Our Second “First” Camping Trip

When:  Saturday, May 11, 2019 (one night)
Where:  Cottonwoods RV Park (Columbia, Missouri); Site 44
Cost:  $47/night  ($42.50 with Good Sam) for pull-through with full hook-ups

Now that we had all of our camping accoutrement purchased and had the travel trailer named (“Sally”) and dewinterized, we were FINALLY ready to camp.

Sorta.

Percy felt right at home at Cottonwoods RV Park in Columbia

Because we were newbies, we wanted to ease into “camping.”  That meant staying at an RV park just seven miles from our house in Columbia, Missouri.   If something went wrong, we wanted to be close to home, especially because we were bringing the dogs with us.

Cottonwoods RV Park is very nice RV park with a good mix of long and short-term residents.  The sites are all very level, usually with paved/gravel pads.  There’s a pool, gazebo, laundry, and a nice store (with local craft beer from Burr Oak Brewery and Logboat Brewing).  Little did we know that Cottonwoods would be one of the nicer RV parks we would stay in over the next few years.  Their slogan is “A Nice Place for Nice People.”  They let us stay there anyway.

In all seriousness, Cottonwoods made for an excellent first-time RV campground experience. The manager told us about all of the facilities, and made sure to let us know that there would be a free Mothers Day breakfast the next morning. We joined about 30-50 other folks with heaping plates of crock-potted goodies, including some biscuits and gravy that deserved second helpings. If this was what RV life was about, I was sold!

The RV park staff was not the only ones who wanted to make sure we had a good time. Our friends Scott and John decided to stop by the park and check in on us Saturday evening.  Then, our friends Ashley, Stacy, and their two-year-old also swung by for a few minutes.   It was nice to have guests in our new little “home.”  

At some point, I’ll do a separate post on biking, bucket lists, and beer in Columbia, Missouri.   There is a lot to see and do here (and we l.o.v.e. having our “sticks and bricks” home here).  But the bottom line is that if you are ever traveling to CoMo, Cottonwoods is a nice option, and I would recommend it.

Selecting Our First RV

Our last “camping” trip had been in 2010.

We knew nothing about RVs.

Were we ready to buy one?

After coming home to Missouri from our Florida vacation, we decided to purchase an RV in February 2019. Unfortunately, neither one of us knew the first thing about RVs.  And, the last time we camped had been years ago on a “float trip” that was more about socializing with our friends and drinking cheap beer than camping.

We were beyond “newbies” to the RV world. We were “preemies” who needed lots of life support.   Luckily, the internet is filled with all sorts of blogs and YouTube videos that make information readily accessible.  On the other hand, there is SO MUCH INFORMATION and SO MANY “EXPERT” OPINIONS that it was hard to find what we really needed to know.

We started by just trying to understand the different terminology on the various types of RV options. Class A, Class B, Class C, fifth wheel, travel trailer, toy hauler, pop-up, etc.   This was a whole other world and language, but we quickly got the basic nomenclature down.

We started with a process-of-elimination strategy for our first RV.   We quickly settled on some type of “travel trailer” for a few reasons.  

Why We Chose a Travel Trailer as our First RV

• Cost. 

  We wanted to spend under $20K because we had no idea if RVing was something we would like.  Thus, we quickly excluded the Class A, B, and C options.

• Ease of Use. 

  A travel trailer seemed much easier to use than a fifth wheel.  The idea of having some specialized hitch in the back of the truck bed seemed daunting.

• Size.  

  People say that size matters. Well, in this case, we were thinking that meant the smaller, the better. We planned to use the RV only on weekends and vacations so reasoned that we would not need a lot of room.   Most of the time, we would be exploring the town or nature.   And, we anticipated that we would be using the RV about 1-2 weeks at a time at most.

• Weight. 

  We were limited by what our truck could tow.   Our Toyota Tacoma could pull 6800 lbs, but if we upgraded to a Ram 1500 Big Horn / Lone Star, we could tow 8240 lbs. (We multiplied those numbers by 80% to come up with what we considered to be our actual “safe” tow capacity).

• New. 

  With our budget and the foregoing criteria, we could afford something new.   We had read enough online to know that “new” is not necessarily better because (1) “they just don’t make them like they used to” and (2) “it takes a while to work out all of the kinks” in a vehicle.  Yet, with this being our first foray into RV purchasing, we felt like buying new from a local dealer would be better than buying used from some random seller on Craigslist or RV Trader. 

What Manufacturers Make Travel Trailers?

Next, we really did a lot of online research on brands.  We were surprised to learn that the RV market has consolidated in recent years.  The major players seemed to be:      

• Thor Industries. 

  The brands include Airstream, CrossRoads, Cruiser RV, DRV, Dutchmen, Entegra, Erwin Hymer, Heartland RV, Highland Ridge, Jayco, Keystone, KZ, Redwood,  Starcraft, Tiffin (as of 2020), Thor Motor Coach, and Venture.  

• Forest River.  

  The brands include Coachmen, Dynamax, East to West, Forest River, Palomino, Prime Time, and Shasta.

• Winnebago Industries. 

  The brands include Chris-Craft, Grad Design, Newmar (as of 2020), and Winnebago. 

From what we could tell from online reviews, no one liked Thor if something went wrong with the RV (which often does, even when the RV is new).   Although there is truth to the adage “you get what you pay for,” the Winnebago brands seemed like they were quite expensive and that we were paying a premium for just the brand name.   Thus, we focused our search on the Forest River brands for our first RV.

What RV Floor Plan / Layout is Best for First-Time RVers?

There isn’t really a “best” layout for a first RV. The desired layout all depends on how someone plans to use the RV. Our criteria for the floor plan was as follows:

• A bunk house layout.  

  The plan was not to sleep in the bunks or make the dogs sleep in the bunks.  Instead, we wanted a place to store our bikes inside the RV.  That likely meant finding a travel trailer with a really large outdoor compartment that could hold the bikes (note: this does not exist) or devoting part of the interior living space to store them.  Kasie thought that we could take out a bunk in the bunk house floor plan and use that for storage.

• Total length less than 25 feet.

  That number was sort of arbitrary, but in general, we were thinking that smaller was better. 

• Murphy bed.

  A murphy bed is a bed that is a bed that is hinged at one end to store vertically against the wall. We wanted to save space, and we felt like a murphy bed would help with this goal.

• Outdoor kitchen

  We grill out occasionally. An outdoor kitchen felt like bonus if we could get one.

• No slides (if possible).  

  I was scared of slides.   To me, that was just one more thing that could go wrong on the RV.   I could picture us being stranded on some highway with all of the dogs because of what I called “spontaneous slide extension syndrome.”     

Other Issues to Consider When Purchasing a First RV

At this point in our search, we did not care or ask much about basic things like holding tank capacities, solar-readiness, or batteries.  We figured we would always stay at campgrounds where we would hook up to water and sewer.   And, at least back then, these other items seemed like things that only full-timers needed to be concerned about.

We also did a lot of online research on local RV dealers.   We quickly learned that no one liked the local Camping World (now known as Gander RV locally) if something went wrong.   We had that confirmed by a dear friend of ours who had multiple repair problems with his trailer at the local Camping World.   Thus, we started looking elsewhere in the state.

What RV Did We Purchase as our First RV?

We found a good option at AOK RVs near the Lake of the Ozarks (621 N Main St Gravois Mills, MO 65037), and made a drive down to look at it (as well as a few others).   Within a couple of hours, we were the proud owners of a brand new 2019 Coachman Spirit Ultra Lite 2245BH.  It checked all of our boxes:  bunk beds with an adjacent rear opening that we could use to store the bikes, 25.42 ft total length, 4628 lb dry weight, no slides, murphy bed, outdoor kitchen, and fresh/gray/black tanks of 49/33/33 gallons (if you are curious).   

But what sold us (or at least me) on this particular Coachman versus comparable RVs?  The model came with silly (cheap) little things that were branded to make the camper more dog friendly.  The $5 dog leash clip, a $20 “pet center” (two dog bowls mounted to retractable compartment), and “dog wash” (a standard outdoor shower area) made us think that this model was our destiny!  Kudos to marketing folks at Forest River / Coachman that suckered us and other dog lovers.

So…Basically, we bought

a $20K-ish

dog house

on wheels.

(Coachman Spirit Ultra Lite 2245BH)

We don’t have a lot of photos of the travel trailer, but the dogs clearly knew how to take over the Murphy bed.

Why did you start RVing?

When people ask us how we first started RVing, the answer usually surprises them.  The short answer is: “The dogs.”   In this post, I’ll share the full story. 

In February 2019, we had just spent about 10 days in the Orlando area for our annual winter get-away to someplace warm.   We experienced 16+ hours of Universal Studios (determined to get our money’s worth), a short Caribbean cruise porting out of Port Canaveral, and three days of a college softball tournament at the ESPN Wild World of Sports.   

As with all of our vacations, I found myself increasingly talking to Kasie about the dogs over the course of the trip.  Even though we had the best dog sitter in the world, I could not help but worry and miss them.   

Doing our best Harry Potter and Haggrid impersonation at Universal Studios in Orlando

Lana: “What do you think the dogs are doing?”

Kasie (exasperated):  “Sleeping.   Just like they were 15 minutes ago when you asked.”

Lana:  “Do you want to turn on the security cameras and watch them?”

Kasie:  “Not really.” (hands Lana her phone)

Lana (fidgeting to unlock Kasie’s phone):   “Where is that app again?”

(Kasie points)

Lana:  “I’m not seeing the dogs.  I don’t think the cameras are working.”

Kasie:  “Yes they are, you just have to be patient for the app to reload.”

Lana (a few seconds later): “Look at our cute babies.” (cooing noises)

Kasie:  “What are they doing?”

Lana: “Sleeping.”

At some point during the vacation, we started thinking of some way to take the dogs with us when we travel.  There was only one solution: buy an RV.  

Hand-painted card from our dog sitter (February 2019). Yes, Brodie (far right) is eating poop.

Kasie, of course, just heard the word “buy” and she was on-board with the plan.   Kasie loves buying stuff, especially new vehicles.   I’ve kept her in check for most of our marriage.  We try to keep a vehicle for at least 3 years (hopefully 6-7 years) before trading.   So, when Kasie figured out that we would not only be purchasing a travel trailer, but that she might also have to upgrade her tiny Tacoma for a beefier truck to pull the trailer, she was full speed ahead.  “You mean I get to buy two vehicles!!!!”

When we arrived back home to Missouri, we knew we had made the right choice.  Our dear friend who had been taking care of the dogs had hand-painted a card of them welcoming us home.  They missed us as much as we missed them.

In the end, we both love being able to spend time with the dogs when we travel.   There is something about coming “home” and seeing those goofy faces and wagging tails that makes every day (even a great vacation day) just a little bit better.