“Sea Trials” in the RV

Our rig is on the left; the kids are on the right.

The very first outing in the motorhome was a tremendous learning experience.  We were meeting our oldest daughter and her family on Friday at Ray Roberts State Park, north of Dallas.  They were passing through, returning from a two week trip from Houston to Seattle, Washington, in their 32 foot travel trailer.

Lesson Number One could have been expensive.  We stopped at a gas station to top off the tank, and while watching very closely to make sure I cleared the pumps, I committed a cardinal sin:  I forgot to have Nell watch the rear end on her side.  I apparently clipped the mirror on a fellow’s truck.  By the time he came over and told us, he and his friends had pushed the mirror back in place.  Nothing was broken, he was satisfied no harm was done, and everybody went on their way.  Lesson learned: look everywhere… all the time.

Our daughter had made reservations for two campsites.  We arrived first and checked in around 1:30 on a very hot Friday afternoon.  We bought a Texas State Parks Pass for $60.  The pass gave us a discount on the campsite fee, and paid the $5 per person entrance fee.  It’s good for a year, and will give us discounts on campsite fees three more times and will cover the per person fees on every visit for the next 12 months.  If my calculation is right, it paid for roughly one-third of itself this very first weekend.  Passes like this one, along with ones like our Good Sam’s Club membership will save us a lot on our living costs.

Next stop was the dump station.  Our first dump station experience wasn’t bad, but then we were just trying to dewinterize by flushing the antifreeze out of the water system.  We learned a lot more on the way out on Sunday.

This gives a pretty good idea of the size of the rig.

We found our campsite and backed in successfully.  Next time, I’ll know enough to leave a little more space between the RV and the hookup connection posts.   Life is a lot easier when one leaves enough space for the basement cargo doors to open all the way.   We got the water hooked up and running, which made the kitchen and bathroom functional.  We connected the electrical and turned on the air conditioning.  (Hey, the temperature this weekend was above 100 degrees, okay?)  Unfortunately, the A/C ran, but not fast and not cool at all.  We were getting really not, really fast.

I discovered that I had forgotten exactly how to operate the hydraulic leveling jacks, and couldn’t get the RV leveled.  We did get the outside awning up, which was good since the sun was moving around to the “outdoor living” side of the RV.  By this time, all I wanted to do was sit in the shade and drink water, while wiping my face with a towel.  Did I mention that it was really, really hot?  By the time our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter arrived, we were a bit frustrated, and I was feeling kind of stupid.

The initial "bare bones" setup.

The big mistake we made over the last few months was not using the motorhome early while much of the original coaching from the dealer was still fresh in our minds.  The beauty of this weekend was that along with spending campground time with the kids, they were coming prepared to help us figure all this stuff out

Our son-in-law, a big burly guy with a heart of gold, got their trailer set up, then walked over to see what we needed.   Over the course of the next couple of hours at least, using a combination of experience, guesswork, and a process of elimination, he got the air conditioner blowing cold air, and the leveling jacks operating (you just have to have your foot on the brake while operating the levers… that little step isn’t in the owner’s manual, by the way).   Hopefully, we will retain what we’ve learned while we continue to learn while doing.

Our granddaughter was glad to see Hemi. It appeared to be mutual.

So, with water and plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, outdoor shade, and a semi-level motorhome, we called it a day.  Our daughter had burgers cooking and Nell made home fries.  It was getting dark, so we washed up, sat down at a picnic table and had a good dinner.  By the time we finished eating, it was almost 10pm, and about all anyone cared about was a shower and a good night’s sleep.

 

Sat right there under the awning on Saturday morning with my coffee, and did a pencil and watercolor sketch of part of a nearby tree. As an artist, this is part of what it’s all about.

The day started slowly, with a big leisurely breakfast.  We  worked on the onboard generator for a while, because it wasn’t starting.  Didn’t need it this trip, but we do need to get it operational.  It worked perfectly in the beginning, so again, I suspect not using it enough is the culprit.  Since it wasn’t critical to this weekend, we called off the work in order to just enjoy the rest of the weekend.  A trip to the beach was on the agenda.

The beach at Ray Roberts Lake State Park

Ray Roberts Lake State Park has a great sandy beach that is beautifully maintained, and obviously draws a big weekend crowd.  The nice thing about it is that we never knew all those people were in the park until we drove to the beach in son-in-law’s truck. 

Nell and I sat on a rock wall with our feet in the water while the kids enjoyed some swimming and floating time.

Some sketches of Nell and Hemi

After some time under a very hot sun, Nell and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the air conditioning. She did some reading and dozed and I did a little sketching with pen and ink.

Our granddaughter hung out with us for awhile, and found Hemi was willing to be a pillow.

Saturday evening, taking it easy...

Everyone congregated at our place for dinner and some good conversation.  Around 10pm, son-in-law headed out to the lake to do some night fishing.  Daughter and granddaughter headed next door to turn in for the night. That’s when we  learned  how important it is to keep a close watch on the levels in the holding tanks.  Gray water backed up in the shower and created some wet carpet.  Fortunately, we discovered it before going to bed and got it resolved.  (Gray water is what comes from the sinks and showers, not the toilet.)

On Sunday morning, we had some trouble getting the awning raised and stowed.  Again, Son-in-Law figured out a couple of steps  and buttons we weren’t using properly.  We got that up and locked in place, and while they got their trailer ready to travel, we did the same.  I got the leveling jacks raised, finished disconnecting from shore power and water, and Nell stowed things inside and vacuumed with the new little Dirt Devil.

The last stop on the way out was the dump station.  With the kids coaching us, we dumped and flushed the holding tanks, and made sure the system was clean and ready for its next use.  Farewell hugs followed and we hit the road, going our separate ways.

With the kids next door, this was a very successful weekend.  Without them, it would have been a miserable disaster.  We are very grateful they decided to buy their travel trailer and get started ahead of us.

* * * * * * *

And now, a special report on Hemingway the Schnauzer…

Hemi's Personal Space

We had gotten Hemi acquainted with the crate during the preceding week.  In the motorhome, it’s wedged between the back of the driver’s seat and the couch.  With absolutely no coaching from us, he quickly decided it was the best place for him while the RV was in motion.   He also preferred curling up in it when there were just too many feet to contend with.

"Just don't make me go out in the heat..."

It also appears that his “no bark” training is working.  Only once was he too loud, but the two cute little terriers that pranced past our site were just too much for the little guy to ignore.  Other than that, he was extremely well-behaved and made us proud.  He will need to be kept clipped short, though.  When we got home, I found his mustache and beard filled with grass burrs.  I think he’s going to travel well.

* * * * *

The weekend had some very frustrating moments.  The heat didn’t help, of course.  But it served its purpose.  We learned, re-learned and practiced.  We found that this is a livable space.  The bed is comfortable.  Weekends like this will teach us the best place to store things… what we need and what we can live without.  We need to get some good, comfortable outdoor chairs, a couple of heavy duty tubs to keep things organized in the outside compartments, and more small plastic containers to do the same in drawers and overhead cabinets.

Chalking it all up as preparation for the bigger picture, this was one happy camper.

But it’s all good…   And we would go at it fulltime tomorrow if we could.

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 [RP1]