We prided ourselves on being “purist” campers, having tent-camped for decades. However, during one particularly rainy, cold camping experience we looked with envy at RV campers drinking their morning coffee while warm and dry inside their RVs. It was as we piled our wet tent and camping gear into the truck to head for home that we decided we wanted an RV!
Late May 1995 we purchased an 18-foot Kit Road Ranger tow-trailer. We wanted to stay near home for the maiden voyage so we went to Heise Hot Springs, 25 miles away. We unhitched, leveled and got everything hooked up in a late-spring snowfall. Wet and cold, we hurried inside to warmth and a hot cup of coffee. Just as we sat down at the dinette table, a moose strolled by not 10 feet from our window! After all, we were on the bank of the South Fork of the Snake River!
We loved everything about our RV! How nice to be warm and dry! How nice to be able to cook without rain or snow putting the campfire out! How nice to NOT “hit the trail” in the middle of night, flashlight in hand, always alert for bear, moose, mountain lion or whatever!
We had a complete checklist for everything that must be done inside and out in order to be mobile, or so we thought. Refrigerator doors locked – check. Steps up – check. Vents closed – check. Everything was taken care of – except one. As we pulled out we thought our truck had sure lost a lot of power after sitting a few days! Then we discovered we forgot to crank up the “landing gear” on the tongue after hitching to the truck! We’re sure anyone near enough to see was chuckling at “the newbies” as we endeavored to replace the grass in the new row we had just plowed! We updated the RV checklist and have enjoyed RVing in our beautiful area ever since!
We sold the Kit Road Ranger to purchase a 1997 Hitchhiker 5th wheel and lived on it 2 different times for job assignments in Florida. Then we went back to a smaller “camper” for Idaho by purchasing a 2006 Arctic Fox trailer. Last summer we traded the Arctic Fox trailer for another Hitchhiker 5th wheel so we can use it for living while on jobs or “asphalt camping” in Idaho. We love RVing!
Submitted by Tom & Faye Sauerbrun of Idaho Falls, ID as a part of the RV Centennial Celebration “Share Your Favorite RV Memory” contest.
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