We embarked on a cross country 40 day trip last fall leaving Boston, MA. We stopped at Badlands NP, Little Big Horn NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP, Zion NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, Bryce Canyon NP, South Rim Grand Canyon NP, and Monument Valley. Obviously there were one nighters inbetween for transition. We planned our trip using RVLive, You Tube videos, coupled with previous smaller trips. Much of the gear we brought was purchased to be specific to the one night to extended days trip. We attached a Thule bike rack to the rear of our teardrop to bring our two electric bikes. We attached a travel bag on rack attached to the roof rack on top of the teardrop that contained a two person Nemo rain shelter/tent/changing room, two camp chairs, folding table and my gravity chair. In the car we had a 10x10 screen house, hiking gear, biking gear, cooking gear, camping gear, a LARGE yeti cooler, dry food storage containers and personal items. Attached by ratcheting straps and hasp and pad locks to the equipment box at the front tongue of the teardrop in two milk crates was a 20 lb propane tank, and weights that kept our tent and gazeebo from blowing away (supplemental to the stakes) First off the trip was unbelievably fun and we had an excellent time. Taking the milk crates off and putting them back on was a royal pain so we could access our Jackery and camper locks and equip. Climbing up to unload the tent ( hardly used), chairs and table was also a time waster. But the worst was taking the cargo netting off of the protective bag covering the elec bikes, removing the bikes& rack every time we wanted to access the galley was beyond the enjoyment of the 2 times we actually used the bikes. So as the new season approaches we now have replaced the old screen house (retired to our deck) and the tent (for sale) with an LLBean screen house, floor and rain fly to be used as a living room during the day / changing em and bath em at night. Nothing is on top of the camper anymore and the rack, bag and netting is for sale as well as the cargo netting and bike bag. A new and larger car has more room for the rest of the gear. Inside our teardrop we will put pool noodles inbetween the memory foam mattress for this high condensation nights when rain and humidity causes moisture. Easy access to our kitch galley, elec systems and a greater ease and shorter set up and break down time will cause less stress and more time to hike or just relax. We carry a Weber Q. Grill and a coleman 2 burner cooktop and can easily handle all our cooking needs coupled with a medium and large size yeti cooler. We now stay at tent sites instead of RV parks as we felt surrounded by those mammoth RVs that seemed as if people brought their home camping with them. We fit in most tent sites and our solar panels keep us powered for the most part with the Jackery and the occasional overnight stop at a place with an electrical hookup if we didn’t get enough sun for the full charge. Also we think 14-20 days is enough time per trip. 40 days first time out ( after on many 2-3 night camping) was a lot. We encountered issues and solved as we went. Things we bought in theory proved less useful in practice and found better more efficient ways to accomplish the same things. We look forward to a Boston to Penn. VA. NC tip for about two weeks this summer in the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mts. to use our new knowledge and experience. We’ll pull a few 2-3 nighters in the New England area first. Our Modern Buggy performed well on our trip and we saw beautiful places, met wonderful people and made us glad of our graduation from tent to teardrop camping. At 70 years old we appreciate the memory foam mattress but still get to enjoy being in the wilderness, campfires, the road and our adventures. Mission accomplished! Happy Camping to all!
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