Evolution of an RV'er (at least this one!)
In 2005, my son's father decided DS needed to be in Boy Scouts and signed him up (we're divorced). As I then became responsible for all the campouts (long story), I bought a tent and some camping equipment for us. After a couple of BS campouts, DS & I determined we liked the IDEA of camping but I was not too keen on sleeping on the ground (even with a blow-up mattress). We tried once more, camping at Lake Livingston SP Spring Break 2006. That was it.
In late May 2006, I bought a used Pop-Up off Ebay 250 miles away. DS was 9. We and my niece, 12, went up to pick it up Memorial Day weekend 2006 and proceeded to camp our first night at Dinosaur Valley SP, which was a comedy of errors but we all survived (including the Pup). We were hooked!
The next 3 years we spent traveling all over Texas, into the FL Panhandle, and even New Mexico during the winter to ski!! The Pup was great, but several things bothered me. Mainly the wind blowing the tenting around, especially when camping in the mountains or by oceans. Also the set up was a “bit” difficult – not impossible, but just difficult. Although DS remained my 'righthand man' and we could get it set up in less than 30 minutes. Many good memories but we needed to 'move on'. So after the summer of 2009, I sold the Pop up through Craigslist for nearly what I paid for it.
September 2009 I bought a HTT from RV Wholesalers in Ohio brand new. It was a Wildwood EXL 17' long with 2 fold out beds. Loved the floor plan and I could tow it with my '08 Tacoma easily. We continued camping all over the State of Texas and beyond – FL, AR, NM. I thought it would last me a number of years. Although I didn't particularly like the set-up “check list” and wondered how I'd ever go camping by myself, it did have a full bathroom. YAY!
In May 2012, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and through all my treatments, chemo, and surgeries we didn't camp at all. I didn't look after the HTT as I should have (was doing good to force myself to work most days!) and water damage occurred. This was discovered when I opened the HTT in preparation for a Spring 2013 trip and found the floor completely water-logged and ruined. Not having the means or knowledge to gut and fix it, I sadly sold it in Oct. 2013 with full disclosure to the seller for just what I still owed on it. We had loved that HTT & made many happy memories in it.
So in May 2013 I bought a 1991 Class C just so we could go camping for the summer. And a Class C was something I wanted to try. We were able to have a few nice vacations that summer, but I discovered that a Class C was not for me. I missed having something to drive places mostly. Plus the extra care of another vehicle and motor was a little too much. I had done some cosmetic renovations and was able to sell it in March 2014 without any problem, for about what I'd paid for it.
My latest venture into the RV-ing world is my 2009 Keystone TT, which I bought used in May 2014. I had actually gone to look at another HTT at a local dealer's lot, but I didn't “bond” with that one and the Keystone was right next to it so I just stepped inside for a “look”. The more time I spent inside, the more I saw how cozy and compact it was! And the idea of no tent ends to set up or put out began to grow on me.
So now I'm the proud owner of a TT! We've taken it camping 3 times so far and everyone is pleased. My son says it has the best shower of all of them & I love the oven and the fact it requires very minimal set-up to be inhabitable!
So that's my story of my progression from Pup -> HTT -> Class C -> TT (forget the tent!). I'm quite satisfied with the TT I've ended up with and hope to have many happy years with it.
In late May 2006, I bought a used Pop-Up off Ebay 250 miles away. DS was 9. We and my niece, 12, went up to pick it up Memorial Day weekend 2006 and proceeded to camp our first night at Dinosaur Valley SP, which was a comedy of errors but we all survived (including the Pup). We were hooked!
The next 3 years we spent traveling all over Texas, into the FL Panhandle, and even New Mexico during the winter to ski!! The Pup was great, but several things bothered me. Mainly the wind blowing the tenting around, especially when camping in the mountains or by oceans. Also the set up was a “bit” difficult – not impossible, but just difficult. Although DS remained my 'righthand man' and we could get it set up in less than 30 minutes. Many good memories but we needed to 'move on'. So after the summer of 2009, I sold the Pop up through Craigslist for nearly what I paid for it.
September 2009 I bought a HTT from RV Wholesalers in Ohio brand new. It was a Wildwood EXL 17' long with 2 fold out beds. Loved the floor plan and I could tow it with my '08 Tacoma easily. We continued camping all over the State of Texas and beyond – FL, AR, NM. I thought it would last me a number of years. Although I didn't particularly like the set-up “check list” and wondered how I'd ever go camping by myself, it did have a full bathroom. YAY!
In May 2012, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and through all my treatments, chemo, and surgeries we didn't camp at all. I didn't look after the HTT as I should have (was doing good to force myself to work most days!) and water damage occurred. This was discovered when I opened the HTT in preparation for a Spring 2013 trip and found the floor completely water-logged and ruined. Not having the means or knowledge to gut and fix it, I sadly sold it in Oct. 2013 with full disclosure to the seller for just what I still owed on it. We had loved that HTT & made many happy memories in it.
So in May 2013 I bought a 1991 Class C just so we could go camping for the summer. And a Class C was something I wanted to try. We were able to have a few nice vacations that summer, but I discovered that a Class C was not for me. I missed having something to drive places mostly. Plus the extra care of another vehicle and motor was a little too much. I had done some cosmetic renovations and was able to sell it in March 2014 without any problem, for about what I'd paid for it.
My latest venture into the RV-ing world is my 2009 Keystone TT, which I bought used in May 2014. I had actually gone to look at another HTT at a local dealer's lot, but I didn't “bond” with that one and the Keystone was right next to it so I just stepped inside for a “look”. The more time I spent inside, the more I saw how cozy and compact it was! And the idea of no tent ends to set up or put out began to grow on me.
So now I'm the proud owner of a TT! We've taken it camping 3 times so far and everyone is pleased. My son says it has the best shower of all of them & I love the oven and the fact it requires very minimal set-up to be inhabitable!
So that's my story of my progression from Pup -> HTT -> Class C -> TT (forget the tent!). I'm quite satisfied with the TT I've ended up with and hope to have many happy years with it.
