Our 23K

McMonk · 06-01-2010, 02:48 PM

Let's see if posting the picture will work:

This was the first trip out - Glen Rouge campground in the City of Toronto!

Pretty cool oasis in the middle of the city....loved it!

McMonk · 06-01-2010, 02:51 PM

And trip number two....

This time only about 30 minutes from home - Lac Philippe, Gatineau Hills, Quebec.

Quiet, beautiful, wonderful trails for hiking, walking, biking or whatever.... even explored a cave!

McMonk · 06-01-2010, 02:53 PM

The Cave:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0...D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0...D550/ry%3D400/

barrelslime · 06-01-2010, 03:01 PM

Nice trailer, whats the deal with the short door?

McMonk · 06-01-2010, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrelslime

Nice trailer, whats the deal with the short door?

Access to the beer fridge..lol - no, there's a bunk in the back that folds up to allow for extra storage, including straps to hold things down! Two bikes just fit in there & with the strap, surprisingly stay upright. I'm pretty darn impressed with this trailer!

Still have some modifications to do, though.....

barrelslime · 06-01-2010, 03:31 PM

Do yall use the outside grill? Wev got one and used it once. Its such a mess to store, we dont use it at all anymore.

McMonk · 06-01-2010, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrelslime

Do yall use the outside grill? Wev got one and used it once. Its such a mess to store, we dont use it at all anymore.

Yup, used it both trips...bacon, sausages, steak...no issue with it so far although it doesn't get quite as hot as I'd like for searing. Overall I like it - it's very convenient and actually cleaned up pretty nice both times with soap & water. I found a cardboard box that it sits in quite well & once cool, it just goes in there and then in the front storage compartment for travelling. I came across some left-over carpet from a construction site, which I cut up and put in all the storage areas in the trailer, that way things don't slide all over the place. Works pretty good...now, ask me again at the end of the season and my opinion might be different! I still have the old portable BBQ sitting in the garage 'just-in-case'!

Denise · 06-02-2010, 12:22 PM

Nice tt McMonk! We also have the exact same outdoor mat.

McMonk · 06-02-2010, 05:13 PM

We'd bought that at the Chievres PX in Belgium just before we came back from Europe. It really is the 'cat's meow'.

Got it one day with the lawnmower though, so one edge looks like the 'cat' really had a go at it!

Gone Camping · 06-03-2010, 06:50 AM

Nice set up McMonk. I have the same grill and have been using it for the last five years.

Denise · 06-03-2010, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McMonk

We'd bought that at the Chievres PX in Belgium just before we came back from Europe. It really is the 'cat's meow'.

Ok, so this might be one of those "...here's your sign!" type inquiries

But, did you buy the mat to use while camping in Belgium (or get it knowing you were going to use it with a new tt in Canada)? If so, how did you camp, and what was a camping experience like for you guys in Belgium?

McMonk · 06-03-2010, 06:37 PM

Ah...great questions!

We spent 3 years over there; our 21RDB Aerolite sat in storage here in Ottawa the whole time (couldn't ship it/couldn't insure it over there). We did a couple of camping trips in Germany but in a tent (talk about regressing...it was very 'retro' lol). For the most part our camping experience was in 'single-wide' park models in France, which was absolutely the way to go (Port Grimeaud). Our original intent was to buy a VW van and putter around, but that never happened! We'd lived in Mons, Belgium, which is pretty much the armpit of Europe so didn't do much camping in that area.

I'm a cheap SOB (ask my lovely wife or anyone else who knows me) so the year we were returning we stocked up on as much 'tax-free' crap as I could before we came back & the carpet was included. Now, here's the thing....the carpet was made in Asia, shipped to the US, re-shipped to Germany, transported by road over to Belgium, purchased, packed-up, shipped from Belgium to Halifax, took a road trip to Ottawa, got unpacked.... went over to Quebec where it met its best friend the lawnmower.... all for under $50.00. Now THAT's a deal!

Denise · 06-04-2010, 10:23 AM

Neat story especially of the extensive sightseeing your ever faithful mat has experienced in it's short lifetime

How did you find or learn about the trailers to camp in while in France? Are the campgrounds much like typical US campgrounds? We occasionally talk about our next trip to Europe. Our thoughts always change with the last being that we would do the train across Europe and stay in Hostels while living out of a small carry-on as opposed to a backpack. But camping could be fun too!

McMonk · 06-04-2010, 07:43 PM

*sigh*
Had a good long response for ya Healthi, but as things go it seems to have been deleted!

Camping in France was something found & suggested to us by others - but it was a great place to stay...

http://www.riviera-villages.com/prai...tation_fr.html

It was about a 14 hour drive for us - we did the drive once, but after that flew to Nice and rented a car any other time we went. Awesome place to visit (twice we ended up there during their annual Harley Davidson bike show...fun but loud).

Camping in Europe is different than here - hard to explain how but it is. Some of our friends loved camping throughout Europe, but they had more patience than I would have. We tented it in Germany and found things to be rather crowded.

Most of our travels were in B&B's, agritourismo's or small hotels - we found Italy and Germany to be the most interesting - the south of France to be very 'British' and Switzerland to be awful expensive. We travelled extensively by train, but you have to understand that the train isn't as we imagine it to be... think, NY subway above ground! It wasn't as cheap as we'd expected, nor as convenient. In the end, it's public transit designed to move the locals around. We favoured some of the discount airlines (ryanair) to get from place to place. Even with that, however, in the end while it was cheaper, it wasn't as nice as spending the extra 100 euro's for something better.

Most of our holidays there were weekend trips - so we learned to pack light. We almost never checked baggage & were quite content to do the best we could with what we could fit in our bags! It was fun!

Me.... I like wilderness-style camping in our provincial parks. I don't need TV, electricity or copious amounts of water. A bed, a fire, an glass of wine and a nice cigar with the stars above is all I need....you won't find that over there!

Denise · 06-05-2010, 10:31 AM

Very nice website. I eagerly clicked "experience" hoping to find English, but Oi Vey

, I didn't understand a lick of what I saw LOL

Sounds like you had a good time. We considered living (me teaching) oversee's for a couple of years somewhere in Europe just to have a home-base for traveling, especially during that Summer. Never happened; Don couldn't take a leave from his job. We were fortunate to do a bus tour of Europe and take a train from Paris to West Berlin (where my dad was currently living) back in the early 80's. The last leg was overnight on a military "six pack". It was very memorable to cross "Check Point Charley" into East Berlin to spend a day. We've been back to Europe once more to see/stay in Poland, then visit Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Scandanavia. Next time we wonder to that side of the pond, I would like to do the train again, and probably hostels. But camping would be even cooler!

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