New A frame owner

[bsinc1962]

I just took delivery of a 2017 A122S and can't wait to use it.

I've been pouring over the forum and everyone seems to be so friendly and helpful which is great. I belong to several car and photography forums and it's not always that way.

My original camper search was targeted at a tent popup, but because of where I live most of the campgrounds require hardside only because of the number of bears around. So an A frame just makes sense. BTW I live about an hour from Yellowstone in NW Wyoming so yeah lots of grizzlies around.

I also wanted something low while towing because it tends to be pretty windy around here so stability is important to me.

No questions yet, just wanted to say hi.

Bill

[Broadway Joe]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your camper.

[brewjaz]

Hi from Mechanicsburg, PA.

We used to have a canvas pop-up---I'm SO glad we got the hard side a-frame. Hope you love yours as much as we do! Enjoy!

[Wiscampsin]

Welcome from Wisconsin and congrats on your 2017 A122S.

[Mountain Girl]

Welcome from Walland, TN we love our A Frame.

[Brimare57]

Hello from SE Michigan. Welcome and congrats on your new Rockwood.

[chuck9997]

Welcome.. I love my a122s (2014).. good luck with your new one.

[mollypcb]

Welcome from Colorado Springs! We have been out three times and will be heading out again soon. We moved up from a 4X6 teardrop that we loved, but have been very happy with the amenities and added room...and ease of our a-frame. This forum has been invaluable! Enjoy!

[Harris85]

Congratulations on your new A-frame. It will be a much easier set up than a pop-up and no more worries about wet canvas after a rain storm. Enjoy!

[Camp Nutz]

Welcome and happy camping from Carey, Ohio

[Dsfast]

Welcome to the site we love our 128s

[bsinc1962]

Thank you to everyone.

The camper arriving couldn't have come at a better time. There's a forest fire about 35 miles west of us and even though there isn't any danger from it getting to us, the smoke has been quite heavy.
We're going to tow to an area on the other side of the mountains where the air is clear for the weekend.

[Mama]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your new purchase! We just bought our Flagstaff model similar to yours a few weeks ago. We've had it out twice and can't wait to go again next weekend. You'll love it!! Stay safe in that fire - sounds scary!!!

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by bsinc1962

Thank you to everyone.

The camper arriving couldn't have come at a better time. There's a forest fire about 35 miles west of us and even though there isn't any danger from it getting to us, the smoke has been quite heavy.
We're going to tow to an area on the other side of the mountains where the air is clear for the weekend.

Welcome to the forum. Wishing you many happy memories in your new camper.

[FLGrandCampers]

Congratulations. We purchased a 2016 T21DMHW Flagstaff and just love it. Just returned from a 15-day trip. Only problem we had was one of the roof latches came loose and actually fell off. Plan to call the dealer on Monday. Should be an easy fix.

Planning a trip to Yellowstone next summer. We will are in the process of planning our route. Hope to travel through SD, WY and MT. On the return trip we want to have a stop over in NE Texas. Can you recommend any campgrounds?

[bsinc1962]

Originally Posted by FLGrandCampers

Congratulations. We purchased a 2016 T21DMHW Flagstaff and just love it. Just returned from a 15-day trip. Only problem we had was one of the roof latches came loose and actually fell off. Plan to call the dealer on Monday. Should be an easy fix.

Planning a trip to Yellowstone next summer. We will are in the process of planning our route. Hope to travel through SD, WY and MT. On the return trip we want to have a stop over in NE Texas. Can you recommend any campgrounds?

Campgrounds as IN Yellowstone or in the surrounding area?

[bsinc1962]

As a follow up, we've now used the camper for the past two weekends at two different areas and are loving it.

It feels like you learn something new every time out. After the first weekend we added a mattress topper to soften things up a little. The temps got down into the 30's so we used the heat pump which worked well. We did manage to forget a couple of things but kept a running list so that we have them on hand going forward. The first campground had power which made the weekend a bit easier.

The second weekend would be a bit more remote so 12v and propane only. Over the week in between I added a small 12v inverter in place of the floor mounted night light. This allowed us to get satellite radio and to charge the cell phones at night.

The only major issue/concern we had was that while we went off hiking on the last day we returned to the CO detector going off. The only thing running was the refrigerator which was on propane. Not sure what's up with that. The camper was all closed up so it was pretty hot in there. I reset the detector and opened everything up and turned on the fan and it didn't come on again the rest of the day but it's something to definitely check out before the next trip.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by bsinc1962

Campgrounds as IN Yellowstone or in the surrounding area?

Good question.
Camping in Yellowstone is great location for seeing the park. Since entering from any gate is quite a drive to the center of the park where you can expand out to other park roads to see other sites. (Review a NPS map of Yellowstone.)

As for outside the park, it is great if you have pets you want to hike with.

I have a lot of experience camping, outside Yellowstone, from Island Park ID, to Cody WY, to Red Lodge MT and along the Beartooth parkway. There are numerous Forest service campground (Shoshone NF and Custer NF).
Some actually have electrical hookups, most do not.)

My favorite is probably Wapiti Campground, Hwy 14, about 20 miles from the East Entrance to Yellowstone (but once inside the park it is about 20 miles to get to the center of the park). East side of the campground has electrical hookups, west side does not. But great trail/road to walk back into those cliffs in the background.


On the Beartooth hwy, MT, just west of Red Lodge, is the Greenough campground, no hookups, but plenty of hiking trails, but not practical for visiting Yellowstone, but great for the Beartooth Hwy, and Chief Joseph Pkwy.


There are trails (roads) to hike and no problem with pets. (NPS is not a lover of pets.)
The Shoshone NF east of Yellowstone does have one of the highest populations of Grizzles and a fair population of black bears so need to be careful when hiking or camping. However, other than a grizzly turd outside my trailer one morning, never had a problem in the campground; however, did use bear spray on a grizzly one day while hiking. SO BE CAREFUL.

In Custer NF in MT. did have a black bear come in to the Greenough campground one morning, but some guy was actually frying bacon on the grill (I was getting hungry smelling the bacon, can only imagine what the bear was thinking). Not sure who moved faster, the bear or the guy into the trailer. But his scream scared the heck out of me.

It really depends on what you want to do. If just see Yellowstone, try and camp in Yellowstone, if see the area, camp outside. Personally, I will never camp inside a NP.

[chuck9997]

Originally Posted by bsinc1962

The only major issue/concern we had was that while we went off hiking on the last day we returned to the CO detector going off. The only thing running was the refrigerator which was on propane. Not sure what's up with that. The camper was all closed up so it was pretty hot in there. I reset the detector and opened everything up .

How did u reset the CO detector? I have had it alarm and the only thing on was the hot water heater.

[bsinc1962]

Originally Posted by chuck9997

How did u reset the CO detector? I have had it alarm and the only thing on was the hot water heater.

I just pushed the reset button on the front of it.