny new Palomino Traverse Sequoia was is not charging the battery...from neither shore power or the Tow Vehicle.... I was able to raise the roof about 5" before it ran our of power...so I thought, no big deal...just get the hand crank and start cranking... Ah...not so easy....I had put the hand crank under the front mattress and could barely fit my arm underneath to find it... Ended up having my wife and I stand on both sides and lift as much as we could while our skinny little 8yo stuck her arm in there and found it...

So after that hurdle was crossed...we started cranking...and cranking...and cranking...and it started raining and raining and cranking...luckily my tow vehicle has a lift up rear door, so we were able to stand under it and stay somewhat dry...

Long story short...we finally got it cranked up moving at approximately 1 cm per minute...even got the awning unrolled for the first time and set up, which helped with the rain.... and in the mean time, our neighbor "Paul" in his 36' Travel Trailer with triple slide-outs came over and we made a new friend...he tried to help us, but to no avail...

Anyway, after getting all set up...power hooked up...water hooked up...sink drain hooked up and the cassette toilet all filled up and ready for action, we set out to go to SDC for a friday night concert....that is a whole story in itself, but we survived the night and made it back to our camper and turned oh the heat and heated mattresses (VERY NICE BY THE WAY) and had a nice cozy cold night in our first trip to the campground!

Saturday morning, we got up and hooked up the electric griddle ( I know...not really roughing it, but it sure was easier) and fried bacon and pancakes...then headed out for another fun filled day at SDC...Finally make it back to camp for the evening and hooked up the BBQ grill...I could not get it to work...I had just tested it the week before....I spent 15 minutes cussing and screaming (in my head) til I finally realized that the gas line had a shut off valve on it that you could not see when it was turned upside down....problem solved...grilled chicken .... everyone was happy! Our friendly neighbor "Paul" and his girlfriend came over to our campsite and we proceeded to sit around the fire til after 11pm while his daughter and our kids played and played and ended up with kid from all over the campground playing together...really neat experience! They loved it...

To top off the evening...we found out our new friend makes his own Moonshine and he even gave us a jar! Very smooth! We finally called it a night...

Sunday morning was "Go Home" day...we got up and ate some wonderful Cinnamon Rolls from SDC, showered and started breaking down camp...all we could think about was how much fun it would be cranking down the roof until Paul showed up with a power drill and we were able to get the right socket on it and that roof was down in about 15 seconds!!!!

Everything else was all packed up and home we went....

Lessons Learned:

Bring a drill just in case
Bring jumper cables....all I needed to do was hook up jumper cables wire connections going to the winch and it would have worked just fine (which is what I did when we got home and I needed to unload everything).
Get to know your neighbors...you never know when they may be able to help you...or you help them!

I am looking forward to our next trip...not sure when it will be yet, but I will be more prepared!!! Of course, I still need to figure out while my battery does not charge...may be the first warranty service call....

[themounties]

That is memories right there.

[handbuilder]

Definitely a fun memory to reflect back upon. Great to hear everyone had a fun time! Way to go, in handling the first time challenges!

Could the problem have been an in-line fuse? I carry a box of various fuses that my trailer uses "just in case". So glad as they have come to my rescue a couple times for the trailer as well as the truck.

[Terier]

X2 on having spare fuses on hand.
Even with things not going as planned it sounds like you had a good time.

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[rburns4147]

With memories like those you could write a book.

[LittlePM]

Seeing children out playing at a campground is one of my favorite parts about camping, no video games, no computers, the kids are out side. I have found most campers are happy people, and happy to help their neighbor, we all had to start some place. Glad to hear you had fun, remember it's not about how far you go it's about getting away.

[maccve]

This is our camper all set up on our site....my wife thought we were among giants as were were surrounded by huge travel trailers and motor homes...

[jeeplj8]

Makes me miss our pop-up, had some great trips. While in Florida had the guy next door in a Class A giving it the once over one morning, he could not believe how much was packed into a high wall pop-up. Or that we had a king size bed...still miss that bed.

Had the fuse problem and did the hand crank thing. at least was dry when I had to do it. Learned to carry extra fuses a drill for all kinds of things.

[Wiscampsin]

Originally Posted by maccve

This is our camper all set up on our site....my wife thought we were among giants as were were surrounded by huge travel trailers and motor homes...

It's not how big your camper is. It's all about how much fun you have. Once when we had our popup a huge Motorhome backed into the site next to us. The guy spent about 15 minutes getting his satellite receiver aimed and went inside. That's the last we saw of him until Sunday morning when he came out to retrieve the Sat receiver. I guess to them that was camping .

[delb2917]

Originally Posted by Wiscampsin

It's not how big your camper is. It's all about how much fun you have. Once when we had our popup a huge Motorhome backed into the site next to us. The guy spent about 15 minutes getting his satellite receiver aimed and went inside. That's the last we saw of him until Sunday morning when he came out to retrieve the Sat receiver. I guess to them that was camping .

I don't know how people can go camping and watch t.v. ( satellite). Just read wiscampsin's quote. That a shame.

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[mlangdn]

I've had camp neighbors that will willingly give up their last beer, and some that will barely say hello back and disappear.

My only "bad" experience was two years ago. I was loading firewood on the TV when I was bitten by a garter snake. I thought it was a king cobra at first!

Then I had a blowout on the TV. After that - golden.

[WrongWayRandall]

Originally Posted by maccve

....my wife thought we were among giants as were were surrounded by huge travel trailers and motor homes...

I know the feeling - we have an A-frame popup and a vintage VW camper and we are ~always~ dwarfed by our neighbors.



- Randy

[David 01]

My first camper was a pop-up Palomino. My son was 2 1/2 and we had a bun in the oven. No bells or whistles on this trailer! Woke up in the middle of the nite to one heck of a storm. The trailer was rocking. My boy and DW slept through the whole thing. I stood there with my arms in the air waiting for the roof to fall in. The next day we saw tents mangled and debris all over the place. It turns out a tornado hit the next town over about 4 miles down the road. I will never forget that night!

[loobdyloo5]

Gosh I can't wait to use my new pop up. But won't b going camping for a few months. I am writing down tips from your stories tho. So far a drill and jumper cables! Any one have any must have tips?

[maccve]

Originally Posted by loobdyloo5

Gosh I can't wait to use my new pop up. But won't b going camping for a few months. I am writing down tips from your stories tho. So far a drill and jumper cables! Any one have any must have tips?

Don't forget spare fuses! Look in your little fuse cabinet if you have one...and see what fuses you have and get some spares...turns our that is what happened to mine...the battery got too low and when it does, they said it is common for the 20 amp fuse to blow... Have fun!

[loobdyloo5]

Ok I'll check, we won't b using the hookups on r first trip. Just battery I guess. So thank u. How long should I expect to have power, b 4 the battery goes dead? We just purchased the 2014 Forest R 282TXR Model. Never had a pop up b 4. So lots to learn!! Does anyone know about the little table that hooks on the outside of the popup kind of next to the grill? It shows that on the DVD and papers. But I did not get it, along with the hanging pantry.

[WrongWayRandall]

Battery life depends completely on how much you draw on it. Keep the lights off when you don't need them (and convert them to LED bulbs when you can), the same goes for anything else 12v electric - the less you use the longer the battery will provide power. After a time you will get the hang of how long you can run things on a single battery and decide if you need/want an upgrade. True deep cycle batteries will give more 'run time', multiple batteries will give still more, but you have to consider whether you need more or not, whether the cost + weight are worth it, etc.

I would also get a multi-meter to check the battery. If you prevent the battery from dropping below 12v it will last a lot longer and perform better over it's lifetime. As a battery is used it loses capacity, even when properly cared for - the more deeply it is discharged the faster it will lose capacity, and if you really drain it hard it can 'die' quickly and need to be replaced. Most batteries provided with your camper at time of purchase are not that great (about 50 amp hours usable, perhaps less), so be careful the first time out and monitor the battery voltage.

The table in mine was under one of the bench seats, but the dealer went though everything with me at the time of pickup and made sure that I was happy with everything, that everything was there, etc. If you don't have the other items you might want to check with the dealer to be sure that they were not removed, or are hiding in some storage compartment or under a cushion somewhere.

- Randy

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by loobdyloo5

Just battery I guess. So thank u. How long should I expect to have power, b 4 the battery goes dead?

if you use the furnace all nite, it could be dead by morning or later the 2nd day. very few can get two nites of furnace use, out of one battery.

that's why most of us that dry camp or boondock, go with a two battery setup and a generator or solar system.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by maccve

This is our camper all set up on our site....my wife thought we were among giants as were were surrounded by huge travel trailers and motor homes...

Your Pop-up looks to be the same design as ours was...nice rig and a perfect camper when the kids are younger.

Hope you make many memories!

[Archicamper]

We spent 15 years in popups before we moved up to our hybrid. Believe me you won't look back. Enjoy the family time. My kids have many great memories of family camping trips!