Ok, with the camper installed, Kirk ran through the camper with me. It was pretty straight forward as we ordered the shell with only a few important options for us. After the walk through, I said goodbye to Kirk and headed off with our new camper. No offense to Medford as it seems like a nice town but I needed to get this thing into the woods ASAP.
I was immediately put at ease with how the thing handled as I was leaving Medford. Really glad I installed the airbags (thanks Lighthawk) a few weeks prior and already had the e-rated bfg ko's. I stopped by the gas station and inflated to about 40psi for the tires and 15 psi for the airbags. I left Medford with a grin that lasted at least 15 miles into Shady Cove, OR and then into the Rogue River Natl Forest! We were losing daylight and I wasn't seeing a lot of forest service roads jetting off into the woods so I figured we would have to use a campground for the night.
I found that the
Abbott Creek campground was open so I made a left and headed down the road towards it.
I took a wrong turn and was forced to get onto a dirt road that lead pretty high into the cascades
. After a couple miles of somewhat steep climbing, I was thrilled with how tight the camper felt attached to the truck and I knew that we had made the right decision going with a pop up. We are not really campground style campers and exploring dirt roads to find places to stay will be much more enjoyable with a pop-up camper.
After turning around and finding the actual road that lead to the campground, I pulled in at around 7pm. I walked George back to the pay area and put my $12 in the receptacle. Went back to the truck and popped the top for the first time(not counting the walkthrough).
Set up my chair, fed george, had a sandwich, got quiet and enjoyed the view. It was a large campground but because it was a Tuesday in May, there were only 3 or 4 other sites being used. I couldn't see any other camps due to the dense foliage on this side of the cascades.
I didn't have time to purge or fill my propane tanks so this first trip didn't include the morning coffee or furnace that we're looking forward to in colder weather. Temps that night were warm and I slept pretty well. The cushions are definitely stiffer that I thought and I see why many of you look into either getting the foam swapped out or going with sleeping pads or other solutions. I'm planning on getting some comfy old school rectangle sleeping bags and seeing how that extra padding works. I was using my down bag which completely flatten out underneath you and provides no extra cushion between you and the bed.
The way I see it, for what you pay for the camper, your sleeping experience better be infinitely better than tent camping or what's the point. I will get this dialed in somehow. George the dog liked the front dinette option turned into a second bed. I'm very happy with this option as it turns into a good size second bed. I could easily sleep in the dinette bed myself with the top down in stealth mode and I'm 6'2. We really like this layout for our needs.
The next morning I had a nice chat with the camp host and headed out.
The camper handled great on the mountain roads. I felt like the sweet spot for me was around 60-65mph.
I need to take a photography class because this mountain was epic in person and I did not capture that at all. A running theme with my current photography skills
With genius marketing like this, how could I not stop in?
No pictures getting back into Bend but I gave my first FWC camper wave to someone in a tan tacoma/FWC rig while driving with my own fwc! I'm usually the guy that waves at every person I see in a camper. Doesn't matter if you're in a pop-up, hardside or camper van of some sort...if I see you out there living the dream, I wave. Now I've got my own dream rig!
I was excited to show my wife and little guy our new adventure mobile. They came out and I walked them through everything. My wife and I were checking everything out while our 9 month old was very excited about the spring loaded covers below the benches where the camper is bolted down.
Thanks again for all the tips and information on this site. We are thrilled with our setup and the options we initially ordered. If I had to to it again, the only thing I would change (as of right now
)would be to get the "opening" front window option just in case I needed to run George in the camper during travel. Right now there is way to get air flow in there while in transit so I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping him back there while traveling. Not a big deal as he is always in the cab with us but it would be nice to have that option.
