This is a companion article to our travel trailer buying experience:
http://forums.goodsamclub.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27055525.cfm
This was our VERY first trip in our new trailer mentioned in the article above.
I am a newbie to Rv'ing so this review is as honest as it gets.
Over all: For our first time out RV'ing, we really liked it and had a VERY positive experience.
We did not realize that Lake Minden Ca was a Thousand Trails membership campground until after we got there. We chose Lake Minden because it had a lake, we could get reservations at the last minute and it was only an hour and half from where we live. The perfect spot for our "maiden" trip.
Given we had never done the RV "thing" before, we had no idea what to expect. We definitely learned a lot on this first trip.
We figured when we made our reservation that we had reserved a "spot" and that when we got there we would be subject to the desk clerks whims as to what spot we got especially given we did not reserve until late. Thankfully, we arrived early(Noon) and learned that all spots(except for the annual reserved spots) are first come first served and since we arrived on a Thursday morning we had a pretty good selection. THAT was surprise #1. Apparently, ALL Thousand Trails campgrounds have been converted to this model.Good news for people who get there early, bad news for those who do not.
During check in a young man was called up and extolled the virtues of a Thousand Trails Zone Pass. This was reminiscent of the time share sales of old. We took a pass on it.
Once of the things we did ask about during check in was where the "beaches" were. The staff was very patient and pointed them out to us as well as the amenities(bathrooms, showers, boat rentals etc).
So....off we went to find our camping spot.
Section A was where the lake side cabins and RV rentals were. It is also where "full timers" seemed to be. The Lake Minden staff was not allowing any additional spots there due to maintenance occurring.
Section D seemed to be where all the RV's went that only needed power/water. Don't know if there were any 50A in section D or not. There were quite a few coaches in section D. We found a nice spot(quite by accident) on an end cap. The spots are fairly large and reasonably level gravel spots with grass surrounding them. We were happy about the large and level especially given that we had ZERO experience leveling the trailer and only a little experience backing the trailer(did I mention we are new to RV'ing?). We had no real clue how to use the leveling blocks we bought. We had "practiced" leveling at our house, but you know how those kinds of things go. Thankfully we did not have to use them here. We had a good idea how but would have looked like the three stooges(daddy, mommy baby) doing it.
Tips from the Pros #1: One thing we were smart about was listening to friends who have done the RV thing before. My father-in-law gave us this fabulous tip: If you have manual stabilizer jacks, you must buy an ultra speed socket to raise and lower your stabilizer jacks. The socket adapter fits in an electric drill to raise and lower the jacks. This tip alone made it soooo easy to lower our jacks and reduced our total time down to 2 minutes flat(total!!). Of course in all our excitement to try it out, we made Rookie mistake #1.
The backing in went pretty well and with-in 30 minutes of arriving we were setup. The mental check-off went well:
Back in, check to see if reasonably level side to side, drop the tongue high, undo the WDS bars, lower the stabilizing jacks. Oopsss!! Here is where Rookie mistake #1 happened.
Rookie Mistake #1: Never lower the stabilizer jacks until last!!! Fortunately we realized this mistake before we lowered the tongue too far. The back jacks were only 3 inches in the air. Who hasn't done this at least once?? ๐
Moving on:
Lower the trailer tongue(and check level), chock the wheels, undo the hitch. Wow!!! We were doing it like pros.
The hook up check off continues:
Hook up water, hook up power, raise the TV antenna(yes, we are from the city!), turn the fridge on. Wait......fridge not OK. This sucks. It was ok when we left. Hmmmm....thinking back to a comment the clerk made about some spots having low power, I got the voltmeter to check power. Oh Oh! No power. At this point we were thinking we were going to have to reverse everything and go find another spot because of bad power.
Rookie mistake #2: I forgot to check/turn the breaker on. I simply just plugged in and assumed the power was on. Part of my check list now includes checking power with the voltmeter before we even start unhooking squat!!
With-in 30 minutes of backing in we were setup, had water, power and TV and had even used the toilet for the VERY first time. We were sooo excited to be on our first trip. We even had the BBQ out and setup.
Of course the very first thing we did now that we were settled in was to go explore the park. When you are 43 and have a 3 yr old daughter, this can be quite the experience. With mommy in tow, daddy and daughter went for a "walk". Of course, our real intention was to go find the beach and FIND the beach we did. I did not expect the water at Lake Minden to be sooo warm. It was bathtub warm. You can probably guess what happened!! Of course we did not bring any towels to the beach with us. Mom just sat at a picnic table and rolled her eyes as daddy and daughter happily splashed in the bathtub temp lake water.
The "beach" at Lake Minden was pretty ok. The bottom slope out to the lake is very gentle. One thing we did find out about the lake is that it is man made and only about 6 to 8 feet deep at it's deepest.
After we went back to the trailer from the lake, we made rookie mistake #3.
We decided to sit outside and dry off. At the end of July at 3 in the afternoon in the north central valley of California, the sun is hot and high over head.
Rookie mistake #3: We decided to roll out the electric awning(with the door open). For those of you that own a Passport 238ML you know that you must have both the doors shut to open OR close the awning. They even reinforced this during our PDI when we took delivery. I remember them specifically pointing this fact our to us. Fortunately no damage was done, just a little red faced!
Throughout the next 3 days we did pretty much everything there was to do. We rented a kayak($3/hour - talk about cheap! - they also had canoes and paddle boats available), played candy bar bingo on Sat, indulged in an ice cream social, took walks around the lake(1.4 miles according to the GPS), had breakfast at the cafe, played foosball, played on the two kids playgrounds etc. The park even had mini golf. The mini golf course was interesting but the course itself was not very well maintained. The same can be said for the playgrounds. Both were obviously old and definitely in need of maintenance.
During our stay, we interacted with the park staff who were all mostly nice. Some of the staff seemed to be work campers.
Our overall impression of the park was nice and quiet. It was just what we were looking for on our first stay out. The park is definitely showing it's age and the need for maintenance is apparent. The cabins seemed to be VERY nice, the lawn and tent areas were very well kept up(mowed, green etc). The bathrooms were kept very clean and stocked. All of the roads in the park are narrow dirt-gravel roads and the speed limit is 5 mph.
The cafe was open for both breakfast and lunch. It is smallish and spartan with outdoor lakeside seating. We did breakfast twice. The menu is thin, just the basics: french toast or pancakes or biscuits and gravy, all optional with eggs, all came with sausage or bacon, all came with coffee or orange juice. The prices are reasonable and the cook is a pleasant women who makes things to perfection.
One thing I was impressed with is how quiet the park was. Even with a large group behind us, there was just no noise. Nothing but peace and quiet. There was one exception: There was a, shall I say kind of weird guy, who drove slowly through with both van doors open and "honkey tonk" music playing. You know Merle Haggard or some such. He came through 2 of the 3 nights we were there at right about 8PM driving very slowly. Just struck me as unusual. Not threatening, just kind of gave us the creeps. Other than that, all the campers we ran into were very nice, polite and friendly.
On the day we were to leave we woke early. I CAN NOT believe how much longer it takes to pack up than unpack. It was little things like rolling the fresh water hose to put it away. It came out so nice when it was new. Ditto for the 30A extension cord.
Our final experience came when we decided to dump before we left. I had never done this particular exercise either. As such, I was rather anxious about the mechanics of it BUT I was prepared thanks to the advice from RV'ing friends and family.
Tip from the Pros #2: Buy a back flush adapter. Why? It sllows you to see when your holding tanks are done draining AND allows you to flush out your black water tank. Works just like described by friends.
Anyhow, I dutifully put on a fresh pair of latex gloves, took out our sewer hose from the back trailer bumper, screwed on the necessary fittings, plugged the back flush adapter in, put the other end in the "honey pot" hole and followed the advice of my RV'ing friends. Exactly! To the letter!! I DID not want to screw this part of the process up!
It went very well and I learned the wisdom of that clear back flush adapter. Process complete, sewer hose rinsed, all the fittings back in the ziplock bags and the hose back in the bumper.
On the road home we went. Our maiden voyage as new RV'ers complete.
Our impressions of the experience:
1. Thousand Trails Lake Minden is a very nice, quiet, out of the way facility. It is obviously an older facility that needs updating. It has some deferred maintenance that needs to be completed. We did notice several spots out of service because of electrical and the staff did comment about the electrical being old and in need of updating. Newer playground equipment would not hurt.
2. I loved the bathwater temp of the lake. I loved the $3/hour boat rentals. I loved the fact it is a hidden gem. I loved the fact it was ALWAYS quiet. I loved the early morning 1.4 mile walk around the lake.
3. If you were looking for an out of the way campground that is close to Sacramento, Lake Minden is it.
4. The downside is that unless you want to drive 20 miles(or more) there is not a lot to do around the campground so what they have to offer you had better like or be prepared to drive to Sacramento, Lincoln or Yuba City/Marysville.
The other comment I have about Lake Minden was the "good ole boy" feel to it. I kept expecting someone to break out a banjo and start playing or hear a bluegrass band in the distant background.
As a final note: We did make Rookie mistake #4: We left the fridge on and did not discover that until we got home. I was kind of panicked when I open the trailer after we got home and saw a warning light and realized we had forgotten to turn the fridge off. I was thinking I was in for a repair bill. Fortunately, it was just a light advising that the fridge did not have power/propane for the cooling.
On the bright side, we did remember to turn off the propane before we left Lake Minden.
Over all, a great first experience and one we hope to replicate many times in the future as we explore more RV parks and campgrounds. It was a wonderful family experience and is something we would highly recommend to any family. It was simply amazing!!!
Please feel free to add or make any comments. Part of the fun of writing this post is the responses that come from others.
