UglyScout
Contributors
[SIZE=medium]Not really a van, our 1993 FWC Grandby, but really a river Champoeg State Park is right on the Willamette…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Where to begin…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I just wrapped up an unplanned 10 day ‘camping trip’ in my FWC. Not just me, but my wife and 2 kids (3.5 year old son and 1.5 years old daughter). We were homeless for 10 days. Yeah it was a real hoot. We found all the weak spots in the camper/our gear. Found all the leaks. And pretty much took a couple full camping seasons off the life of the camper. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]It didn’t help that we had monsoon rains and wind (+50 mph gusts – it was so loud in the camper I couldn’t sleep) for 4 days and were camping during the wettest September in our area ever (maybe not ever but at least the last 50 years…). And we needed to continue to do the regular things you need to do like go to work for me, preschool and soccer for the boy, run and wiggle and scream for the lil’ girl.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We found ourselves in this situation when during the process of buying a new house our closing paperwork for the new house got delayed, then delayed again, then again – to the point where we had to sign away our existing house, move all our stuff into storage and just wait. Homeless. The one positive point is our old house and new house are 1.5 miles apart. In the beginning we planned/packed/prepared “worse case” for 4-5 days – it turned into a full 10 nights. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We told the kids “We are going to go camping and have an adventure and when it is done, we will move into our new house!!” The kids were totally prepared for the move, we took them by the new house almost every day for the previous month – talked about it all the time – even the 1.5 year old got it, she just had to make sure ‘puppy’ was moving too (puppy is her favorite stuffed animal). “Yes and puppy too…” became a common line at our house. The kids didn’t actually catch on until about day 8 or 9 that the ‘adventure’ had no set ending day. All in all the kids were AWESOME and had a great time. They love camping. At one point my son and I were sitting by the camp fire and he said ‘Dad, I hope this never ends’, yeah I squeezed him tight and cried.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]So back to the ‘camping’. We loaded up the camper and truck and our Toyota Camry with everything we might need and headed out. We drove to the beach and stayed in Newport, OR at South Beach State Park. We did the Hatfield Marine Science Center one day and the Newport Aquarium the next. We had terrible weather – lots of rain, heavy winds. For work/school days we stayed at Champoeg State Park just south of Newberg, OR (where our old and new house are). We even camped in a driveway for one night. The camper was packed to the gills so every night we shuffled gear around and with the wind and rain we couldn’t leave anything outside. If it was summer time and dry it would have been much easier. My wife had to do laundry 2 times to keep the kids in clothes.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We actually ate well and got plenty of sleep. We cleaned out our freezer before the trip and had all sorts of homemade frozen food to eat. We had a regular cooler with ice and our 12V Edgestar fridge. We used an electric crook pot to reheat and cook stuff at the campground, it was a brilliant idea to toss it in at the last minute. For sleeping, the kids bed time came at 8pm so we all went to sleep at the same time. I slept ‘downstairs’ with the 3.5 year old and my wife slept ‘upstairs’ with the 1.5 year old. After 3 or 4 days we’d worked everything out pretty well and the kids were tired enough that they went to sleep pretty quickly. On work days I’d sneak out of the camper at 5:30am, get cleaned up in the campground bathroom and go to work. It became pretty routine and no one at work was the wiser that I was ‘homeless’.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]The camper took a beating! It is soaked, the carpet is gross, it smells like a swamp, the roof vent got cracked by a falling tree branch in the wind and started leaking, water was blowing into/around the propane box hatch and leaking into the cabinets and dribbling out on the floor. Water was being blown through the Velcro on the windows and leaking out at the bottom corners. The top seal broke in a few places letting water in when you drove. Water everywhere, wetness always. The lower bed fold out legs both had their screws fall out which lead to them twisting and failing. The sink exterior drain hose was constantly getting kinked and clogging. We had an ant invasion! I dumped over 2 quarts of boiling water on to the front couch, the kids glowing night light/clock and a plugged in and running electric heater – huge freaking disaster. I’m not sure the camper will ever be the same. It will take a lot of cleaning, resealing, a new roof vent and a new top seal to make it whole again. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]In the end I am SO GLAD I had the camper. We saved about $800-$1000 not staying in a motel and eating out 3 meals a day. We didn’t have to miss any work, school, etc. The kids had an awesome time! It was an adventure we will remember for a long time. And we got the keys to our new house Monday evening so we don’t have to stay in the camper ever again!!! (Or at least until summer when it is not raining)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]No pictures as I didn't think to take any and it was raining so hard most of the time I didn't want to be outside...[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Where to begin…[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I just wrapped up an unplanned 10 day ‘camping trip’ in my FWC. Not just me, but my wife and 2 kids (3.5 year old son and 1.5 years old daughter). We were homeless for 10 days. Yeah it was a real hoot. We found all the weak spots in the camper/our gear. Found all the leaks. And pretty much took a couple full camping seasons off the life of the camper. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]It didn’t help that we had monsoon rains and wind (+50 mph gusts – it was so loud in the camper I couldn’t sleep) for 4 days and were camping during the wettest September in our area ever (maybe not ever but at least the last 50 years…). And we needed to continue to do the regular things you need to do like go to work for me, preschool and soccer for the boy, run and wiggle and scream for the lil’ girl.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We found ourselves in this situation when during the process of buying a new house our closing paperwork for the new house got delayed, then delayed again, then again – to the point where we had to sign away our existing house, move all our stuff into storage and just wait. Homeless. The one positive point is our old house and new house are 1.5 miles apart. In the beginning we planned/packed/prepared “worse case” for 4-5 days – it turned into a full 10 nights. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We told the kids “We are going to go camping and have an adventure and when it is done, we will move into our new house!!” The kids were totally prepared for the move, we took them by the new house almost every day for the previous month – talked about it all the time – even the 1.5 year old got it, she just had to make sure ‘puppy’ was moving too (puppy is her favorite stuffed animal). “Yes and puppy too…” became a common line at our house. The kids didn’t actually catch on until about day 8 or 9 that the ‘adventure’ had no set ending day. All in all the kids were AWESOME and had a great time. They love camping. At one point my son and I were sitting by the camp fire and he said ‘Dad, I hope this never ends’, yeah I squeezed him tight and cried.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]So back to the ‘camping’. We loaded up the camper and truck and our Toyota Camry with everything we might need and headed out. We drove to the beach and stayed in Newport, OR at South Beach State Park. We did the Hatfield Marine Science Center one day and the Newport Aquarium the next. We had terrible weather – lots of rain, heavy winds. For work/school days we stayed at Champoeg State Park just south of Newberg, OR (where our old and new house are). We even camped in a driveway for one night. The camper was packed to the gills so every night we shuffled gear around and with the wind and rain we couldn’t leave anything outside. If it was summer time and dry it would have been much easier. My wife had to do laundry 2 times to keep the kids in clothes.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]We actually ate well and got plenty of sleep. We cleaned out our freezer before the trip and had all sorts of homemade frozen food to eat. We had a regular cooler with ice and our 12V Edgestar fridge. We used an electric crook pot to reheat and cook stuff at the campground, it was a brilliant idea to toss it in at the last minute. For sleeping, the kids bed time came at 8pm so we all went to sleep at the same time. I slept ‘downstairs’ with the 3.5 year old and my wife slept ‘upstairs’ with the 1.5 year old. After 3 or 4 days we’d worked everything out pretty well and the kids were tired enough that they went to sleep pretty quickly. On work days I’d sneak out of the camper at 5:30am, get cleaned up in the campground bathroom and go to work. It became pretty routine and no one at work was the wiser that I was ‘homeless’.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]The camper took a beating! It is soaked, the carpet is gross, it smells like a swamp, the roof vent got cracked by a falling tree branch in the wind and started leaking, water was blowing into/around the propane box hatch and leaking into the cabinets and dribbling out on the floor. Water was being blown through the Velcro on the windows and leaking out at the bottom corners. The top seal broke in a few places letting water in when you drove. Water everywhere, wetness always. The lower bed fold out legs both had their screws fall out which lead to them twisting and failing. The sink exterior drain hose was constantly getting kinked and clogging. We had an ant invasion! I dumped over 2 quarts of boiling water on to the front couch, the kids glowing night light/clock and a plugged in and running electric heater – huge freaking disaster. I’m not sure the camper will ever be the same. It will take a lot of cleaning, resealing, a new roof vent and a new top seal to make it whole again. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]In the end I am SO GLAD I had the camper. We saved about $800-$1000 not staying in a motel and eating out 3 meals a day. We didn’t have to miss any work, school, etc. The kids had an awesome time! It was an adventure we will remember for a long time. And we got the keys to our new house Monday evening so we don’t have to stay in the camper ever again!!! (Or at least until summer when it is not raining)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]No pictures as I didn't think to take any and it was raining so hard most of the time I didn't want to be outside...[/SIZE]
