Peggy's first summer towing the Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S
I had some interesting first experiences with towing and camping with our Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S this summer.
In June I went with Sisters on the Fly to Bonito Hollow Campground in Alto, New Mexico, near Ruidoso. Since I had not parked the new Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S at all yet, I decided I better find out if I could.
Learning to Park
Tony joined me in the front yard. We are lucky to have a large yard with a circle drive in front of the house, and straight driveways up both sides of the house. So I had a lot of options of angles to practice.
I backed up into several positions in the backyard, with Tony giving me pointers about went to turn and when to straighten my wheels.
When I was confident that I wasn’t going to crash, I finished packing and got ready for a fun weekend.
In preparation for my first parking experience, I had also checked with Google Maps and saw that my site was on a corner, so I’d be able to drive around the curve, and back in fairly straight. That calmed my nerves a bit.
Peggy practices her back-up skills with our Rockwood Mini Lite 2205s
The first trip - Bonito Hollow in Alto, New Mexico
I caravanned with Marie, so I could focus on mountain driving and not on navigation. When we arrived at the campground, one of the friendly staff showed me to my site, and spotted my backing in. It was pretty easy, being almost a straight shot. The site was level and I had water and electricity. The campground wifi was good enough to let Tony know I had made it to camp safely.
All went well, I had a lovely time with the Sisters. I rode with Marie to a winery and we enjoyed a beautiful afternoon. I went into Ruidoso and drove around a bit, and filled the truck with gas so I wouldn’t have to stop with the trailer on the way home. I drove home on my own because Marie stayed an extra day.
The first trip was to Bonito Hollow in Alto, New Mexico. That site was easy to access, and had water and electricity hook-ups.
The second Trip - The High Road to Taos
Last weekend, I went with Girl Camper to a US Forest Service campground on the High Road to Taos, New Mexico. We stayed at the Agua Piedra campground.
By the time I decided I would be able to fit this campout in my schedule, there were only a few campsites available. I did the best I could with the photos the campground has posted.
It was a whole new list of “firsts” for me. Bonnie is the only Girl Camper from this group that I had met before this trip, and she lives in Taos, so caravanning wasn’t an option. So it was my first time towing to an unfamiliar location.
I loaded up, and asked my phone to take me to the campground.
RV-Safe Routing
After I got on the road, it occurred to me that I had made a big error, in not checking with the RV Life app to make sure I was on an RV-safe route. It was the first time I had made that mistake. I figured it’s because I had so much on my mind about how my day was going to proceed.
I found a chance to get into the RV Life app, and verify that I was on a safe route. I had also called our friend Michael, who knows all the roads in the state, and when he called back he verified I was going to be ok.
My trip was rather uneventful. I discovered that my route actually was “The High Road to Taos,” which I had considered driving with just the truck some time during the weekend. So I got one activity done ahead of schedule! That in itself is sort of a first! If I had don’e more research, I might have chosen a slightly longer, but less mountainous route. But let me tell you, I cannot wait to make that drive again, when I can look out the window more. It’s beautiful up there!
Water at Agua Piedra Campground
I had traveled without water, knowing that there were spigots near the toilet houses. I drive to my loop, and passed my site on the way to the most convenient spigot. I have to admit, I had a little case of the nerves, seeing how narrow that site was! I pulled up as close as I could to water, and got out my hoses.
Our water fill port is having some issues, which we will be having repaired during the FROG rally in Indiana in August. So, when we want to fill our fresh tank, we hook up to the city water inlet, and turn on the ShowerMi$er. I did all that, and wandered around waiting for the indicator to tell me I had enough water for the weekend. I seemed to wait an awfully long time. I know that the pressure wasn’t very high but I still got impatient and gave up with less water than I had planned.
Later in the weekend, when I wanted to take a shower, I realized what I had done wrong. Knowing how water diverters usually work, I had aimed the ShowerMi$er half-way, thinking that I was diverting to the fresh tank. Turns out, I had it only half-way to where it was supposed to be, and I guess I was diverting, but at just a teeny trickle! Oops! Well, I had enough water for a shower and I brought some gallons of water for drinking and coffee, so I was ok for the weekend.
Settling the Butterflies
After I had some water in my tank, I circled back around to my site. With the butterflies in my stomach flapping furiously, I lined myself up on the road for the approach. As I said, the site was pretty narrow, and on both sided it sloped steeply downward. I certainly didn’t want to drive off the edge!
I actually got the trailer into the site, right where it needed to be, in two tries. Boy, did I feel danged proud of myself in that moment! Not only had I backed in, but I had avoid the dangers to the truck and trailer. Sure, it was a little touch skirting the side of the trailer to get the chocks on the driver-side tires. Heck, it was even tough getting out of the driver’s door of the truck. But I managed, and got myself unhooked.
Some sites are not on the level
The site was not very level, so I had to use some of our leveling pads under the solid steps (another point against those steps) and I actually had a bush right in the doorway that I had to maneuver around all weekend. But, if I hadn’t backed up that far, the truck might not have fit in the front of the site. So, I made the best of my location.
Having used all of the leveling blocks, and finding that the rear of the site sloped downward quickly, I had trouble getting my stabilizing jacks to reach the ground. I came up with a very sketchy solution. Please note, I do not recommend this, but I needed a solution and I found what I could. I wasn’t using the leveling wedges - although to be honest I wasn’t terribly level so I probably should have. I just didn’t feel good about trying to get those wedges under the tires, on the edge of the drop-off, so I just dealt with being a bit off-kilter for a couple of days. So, I took the wedges and set them on their sides under the stabilizer jacks. Again, this was not a great solution, but it was the solution I could figure out.
The final touches
Once I was set up, I was able to take a deep breath and start to enjoy the weekend. Well, I did have one more minor mishap. I had packed some of the gallon bottles of water in the back seat of the truck. I didn’t open the door carefully enough, and one bottle fell to the ground and burst open. I figured water was precious so I carried it like a baby into the camper and left it on its unbroken side, and poured water out of the broken split, until the bottle was empty. That rescue mission resulted in my first shower of the weekend, LOL.
I realized something that I do, that I find humorous. We have had a keyless RV Lock for about six years now. So I wonder why, every time I’m approaching, the locked door, I recite the code over and over in my head? Shouldn’t I know it by now, without being worried I’ll forget when I get to the door? It’s so silly!
Making friends
I had a really great time meeting Girl Campers from New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Texas, and Kansas. Bonnie knows how to put on a campout, and everyone wants to be in on that! I got to see the High Road to Taos. We went wine tasting at one of the local wineries. I rode with Bonnie and a couple other ladies into Taos and we shopped at the farmers’ market, and rode the ski lift over the “expert” slope. Bonnie showed us some of the town, and a lovely old church. We had dinners together and sat around the propane fire pit talking and laughing and getting acquainted.
On Sunday morning, when I started to hook up, I knew I’d be in and out of the truck a few times getting lined up to the ball. I was just about to hop out, when a voice said “you have about three more feet.” I realized my neighbor, who along with his family was also packing up, was there to lend a hand. He helped me get lined up without getting out of the truck several times. It’s funny: the one thing I have done before and knew what I was up against, I got unexpected help! I know of thought: where was he when I was backing in? Then again, who knows if he would be good at that, and I would be relying on someone I didn’t know instead of relying on myself.
I’ve got gas
We were camped pretty far from a town, so I didn’t get a chance to fill the gas tank when I was unhooked. I got some advise from another Girl Camper that lives in Albuquerque, and made my plan for a gas stop. Those butterflies were back. Some gas stations can be sort of tricky to maneuver for a travel trailer. I had an idea where I would stop. Unfortunately, I was past the driveway before I realized it. So I had a backup plan. I had to wait for another vehicle parked poorly at the pump, and I am pretty sure I was blocking one of the pathways in and out of the pumps. But I was committed, and had to wait. While I filled up, I walked around and determined my best route out of the station.
Funny enough, there was another station literally two doors away, that was designed with more space that might have been easier to maneuver. I will know for next time. On the other hand, I now have a lot more confidence about getting in to the less convenient spaces.
Lessons in being StressLess
You might be wondering why I am telling you all these things I did wrong, and how nervous I was doing some of the things. Well, I was doing a lot of it on my own for the first time. It’s only natural that I would be cautious, and even nervous, doing some of these tasks on my own for the first time. And I want you to know that it’s ok to be nervous. It’s ok to have a whole bunch of firsts. It’s ok to ask for help, and to do what you need to do even if those things are hard and scare you. Because if you never try, you’ll never learn to do better. And if you sit home because you are scared, you are going to miss out on a whole lot of fun times, and good friends.
As I relayed some of my fears and worries to the other gals, they all said I couldn’t be right. I couldn’t be scared. After all, Tony and I teach classes in how to know, understand, and enjoy your RV. And we have a podcast and tell everyone every week how enjoyable RVing and camping can be. Well, I am here to tell you that everyone starts somewhere. Even me. I’ve had a summer of firsts, and now that I’ve had them, I feel more empowered, more confident, and more ready to keep camping than I was before. And so, my friends, I am here to encourage you to go out there and do the scary stuff. Learn all you can, try the hard things, and become more empowered, more confident, and more ready to keep camping. I’ll see you ‘round the campfire!
