Married less than a year, we were planning our first vacation together. We had honeymooned in Florida... at Disney World. This time our plans included a road trip — driving the 1,200 miles north to visit relatives, with hopes of "seeing the sights" along the way. Money was tight, so we came up with the idea of buying a travel trailer with the amount we expected to spend on motels during the 10-day trip. After the trip, the trailer could be used for inexpensive camping getaways.
We settled on a small Scotty that cost us a few hundred dollars. For those that might not know, Scotty trailers were made from 1957 until 1997, when the plant in Irwin, Pennsylvania burned down. They were an American classic, with a teardrop design resembling an oversized VW bug and known by their signature turquoise blue and white exterior. While it was a cute little trailer, we weren't thrilled with the faded color. Besides, and my husband didn't know this when we married, but I have this obsession about things "matching." Since we would be towing our trailer with an orange El Camino, I talked my husband into changing the turquoise to orange. Now we had a one-of-a-kind Scotty!
Plans were to leave Friday after work. I arrived home that afternoon to find my husband huddled on our back porch. He had came home early because he was sick, but realized he didn’t have his house key. While I spent the next couple of hours finishing our packing and loading up the car and trailer, he spent them in the bathroom or laying on the bed moaning.
Both my husband and I usually have an abundance of common sense, but for some reason it was non-existent that day. We considered waiting until at least morning to leave, but my husband insisted he was feeling better and we should get on the road. He was convincing enough to talk me into it and I got behind the wheel... pulling a trailer for the very first time in my life. I wasn’t doing too bad the first few miles, but then it started to rain and my husband began to feel sick again. We stopped at every exit and rest area between Tampa and the Florida-Georgia state line.
Around midnight, I gave in to fatigue and the relentless rain. We pulled off at a rest area somewhere just over the Georgia state line and I collapsed in the bed located at the back of the trailer. My husband eventually joined me after making several more trips in the rain to the restroom.
I awoke early the next morning to the sound of traffic, only to realize my clothes were wet. Apparently we had a leak around the opening for the add-on air conditioner. The good news was that is was no longer raining and the mattress wasn't as wet as I was. The bad news? The temperature had dropped overnight. Now it felt like winter outside and I had only packed "summer" clothes.
After a change of clothes, I was soon back behind the wheel and on the road... with the heater blasting. We still had to make frequent stops, so after four or five hours of driving we made the decision to stop mid-afternoon at a campground. We had made it as far as northern Georgia. That’s when it happened. The tailpipe on the El Camino came loose and began to drag the ground. Now my sick husband not only had to hook up the trailer, he had to lay on the rain-sodden, cold clay ground and try to wire up a tailpipe before we could go on the next day.
Sunday was a better day. Although my husband swore he was feeling much better, he didn’t look too good, so I continued driving while he slept. By now I was feeling much more confident; and, although the hills of Tennessee and Kentucky were a challenge, I thought the worst part of the trip was behind us.
That was before we arrived in Indiana about the same time as the snow. Although I was born in Indiana, I was raised from a very young age in Florida. I didn’t know it was even possible for it to snow in April. I suppose the shorts I packed wouldn't get much use, and so much for getting to show off our new lawn chairs.
I'm happy to report that we did eventually get to see everyone. I wish I could say the rest of the trip was trouble free though. We didn't budget enough for our trip, so we had to cancel a couple of sightseeing adventures and cut our vacation short. We arrived home with just 83 cents in our pocket.
Of course, we made plenty of mistakes planning that trip, but we also made memories. And, despite our rocky start, we've turned out to be pretty savvy travelers who also enjoy camping. If there is a moral to this story, I guess it is to not be afraid to try camping... but don't make the same mistakes we did. To help you with that, I'm sharing some tips for those that might be traveling for the first time with an RV or travel trailer:
- Take the time to check-out and shake-down your RV or travel trailer. Check for road readiness, leaks and make sure all systems are not only working properly, but that you know how they work.
- Make sure your RV is in running condition or your tow vehicle is road ready — especially check tire pressure and fluid levels.
- Make sure you know how to handle your RV or travel trailer. Practice. Practice. Practice. Practice driving until you feel at ease and especially practice backing.
- Include the weather in your plans. Pack accordingly, and build some flexibility into your schedule.
- Make sure you have an adequate budget and access to emergency funds.
