Maiden voyage
Last weekend was the maiden voyage of our Northstar and I couldn't have asked for any better.
We had 2 tournaments back to back at Summersville Lake which is about 1 1/2 hours away. I had to work Friday, but my husband took off that morning with the my Expedition and the boat. He wanted to get a little fishing time in and grab a site since it is walk up only at this time of year. I had a "Take Your Truck Camper To Work" day. (that way I could get my boss' attention to the fact I wanted to leave early;))
It took a little getting used to the much larger hard-side camper after having the pop up, but I waddled my way up some typical pot-holed, wavey, curvy West Virginia roads. (I did get to skip out around 2)
Since this CG doesn't have water hook ups, I had to fill the fresh water tank when I got there. At this point, I realized I may not have done my research as well as I should. I chatted up 2 guys doing the same thing at the dump station while filing up my tank. Hmmm...that water probably shouldn't be running out of the bed of the truck. I figured there was a valve open somewhere, but my girl-ness kicked in and I was embarrassed that I had no clue where. So, after taking a quick look in the obvious places and having one of the guys try to help me (ever been in a small camper with a 300 lbs total stranger? - things got tight in there!) I decided to go to the site number my husband had given me to sit down and read the darn manual. Without an audience, I settled down and took another look and found the valve, closed it and went back to the fill station.
Back to the site again, parked the home and called my husband only to find out he was fishing the cove behind the campground, watching me and was trying to figure out why I came and went and came back.
It was nice and cool, so no need to run the AC. One thing I did miss about the pop up is the huge all around ventilation. I love to sleep with lots of fresh air but the extra room more than made up for it. That and not having to walk to the bath-house first thing when you get up at 4:30am. Also, going to sleep looking at the stars through the skylight...that was pretty cool. I have to say, these were 2 of the best nights sleep I have had in a year.
Fished all day and came back to the CG exhausted. Sat under the awning, enjoyed an adult beverage and listened to some Eric Clapton Unplugged. HEAVENLY!!! Clean up after dinner was sooo much easier with the double bowl sink and water that came out of the faucet hot...NO NEED TO HEAT UP A PAN ON THE STOVE!
We did a partial breakdown of the camp that night. Next morning was a simple unplug electric and drive off the blocks. None of that cranking it down and tucking canvas. Everyone at the tournament really like the camper. I did a couple tours. I think I have found my calling as a truck camper Apostle.
All in all, just a little learning curve and I seem to be a slow student! But I have am really tickled with the new baby.
We had 2 tournaments back to back at Summersville Lake which is about 1 1/2 hours away. I had to work Friday, but my husband took off that morning with the my Expedition and the boat. He wanted to get a little fishing time in and grab a site since it is walk up only at this time of year. I had a "Take Your Truck Camper To Work" day. (that way I could get my boss' attention to the fact I wanted to leave early;))
It took a little getting used to the much larger hard-side camper after having the pop up, but I waddled my way up some typical pot-holed, wavey, curvy West Virginia roads. (I did get to skip out around 2)
Since this CG doesn't have water hook ups, I had to fill the fresh water tank when I got there. At this point, I realized I may not have done my research as well as I should. I chatted up 2 guys doing the same thing at the dump station while filing up my tank. Hmmm...that water probably shouldn't be running out of the bed of the truck. I figured there was a valve open somewhere, but my girl-ness kicked in and I was embarrassed that I had no clue where. So, after taking a quick look in the obvious places and having one of the guys try to help me (ever been in a small camper with a 300 lbs total stranger? - things got tight in there!) I decided to go to the site number my husband had given me to sit down and read the darn manual. Without an audience, I settled down and took another look and found the valve, closed it and went back to the fill station.
Back to the site again, parked the home and called my husband only to find out he was fishing the cove behind the campground, watching me and was trying to figure out why I came and went and came back.
It was nice and cool, so no need to run the AC. One thing I did miss about the pop up is the huge all around ventilation. I love to sleep with lots of fresh air but the extra room more than made up for it. That and not having to walk to the bath-house first thing when you get up at 4:30am. Also, going to sleep looking at the stars through the skylight...that was pretty cool. I have to say, these were 2 of the best nights sleep I have had in a year.
Fished all day and came back to the CG exhausted. Sat under the awning, enjoyed an adult beverage and listened to some Eric Clapton Unplugged. HEAVENLY!!! Clean up after dinner was sooo much easier with the double bowl sink and water that came out of the faucet hot...NO NEED TO HEAT UP A PAN ON THE STOVE!
We did a partial breakdown of the camp that night. Next morning was a simple unplug electric and drive off the blocks. None of that cranking it down and tucking canvas. Everyone at the tournament really like the camper. I did a couple tours. I think I have found my calling as a truck camper Apostle.
All in all, just a little learning curve and I seem to be a slow student! But I have am really tickled with the new baby.
