Two Trips Later

It has been a while since I posted anything here.  But during my absence, we have been out for a total of 2 times, with the Shasta.

Our first trip for a couple of newbies, was exciting, and scary.  We took the ferry to the Sunshine Coast for a quick weekend trip.  

Silly me, I didn’t make any ferry reservations on this trip, thinking it was still off-season, traffic shouldn’t have been a problem.  I was wrong.  We waited for 1 sailing, forcing us to eat dinner at Horseshoe Bay, instead of a much anticipated first dinner at our campsite.    I found a place in the village that serves up very yummy YAM FRIES, my new weakness.

Because we had to wait a sailing, we didnt arrive to our site, until dark.  With an out of date map in my hand, which I obtained from the campgrounds website, we drove around and around looking for our designated spot.  A man came running after us, and introduced himself as a caretaker (who smelled like he just came out of a beer can! lol).  He showed us our spot, and offered his help to set up.  We sent him on his way, thanking him.  

Set up was a breeze, and we settled into our trailer for our very first nite, with a glass of wine.  

When we woke, we discoverd our part of the campground was mostly quiet.  The other part, was full of full-timers.   I was happy to see we were near a creek and we had a nice view of tall trees.

Our trip was fantastic, although we discovered we need something softer to sleep on.  The foams were much too hard.  This was solved for our second trip to Harrison.

Our second trip, we headed up to Harrison Hot Springs.  Again, thinking it was off season, I thought it would not be a problem to get into our favorite campground.  I was wrong as we pulled up to the gates and saw a “Closed for the Season” sign on them….. So we drove through a community and pulled into the first “RV Resort” that had an open sign.  This park, was a parking lot, which was pushing “Season-Long” rentals.  There were many large units, that were obviously set up for the long haul with fancy decks and sheds built around them.  We didn’t care too much, it was a place to stay and plug into.  And it was quiet.  No one was around, except the few that came to work on thier fancy decks.  

Pulling the Shasta, seemed easier, and we both seemed more relax during our trip.  Almost like, we were not pulling a trailer behind us.  

It was a nice quiet trip.  A perfect weekend break.  

Now, I am planning our BIG trip.  A 10 Day road trip to California, with a couple stops in Oregon, and a few stops in California, with our home base being in Escondido, in San Diego County.  We also have been talking about a quick day trip to Catalina Island, California.    

The only time we could do this, is during our only holidays of the year, between Christmas, and New Years.  I am looking forward to watching fireworks and celebrating New Years in Escondido California.

In the meantime, we are going to set up the Shasta with a Cable outlet, and a small flat screen LCD before, which I will post on here.

 

After a Few Days – A Ton of Pictures

 In my previous post, I shared the news we are now officially RV owners.  Pulling our 1984 Shasta Travel Trailer was a breeze.

We spent the weekend washing, cleaning and re-sealing the roof.  The roof of our Shasta is a one piece Aluminum, which has minimal seams (bonus!).  The husband got up on the roof on a very hot afternoon and scraped off all the old paint.  He then washed it down really good, caulked the seams, then painted it with paint.    A total of 3 hours, and it was done, and we can relax that it we know that no water can enter the Shasta.

I am kicking myself that I did not take before and after pictures of this process.  So I went on a picture taking spree to make sure, this doesn’t happen again.  So here we go: 

Here is a inside picture of inside the clothes closet.  I found a laundry basket to go inside, as well I replaced the previous pink coat hangers, with wooden ones.  In this picture is a tear down coffee table for the sofa, and a countertop that goes on top of the stove as well:

I love this “nook” in the next picture.  Perfect spot to throw sunglasses, keys, or in this case, an IPOD radio alarm clock.  I also placed an LED motion sensor light above, so when we come to the trailer late at night, we don’t have to fumble around the trailer looking for lights:

Below the nook, is a cabinet in which I am going to turn into a wine rack, which will hold at least 4, but hopefully 6 bottles of wine.  I still have to work on that one.  LOL!

Next project, replacing the taps and the shower-head in the bathroom. 

 

Our First Vintage Shasta Travel Trailer

I am very excited to announce our newest addition to the family!  

 

This is the picture from the craigslist ad.  We will be picking it up tonight.  I am very excited to start putting all my plans to work.

The trailer is very solid, and very clean.  Don’t let the small appearance fool you.  Packed inside this 16ft trailer, is a full bathroom, with a real toilet (no porta pottie! lol), a shower, fridge, stove, sink, a dinette, bunk, and a couch!  Not to mention, a ton of cupboard space.  The two of us shared the inside space, with no problem.  No bumping, squeezing past each other.  I was very very happily surprised.

Inside is quite bright, but it has never been updated.  Upholstery and flooring are dated.  I would hate to tear out the flooring, because of how good condition it is.  I’m thinking rugs? lol

The upholstery needs to go.  I hate it. So ugly. lol! I’m thinking a nice solid earthy tone.  The foam probably needs to be replaced, as it is original.

No leaks.  No smells.  The windows are very clean, no mildew, no mold.  It is ready to use, immediately!

A bit of background.  The family we bought this trailer, bought it this past spring, with intent on using it over the summer.  Translation, the husband wanted the trailer.   With a new baby, they did not have the chance to use it, and the wife told the husband, if it cant fit beside the house, it needs to go!  

I found it on craigslist, hours after posting.  I had this addiction to craigslist where I keep hitting the F5 key to see if my dream trailer would show up.  And it did.  We didn’t waste anytime in viewing this trailer, as coming across a trailer this size, with a full bathroom, was as rare as being struck by lightening.  The guy paid $4,000 for it in the spring, and we got it for $3,400.  Not bad, considering how little we gotta do to bring it back up.  Used trailers to start off with, are over priced, and all over the map.  There seems to be no average price for a certain aged trailer.    I had been budgeting $6,000 for a trailer, which leaves a lot left over for dishes, bedding, and yes, a flat-panel TV.  

More pictures to come this weekend!

 

Vacuum Sealer

I am a big fan of Food Saver Vacuum Sealers. In preparing for a trip in the motorhome – whether for a weekend or a month – the vacuum-sealer is a very useful tool. 

If you are pretty fussy about your meat and poultry, the vacuum-sealer lets you take meat along easily – and compactly. You can lay chicken pieces flat in the bag and freeze the pieces so that they take up little space in the RV freezer – space is limited! You can store frozen garlicky sausages next to frozen pastries – there is no odor transfer through the bags. 

Write on the frozen packages with a Sharpie or peel the label from the butcher and stick it right on the Food Saver bag.  Because the meat is vacuum-sealed, it is quick to thaw in a water bath in the kitchen sink.  And, the sealer doesn’t just seal Food Saver bags - Use it to reseal bagged lettuce, nuts – anything that comes in a bag. If you have a Food Saver with a “manual seal” feature, it will seal any bag without removing air – great for chips, etc. The sealer will also reseal aluminum bags.

 

Peel and Stick Decorative Wall Tiles

What can be more of a chore than installing tiles?

Along with requiring a deft touch and lots of patience, installing wall decorations can be downright frustrating. Smart Tiles are easy to install and are dust and dirt-free.

With their self-stick protective backing, there is no fuss or mess installing Smart Tiles. Professional and casual decorators and home renovation enthusiasts love Smart Tiles for their versatility, practicality and wide selection of colours and patterns.

They are easy to remove too!  Take a hair-dryer and they are off.  They stick to wood and to painted surfaces too!!  Need to cut them? No problem, you can cut them with a Xacto Knife!

With their wide selection of clours and patterns, there is no end to how creative you can be. 

Smart Tiles is a Canadian company and you can find the tiles at  Rona, Home Depot and Home Hardware.

Pictures, installation instructions, and more information is available at their website located at: http://www.thesmarttiles.com

I will be sure to check them out during our RV renovation!!

 

1963 Airstream – Flying Cloud

I am searching the internet for ideas for our future second home.  Some trailers catch my eye, such as this one. 

 

First post, First Thoughts

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to document the process of becoming a newbie RVer.  The thought of getting an RV hit me hard this summer.  After the good smack, it left a permanent scar that won’t disappear. 

A bit about my life, first.  I am recently married to my partner of nine years.  We run a very demanding business.  A business that can not function, without us.  So we are stuck to mini-weekend vacations through-out the year, and the one week, maybe two if we are lucky week long vacation at Christmas.  This leaves us mostly stuck on a local level for travel, except during our Christmas Vacation, where we can venture farther away from home.

Our home, is in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.  A suburb located in Metro Vancouver.  With Less than 4 hours driving, we can easily escape the city.  Perfect for us to take our RV, or what I like to call it, “our second home” where-ever we feel like for a weekend of peace, quiet, and relaxation.

We can never make a decision, until it comes to the last moment.  We talk and talk about exactly what we want, but when it comes down to it, we might find something so completely different, that we must have it.

We talked about a C-Class motor-home.  This makes me nervous, for a few reasons.  High cost of fuel, it has an engine, and with engines, come mechanical “errors,” and once you pull up to a campsite, you are basically stuck there without a secondary vehicle to take you to the “yummy gourmet” restaurant you saw in the next town you just drove through on your way to the site.  The idea of getting dressed up, and taking your motor-home to a fancy part of the town/city, doesn’t really appeal to me very much.

So I mentioned a travel trailer (TT).  My new husband start to squirm in his chair.   I started going on about how cost effective a TT would be as they are much cheaper than a C-Class, we can tow it with a secondary vehicle, and the secondary vehicle would be much better on fuel than a C-Class.  He told me, it had to be small, 18ft, cause he didn’t like the idea of pulling something.  Ok, deal. 

Next thing, New or Used?  I liked the idea of a used one, as again, it’s cheap compared to buying a new one.  But the big reason is, I can renovate it, put our own style into it, and still come out, much cheaper, than buying a brand new one.  Yes, I know, watch for leaks, the stove or oven probably wont work in an older one, etc, but that can all be replaced and fixed.   Once I mentioned this to the husband, he went for it, with the low cost, being the deal breaker.

So we are in the search for the perfect “vintage” Travel Trailer.  Preferably something late 70’s or early 80’s.  Must have a dinette, and a bathroom.  And must have an oven, as a microwave can be difficult to run on solar-panels, when boon docking. 

And thus the blog.  Whatever I come across something, I will post it here.  I will also post our progress in our search for the perfect “second home.”