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  • Greetings from North Carolina

    WARNING: I am long winded)

    We just purchased our first Camping Trailer, a 2020 Viking Express 9.0TD. We are new to Trailer Camping. My camping protocol for the past 10 years has been an air mattress in the back of my 71 GMC pickup, underneath a cheap 10x10 pop-up awning, but my wife, "The Princess", DOES NOT sleep in the back of a pickup like some common inbred hillbilly (me), nor does she sleep on the ground like some kind of Bigfoot (also me). The Princess believes believes camping should involve room service and an ocean view, and there had better be a Garden Tub in the room too, and good restaurants nearby. So I have camped by myself for the last 20 years.

    Typing that just brought a tear to my eye thinking of what I am giving up...

    but I love her, and after almost 30 years of marriage, I want to spend more time with her. I guess.

    She likes to travel, but renting cabins, campers, and hotel rooms gets expensive. After much discussion, she warmed up to the idea of an RV (honey, it's a hotel room on wheels!) and we went looking. All the ones I liked were 30yrs old or more, while she loved the newer models with slide-outs. We decided that we didn't have an extra $100K laying around to buy us a new one unless we were to sell the house and everything in it (I'm okay with that), and that the yearly maintenance/repair costs on even a good used Motorhome were cost prohibitive, but we could probably afford a Trailer.

    My truck would require quite a bit of restoration to even qualify as a POS. It is not comfortable for long rides and my wife tells me she prefers the exhaust to be on the outside of the vehicle instead of the inside, so we would need to find something that we could pull with my Honda CRV or her Honda Element, That limited us to Pop-ups or Teardrop.

    I'm a full grown man 6'7" and 350# so I am going to need something that will accommodate someone of my superior size. Crawling in and out of a hatch was something I regularly did in the Navy, 20 years and a 100lbs ago, and I wasn't real excited about trying to do it now that I was MUCH rounder and much less flixible. After quite a bit of looking, I stumbled across the Viking Express 9.0TD. It looked big enough to fit me and nice enough to satisfy her.The Princess watched several walk-through videos of the 9.0TD and felt it was something she could enjoy. It had a heater and air-conditioner. She was raised in Colorado and cannot take the humidity of the Southeast despite having lived in NC for the last 20 years. She can't do without air-conditioning

    We went to go look at it. These are never as large in person as they are on video. they must use tiny, tiny little people for their videos She was disappointed that the unit we found didn't have the sink with hot & cold running water or the outside shower, like the video's showed, it also seemed to be missing the attachable grill, and the optional awning/screenroom addition (she has a thing about mosquitos) I could fit inside, we could both fit on the bed (although my feet overhang about a foot) The price they were asking was reasonable.

    Then I got a phone call and reasonable became "too good to pass up."

    I had a hitch installed on the CRV and at the last minute I decided to include a brake controller and we picked it up yesterday afternoon. It was a C hour drive home and I'm happy to say that the trailer stayed behind the car instead of passing us on the highway. I had the brake controller set to 40, I don't know if that was where it should be set, but it worked. I was surprised at how well the CRV pulled the trailer. The ride was a bit rougher and going up hills required a little more effort but on flatland, you hardly noticed the trailer was there.

    All was good until I tried to back it down the street into my driveway. Let's just say it is now safely parked, no trees were killed, no vehicles were run over, and we are still married...for now, but that is going to take some practice

    There was a remote chance that the grill and the awning/screenroom were in the storage crypt underneath the bed. That Awning/Screenroom was the main selling point for The Princess. She does NOT like mosquitos although they have a particular affectation for her. I went to the Coachmen Website and could not find an exploded view Illustrated Parts Breakdown, a parts price list, or anything at all about available accessories (Their website blows) I sent them an e-mail and found out that the grill (part# 2605232) sells for just $187.40 plus shipping and the Awning/Screenroom (part# f100175502) sells for just $663.10 plus shipping, What a deal!!

    I hoped they are under the bed.

    Please, Lord Jesus, let them be under the bed.

    They were not under the bed.

    I don't know why I would want or need a grill attached to the side of the camper. I have a Coleman stove and a 3-burner propane stove as well, but I'm going to have to figure out a solution for that awning/screen room thing

  • #2
    GREAT read, big ole smile on the face of this, evidently not quite full grown man, 6'4", 270#. 😂

    A couple quick thoughts.

    I had a side mounted grill before, used it twice and hated all the splatter I ended up with all over the side of the trailer. I found an adapter that uses the quick attachment on the trailer for the propane that will connect to gear that uses the 1# propane bottles. I think it was about $30, allows you to use the on board tank without having to carry another. I've even seen someone use it with one of the propane trees so they could use multiple items from that source.

    Backing the trailer takes practice, plenty of practice. A trick my grandfather taught me years ago. Instead of trying to remember everything is backwards when backing up, grab the steering wheel at the bottom with one hand. Gently "push" the bottom of the wheel in the direction you want the back of the trailer to go. Key is SLOW.... slow speed and slow movement of the wheel. Take your time and practice, practice, practice. Practice until you think you're an expert, then practice more. LOL Consider using hand signals instead of talking, just ask the wife (and by wife I mean boss 🤣) to simply point in the direction the rear of the trailer needs to go. Preferably without use of the middle finger.

    Welcome to the group, enjoy your new trailer.

    B
    "It's not the years in your life but the life in your years"


    Comment


    • #3
      BDH, your story was quite entertaining !

      be advised there will be more...

      some funnier and some not sew

      if you can get the trailer into the backyard set it up and get used2 the process

      backyard campouts are one way to acclimate to the new surroundings w/ an OUT available if conditions warrant

      w/ a bit of planning you can get the Princess to places far prettier than any ho/mo-tel ever thought about building

      BON CHANCE

      sw

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Bigdumbhick View Post
        ....... My truck would require quite a bit of restoration to even qualify as a POS. It is not comfortable for long rides and my wife tells me she prefers the exhaust to be on the outside of the vehicle instead of the inside....... We went to go look at it. These are never as large in person as they are on video. they must use tiny, tiny little people for their videos ...... I'm happy to say that the trailer stayed behind the car instead of passing us on the highway...
        All was good until I tried to back it down the street into my driveway. Let's just say it is now safely parked, no trees were killed, no vehicles were run over, and we are still married...for now, but that is going to take some practice ......There was a remote chance that the grill and the awning/screenroom were in the storage crypt underneath the bed. ... grill (part# 2605232) sells for just $187.40 plus shipping and the Awning/Screenroom (part# f100175502) sells for just $663.10 plus shipping, ... I hoped they are under the bed. ... Please, Lord Jesus, let them be under the bed.... They were not under the bed.

        ...I'm going to have to figure out a solution for that awning/screen room thing
        That was an enjoyable read--- though I groaned out loud when I got to "they were not under the bed".
        I come from a long line of story-tellers, so I appreciated the twists & turns in the saga.
        The first time I ever pulled a camper (60's Shasta) on a camping trip and had to back into the campsite, it was not pretty. At one point I couldn't figure out why in the h*ll the camper "would not move", with the truck clearly in reverse, and nothing that I could see in either side mirror preventing the camper from backing up to where it needed to go. I just kept "gently" pressing the accelerator, in reverse, but the camper never budged. Got out, walked back around to the rear of the camper, and perfectly centered where I couldn't see it in either side mirror (and with the height of the Shasta blocking out everything else in the truck's interior rearview mirror) was a very stout, very tall pine tree----- firmly pressed up against the pickup's Shasta's bumper. I'm sure the people in the nearby campsites found the whole thing pretty amusing.

        As for the awning/screen room dilemma, I'm sure you'll get some helpful suggestions from folks here. I would sure think you could modify/tweak one of those generic Walmart/Dick's Sporting Goods $100-$120 screen rooms to enclose part of your rig.
        And, Welcome to TearJerkers!

        Comment


        • #5
          Check out the Clam Escape for that mosquito problem. It really DOES only take one person less than 3 minutes to set it up. I was amazed the first time I tried it. And welcome to the group!

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          • #6
            Saturday Night my wife decided we should try out the camper. I hooked the battery up, dead of course. Plugged the 15amp adapter into the trailer and ran a few thousand feet of extension cord back to the house. I opened the valve on the propane tank and the heater came on just like it was supposed to.

            Saturday Night we had a Winter Weather Advisory with a prediction of up to 1 inch of snow. One inch of snow is enough to completely shut down the state of NC. The house was at least a good 50ft away. There was a good chance that we could actually get an inch or even an inch and a half. I had a sharp knife and garlic powder with me.. I was fully prepared to go full on Donner Party if necessary.

            My honey was not a happy camper. She does not like to be crowded.. i slept aboard Destroyers, Oilers, and Aircraft carriers. This camper was nothing. Thevstock mattress sucked, and as I'm laying there I'm missing the rocking of the ship...and that old familiar smell of feet and ass. It wasn't a horrible night. I need a longer hose for my CPAP machine. My wife is going to have to realize that she doesn't have to bring 6 pillows and a weeks worth of clothes in order to spend the night in the back yard, but nobody got hit in the head with a hammer so I'm calling this one a win.

            I'm falling out. More later

            Comment


            • #7
              Sorry to say, this guy Jeff is a professional. Column writer, Screen Writer, not sure, but he's good. That was a long intro, and, well, I don't last that long.
              He set the bait, teased a bit, then hooked his prey. I read his full and long (not winded) post and then the rest of the responses, (and great returns everyone). And then the follow-up, Nice!
              Jeff, Welcome to the Southern Appalachian Chapter of Tear Jerkers. You'll have some fun with us, and from the sounds of it, it sounds like you'll have a lot of entertaining to do.
              I'm Eric, I'm the chapter director for our chapter. We do at least 3 gatherings a year, just in our chapter (NC/SC). Old Dominion, Dixie, Tenn., Bluegrass, FL, Chesapeake Bay, all do gatherings a few hours away from us, so check them out also.
              Our next 1 is Moonshine Creek, May 13th-16th, 2021. Probably 2 to 2.5 hrs. away from you. Just past Asheville.
              "Announcement" 2021, Southern Appalachian Chapters "Spring Fling" Gathering Where: Moonshine Creek Campground, Sylva, NC When: May 13th-16th, 2021 What: Southern Appalachian Chapters 2nd Gathering for the year (2021) Who: Come 1, come all. All chapters welcome!!! Sites: Sites 1-13, 23, 25, 27-29, 31, 33, 35,

              See you and the Princess around the fire real soon.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Eric W View Post
                Sorry to say, this guy Jeff is a professional. Column writer, Screen Writer, not sure, but he's good.
                Thanks. I've done some Freelance writing in the past, mostly music stuff and some humor, but I'm not a professional writer. I wouldn't mind the gig if it paid well though.

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