Camper Orientation Today

Today we went for our orientation. We loaded up the truck with all the things we have bought for the camper so far, plus our clothes and things for our trip to Savannah and St. Augustine.

My husband has never towed anything, and we are supposed to get another storm this weekend, so he is really nervous about taking the camper on such a long journey. At the last minute, we decided not to take the camper, but to make it a road trip by truck instead. I have cancer, and have an appointment at the hospital on April 5. We don't know what we will find out, and we keep putting off our trip for various reasons. (Last year, I spent all summer and fall in the hospital). It just seemed like if we don't do it now, camper or not, we may not get the chance. Plus, in April, we will owe the IRS lots of money because I didn't qualify for Obama Care, and I decided to see the doctor instead of sending money we didn't have to rich insurance companies. (Last year, I missed four months of drs appointments because of not being able to afford Obama Care, and I might have been better off if I had seen the doctors instead of sending the money to the IRS). We still can keep making hospital payments and camper payments, but we really shouldn't be spending money on taking a trip. Anyway, This may be our last trip together, and IRS or not, and camper or not, we are going to do this. We just hope we will be able to use the camper together at some point this summer.

Anyway, this photo is our camper together with our Sierra. It's the first time they have met each other! You can see the Furrion Observation Camera installed up there next to the lights!

Here are the Sonic and the Sierra from the other side. Today I found out the dealership has upgraded us to a Blue Ox WDH for no extra money!

After the orientation, we put all our new things into the camper. I didn't get everything organized the way I wanted to, because it was pretty cold in there, but at least I got to spend time in the camper, and I loved it. I hated leaving her!

This is the first time I got to take a picture of our outdoor kitchen. It's small by most standards, but it actually was much larger than I remembered it as being!

Got some really important things for the camper today.

Today we went back to the dealership to get some of the important things we haven't gotten yet for the camper.

I checked on the WDH/Sway Control thing that was supposed to come with the camper, and found out that it was a pretty bad one, so I upgraded to the Recurve R3 Weight Distribution Hitch 1000lb. It wasn't as expensive as Blue Ox, but is supposed to be a good one.

Then I ordered the Furion Observation Camera. I was going to get it on line, but when I told them at the dealership how much it was on the internet, they gave me a price that is only about $10 more than on line. I figure it is worth the extra $10 to support a local business, plus, if something goes wrong, it will be much easier to take it back for them to check. I like the observation camera, because it will allow us to keep track of what is behind us when we are on the road.

The next thing I ordered is an awning for over the slide. None of these things is as much fun as buying towels and dishes and things, but they are very necessary.

Here is a picture I took of the things I actually bought in the store, rather than ordering them. I took pictures of them in my camper, when we went down there to put them inside. I couldn't do much in the camper though, we had to wade through a maze of other campers being stored, and the snow down there was knee deep!

First, I got a 30-50 amp adapter. I understand these are pretty handy at times. Next, are two cheap plastic chocks. There is a water pressure regulator in between them. I also got a water tank filler thing, to make filling the tank easier. (I've been reading a lot of blogs, and I saw those on two different blogs. I sure hope they are as helpful as the blogs said they were)!

Of course, the most exciting thing I got was a good Stinky Slinky! This will be the only time you ever see it sitting on the couch!!! I'll add the new photos I took of more of the camper to a new post. I've got lots of ideas for it!

The Outside kitchen, and the outside in general

This is something I didn't even think I needed, but now I'm really glad I have it! There will probably be a lot of times when we are staying in a place that doesn't allow fires. This will make it so I can cook outdoors. It will also be great for when we want to cook bacon and other really messy things!

It has a nicely sized refrigerator, a two burner cooktop with wind deflecters, a sink, and a small shelf. Usually, smaller campers don't have amenities like this. I think I will love it!

This shows the front and entry door of the camper. It's got a nice big awning, and you can see the pass through storage at the front. It's kind of difficult to see where the outside kitchen is in this photo, but it's at the rear. Another thing that makes us happy is the dual axles. We are planning on monitoring our tires carefully, but having dual axles will be a little bit of added security. I also understand that they don't sway as much as single axles. We are going to have a weight distribution hitch and sway bars as well.

This camper also has a one piece fiberglass roof. Hopefully it won't be as prone to leaks as other kinds of roofs are!

This is the other side. We need to get an awning cover thing for over the slide as soon as possible. That will help to keep things from falling on top of it while it's out.

This is the first photo I have gotten with the Sonic and the Sierra together. If you click on the picture, you can see the Furrion Observation Camera up near the lights.

Another shot of the Sonic and the Sierra together!