First Test Run Weekend Trip

Campgrounds have started opening for the season and our camper is pretty well stocked with everything we need so lets go try it out. Its still a little chilly out but that's why the camper is so great - its got heat. I was a little apprehensive about our first trip because all of us had the stomach flu two days before, but Dave said it would be a good time to test out our toilet and septic system to make sure everything worked.

We head to Falls Lake Campgrounds which is about 20 minutes from our house so we are close by if we forget anything or something happens. As 1 of maybe 4 people total in the campground we have our choice of sites. We were getting set up and I realized I forgot several essential items back at the house. I head back to pick them up while Dave watches ACC Basketball with the kids. Yes, our camper came with a Flat Screen TV and Antenna that picks up HD so he was able to watch a clearer picture in the campgrounds than at home. Life is tough. We grill up some hamburgers all bundled up and put the kids down for their first nights sleep in the camper. This is better than a hotel because they have their own room with a door and then we can stay up in the living area for as long as we like.

I'm cleaning up dinner and realize the lights are really dim. Dave finds out that we had a bad converter which means the lights and heat will eventually stop working all together. I'm thinking we bought this thing new everything should work, but its why we take it for a test run local before heading out of town. Good thing we did. Luckily we had flashlights and Dave bought some ceramic heaters on clearance that can heat the camper in case we needed it and I'm glad he did. We all sleep pretty well, but are still not feeling the best so we head home the next afternoon in time for the kids to take a nap.

When packing up to leave the campgrounds, we need to stop at the dump station to empty our tanks. There is a reason they call it this. It was the first time Dave had to do this and its usually a spectator sport when crowded so he got lucky that nobody was there. He realized one of the valves was partially open which means when he goes to hook up the hose to let everything out it will basically explode in his face. If you've ever seen RV with Robin Williams you'll know exactly what could happen. So he calls up our friend who has a similar camper for advice- we'll call him Daddy "D". We would probably be clueless without all of Daddy "D's" help and this was not the first call we made to him this weekend. He walks Dave through it and everything goes better than expected just not as good as it could have been. Don't worry David wears latex gloves when doing this job.

We go home and order a new converter and start making a packing list so we are better prepared for our next trip.