On The Road Again

Those of you who read the blog regularly know we were currently RV-less.  Well, not any longer.  What kind of RV did we want–well that was harder to decide than the question of what we didn’t want.  After the R-Pod we knew we did NOT want a RV which required putting away the bed before you could sit down for your morning coffee.  We wanted a bed which stayed a bed if that makes sense?? We also wanted short which the R-Pod fit but its bed situation was awful–we thought we could make it work but couldn’t.  Many short Class B’s have couches which fold out as beds at night–that’s not what we wanted.  The Cowboy wasn’t thrilled with the look of Class C’s and one of those long enough to have a bed was too long.  We looked at short Class A’s but in the end decided we needed to focus on the fact that we didn’t need a rig in which to live–we needed a camping rig.  A RV which we will use for travel back and forth between Montana and Arizona and for camping–not for living.  So, smaller is better.

And this setting is the exact reason we purchased yet another slide in truck camper.  I was not thrilled with the idea of another truck camper–I didn’t want to “crawl” up into bed and making that bed is a chore about which our friend Angie said, “I have to have a nap when I’m finished.”  But, it’s a camping rig, not a living rig.  And, it’s short–we are 25 feet long when the camper is on the truck.  This is a 2003 S & S truck camper–manufactured in Kalispell, Montana.  We seldom seem to find RVs within easy driving distance and this one was no exception.  The Craigslist ad was for a 2008 Ford pickup and this camper located in Thompson Falls in the northwest corner of Montana.  The owner would sell separately.  We talked about it on our Friday morning walk and called the owner when we got back in the house making arrangements to drive to Thompson Falls Friday–a 378 mile trip one way.  Whew that was a long drive!

The Cowboy has been considering a newer truck and would have purchased the one in Columbia Falls–the price was right–but after getting advice from friend John and from Lonn we decided against the pickup.  We were very careful in our examination of this truck camper–we’ve been burned twice lately with the “everything works” concept.  All in all for a 2003 the RV is in great shape and we purchased it for several thousand dollars less than book value.  So, off the owner’s truck and onto ours.  The previous owner is flying to Florida on Tuesday to purchase sight unseen a Class B–he was encouraged when we told him our friends Nina and Paul sold their motorhome this way–folks from California flew to Florida and purchased their rig.

The photo above is why we wanted short and small–just outside Thompson Falls Friday evening as daylight was leaving and the deer were jumping across the road in front of us, we found a USFS road and our parking place for the night.  Sweet!

Three hundred and seventy eight miles later we pulled into our driveway Saturday afternoon late.  UGH that was a long drive! The Cowboy immediately took the camper off the truck and started puttering with a couple things he wanted to improve.  He spent all of Sunday doing the same thing–improving.

For my part I’ve been researching easier ways to make that bed–guess what–there are none! 🙂 🙂 But I did read how one lady puts three clean fitted sheets on at once so she only has to wrestle the mattress once very third sheet change instead of every time.  I’m doing it!

We are looking for a new mattress because of course the one in the camper is awful–have you ever purchased a RV with a good mattress???  The Beaver motorhome we just sold had an excellent mattress but it left with that rig.

I’ve not done much of anything today–I did weed the flower bed in the back yard, mow the grass and grill us a steak for lunch but for the most part, I’ve been a bum.

The Flathead River; photo taken through the windshield. There is a large forest fire burning nearby, thus the haze.

We stopped in Drummond, Montana for a burger at Parker’s–a spot with a reputation for great burgers and they were.  Next door was the Cotton Patch quilt shop and I wandered through–gorgeous store and fabric! Across the street I spotted this sign and had to chuckle–

Life is good.