We’re back at base for a little while whilst we add some updates to our tiny home on wheels. I can’t wait to share the plans we have for some of the less optimal space in our unit. I’ve acquired most if not all of the materials and tools. Stay tuned for more details.
Walked up and down Wisconsin 57 in Bailey’s Harbor and checked out the marina.
With one short simple trip behind us and learning to double check that we brought all of the food and supplies. (We forgot a dinner and the propane for the portable grill.) Now we’re ready for a longer test. The first trip was successful despite having to be cut short and Dexter is completely fine. We boarded Dexter again and so far made it past the first evening without a call from Petsmart. While we use Roadtrippers and RVlife to plan our journeys, we often export them and use Google maps to do the real time directions. Both apps estimated the trip to Baileys Grove Campground to be about 6 hours, while Google said 4 1/2. It turns out that Google maps assumes that you’re speeding with everyone else and not pulling 5000 pounds behind you. It also didn’t help that when Google gave me impossible navigation while pulling an RV, we ended up in a sticky situation trying to turn around in a strip mall parking lot. Once I pulled into the lot, I realized it was a mistake. With no room to turn around, I opted to pull around the service road behind the stores. It seems that a Sysco truck was delivering food to a restaurant. I made a valiant effort to squeeze by, but like many valiant efforts, this one proved to be a mistake. Long story short, we were delayed about an hour because we tapped the truck with our awning cap and knocked the cap off. The driver was very nice but he said that his company policy was to file a police report. Once that was over, we were on our way once again. Seven hours later we arrived a little later than we expected, but a little smarter too.
We took our inaugural trip to Effingham, IL, a 4 hour drive from the western suburbs of the Windy City. After never having pulled a trailer of any sort, with any vehicle, I wasn’t sure how it would feel. Alas, I had nothing to fear. We didn’t bring our 7 month old pupper, Dexter, on this trip as we wanted to iron out all the bugs without needing to ensure he was behaving. So we boarded him at the local Petsmart. The drive was uneventful and the campground in Effingham was very nice. The 2 day trip ended early after one night when Petsmart called because of a medical issue… which luckily turned out to be nothing.
Ever since we rented an RV for the first time from Cruise America, we were hooked. For the last couple of years, we had a few false starts where we found a unit we liked, but couldn’t find the right truck to pull it. The 2022 Nissan Frontiers had a better towing capability than some of the other trucks, so we hopped on down to the dealer and picked one up. Well, it wasn’t quite that easy, but we had a truck. Next to find the right unit. After visiting nearly every dealer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, we expanded our search and found just what we’re looking for, a 2022 Gulf Stream Amerilite 248BH. Not too big… not to small… kind of like the Goldilocks of Travel Trailers from the good folks at 83RV. They were so much better than the larger franchised or big-company owned dealers. If you’re in the market, give Brian a call and tell him Chris and Jim sent you.
Our visit to the Starved Rock Family Campground was pleasant and and a good test to see if Dexter would be able to handle to
We’re converting our bunkhouse to a multi-function space.
T-Mobile’s home Internet makes a great backup Internet provider when your primary connection goes out. But it also works away from home. While we’ve only