Bringing our new Camplite 21RBS home!

[jeeps]

Hello!  We are new owners of our first RV which, after months of research -- some from reading this forum (thank you!) -- led us to choosing a Camplite.  We live in NW Oregon and although there's a dealer who sells Camplites near us, the cost gave us pause, so we searched online for a used one....and we found ONE.  In Arkansas.  So we decided to do a cross-country road trip, seeing some sights along the way, to get it.  It saved us about $11,000 compared to buying new.  

We love it!  We bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee (diesel) to use as our TV and it's doing a great job.  As soon as we get home we plan to get the interlocking mats for the floor and a few other tweaks.  

Anyway, my husband and I are excited about lots of fun ahead!

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Welcome to our fledgling group, Brenda and Husband. Glad to have you here and glad you chose CL. Read all the posts here and you'll have plenty to keep you busy and planning through the NW winter.  Brrrrr..........
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[spot1]

Welcome & congrats on your new to you CampLite 21RBS!!!!!!!!!

[leslie]

Welcome to our group! Several members have 21 foot Camplites, and some of them are 21 RBS. I can tell you are excited! I pull my CL 21-BHS with a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Pulling seems to be going well (it is my first trailer), and the Jeep combined with a brake controller has plenty of stopping power. See you at a campground!

[pinstriper]

Yay, I'm not longer the token Oregonian !

[jeeps]

Thank you for the warm welcome! Our initial trip from Arkansas to Oregon was an adventure!  And luckily, in spite of the super cold weather in many parts of the country, we had dry roads 99% of the time.  

For some reason the first owner of our trailer had installed surge brakes, which Husband cannot understand why, so he is anxious to change them out for electrical brakes.  He was a little nervous driving almost 2900 miles with them before we could get home.  But no problems except for some funny noises at one point which we discovered were due to a loss of brake fluid in said brakes.  So after the new brakes are installed, we can head out again!  

Unfortunately, I am thoroughly inept at technical/mechanical terms so much of the conversation here will go right over my head.  Husband understands it all, but he's not into discussion forums, so here I am.  I'm more into the floor plan, soft bed, how well the shower works, where to hang the towels and toilet paper(?!?), etc.  

Thanks again.  Oh, and Pinstriper --  Here's to our beautiful state where we know what real grass is.      

[leslie]

Thank you for the warm welcome! Our initial trip from Arkansas to Oregon was an adventure!  And luckily, in spite of the super cold weather in many parts of the country, we had dry roads 99% of the time.  

For some reason the first owner of our trailer had installed surge brakes, which Husband cannot understand why, so he is anxious to change them out for electrical brakes.  He was a little nervous driving almost 2900 miles with them before we could get home.  But no problems except for some funny noises at one point which we discovered were due to a loss of brake fluid in said brakes.  So after the new brakes are installed, we can head out again!  

Unfortunately, I am thoroughly inept at technical/mechanical terms so much of the conversation here will go right over my head.  Husband understands it all, but he's not into discussion forums, so here I am.  I'm more into the floor plan, soft bed, how well the shower works, where to hang the towels and toilet paper(?!?), etc.    

Brenda, my husband and I sound similar to you. Husband understands all of the technical discussions, but is not interested in posting. I am not mechanically inclined. I can't even hammer a nail without the head bending over!

I am very interested to hear what route you took from Arkansas to get home. Did you go through Colorado and the Rockies? I have a son and his family who live in Seattle, so as soon as I get my trailer organized, and get some camping and towing experience, hubby and I will be heading for the Northwest.

[jeeps]

Hi Leslie!  From Oregon to Little Rock, AK, since we didn't yet have the trailer, we just beelined down -- I-84 east through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, then down into Denver and straight through Kansas and Oklahoma.  It took us three days.  Coming back, we went through Albuquerque, NM, and Amarillo, TX, then went up into Utah to spend a day in Monument Valley (we LOVE the canyon lands!) then to Las Vegas (Yuk!), through Death Valley (our first time), up by Mt. Shasta (Keeping an eye on the forecast ... It was GORGEOUS!) and up I-5 to home.  Seven days coming home.  

We avoided potential snowy areas (like the Rockies) as much as possible due to the time of year and inexperience w/ this trailer.  

If your son lives on the north end of Seattle and you plan to stay in an RV park, I can recommend a really nice one approx 20 miles north of Seattle.  It's managed by my brother-in-law.  

Will this be your first trip or have you been to the NW before?  

[leslie]

We have been to Seattle twice, once flying from Louisville which takes a full day with layovers due to transferring to other flights, and once taking the AMTRAK train from Chicago, which takes a little bit more than 48 hours one way. I highly recommend the train, because it goes through the Rockies and a portion of the Columbia River Valley. Just beautiful! Going through Glacier National Park, a naturalist boards the train and provides commentary. For those traveling in a sleeping room, there are wine tastings. We loved it, but we were on the train for a total of 5 days roundtrip. That is a lot of time to be confined.

The expense of traveling this way, plus the amount of time we are confined to trains and planes, drew us to start looking at an RV, and brought us to LL. Now we can enjoy camping and our dogs won't be left behind! Plus, maybe we will get to see our granddaughter more often than once every 2 years, which is how things have been running.

Yes, my son lives on the north side, and I would be interested in a good campground close by. Thanks!

[jeeps]

The RV park in the north Seattle area is Lake Pleasant RV Park.  I didn't see a website, but it's easy to find by googling it. Very good reviews.  If you stay there, say hi to Jeff for me.  

The train trip sounds wonderful.  Never have done that.