Adventures – Soul-Journer

July 31, 2018July 31, 2018

On to New Adventures

Have you ever wondered why I called this blog “Soul-Journer”? That’s what we named our sweet little Scamp early in its renovation process! Adapting the word “sojourn,” we believed (and still believe) that traveling and getting out in nature is seriously good for one’s soul. Even when our trailer was still an empty shell, we knew it would someday provide a fun way for us to “soulfully sojourn” and enjoy the natural wonders of our state parks and other scenic places. 🙂

After more thought, discussions, and “reality checks,” however, we made the decision–for sure this time–to sell our trailer. Once again I placed ads in a few places, and–as before–there was immediate interest from people both near and far. The first couple who came to see it drove over from the Shenandoah Valley.

It had been raining all day, and when they arrived that evening, hordes of mosquitoes seemed determined to suck all the blood out of any human who dared to venture outside. Certainly not the best conditions for showing or looking at a travel trailer! While these folks ultimately decided not to buy it due to the needed repairs, the woman and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each other. Chance encounter or something else? Either way, the Scamp was the catalyst for a new friendship. 🙂

On Thursday morning, July 26th, I posted an ad for the trailer on our local Craigslist–a classified ad venue I hadn’t used. Right away I received an inquiry from a guy asking if I’d be willing to trade (sorry, no–didn’t even ask for what), and from a woman asking if it had a bathroom (um, no, there’s a pic of the porta-potty in the ad…).

The next email that popped in was from a woman who said that she and her husband would love to come look at it. She asked if I would please, please hold it until they could get here, since it would take them 3 or 4+ hours, depending on traffic. When I responded that I would be happy to hold it–and gave her my address–she emailed a quick reply saying they were in their car and on their way! Wow!

I could feel her excitement in these email exchanges, and I understood it. Four, five years ago I was the one checking Craigslist for reasonably-priced Scamps anywhere within a day’s drive–and it took us about a year to find and buy this one! And when, in another email, she mentioned it was their anniversary (which is why they’d taken the day off and could drop everything to do an unexpected road trip), I smiled, thinking of how we’d gotten the Scamp on my birthday weekend in November 2014. I had a strong feeling that our baby would be going home with them….

When they arrived at 4 p.m., the woman hopped out of the car, looked at the trailer and exclaimed, “There she is!! What’s her name?” (Yep. I liked this lady! 🙂 )

As before, there was a full disclosure as we showed it. We showed them EVERY issue we were aware of; talked about possible places to look for the leak that had caused the damage to the floor; talked about all of the wonderful and fun things about the trailer; and just talked (non-stop!), in general! We discovered a lot of common ground and common interests, and I was awed by the fact that the Scamp had just arranged for me to meet another new friend!

As I’d expected, they wanted to buy it. And while we were still sad at the thought of her leaving us, knowing that this Scamp would be going to a wonderful home with people who were excited to make her into their perfect camper made it so much easier!

Over the last few days, I’ve reflected on all of the experiences we’ve had since this little trailer followed us home, and I’ve realized that the overriding emotion now is not sadness, but gratitude.

We feel blessed and incredibly thankful for our years as Scamp owners. As Wayne and I worked together towards the common goal of renovating an empty shell into a comfortable and functional mobile shelter, it solidified our relationship. Simply put, we’re good partners.

Working on the trailer gave us the opportunity to use our creativity in new ways, and it also challenged both of us to learn new skills. Because of the Scamp, I was motivated to learn to sew, and now, in addition to teaching beginning sewing and starting a sewing-related service program at our school to benefit SewPowerful.org, it’s led to an official business (as of July 2018), as well as to the creation of some unique products that I’m making and selling on Etsy.

As Scamp owners, we’ve met genuinely nice people and kindred spirits (in person and on the internet–there are several groups on Facebook related to these trailers), and just as importantly, we discovered how rewarding it is to sit back, relax, and simply enjoy the end result of hard work:

We will always treasure our time with this trailer, and we are thankful for all of the soul-gifts and memories she gave us over the last several years. As we watched her new owners drive up the road and out of sight on their long trek home, I whispered a prayer for safe travels. I hope they will fix it up to suit them, and love her as much as we have.

Goodbye, sweet Soul-Journer, we will miss you! Be a good girl and enjoy your next big adventure!

~ The End ~

July 13, 2018July 14, 2018

Camping Trip – July 11-13, 2018

What do you do when you want to go camping, but still have things you need to do in the real world? Keep it local! One more time, we headed up to Misty Mountain Camp Resort. Yay! Our Scamp was all dressed up with somewhere to go. 🙂

We stayed in site #59 again, and after we had everything set up and got the A/C in the trailer turned on (it was in the 90s), we went to the pool. Yes, there are perks to mid-week camping–we had the pool to ourselves!

After we got back to the trailer, Wayne needed to go check on something at the house, and I decided to stay and take a nap in the trailer. I fell right to sleep, but after 20 minutes I startled awake when I felt the trailer move! It literally felt like someone had pushed on the tongue of the trailer and quickly moved it side to side. WTH?! As I jumped up and peeked out the windows, an app on my phone alerted me to a severe thunderstorm warning. Had the shaking been caused by thunder?!

I didn’t hear any thunder–and there was no more shaking–but when Wayne got back about 10-15 minutes later, he said he’d run into a crazy-strong storm just east of the campground by a couple of miles!

While this storm didn’t make a direct hit at Misty Mountain, radar showed that another one was coming right towards us from the west. We scurried around hoping we’d be able to quickly get our soup heated up on the camp stove, but we weren’t quick enough…

As a result, “first dinner” wound up being yogurt and popcorn in the trailer.

It literally poured for a while, but at least we were comfortable and dry in the trailer….

When the rain tapered off to light sprinkles, we decided to try cooking again.

Better, even though we did have to eat inside!

The next morning was clear, beautiful, and much cooler than the previous day. We left the campground around 7 (yes, 7 a.m.!) and came home to feed and cuddle with Kian, our old Siamese guy. Next on our to-do list was feeding the feral kitties that we care for.

After stopping by the post office to mail one of my spare tire covers to a buyer in Canada, we ate a late breakfast/early lunch. When we finally got back to the campground, it was time for some serious relaxing. 🙂

And then it was pool time again!

I’m not sure why the water made me look 8 feet tall, but I was totally blissed out!

Love this picture of Wayne:

We stayed in the pool for over an hour–floating, swimming, and totally enjoying ourselves–before going back up the hill to our campsite. A tiny dragonfly stopped by to visit.

We had soup again for dinner, but this time we were able to eat outside on the picnic table.

As it started to get dark, Wayne got a campfire going.

And since we had the fixin’s this time out, S’mores happened!

We sat outside by the fire until there was nothing left but embers, thankful that we’d been able to take a 2-day mini-vacation and still keep up with everything else in our busy lives. We hope to do this again before the summer is over!

June 11, 2018July 20, 2018

Camping Trip – June 9-10, 2018

For our first trip out for the year, we kept it local by going to Misty Mountain Camp Resort. We’ve stayed there a few times, and it’s always like a mini vacation. 🙂

All set up in site #59.

So nice to sit back and relax. 🙂

Our Scamp, sporting the decorative spare tire cover that I made. 🙂

It was a hot day so we thought about going swimming in the campground pool, but then we met our neighbors! I’d recently “met” one of them in a Facebook group (and knew she’d be at Misty Mountain), and she introduced us to some of her friends from PA who were camping there, too. Fun times; you meet the nicest people in campgrounds. 🙂

By the time we’d finished visiting, it was almost time for dinner. Wayne made a run to a store/deli to pick up a few things, plus we’d brought along some of our homemade soup. Yum!

Later that evening after a few games of pool at the community center (always one of our favorite activities at Misty Mountain), we returned to our campsite. With rain in the forecast, we opted not to start a campfire. Instead, we simply sat outside in the dark enjoying our view of the night sky until clouds blocked out the stars.

Shortly after we came inside, it began to rain. This was the first time we’d been in the trailer during a hard rain, and I wondered if I’d be able to sleep since it was so loud on the fiberglass roof! Those concerns were unfounded, however, as I went right to sleep!

The next morning we were up early. We made a quick trip home to feed our cat, then trekked over to feed the feral kitties before returning to the campground. (Yes, there are advantages to staying close, sometimes!)

We took a couple more pictures of our “little house in the big woods” before getting everything packed up and ready to go.

We always test the lights before we get out on the road, and this morning the brake lights worked, and the turn signals worked, but the running lights (marker lights & rear lights) didn’t come on when I turned on the car lights. Not good…. This wasn’t an immediate problem since we were driving home on a sunny day, but it was still worrisome.

When we got home, I started “Googling” to try to diagnose the problem. I found a diagram that showed what each “pin” controls, so we knew the “where” of the problem, but still not the “what.” We checked both the car and the trailer connectors, and there didn’t appear to be any corrosion or water in either….

Another Google search suggested that there could be an issue with a fuse, so that was our next step. We opened up the hood of the car, located the fuse in question, and pulled it out. It appeared to be okay, too.

After pushing the fuse back into place, we connected the cords again–and everything worked! Of course we have no idea why the running lights didn’t come on earlier, and absolutely no idea why they did–and that’s still worrisome!

At least for now, though, our little trailer seems ready for its next adventure as soon as we are. 🙂

UPDATE: The wiring on the trailer is fine, but the 7-pin plug on my car needs to be replaced. It’s mounted very low on the hitch, and apparently got bumped at some point, and this loosened the wires. 🙂

April 15, 2018

Waiting for the Rain….

On Saturday, April 14th, we tentatively planned to buy a taller ladder to allow easier access to the Scamp’s roof. We figured we needed this in order to patch the spots I’d identified last month as the source of some small leaks. But I guess frustration was starting to take its toll regarding the ongoing work on our trailer, because we impulsively made a trip to Ashland, VA to visit a couple of RV dealerships.

If money were no object–or if I didn’t have a problem with the thought of financing a brand new travel trailer for 10 years–I would love to have an R Pod. These are the best-selling travel trailers under 23 ft. in the country now, and after getting a firsthand look at several different models, I can see why! With their funky, aerodynamic exterior design, rubber torsion axles, and an assortment of convenient features in a small package, these are incredibly cool little campers!

At the next dealership, we were most interested in a 2015 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 185RB.

The price and features were good–and the salesman really worked with us regarding the price and financing options. For a relatively small trailer, the interior was spacious and open, and its weight was well within the towing capacity of my small SUV.

We both really liked the trailer. It would be all we’d need for an extended cross-country type of camping adventure with its A/C, furnace, 3-way refrigerator, propane stove, microwave, bathroom, permanent bed, side dinette, and abundant storage space. But–bottom line–we just didn’t love it. 🙁

Compared to our Scamp–and even the R Pods that we’d just toured–the Jayco seemed so big and boxy and … rectangular…. We looked at it a second time and continued to talk numbers with our salesman, but in the end we decided that it would make an absolutely wonderful camper for someone–but not for us.

On Sunday afternoon, we took the tarp off our Scamp and leaned a foam-padded extension ladder against the exterior (since we still don’t have a step ladder tall enough to reach the roof!) The pinholes on the top aren’t visible at all (which is why this has been so frustrating), but by measuring and comparing the circled spots on the ceiling with the corresponding locations on the roof, Wayne was able to add another generous coat of Tropi-Cool roof sealant on the suspicious areas. For good measure, he used some “Seal-All” inside on the ceiling.

As I’ve said previously, these little pinholes still can’t explain the water that’s appeared on the front dinette bench. Even though we used butyl tape under the screws when we mounted the brackets for the curtain rods, when I checked one of the brackets, I was shocked to find that it was loose–like wiggly loose! Could something this simple be the source of the leak in the front dinette?

Wayne tightened both screws in the bracket (yes, we could have used a shorter screw…), and we also found a couple more that weren’t as snug as they should be.

So now we wait. With heavy rain and storms moving in, I am hopeful that our little trailer will stay completely dry inside!

September 10, 2017September 10, 2017

September 10, 2017

I really hope we’ll be able to get in some more camping trips before winter….

Until then, our little trailer is still a wonderfully comfortable place to take a Sunday afternoon nap. 🙂

July 28, 2017July 30, 2017

Camping Trip – July 26-27, 2017

With summer winding down, we’re scrambling to finish various projects AND to get in more camping trips! With a little window of opportunity on Wednesday and Thursday, we decided to do another quick trip, this time to Sherando Lake Recreation Area.

Even though it’s called Sherando “Lake,” this recreation area and campground in the Blue Ridge Mountains actually has two lakes. The larger, lower lake has a beach area for swimming, and the upper lake is for fishing. There are hiking trails around both.

Since we were too close to the date to be able to reserve a site online, we decided to try the “first come, first served” option. We drove over (without the trailer) on Wednesday morning, and the young park ranger who greeted us at the gate told us that a site in “B” loop (River Bend) had just opened up. We paid for one night, and when he suggested that we put something on the site as a visual notice to mark that it was reserved, we asked if our camp chairs would be enough. When he said yes, we drove into the campground to claim site “B1.”

In the previous post, I mentioned that our car (a Kia Sorento) did great as a tow vehicle. This trek–though only 25 miles–offered the new challenge of crossing Afton Mountain, westbound on I-64. While it’s not especially steep (about a 1200 ft climb over 5 miles), and we know we have more than enough towing power with the Kia given the weight of our trailer, it seemed like the car struggled a bit trying to find the right gear. We were in “sport mode,” as before, but according to some feedback on a Kia forum, I probably should have also used the “manual” gear options. I’ll try that next time…

In case you’re not familiar with “The Mountain,” this video show eastbound and then westbound travel over Afton Mountain on I-64. It’s definitely a pretty drive. 🙂

Once we were over the mountain, the car pulled the trailer with absolutely no problem, and soon we were backing into our site. It didn’t take us long to get set up; I think we’re getting better at this….

You meet the nicest people at campgrounds! In fact, sometimes you meet your cousin! My cousin, Mary, was camping at Sherando, too. 🙂

After a short visit with her, Wayne and I went back to the trailer, changed into swim suits, and went to the lake.

We spent an hour or so enjoying the water and scenery, then drove back to River Bend Loop. We both still smile when we see our trailer sitting at a campsite; given what we started with, it’s awesome that we’re now able to use it. 🙂

Time for dinner! We brought homemade Chicken, Cannalinni Bean & Mushroom soup from home and heated it up on the camp stove. Another delicious, quick meal….

Just before dark we started a campfire, and Mary and her husband, David, came over to our campsite. I tried to take a picture with “natural” light (which didn’t work), so I blinded us all for a moment with the flash. 😉

After Mary and David went back to their campsite, we continued to sit out by the fire. SO nice and relaxing!

Later, when we walked up to the bathhouse, we paused for a while to enjoy the night sky in an area with fewer trees. Just in the 5 minutes or so that we were standing there, we saw a couple of meteorites and a large, bright satellite. (The “shooting stars” were probably part of the Perseid meteor shower which will peak around August 12th.) Last August when we were camping at Sherando, I took this picture of the stars:

It was starting to get cool (which was actually very nice in late July after all the heat and humidity we’ve had!), and the sweatshirts we’d brought with us felt good when we put them on. Ah, a campfire and katydids; yep, we were happy campers. 🙂

By the time we came inside, it was close to midnight and the fire had burned down to embers. With the windows open in the trailer, it was definitely “good sleeping weather,” as the old folks say, but at some point during the night, I realized I was cold! No worries–I shut the large back window behind the bed, pulled an afghan over me, and drifted back to sleep.

The next morning was clear and beautiful, and we talked (some more) about the feasibility of staying another night. But with cats to feed and with other “outside world” obligations (there’s no cell service or wif-fi at the campground), we knew we needed to come home.

Before starting to pack up, we walked over to Mary’s campsite (David had left for work earlier in the morning), and enjoyed another chance to visit. Their trailer is just a bit bigger than our trailer, wouldn’t you say? But it still wasn’t anywhere close to the size of some of the absolutely enormous trailers and motor homes in the campground!

Mary and I agreed that we’d have to plan a multi-day camping trip together next year at Sherando, but we were glad that we’d wound up there at the same time this year! With goodbyes said, we walked back to our site to get ready to leave.

We’re getting better and faster about getting everything travel ready, too, and we left the campground with a minute or two to spare before the 11:00 a.m. checkout time.

Homeward bound once more, with our little house on wheels following behind. 🙂

July 24, 2017

Camping Trip – July 22-23, 2017

Misty Mountain Camp Resort is less than 5 miles from home, and sometimes staying so close has advantages: we can pack lightly, come home to get things we inevitably forget (cell phone chargers…), and also take care of our kitties without having to arrange for a pet sitter. And each time we go somewhere in our Scamp, we learn things that will make the next trip even easier/better, plus it helps us think of some day using this as a true “travel trailer”–when time and circumstances allow.

This was our first camping trip with the Kia Sorento as our tow vehicle. We recently learned that the trailer weighs just 1680 pounds, and the Kia is rated to tow up to 5000 pounds, so we knew we should be good. It did fine on a test run last weekend, and of course this was also a short hop with no mountains. But even with the extreme heat, the car did well, and it seems that using “sport mode” will be the way to go; plenty of power going up the steep hill to site #57.

But heat? OH, yes–about 95 degrees when we left home, and closer to 100 late in the afternoon. At least we had a bit of shade–for a while–at our campsite.

After we got set up, Wayne sliced chunks of cold watermelon, which was a most excellent idea!

We’d turned on the air conditioner in the trailer and closed the curtains, but the sun was shining directly on the back of the camper. I got a sun shade out of the car and put it in the back window, and it seemed to help. This gave me the idea of making custom sun screens for the trailer windows using Reflectix. With a couple of pieces of Velcro on them, we’d be able to attach them to the marine hull liner inside. I’ll add this project to the “to do” list….

It was “Christmas in July” weekend at the campground and some folks really went all out with huge inflatables, Christmas trees, etc. We kept it simple and just strung some lights around the belly band and the door. (Oh, do you see the sheen on the front of the trailer? It looks so much better since we “Zepped” it! Before, the finish was completely dull and chalky.)

As we lost our shady spot and the day became even hotter and muggier (how was that even possible?), we drove down the hill to the pool. Even though a lot of people had the same idea, it felt GREAT to get in the water.

Aw, he likes me. 🙂

From swimming pool to playing pool–another fun thing to do at Misty Mountain.

After a couple of games, we went back to our campsite to start dinner. The previous night we’d gotten Chinese food, and we brought the leftovers with us in the cooler. Wayne used our propane stove to heat it up for a quick, easy dinner.

Just after we finished eating and had cleaned up, we had visitors–several visitors, actually. The owner of a 13 ft Trillium trailer came by (he was from Illinois, traveling with his wife and daughter), and several people from the lower level of the campground (in a vintage Airstream and in a Jayco Kiwei hybrid) also stopped at our campsite. They were all very curious about Scamp trailers, in general, and also interested to see what we’d done inside, once we told them we’d started with an empty shell. Earlier in the day, Wayne and I had talked about how everyone in a campground is part of a unique, temporary community, so it was fun to meet fellow campers and to show them our trailer. 🙂

We made a quick trip home after that to get my cell phone charger and to feed the cats, then we went back to the campground.

There were activities in the community hall (karaoke and some other contests), but we enjoyed simply sitting outside by our festively-lit trailer. We thought about building a campfire, but decided it was still way too hot to really enjoy it!

I was fascinated by the moving laser lights that another camper had set up under a canopy of trees….

Like thousands of fireflies twinkling on the leaves, the effect was absolutely magical, especially with a chorus of katydids supplying the soundtrack.

We noticed a lot of “heat lightning,” but then realized we were hearing thunder–uh oh…. We weren’t really surprised that we’d get a storm (given the day’s heat), but when a weather app on my phone flashed an alert about a severe thunder storm warning, we got moving. We put the chairs, camp stove, and Wayne’s guitar in the car, and ducked into the trailer just as the rain started. It poured for a while, and I actually enjoyed hearing the pounding rain on the roof of the trailer because it reminded me of some of the camping adventures I’d had with my parents when I was a kid. I think that’s a lot of the appeal of camping for me now–while Wayne and I are creating new memories, it also helps me remember simple–but special–times with my parents….

Fortunately, the storm didn’t last too long and it wasn’t severe in our area (other parts of the state weren’t so lucky…), but there was still some vivid lightning, and a few rumbles of thunder shook our little house on wheels. But good news: everything stayed completely dry inside. We’re hopeful that the sealant we recently put on the roof closed up any tiny, essentially invisible pinholes that had caused a persistent leak near the front of the trailer. I guess we’ll need a sustained rain to know for sure.

As usual, I slept soundly in the Scamp. This was the first time we’d ever left the A/C on all night, and I’m sure that helped immensely. Another storm may have moved through at some point (I’d looked at weather radar before turning out the light), but if it did, I didn’t hear it.

In the morning, we ate a quick breakfast of coffee and bagels out on the still-damp picnic table. We had time to go feed our cats (as well as the feral kitties that I care for) before the noon checkout time.

On our way out to run these errands, we stopped by the lower camping area to see some of the folks who’d visited us the night before. Again, there was this sense of “community” as we talked with a private school administrator, a French teacher, and with the Airstream owner who showed us some of the modifications he’d made on his trailer. Good people, one and all….

When we got back, a lot of campers were on the move–heading home or heading out to continue their vacation travels–and it was time for us to pack up, too. We thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to be a part of this special “neighborhood” at Misty Mountain, even if it was for only one night. 🙂

July 16, 2017

July 15, 2017 – Scamp-centric Day!

What a busy, productive day!!

We got up early and started working on the trailer. Since we bought it in November 2014, we’ve had some minor leaks inside which are probably due to tiny pinholes on the roof (that are essentially invisible). We’d patched all that we’d found but still had some leaking after heavy rains, so we decided to do an all-over roof sealant. Fingers crossed that this will fix it, once and for all…

By 10:00, Wayne had the first coat of sealer on the roof, and while we waited for that to dry, we drove over to the local landfill and had our car weighed; 4620 lbs. The woman at the scale said it would be fine to come back later to get the weight of the car and trailer, so that became part of the afternoon’s plan.

16′ Scamps can weigh anywhere between about 2200-2800 pounds (or more), depending on how they’re equipped and packed, but the weight of our trailer has been a mystery since we bought it. It was basically a shell before we started renovating it, and everything we built (counters, cabinet spaces, benches, permanent bed in the back, etc.) was made with 3/4″ plywood–certainly heavier than the fiberglass components that are found in traditional Scamps. On the other hand, we only have an A/C in the front closet, and don’t have a refrigerator, stove, heater, water tanks, and other things that you’d find in a trailer fresh from the factory.

Last September when a friend had to tow our trailer home after our Toyota 4Runner broke down on our way to a campground, he said it felt really heavy to him–possibly as much as 3500 pounds! Yikes! It seemed impossible that we could have added that much weight with the wood, but we’d started wondering if we should try to make some modifications inside to make it lighter.

Our 2000 4Runner served us well (most of the time…) as a tow vehicle, but last August I bought a Kia Sorento with the intention of being able to use it to pull our trailer. Rated to tow 5000 pounds, I finally had a hitch, wiring harness, and brake controller installed early this summer. Since it was too hot (and WAY too bright!) to try to get the second coat of sealant on the roof during the middle of the day, we hooked up the trailer to the Kia to do a test drive.

The hitch on the Kia is much lower than the one on the 4Runner, so I got a 4″ rise mount and hoped that would be enough to keep the trailer level while towing. Also, the new brake controller was different from the one on the 4Runner, and we needed to figure out how to use it.

The reviews for the Tekonsha Voyager brake controller were quite good, but after reading the manual, it seemed much more complicated to calibrate than the one we have on the 4Runner. Once we had the basic adjustments figured out (while still in our neighborhood), we made our second trip of the day to the landfill.

I could definitely feel the trailer behind me (these little single-axle trailers bounce like crazy…), but the car seemed to handle it without a problem. Also, while we’d attached towing mirrors to the regular side mirrors on my car, I found I could actually see better just with the Kia’s wide side mirrors. (We’ll probably try these towing mirrors again at some point before deciding, for sure, that we don’t need to use them–or that we need to buy a different style of mirror.)

We got to the landfill, waited until the attendant (a different person) waved us onto the scale, and explained that we’d like to get a weight on the car and trailer. If we’d wanted an “official” weight with a printed receipt, there would have been a charge, but there was no charge just to have it weighed. Nice! With a combined car/trailer weight at 6300 pounds, we were delighted to learn that the trailer weighs just 1680 pounds! MUCH better than we’d anticipated.

Virginia law states that trailers over 3000 pounds are required to have brakes, but as people in RV forums always point out, it’s not just a matter of how much your vehicle can safely tow, but how much it can safely stop. Since the brakes on the trailer were fully warmed up, we continued to drive around, making adjustments on the controller. At one point when I felt the brakes “grab” when I was stopping, I turned the power down. But then when I didn’t feel them activating quite enough, I moved the power up a bit. After more back and forth tweaking, we finally we seemed to find the right degree of braking power.

I also wanted to check to see how level the trailer was, so we pulled into a parking lot to check the car, hitch, and trailer, and to take some pictures. Seems to be quite level. I’d bought a ball mount that offered a bit more space from the back of the car to the trailer because I wasn’t sure if a standard one would allow us to open the hatchback without hitting the jack on the trailer. I think either would have been fine.

Wayne wanted to get a picture of me with the car and trailer, but oh my…. Yes, here I am making quite the fashion statement, still dressed in my early morning goofy painting garb. 😉

We drove for a while at highway speeds on Rt. 250 because I wanted to experiment with the “sport mode” on the Kia. Many people recommend using this engine mode when towing a trailer. (This model of Sorento has normal, eco, and sport modes.) At this point, I’m not really sure what I think of it; I’ll need to read more to see what the advantages are–and tow a bit more to see how the car responds–before knowing if it’s the best mode for us to use with this particular trailer.

When we got home, I had to back the trailer into the driveway. Ugh. While I DO understand how to do this–in theory–it is still a miserably slow process, even with Wayne’s patient assistance. Finally, finally I had it backed up into the right place, and overall we agreed that we were pleased with the way the car had performed on this short trip out and about.

By late afternoon, it was time for the second coat of roof sealant. Again we used painters tape and newspaper to make sure that the sealant stayed just on the top of the roof. I guess this time it went on faster, but by the time we’d finished we were both sweaty, exhausted, and ready for Ibuprofen.

So after a few Scamp-centric days, we got a lot done! The main body of the trailer is much shinier than it was (and hopefully easier to keep clean); the roof has been sealed and is now a very shiny, bright white; we know what the trailer weighs; we know that the car will tow it just fine; and we know that the brake controller will stop it. Now to find time to actually GO somewhere with it! 🙂

April 9, 2017April 9, 2017

Impromptu Camping Trip – April 8-9, 2017

Saturday, April 8th was gorgeous–really the quintessential Springtime-in-Virginia type of day. We had a slow, lazy start to the morning, and then thought about working in the trailer. We also thought about “driveway camping” that night since the weather was so nice, but then Wayne said we should actually go somewhere with the trailer. Hmmmm…. I knew that a couple of relatively close campgrounds were already full (I’d checked earlier in the week, just in case), but then he suggested Misty Mountain, which is literally right up the road from us. It was 12:30 in the afternoon, and I wasn’t too optimistic since it’s a very popular campground. When I called, however, they said they had a few open sites, so I quickly made a reservation for that evening, and said we’d be there within an hour. Things didn’t quite work out that way!

Once we took the tarp off, we could see that the trailer was really dirty, plus I noticed that the tires looked low. Wayne tried to inflate the first one with a manual pump, but it actually let air out of the tire. Not good…. Ultimately, he had to go buy an electric pump, and while he was gone, I cleaned off the outside of the trailer as best I could to make it a bit more presentable. The next challenge involved getting a car close enough TO the trailer to be able to connect the pump to the cigarette lighter in the car and still reach the passenger side tire. Anyhow, a couple of hours later, we were hitched up and pulling out of the driveway. 🙂

Our site was #49, and since there was a little pop-up trailer in #50 (and no vehicle at the site when we got there), we were able to pull through instead of backing in. This is always a good thing!

By not planning ahead for this trip–and knowing we were close to home–we brought very little “stuff.” The advantage to this is that we were set up–and relaxing–in no time. 🙂 With few leaves on the trees, we could see the Blue Ridge Mountains from our site.

The trailer looked so pretty inside with the late afternoon sun shining in. Yes, we’ve still got a lot more we want/need to do with the trailer, but we’re so glad that we can use it! After a lot of hard work, it’s become a comfortable little home on wheels.

The disadvantage of bringing “very little ‘stuff’,” however, meant that we didn’t have our camp stove or cooler with us, and we didn’t have anything for dinner. No worries–Wayne went out foraging (to a place a couple of miles away), and came back with fried chicken, macaroni salad, potato wedges, and some drinks, which we ate while sitting at the picnic table.

Misty Mountain has lot of scheduled activities (and LOTS of things for kids), so we decided to go down the hill to the community building at 7:00 pm to check out the live music. We were in the upper camping area, and there are two lower camping areas (past the little pond). There were two other fiberglass “eggs” in the lower campground Saturday night–a Casita and a 13-ft. Scamp.

Before going in to listen to the music, we decided to make a quick trip to the house to get our cell phone chargers (which we’d forgotten), and some yogurt for breakfast (that we put in an insulated backpack). After giving the kitties a little more food, we drove back to the campground community building.

Yay! Live music! Pool tables!

We played four games of pool while listening to a couple of sets of music by the groups, and drove back up the hill to our campsite a little after 9:00 pm. We’d left our Scamp’s “porch” light on, and an almost-full moon was rising above it.

The crystal clear skies brought falling temperatures, so Wayne started a fire and got out his guitar. When I took this picture, I didn’t expect the flash to go off; I thought I would get his silhouette. As a result, the picture is too bright, and the video clip is too dark. Reality was somewhere in the middle. 🙂

We turned on our little ceramic heater to let the trailer warm up, and we continued to sit outside by the fire, moving closer and closer to it as the night got colder.

When I started getting shivery–and the fire had burned down to embers–we went inside, where it was quite cozy. I always sleep incredibly well in the trailer (we have a full size memory foam mattress that we cut to fit the curves of the trailer), and this night was no exception. Even though the temperature dropped to the low/mid 30s outside, we were warm and comfortable in the Scamp.

When we woke up on Sunday morning, we fixed coffee (always a priority) and ate breakfast in the trailer (yogurt, plus peanut butter on bread). The dinette was a huge project last summer, and this was the first time that we’d had a chance to use it. 🙂

We were blessed with another beautiful Spring day, and it warmed up quickly.

Can you see me through all the reflections in the window?

I finally ventured out, and we enjoyed a few more peaceful, relaxed hours at Misty Mountain before heading home.

Yes, indeed, happy campers. Very happy campers. 🙂

September 17, 2016September 17, 2016

Camping Trip (Almost…) to James River State Park – Sept. 17-18, 2016

We finally had a free weekend–with no rain in the immediate forecast–so we decided to go camping at beautiful James River State Park. We’ve been to this park several times over the years on day trips, and we were excited about camping there. Realizing that the campground might fill up on a Saturday, we finally took the plunge and made reservations for Saturday, September 17th.

It seemed to take forever on Saturday morning to get all of our stuff organized and packed into the car and/or trailer: our cooler with homemade soup, cheese, butter, cream cheese, dip, eggs, etc.; our propane camp stove; folding chairs; cooking and eating utensils; clothes; extension cords; flashlights and more–but we were finally ready to leave the house.

And leave we did! It always makes me happy to see our tiny house tagging along behind us. 🙂

Smooth sailing as we drove on Rt. 250 West to Rt. 151, and then we turned left on Rt. 6.

As we were approaching the intersection of Rt. 29 South, however, Wayne said there was something wrong because the battery light had just come on! Ugh, not good!

I remembered that there was a gas station and convenience store about 1/4 mile down Rt. 29, and we pulled in, thankful that we had a safe place to stop. But what could be wrong? Was the battery on the trailer somehow draining the 4Runner’s battery? (The Scamp battery is set up to “trickle charge” from the vehicle’s battery.)

We unplugged the electrical connection between the car and trailer, and then Wayne opened the hood of the 4Runner to see if there was anything obviously wrong. And–unfortunately–yes, there was something obviously wrong: The serpentine belt had broken and it was tangled up in the engine. Seriously not good. 🙁

As frustrating as this was, we were still very thankful that the 4Runner had at least gotten us to “Shady’s Place” instead of stopping dead in its tracks on some narrow stretch of rural Rt. 6….

We went in the store and asked the woman at the counter if she could recommend a garage that might be open (on a Saturday–after noon…) She gave us the name and number of a garage in Lovingston. We thanked her, went outside and called. The man who answered said they only worked on tractor trailers. Darn….

I next called our insurance company’s “roadside assistance” number, and the woman I spoke with gave me numbers for other garages in the area that could provide towing. There was no answer at Garage #2, and the woman who answered at Garage #3 said she’d get in touch with her part-time driver and call me back. Fair enough. While waiting, I quickly called the campground to cancel our reservation. (Thankful again, this time for cell phones!)

In the meantime, we realized that we had more than just a problem with our vehicle, because we also had our trailer with us. The woman at Shady’s had said they couldn’t guarantee that it would be safe if we left it on their lot, so we knew it had to go somewhere, too. Well, darn.

After some discussion about what to do, Wayne called our friend Mark to see if he could possibly help us out–and he could! He said he’d meet us there with his truck in about 30 minutes, and that he’d tow the trailer back to our house. Excellent!

A few minutes later, the woman from Garage #3 called me back, apologized profusely, and said that their driver was unavailable. She gave me the number of Garage #4 in Nellysford. I dialed the number, and the man who answered at Stoney Creek Auto Center said that he could meet us in about half an hour. Yay! “Fourth time’s the charm”, eh?!

While we waited for our rescuers, we picnicked in the parking lot on fried chicken and mac & cheese from Shady’s and washed it down with green tea that we had in the cooler. Fine dining in the hot September sunshine. 😉

The tow truck driver arrived first, and he quickly and efficiently got the 4Runner loaded onto the rollback wrecker.

At first we weren’t sure where we’d have it towed, but then decided it would make sense to have it taken to one of our local garages. I got in the cab of the tow truck with the driver, and Wayne stayed with the trailer to wait for Mark. And so back up the road we went–back to Rt. 6, to Rt. 151, to Rt. 250 East and on to the garage.

About 30 minutes and $100 later, the 4Runner and I were safely deposited at the shop where All Will Be Made Okay….

…and before too long, Mark, Wayne, and the Scamp arrived to pick me up.

After Mark got the trailer backed into the driveway (not an easy task) and headed home with our thanks, Wayne and I drove over to the garage to get everything out of the 4Runner.

Back at home, it took a while to get everything put away: our cooler with homemade soup, cheese, butter, cream cheese, dip, eggs, etc.; our propane camp stove; folding chairs; cooking and eating utensils; clothes; extension cords; flashlights and more. (Remember?)

Since we’d planned to be gone overnight, we’d left tons of wet and dry food out for our four cats. Since we were now not gone, Kai let us know that this arrangement was totally unacceptable. 😉

As to our food, we heated up the soup from our cooler (a delicious chicken chili), and ate dinner at the kitchen table. Would it have tasted better outside on a picnic table at James River State Park? Yes, maybe–but it was still wonderful!