Mike and Carol

Entering Zion from the east requires driving through this tunnel. Last month we purposely drove south to Hurricane, UT and then up into Zion to miss this tunnel. The next day we drove the highway without the trailer and it was well worth the time. The tunnel was one way traffic, so waits are normal depending on which way you are driving and which lane has been stopped. Large trailers have to go down the middle of the road due to the rounded sides of the tunnel. It’s 1.1 miles long if I remember right. Mike

Agree that this highway is a humdinger. Very scenic but should be approached with caution. We’re becoming more familiar with it since our son and family live in Durango at the southern end.

We saw our first Oliver at the Bluebonnet rally in the spring of 2015. We drove over for an afternoon (40 minutes from home), got a great orientation from Steve Creed from Fort Worth, TX. Mike

It sounds like you’re taking precautions. It’s a good test to see how your Oliver does and the rest of us will be interested! Thanks for the updates. Mike

I’ve been reading Ray’s posts over on Airforums for a while now. Always interesting and thought provoking. Mike

Hi Kim, welcome! You’ll be able to find help and answers to some of your questions here. As someone new to the RV life have you given thought to how you think you’ll camp? If you stay in commercial campgrounds with FHU (Full Hook Ups - electric, water, sewer) you might not need solar, a lot of batteries or a composting toilet. If you think you might be a bit more adventurous and go to national and state parks or public lands that don’t have those amenities then you’ll want to go with solar, a decent amount of battery and maybe a composting toilet. We were new when we ordered our trailer almost 7 years ago and really didn’t know how we would camp except we knew we wanted to visit as many national parks as possible. We got what was available then as far as solar and batteries. We’ve ended up spending almost half our camping time dry camping or boondocking (no hook ups). We’ve found some of the most scenic campgrounds are primitive. So, advice will depend on what you think you might do. Mike

When you are at Kartchner Caverns if you don’t have time to do a caverns tour (reservations only, ranger guided) go to the visitor center and watch the video. It’s very interesting. Mike

Carlsbad Caverns is fun. We stayed at the KOA there for a couple nights several years ago. If you have time, there are some good sites to see at Guadalupe Mountains National Park not far away. If you are staying overnight in Roswell, we like the Red Barn RV Park. Small, owner is very friendly (Leigh). Just outside of White Sands Missile Range is Aguirre Spring BLM campground. You drive up from about 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet in just a mile or two. The views are tremendous, you can see White Sands National Park from there. We were just camping in Benson a couple weeks ago, at Kartchner Caverns State park. If you don’t have a place yet it’s worth a look. If you like wineries, there are several good ones in Sonoita, AZ about 35 or 40 minutes from Benson. Callaghan Winery is our favorite. Mike

Spam. Meat in a can. Tuna and Sardines, too. When I was working, part of my job was tent camping. OD Green canvas tents in Germany, Netherlands, and west Texas mostly. Sometimes I attached my OD Green canvas to someone else’s and we had a proper tent. Sometimes I just attached it to the side of the small trailer being towed behind my Jeep. Sometimes the tents were big enough for more than a couple of people and there are memories of sitting around on the ground or the side of a cot eating Spam, tuna, sardines on saltines, maybe some baked beans. The little C-ration can opener shared the chain with your dog tags. Some of those camping trips were pure misery but the Spam memories are all good. Mike

Tent camping…. I took my camping partner tent camping once right after we got married. We laugh about it now, but didn’t then. After that trip it took 40 years to talk her into looking at a trailer, initially aluminum but ultimately fiberglass. Now she’s an experienced, enthusiastic camper. Mike

We haven’t lost anything and we haven’t had anything taken. Neither do we carry anything of value. We feel pretty safe in a campground with leaving chairs, table and grill outside. When isolated I put the grill away at night in the truck to prevent curious wildlife. A thief isn’t going to drive around BLM land looking for an isolated camper for something to steal. They are interested in higher density targets with an easy get away. Memory is a different subject….. Mike

If it’s going to be single digits at night and not above freezing during the day then I would winterize or go somewhere else. Last year when we had the big freeze in Texas (single digits for several days) and I couldn’t find antifreeze I brought my trailer home, turned on the furnace and electric heater, opened all the hatches, put a drop light in the basement near the outdoor shower, aimed the electric heater at the vent under the curbside bed, turned on the hot water tank and did some close monitoring. No freeze damage. Also, no way to camp! It shouldn’t take long to winterize. The KOA should have shower and bath facilities. Mike

Yes. We’ve done it multiple times. A year or so ago we were at Pinnacles National Park and it dropped below freezing at about 10pm and was 19 when we woke up. I didn’t warm up until later in the afternoon. At Zion a couple of weeks ago each night got into the 20s and didn’t get above freezing until late morning due to the mountains shading Watchman campground. Mike

I’ve had metal stems with my TST sensors for 6 years. No issues. Mike

Ed and Nancy, congratulations! Hope you are past your initial challenges and enjoy some warm weather in Florida. Mike

Making notes…. Looks like tranquil camping away from the masses.

Ours is in the attic. Push the little button and try scanning for channels again. It took us a couple of times to figure this out! Mike

Nice work, as always! Mike

Josh Turner is Carol’s all time favorite country singer. We play that song often.

Grill, griddle, camp chairs, lock, plug adapters, camp table, fire pit, Clam, ….. If your question is serious, tell us a little more about yourself, what you have, what you need, how you’ll camp etc. Otherwise - Mike

We’ve never run out of hot water. It depends on your camping style. Mike

Congrats! I’m sure there will be delivery trip questions that will arise. Mike

Yes.

Assuming you mean instant HOT H2O. No, it’s not instant. The water passes through the Truma at the back of the trailer, gets heated and travels to the faucet. With the hot water tank, hot water travels the same distance to the faucet. The difference is if you don’t have the hot water tank on it will take some time to heat up. So, if you’re going to travel with your hot water tank off and when you arrive at your destination you want hot water right away, you might want the Truma. If you have 10 or 15 minutes to heat your water either with propane or electricity, then the tank will work. If you keep the tank on while you are camped the only difference is you can get more than 6 gallons of hot water with the Truma. The Truma is more complicated mechanically. The tank is pretty simple. Whether it is worth the extra dough depends on how you camp, where you camp, do you take long showers, etc. Hard to say without more information. Mike

Mine is 6 years old, heavily used. I clean it after every trip, still works like new. Maybe I’ll break it in another 6 years. The Airstream model comes without the regulator and an Airstream logo, it’s almost as easy to get the fittings (Propane Guys) and do it yourself while saving a few bucks. Mike