DW's Maiden Voyage

[4kmprs]

DW and her 5 girlfriends piled into the F150 super crew (yes, all six of them in one truck) and arrived safely tonight at their camp site in Lily Dale! NY after 3 hours driving and 2 toll booths.

They were greeted by a very friendly fellow traveler who offered to back up the 233s into their site for them. DH thanks this individual who helped very much as this was the part we both worried about the most (it was a great thing that he was there because the last back up camper you tube video that taught her about "the scoop" that i sent her this morning at 5 am this morning may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.)

i suspect there are many women on this forum who take their rigs out alone, but the fact that DW was doing this on her own was definitely generating looks of surprise from our friends and family who never camped before.

DW receives all subscribed posts in her inbox so if your are a woman who takes the rig out on your own, please consider responding with a tale or two of your adventures. i am sure she and her friends will enjoy reading your responses by the camp fire while i have a Wii mario tournament at home with my 2 DDs.

Thanks and Happy Travels.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

DW and her 5 girlfriends piled into the F150 super crew (yes, all six of them in one truck) and arrived safely tonight at their camp site in Lily Dale! NY after 3 hours driving and 2 toll booths.

They were greeted by a very friendly fellow traveler who offered to back up the 233s into their site for them. DH thanks this individual who helped very much as this was the part we both worried about the most (it was a great thing that he was there because the last back up camper you tube video that taught her about "the scoop" that i sent her this morning at 5 am this morning may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.)

i suspect there are many women on this forum who take their rigs out alone, but the fact that DW was doing this on her own was definitely generating looks of surprise from our friends and family who never camped before.

DW receives all subscribed posts in her inbox so if your are a woman who takes the rig out on your own, please consider responding with a tale or two of your adventures. i am sure she and her friends will enjoy reading your responses by the camp fire while i have a Wii mario tournament at home with my 2 DDs.

Thanks and Happy Travels.

Your DH has filled us in with some of the details of your current trip. It's great that you & your friends are on this journey. The unknown can be a little scary but not for long if you are willing to tackle it. As you already found out RVers are a friendly group and willing to help.

As a solo woman RVer I often get stares from other campers as I pull up to my site. They tend to get busy while I set up camp but later while out for a walk I will get positive comments about being able to do it by myself.

At the last campground I wanted to be able to back into my site by myself so I could check that off my To-Do list. Last thing I wanted was to be the center of attention but of course circling the campground a couple of times didn't help to deflect attention. I felt more comfortable backing in from a particular direction but kept passing up the lane. Campers actually pulled up chairs and watched as I started backing up but it was a very short show as I got the trailer in where I wanted it on the first attempt.

I am proud that you are tackling this trip. Just think about the choices you now have. Where will you go next? Above all - enjoy yourself!



Take care,
Terier

[4kmprs]

#terier,

Thanks for the reply. i enjoyed reading it and tip my hat to you. Your solo traveling is a testament to the safe, comfortable, friendly and helpful culture that exists within the camping community. Congrats also on mastering backing into the camp site!

DW and her 5 friends arrived home safely tonight after having a fantastic weekend. It definitely was an adventure for them and "Rooby" too.

The front right stabilizer jack got bent when they were hitching the camper for the trip home. (A friendly camper helped bend it back in place and out of the way so it could be raised for the trip home.). this is a very minor thing and will be a quick repair and a simple list reflecting the order to disconnect and reconnect will help prevent this from occurring again..

The plastic brakeaway key/cable was hanging freely from the brakeaway box when she pulled up to the house. DW said the trailer pulled fine all of the way home which really concerns me. I don't understand why the brakes on the trailer weren't locked up, smelling like burnt rubber or smoking. I would have expected some type of physical difference in the towing and some visual and other sensory clues. Something definitely is not working the way that it should.

Our new Dometic Elite Slide Topper is now sporting a blue streak on the metal cover courtesy of something blue that jumped out and rubbed against it. Fortunately, the slide cover works fine and the metal cover protected the vinyl portion of the cover so no permanent damage was experienced.

One of the white plastic "plugs" that are used to plug in the tent fan/light appears to have suffered a wound by one of the DD's during the previous outing as it was hanging by the wires when the women arrived at the site.

And, lastly, the wood panel in the fridge door slid down again and snapped the battery disconnect button cleanly into two pieces. (this is the second time this happened with this new camper.)

Again, the women had a great time and these very minor things have been imprinted in their memories as part of this adventure with friends. They are already planning their next trip.

I will be off to the dealer tomorrow night to get these minor things resolved.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

#terier,

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

DW and her 5 friends arrived home safely tonight after having a fantastic weekend. It definitely was an adventure for them and "Rooby" too.

The front right stabilizer jack got bent when they were hitching the camper for the trip home. (A friendly camper helped bend it back in place and out of the way so it could be raised for the trip home.). this is a very minor thing and will be a quick repair and a simple list reflecting the order to disconnect and reconnect will help prevent this from occurring again..

The plastic brakeaway key/cable was hanging freely from the brakeaway box when she pulled up to the house. DW said the trailer pulled fine all of the way home which really concerns me. I don't understand why the brakes on the trailer weren't locked up, smelling like burnt rubber or smoking. I would have expected some type of physical difference in the towing and some visual and other sensory clues. Something definitely is not working the way that it should.

Our new Dometic Elite Slide Topper is now sporting a blue streak on the metal cover courtesy of something blue that jumped out and rubbed against it. Fortunately, the slide cover works fine and the metal cover protected the vinyl portion of the cover so no permanent damage was experienced.

One of the white plastic "plugs" that are used to plug in the tent fan/light appears to have suffered a wound by one of the DD's during the previous outing as it was hanging by the wires when the women arrived at the site.

And, lastly, the wood panel in the fridge door slid down again and snapped the battery disconnect button cleanly into two pieces. (this is the second time this happened with this new camper.)

Again, the women had a great time and these very minor things have been imprinted in their memories as part of this adventure with friends. They are already planning their next trip.

I will be off to the dealer tomorrow night to get these minor things resolved.

I like the name "Rooby" for the trailer. I didn't name my trailer but did get personalized plate with "Plucky 8". The number 8 is considered lucky because it goes on and on. Why Plucky? I came across the meaning one day and thought it fits my journey.

Two trips ago I put down the stab jacks prior to unhitching thinking why not? I got my answer when I realize I had to raise up the jacks to disconnect and then lower them again.

On my last trip I didn't use a checklist and was almost walking out the door when I remember I needed to pack clothes.

Once I arrived at the service department with my plastic brakeaway cable dragging on the ground. I would had thought the freeway would had torn it up but then I don't know when the out of placement occurred. This was also a lesson for me to double check everything especially when someone is helping regardless of their experience.

On my last trip I got off on the wrong exit and had to take somewhat of a detour to get back on the freeway/highway. As I was driving about 35 mph a tree limb jumped out and wracked my radio antenna on my last trip. No damage to the roof but the antenna is tilted at a angle.

There's a dime size indent/hole in my fridge wood panel. The door came open during travel and made contact with a tiny rubber bumper I had placed on a doorknob the day before. I was going to get the panel replaced but FR used a ton of glue so I'm living with it and now I don't notice it much at all.

As time goes on my thinking pattern has changed. The way I see it now is a trailer without boo boos is a trailer not used enough.

Glad the trip went well even with some of the little lessons. Like you said - nothing major. I hope they take another "girls only" trip again soon.

[2Susan]

Originally Posted by 4kmprs

DW receives all subscribed posts in her inbox so if your are a woman who takes the rig out on your own, please consider responding with a tale or two of your adventures. i am sure she and her friends will enjoy reading your responses by the camp fire

Last year I took the 32 ft motorhome out with my 3 young children (this year the twins were in2nd grade, little guy in first). In the middle of ranch land, I hit a fierce hailstorm. When I stopped to top off the gas (in case I needed to run the generator) there was alimentary sized hole punched out of the bathroom vent.

My solo with children trip starts in another week- down to Idaho. I am pretty much staying in the same place with power & water, but no sewage connection. I am thinking about one of those barker tanks and hoping the nearby friends will let me dump it in their septic. Suggestions as to size of tank appreciated.

The 6 ladies trip sounds like fun!