RVing Newbs: Episode One

 To be completely honest, we were not total newbs before this weekend, but close enough. Our previous experience consisted of one weekend in a rented class C and a long weekend in a travel trailer. Both more than five years ago, and neither a joy. Kathy had an allergic reaction to something in the Class C (possible cat from a previous rental?) and was miserable. The trailer we pulled from Atlanta to Orlando for a Fourth of July excursion to Universal Studios. It was way too far for a first pull and way too hot. Not sure what we were thinking… Needless to say, it was a while before we revisited the subject.

Now, we are recent empty nesters with Oreo and Daisy (furbabies) and time on our hands. We have been discussing getting a camper for a while and negotiations have been intense. I wanted a small teardrop with sleeping inside and an outdoor kitchen in the back. Kathy’s prime requirement was an indoor toilet….so no teardrop. After a lot of talking and a lot of visits to lots, we decided to rent first. Which was a good thing.

Our first rental was the 18’ Sonic from Moondance Camper Rentals in Kennesaw, GA. Meredith and Gene were encouraging, instructive and helpful in any way they could. The camper was clean, well stocked, fully functioning and basically brand new. Definitely check out Moondance if you are in the area and need a rental. They are great, but the camper was really not for us. Here is how it played out.

Day one...I pretty much did nothing. Kathy picked up the camper and did the walk through, took it to the campground, got it backed in, hooked up and set up. To be fair, I was at work. Still, pretty awesome for me, and she did great.

We rented a campsite close to home (rental camper and that work thing), the Clark Creek South Campground on Lake Allatoona near Acworth, GA. We enjoyed the campground. The hosts were helpful and friendly, all hook ups in good working order, bath house was clean and stocked. It was a heavily wooded campground on the lake, walkable and mostly quiet. It is also close to Red Top Mountain State Park with multiple hiking trails and close enough to Acworth and Cartersville if you need a restaurant or a trip to Wally World. The only negative I would give is that the area around the firepit was not very level and was hard to place chairs. Then...there was the oak tree. More on that in a minute.

The first night went pretty well, with the exception of two somewhat neurotic dogs who are not used to being away from home. Oreo and Daisy are a little bit older, about ten and twelve (we think...Daisy we know, Oreo was a rescue of indeterminable age) and not used to being away from home. They were nervous from the time we got there and they are also not used to being on a leash. They were very good at getting wrapped around everything within their reach and would only settle down when in their crates.

When it came to bedtime, Daisy was given the lower bunk for her bed and Oreo was in her crate underneath…..to start. They were in a new place, out of their element….and the tree. Friday night was not as bad as Saturday, but it was a little windy, and it is autumn...and acorns fall. One of those things you don’t think about and cannot really plan for, but an acorn falling out of the top of a tall oak tree and bouncing off the fiberglass roof of a camper is quite loud and startling. Each one that hit caused me to wake with a start and made the already nervous dogs miserable. Sometime during the night Kathy got up and tried to sleep with Daisy to calm her down, and Oreo ended up in the bed with me, which is where she is used to sleeping anyway.

Oreo calmed down enough to sleep - except when the acorn bombs were striking - and Daisy mostly calmed down, and Kathy discovered that the bunks are not suitable for anyone bigger than a ten year old. We also figured out that we would not want a camper with an east-west bed set up (sleeping width-wise in the camper). We are too old to be climbing over each other getting in and out of bed in the middle of the night.

Saturday morning we were a little tired, a little sore, but none the worse for wear. Another lesson we learned while cooking breakfast is to not necessarily go cheap with the camping pots and pans. We grabbed the oldest skillet we had and I ended up cussing through cooking as the eggs stuck to the pan. But we managed. We also discovered the need (want) for a better way to clean dishes outdoors.

After breakfast and clean up and dog walking we headed to Red Top Mountain State Park for a long hike.

We got back with time for lunch and a shower, and then the rain started, and did not stop until morning. So I took a nap. We learned some more about our tolerances and requirements for a camper while it rained.

FIrst, a slide out is necessary. This camper did not have one and we were cramped, definitely not enough room for the two of us and the dogs when confined to indoors. Second is some counter space. The Sonic had none, so prepping for dinner was a challenge. Planning for dinner would be third. Our plan was for chicken fajitas, but cooking peppers and onions in a confined space did not seem like a good idea. We would be locked in with the smells and if bad enough it could jeopardize our deposit. So, fourth, have a plan for cooking in the rain. Ours consisted of me standing at the Coleman camping stove under an umbrella. Not ideal, but we made it work. 

After dinner was spent at the much too small for me dinette playing games. Which was great for spending time together but not great on comfort. The dogs were happier though having us close at hand.

Sleeping was again a bit of a challenge. The acorn bombs were more of an issue with the wind and rain, plus I do not always manage to sleep through the night. With the confined space there was really nowhere for me to go when I needed to be out of the bad.

Our last morning was good. We avoided mud puddles, had a good breakfast and got packed up and hooked up with no issues. One thing no one mentioned to us...make sure you have disposable gloves available when it comes time to dump the tanks. Enough said.

In the end, it was a good excursion. We had some challenges but we learned a lot and had a good time.