Camper Chat 1.0

Share the juicy deets of your worldly travels, and discuss your pipedreams for future trips.
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ChrisoftheNorth
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Just got back from 5 days of camping. Absolutely epic, tough to be back honestly.

Glamper doing great, have to lube up the lifting mechanism that's squeaking a bit, and one of the bunk end canvas channels are loose so I'll need to fix that.

Next trip to the UP in a few weeks. :excited:
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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2021 Micro Winnies come in bloo! :fuckyeah:
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:29 am Just got back from 5 days of camping. Absolutely epic, tough to be back honestly.

Glamper doing great, have to lube up the lifting mechanism that's squeaking a bit, and one of the bunk end canvas channels are loose so I'll need to fix that.

Next trip to the UP in a few weeks. :excited:
Where did you guys go for 5 days?? :jelly:
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:42 am 2021 Micro Winnies come in bloo! :fuckyeah:
What's that?
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:42 am
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:29 am Just got back from 5 days of camping. Absolutely epic, tough to be back honestly.

Glamper doing great, have to lube up the lifting mechanism that's squeaking a bit, and one of the bunk end canvas channels are loose so I'll need to fix that.

Next trip to the UP in a few weeks. :excited:
Where did you guys go for 5 days?? :jelly:
All northern MI. 3 days at Interlochen state park where the site had a ~100ft path that lead to a private beach on a sandy bottom lake with ~100yards of 3 ft deep water :amazing:

Then 2 days at Tippy Dam state park which is oddly in the Manistee national forest. That was a 20 minute drive from any form of civilization. We preferred Interlochen, but both were fantastic.

We really weren't ready to come home. #cabininthewoods is becoming an increasingly frequent talking point here.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:49 am
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:42 am 2021 Micro Winnies come in bloo! :fuckyeah:
What's that?
Winnebago has a line of smaller travel trailers, between 19-22 feet long called “Micro Winnie”.
Just they kind of thing we had been looking at, as it would work well as a base camp for us.
I was :excited: when I saw one in blue. :lol:
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:52 am
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:42 am

Where did you guys go for 5 days?? :jelly:
All northern MI. 3 days at Interlochen state park where the site had a ~100ft path that lead to a private beach on a sandy bottom lake with ~100yards of 3 ft deep water :amazing:

Then 2 days at Tippy Dam state park which is oddly in the Manistee national forest. That was a 20 minute drive from any form of civilization. We preferred Interlochen, but both were fantastic.

We really weren't ready to come home. #cabininthewoods is becoming an increasingly frequent talking point here.
Nice!
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:52 am
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:49 am
What's that?
Winnebago has a line of smaller travel trailers, between 19-22 feet long called “Micro Winnie”.
Just they kind of thing we had been looking at, as it would work well as a base camp for us.
I was :excited: when I saw one in blue. :lol:
https://www.winnebago.com/models/product/micro-minnie-1

:dat: ?

Looks :neat:

We still love our popup. For the price of entry, it's a fantastic way to get started with an RV. We're at the point where it can be setup in under 10 minutes, and torn down in the same. A hard sided thing would be more convenient for sure, but towing and storage is more of a challenge.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Also, our camper came with an outside shower. I ignored it last year with a :butwhy: type mentality, but the door was really weathered and I was worried about it leaking water inside, so I replaced it this spring when we did the rest of the camper spruce up.

I completely underestimated the usefulness of that thing. Combined with the water heater (which is rare on popups, but has become our favorite feature) wife actually washed her hair with it after getting out of the lake, we used it to rinse off sandy feet, and it's been coming in handy for doing larger dishes like the cast iron dutch oven we made chili in on Saturday night.

:csb:
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:58 am
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:52 am

Winnebago has a line of smaller travel trailers, between 19-22 feet long called “Micro Winnie”.
Just they kind of thing we had been looking at, as it would work well as a base camp for us.
I was :excited: when I saw one in blue. :lol:
https://www.winnebago.com/models/product/micro-minnie-1

:dat: ?

Looks :neat:

We still love our popup. For the price of entry, it's a fantastic way to get started with an RV. We're at the point where it can be setup in under 10 minutes, and torn down in the same. A hard sided thing would be more convenient for sure, but towing and storage is more of a challenge.
Yep! I like them because they’re narrow (about 7 inches wider than the truck) and they feel well built when you’re inside them.
Wifey wants to be able to leave the pups inside and not worry about them chewing through canvas and running out at a campsite.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:09 am Also, our camper came with an outside shower. I ignored it last year with a :butwhy: type mentality, but the door was really weathered and I was worried about it leaking water inside, so I replaced it this spring when we did the rest of the camper spruce up.

I completely underestimated the usefulness of that thing. Combined with the water heater (which is rare on popups, but has become our favorite feature) wife actually washed her hair with it after getting out of the lake, we used it to rinse off sandy feet, and it's been coming in handy for doing larger dishes like the cast iron dutch oven we made chili in on Saturday night.

:csb:
So many uses for an outside shower. Plenty of stuff that can be easily cleaned/rinsed off with it.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:17 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 10:58 am
https://www.winnebago.com/models/product/micro-minnie-1

:dat: ?

Looks :neat:

We still love our popup. For the price of entry, it's a fantastic way to get started with an RV. We're at the point where it can be setup in under 10 minutes, and torn down in the same. A hard sided thing would be more convenient for sure, but towing and storage is more of a challenge.
Yep! I like them because they’re narrow (about 7 inches wider than the truck) and they feel well built when you’re inside them.
Wifey wants to be able to leave the pups inside and not worry about them chewing through canvas and running out at a campsite.
My dad's bus is a Winnebago, seems rather solidly built overall. 5/7 would consider buying a TT if they built one I liked.

I just really like parking it in the garage.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:18 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 11:09 am Also, our camper came with an outside shower. I ignored it last year with a :butwhy: type mentality, but the door was really weathered and I was worried about it leaking water inside, so I replaced it this spring when we did the rest of the camper spruce up.

I completely underestimated the usefulness of that thing. Combined with the water heater (which is rare on popups, but has become our favorite feature) wife actually washed her hair with it after getting out of the lake, we used it to rinse off sandy feet, and it's been coming in handy for doing larger dishes like the cast iron dutch oven we made chili in on Saturday night.

:csb:
So many uses for an outside shower. Plenty of stuff that can be easily cleaned/rinsed off with it.
I honestly had no idea until we started using it.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:23 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:17 pm

Yep! I like them because they’re narrow (about 7 inches wider than the truck) and they feel well built when you’re inside them.
Wifey wants to be able to leave the pups inside and not worry about them chewing through canvas and running out at a campsite.
My dad's bus is a Winnebago, seems rather solidly built overall. 5/7 would consider buying a TT if they built one I liked.

I just really like parking it in the garage.
That’s why they have a million different types of campers! Something to pretty much fit anyone.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:43 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:23 pm
My dad's bus is a Winnebago, seems rather solidly built overall. 5/7 would consider buying a TT if they built one I liked.

I just really like parking it in the garage.
That’s why they have a million different types of campers! Something to pretty much fit anyone.
As soon as someone builds an affordable Taxa Mantis, I'll buy one.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:42 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 12:43 pm

That’s why they have a million different types of campers! Something to pretty much fit anyone.
As soon as someone builds an affordable Taxa Mantis, I'll buy one.
We were YouTubing one overland show or another and there was a clip of one of those Mantis’s and wifey was all :wtf: is that?
I just said expensive. :lol:
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:53 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:42 pm
As soon as someone builds an affordable Taxa Mantis, I'll buy one.
We were YouTubing one overland show or another and there was a clip of one of those Mantis’s and wifey was all :wtf: is that?
I just said expensive. :lol:
:fullretard: expensive, but it's the only thing on the market that does what I want:

1.) Stores in garage
2.) Sets up quickly
3.) I can stand in

I guess eventually I'll just go :fullretard: and get a full sided thing like the Micro Winnie or whatever and just nut up and pay to store it somewhere. But the pop-up will continue to be the solution for the foreseeable future.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:57 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:53 pm

We were YouTubing one overland show or another and there was a clip of one of those Mantis’s and wifey was all :wtf: is that?
I just said expensive. :lol:
:fullretard: expensive, but it's the only thing on the market that does what I want:

1.) Stores in garage
2.) Sets up quickly
3.) I can stand in

I guess eventually I'll just go :fullretard: and get a full sided thing like the Micro Winnie or whatever and just nut up and pay to store it somewhere. But the pop-up will continue to be the solution for the foreseeable future.
How tall are your garage doors?

Not that I think a full sided camper will fit, just curious.
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Boondocking a smaller TT doesn’t seem like a terrible idea? Lots of threads regarding batteries and recharging them. Was fun to read up on that last night a bit.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:02 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 1:57 pm
:fullretard: expensive, but it's the only thing on the market that does what I want:

1.) Stores in garage
2.) Sets up quickly
3.) I can stand in

I guess eventually I'll just go :fullretard: and get a full sided thing like the Micro Winnie or whatever and just nut up and pay to store it somewhere. But the pop-up will continue to be the solution for the foreseeable future.
How tall are your garage doors?

Not that I think a full sided camper will fit, just curious.
I did 7 footers. Wanted 8, but the architect told the wife that they wouldn't look right, so she went full :pout: and forced the 7'. Whatever, I'd need 10' doors to fit a TT.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:06 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:02 pm

How tall are your garage doors?

Not that I think a full sided camper will fit, just curious.
I did 7 footers. Wanted 8, but the architect told the wife that they wouldn't look right, so she went full :pout: and forced the 7'. Whatever, I'd need 10' doors to fit a TT.
:balls:
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:03 pm Boondocking a smaller TT doesn’t seem like a terrible idea? Lots of threads regarding batteries and recharging them. Was fun to read up on that last night a bit.
We boondock the pop-up 99% of the time. This last trip to Interlochen was the first time I plugged it in (first camp ground we've been to with electrical).

Hot water heater and fridge run off propane with no electrical draw. The fridge gets surprisingly cold on propane legit :notbad:

So it's really just lights, vent fan, and heater that could draw down the battery. We use lights minimally, and the fan works really well on a low/medium setting to cool off the camper in the middle of the day. No need to it at night where we go. We've camped below freezing ambient temps with the furnace running constantly and still didn't drain the battery.

I've never run the battery out...we have a group 29 deep cycle from Costco. If I need more, I've got the hazard freight honda knock-off generator that I bring if we're gone for a while. I looked into solar, but that's a lot more work than the generator, and its VERY dependent on the site. The place we were at for the weekend was 90% tree coverage.
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:13 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:03 pm Boondocking a smaller TT doesn’t seem like a terrible idea? Lots of threads regarding batteries and recharging them. Was fun to read up on that last night a bit.
We boondock the pop-up 99% of the time. This last trip to Interlochen was the first time I plugged it in (first camp ground we've been to with electrical).

Hot water heater and fridge run off propane with no electrical draw. The fridge gets surprisingly cold on propane legit :notbad:

So it's really just lights, vent fan, and heater that could draw down the battery. We use lights minimally, and the fan works really well on a low/medium setting to cool off the camper in the middle of the day. No need to it at night where we go. We've camped below freezing ambient temps with the furnace running constantly and still didn't drain the battery.

I've never run the battery out...we have a group 29 deep cycle from Costco. If I need more, I've got the hazard freight honda knock-off generator that I bring if we're gone for a while. I looked into solar, but that's a lot more work than the generator, and its VERY dependent on the site. The place we were at for the weekend was 90% tree coverage.
5/7 info!
It sounds like a small generator only needs to run for maybe an hour or 2 to top off the batteries; depending on use of course.
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Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:22 pm
Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:13 pm
We boondock the pop-up 99% of the time. This last trip to Interlochen was the first time I plugged it in (first camp ground we've been to with electrical).

Hot water heater and fridge run off propane with no electrical draw. The fridge gets surprisingly cold on propane legit :notbad:

So it's really just lights, vent fan, and heater that could draw down the battery. We use lights minimally, and the fan works really well on a low/medium setting to cool off the camper in the middle of the day. No need to it at night where we go. We've camped below freezing ambient temps with the furnace running constantly and still didn't drain the battery.

I've never run the battery out...we have a group 29 deep cycle from Costco. If I need more, I've got the hazard freight honda knock-off generator that I bring if we're gone for a while. I looked into solar, but that's a lot more work than the generator, and its VERY dependent on the site. The place we were at for the weekend was 90% tree coverage.
5/7 info!
It sounds like a small generator only needs to run for maybe an hour or 2 to top off the batteries; depending on use of course.
Yep...after a few days of usage, a lot of our batteries are low. The camper, bluetooth speaker, phones (wife needs that social media BS), it's easiest to just fire up the generator in the middle of the day and let it go for a few hours. Nice thing is, there's a bunch of 110 outlets in the camper that only work when it's plugged in, so firing up the generator gives power to all those outlets, which seems to charge small devices much faster than 12v from the truck or something.

The honda knock-off from harbor freight is surprisingly quiet and for how much we use it (rarely), it works great. It's also super easy to pack and move around.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt ... 62523.html
Desertbreh wrote: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:40 pm My guess would be that Chris took some time off because he has read the dialogue on this page 1,345 times and decided to spend some of his free time doing something besides beating a horse to death.
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Detroit wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:33 pm
Apex wrote: Mon Jul 13, 2020 2:22 pm

5/7 info!
It sounds like a small generator only needs to run for maybe an hour or 2 to top off the batteries; depending on use of course.
Yep...after a few days of usage, a lot of our batteries are low. The camper, bluetooth speaker, phones (wife needs that social media BS), it's easiest to just fire up the generator in the middle of the day and let it go for a few hours. Nice thing is, there's a bunch of 110 outlets in the camper that only work when it's plugged in, so firing up the generator gives power to all those outlets, which seems to charge small devices much faster than 12v from the truck or something.

The honda knock-off from harbor freight is surprisingly quiet and for how much we use it (rarely), it works great. It's also super easy to pack and move around.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2000-watt ... 62523.html
:notbad:
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