First Impressions

2edgesword · 10-02-2011, 08:58 PM

After months of planning, daydreaming, browsing numerous RV forums, reading a bunch of articles and The RVer's Bible, watching videos from RV education, looking at a ton of RV's on line in anticipation of eventually buying, we finally made our RV maiden voyage in a rented Fleetwood Pulse 24A class C.

We had a wonderful time and this RV stuff may be for us.

We left at 10:30pm on a Thursday to make the 250 mile trip from Suffolk County to Lake George. The traveling was uneventful and my concerns about driving something larger than my Silverado were quickly relieved once I made it through NYC and onto the NYS Thruway headed north.

My wife disappear to relax on the couch and read while I drove. We made a stop at one of the thruway rest stops for lunch and a restroom break ... without leaving the vehicle. Very convenient.

We arrived at the Lake George Great Escape RV Park around 4:00pm, checked in and headed to our camping spot with a full hook-up (30 amp, water, sewer and cable tv). We enjoyed the extra room with the slide extended and had everything set-up in fifteen minutes, literally within five minutes of a torrential rain that lasted far into the night.

The weather reports informed us that the best day for sightseeing in the town of Lake George would be Friday so we got up early the next morning, my wife made breakfast, we unhooked and drove into town all the while I'm checking signs for warnings of low hanging obstacles or "no trucks" but it seems most roads in the area have sufficent clearance for anything but the largest RV's since Lake George is a popular RV vacation spot.

We found an all day parking spot for $5 and left the RV to explore the town and spent an hour on the lake in a pontoon boat.

We headed back to the RV for lunch and a short nap (yes, we're that old) and then went to visit the Fort McHenry Restoration Museum. There is a lot of early American history around Lake George and I'm sure you could spend many days visiting historical sites but we were now ready to call it a day and head back to the camp ground.

The weather for the rest of the trip didn't cooperate and it rained most of the rest of our stay. We took the time to drive through the camp ground and there were still a fair number of people enjoying early Fall camping, in everything from tents to MASSIVE class "A"s. On Saturday we travel North on Route 9 along the western side of Lake George stopping in Bolten, NY to do a little shopping at some of the quaint craft shops in town.

Leaving Bolten I didn't want to travel all the way south to the town of Lake George to head back north to the campground and checked the gps for a direct route. There was one section of road that was extremely steep and I really wondered whether the RV was going to make it to the top of the hill but the little diesel did the job. We got back to the campsite, set-up and spent the rest of the evening watching tv and reading.

Sunday morning was time to pack-up and head home. Disconnecting and flushing the tanks was pretty straight forward. Our instructions were to add a supplied chemical to both the black and grey water tanks after flushing them which we did.

Some of the questions that were answered for us were:

1. We didn't find the space in this small class "C" confining. With the slide extended and just the two of us space wasn't at all an issue including the shower and bathroom facilities.

2. While extending the slide, pulling out the sofa bed, setting up the dinette for the double bed, getting electric, water, sewer, etc. hooked up wasn't a lot of work doing this every day gets old. We're not considering a class "C" for now but if we eventually moved to a class "C" we would definitely look into towing a small car for running around once we got to a campsite.

3. While the weather was less then ideal we enjoyed being outdoors. My wife and I were both born and raised in NYC moving to Long Island 30 years ago. Much of LI is just an extension of urban NYC. We are passed the point of being robust outdoors people camping in tents but modern RVing gives us a pathway to enjoy the outdoors at an age where we couldn't handle the rigors of backpacking and tent camping.

4. Since we've still got a few years until retirement, and the time to really do some serious traveling, we are now definely considering a small travel trailer to use as much as we can during the Spring and Summer months.

When we got back to the dealer that rented us the RV we had some time to explore a few of the travel trailers they had on the lot, getting a feel for what is available with trailers in the 16 ~ 20 foot range. We've got the Fall, Winter and Spring to do plenty of research but now that we have the first trip under our belt, and my wife's first question when we got home was "when is our next trip?", I can begin the search in earnest.

RedHorse1 · 10-03-2011, 07:21 AM

When you go in a pet store never pick up a puppy unless you're sure you want one. Once you've held the puppy you can never put it down.

2edgesword · 10-04-2011, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

When you go in a pet store never pick up a puppy unless you're sure you want one. Once you've held the puppy you can never put it down.

RedHorse

Yes, holding the puppy is dangerous

.

Of course our impulse is to go big but realistically we know that for the foreseeable future our trips and time to RV is going to be limited, involving just the two of us. That being the case one of the smaller trailers will fit our needs. Whatever we buy will be spending 10 months of the year sitting around gathering dust so we're trying to control the impulse and do what is practical.

RedHorse1 · 10-04-2011, 08:08 AM

2edge,
I agree 110%. We've just bought our first TT and after one whole trip love it. We were marching down a similar road planning our purchase. I'm ~5 yrs away from retirement myself and we are looking forward to hitting the road for a few extended trips when I get there. Till then it's shorter outings.
We shopped for one big enough for us to include our grandson (oh yeah, his parents too) from time to time but small enough to be easy to tow and set up. What we picked seems to be a nice compromise between space/features and length/weight. One of my first observations is one you noted also, stopping for a single night is a pain.

Your first outing sounded excellent.
Good luck! The adventure continues.

KathyDiane · 10-05-2011, 07:00 PM

I was pleased to read about your trip to Lake George. That is one place I'd like to go and it was nice to read about what you did. Can you please provide a few more details about the campground you stayed at.

2edgesword · 10-05-2011, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KathyDiane

I was pleased to read about your trip to Lake George. That is one place I'd like to go and it was nice to read about what you did. Can you please provide a few more details about the campground you stayed at.

The following is a link to the Lake George Great Escape website:

http://www.lakegeorgeescape.com/

Since the weather wasn't the greatest we didn't get to do a lot of exploring of the campground. Having said that our campsite was clean, the sewer, water, cable tv and electrical hook-ups were all in working order and seemed well maintained.

When you first drive in there is a general store that handles check-in. There is an outdoor pool, game room for the kids, a dining hall (we never had the opportunity to eat there so I can't comment on the food) and during the Spring and Summer months a lot of scheduled activities.

The campground is a ten minute drive from the town of Lake George with access to things to do on the lake (boating, fishing, lunch cruise on the lake, etc.). Our stay was off season but during the peak season the campground has regular shuttles that will take you to and from Lake George.

The only negative comment I can make about the campground is the mosquitoes. The campground has a number of large ponds and is near the Schroon River. Our camping spot was across the road from one of the ponds. I don't know if the owners of the campground have issue with using chemicals for mosquito control but those mosquitoes were vicious!

KathyDiane · 10-10-2011, 03:59 PM

Thanks!

CityFarmer · 10-10-2011, 05:52 PM

Now you are hooked!

time for a little

Now hopefully you'll be doing a little

and let us know about your adventures. Happy camping

by the way, great pictures in your post

MikeS82 · 10-10-2011, 07:01 PM

Sounds like you two had a very cool trip despite the weather being such a drag.

As for a trailer for the two of you in the near future... I'm assuming y'all won't be living in it full time, correct? That's what I'm doing as I'm finishing school and I'm great in my 22ft Jay Flight living solo but having company in it can be a bit crowded even just for a short time. My friend came to stay with me for a few days and both of us love to cook but the kitchen area was a bit too cramped for her and I to cook together. It sucks because we make awesome dishes teamed up with one another. The shower, well, she's a girl so of course she's going to have a whole bunch of stuff. lol Anyways, do your research and do it well. Take your time and don't rush into a purchase. Luckily, this trip of y'alls will prove to be a good first experience as to the pleasure of trailer living.

2edgesword · 10-11-2011, 06:54 AM

You're welcome Kathy.

CityFarmer

Yes, we are hooked. Actually my wife is thrilled and has me looking at available campsites for next year AND a trip to the Disney/Orlando campground in 2014!

Hi Mike,

For now we will considering short trips (10 days maximum), most of the time it will be just the two of us (maybe a grandkid or two on occassion) and I don't cook so the cramped kitchen area isn't a problem

.

We are looking at trailers in the <23 foot range for the above reason and due to storage space. My wife's must haves are a walk around Queens size bed, large frig, tube shower and one slideout. I haven't found anything that Jayco makes that fits the bill. One's we have looked at so far are the Cruiser Funfinder 189fbs (some of the quality reviews aren't so good) and the Coachmen Apex 22qbs.

We've still got plenty of time to research/explore and I'm sure there are other options out there.

KathyDiane · 10-11-2011, 07:28 PM

We have the 23FB. It does not have a slide, but it meets all your other requirements. We love it! The slide would give you a bit more room, but for two people I don't think it's necessary and it does add more weight to the trailer. Plus, in my opinion a trailer without a slide is a trailer with one less thing to go wrong.

2edgesword · 10-11-2011, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KathyDiane

We have the 23FB. It does not have a slide, but it meets all your other requirements. We love it! The slide would give you a bit more room, but for two people I don't think it's necessary and it does add more weight to the trailer. Plus, in my opinion a trailer without a slide is a trailer with one less thing to go wrong.

A slide is nice BUT I've read enough about slide issues (motors, leaks, etc.) that I don't see it as a must have. I like the 23FB floorplan and it does have all of my wife's other must have items.

I'm also very much sold on the idea of buying from a local, reputable dealer and based on the reviews I've read on WES (about 30 miles from my home) the 23FB is definitely a model we'll search more thoroughly.

MisterUg · 10-12-2011, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2edgesword

A slide is nice BUT I've read enough about slide issues (motors, leaks, etc.) that I don't see it as a must have. I like the 23FB floorplan and it does have all of my wife's other must have items.

I'm also very much sold on the idea of buying from a local, reputable dealer and based on the reviews I've read on WES (about 30 miles from my home) the 23FB is definitely a model we'll search more thoroughly.

We just winterized it this past wknd :-( (I wasn't expecting I'd be that sad doing it ;-( .

This was our first Trailer (38 nights spent in it) and it fit us perfect (My Wife two small dogs and myself). Yes, only one person can cook in the kitchen. (Two can manage doing the dishes, my Wife let me know that ;-() But when your camping I much prefer cooking outside anyways.

I would highy suggest buying local as well for your first Trailer, it's nice knowing you have that support. I found camping with an experienced friends was beneficial as well. Nice to be able to have them close by to ask questions to. Hard to ask the fine folks here when your out at a campsite ;-)

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