Memorial Day Weekend 2019 in the Poconos had it all; 80 degree days, 50 degree nights, rain, sun and mud. So how did we do on our first trip in our 2010 Keystone Outback Travel Trailer? Let’s just say it went much better than the first trip we took in our pop-up camper (no puke or skunks involved), but we still had our challenges and mistakes.
Arriving at the Promised Land:
We arrived at Promised Land State Park around 5:00 PM with a toddler who just woke up from a delayed nap. Our ride to the park was extended because we wanted to avoid heavy traffic areas/tight intersections/curvy and narrow roads. Although we took a longer route than needed, the drive went well.
Ryan stopped once to adjust the sway and weight distribution bars because we were bouncing quite a bit for the first few miles. We don’t really know how much bounce to expect though… we live in one of the worst areas for potholes and we have 8,000 lbs on our tail, so how much bouncing should we expect?! An appointment has been set up with a trailer place this week; they will check out our whole hitch setup to make sure everything looks safe before our 2-week trip down south.
Setup:
Parking and setup went without a hitch (pun intended), except when we tried to level the RV with the level on a nut the first time. After scrounging for some more leveling blocks we discovered our oversight. We also neglected to fill up our tanks with water before we parked; not because we forgot, but because we weren’t sure exactly where the fill-ups were and we had brought water jugs just in case; so we decided to avoid driving around in circles until we figured out where to fill up. A makeshift plastic cup funnel and several jugs of water made an “easy” job of filling the tanks the next day (not).
As we set up the inside of the camper, a few cabinet doors were open, but nothing had fallen out. I did, however, have to return some items to the fridge that flung out; although the fridge door was closed when we arrived, evidently I didn’t close it all the way before we left (oops!). Once we were set up we briefly said hello to some friends, made some hot dogs to test out the outdoor stove, and listened to an exhausted toddler who screamed and wouldn’t go to sleep for over an hour, which is not a normal occurrence (thank goodness)! Even though we had no major blunders, we were still exhausted from the anticipation, anxiety, stress, and screaming toddler, so we turned in early for the evening.
The Second Day:
It rained that night and it felt nice not to have to worry about the canvas leaking (good riddance pop-up)! The next day we were up before the crack of dawn, due to said exhausted toddler. We tested our electric hookups with the Instant Pot (oatmeal), electric kettle (coffee and tea), and AeroPress (coffee, non-electric); in case you were wondering, they all work the same as they do in the house!! Although it was an early morning, it was a relaxing morning; we got out fairly early for a muddy, but beautiful hike to some waterfalls.
The afternoon turned very hot (mid 80’s), but also consisted of a 2 hour nap (for the toddler, not the parents). Ryan and I were able to relax a little and move the truck so we could put the awning out. Since the bunkhouse rose to 84 degrees while Dorothy napped, we also tested the AC. We kept it on after she woke up because we left the pup while we visited a local favorite; Jam Room Brewing Co. Although they do allow dogs, we needed to test out leaving the pup alone in the RV anyway.
It rained for most of the afternoon and cooled it down considerably, so we were able to turn the AC off when we returned. That evening we took about 2 hours to make spaghetti and meatballs; apparently the stove inside doesn’t like to boil water, so after about an hour of trying to get it to boil with much evaporation, we brought it outside to finish the job. 2 hours later we had a late-night spaghetti and meatballs meal. We were also able to get a little campfire and a few smores in before it started to rain again.
Once again, it was nice to be all comfy/cosy inside the RV while it rained outside. That evening we got to try the heat as well! The bunkhouse was the culprit again and fell to under 60 degrees (it was in the 50’s outside), so after much debate about what to do, we eventually just turned the heat on to a low temperature. It quickly raised her room temperature to an acceptable range. The rest of the RV didn’t have those temperature extremes, so we’ll have to adapt for the ups and downs in the bunkhouse and see if it does the same thing when we head south.
The Last Day:
The last day we were able to stay in bed until 7:00 AM and it felt amazing! We had a little dance party before and after breakfast and took a few strolls around the campground to check out all of the rigs. The campground contained everything from tents to Class A Motorhomes and everything in between. We did see a newer Keystone Outback bunkhouse, but the coolest thing we saw was a hardtop popup! Both Ryan and I had seen it separately the day before and admired it because of its uniqueness. A few minutes later we were inside touring it! Turns out we knew the owners; Cindy was a fellow park ranger and her and her husband just sold their pop-up and purchased this mint-condition beauty! I’m not sure if this is exactly what they have, but I found this video of someone setting one up. It’s pretty awesome!
As the Memorial Day Weekend came to a close, we watched lines of campers leave the campground, waiting for the dump station. We packed up and timed it so Dorothy would nap on the way home, and luckily our timing was perfect; no line to wait on, so that meant no audience while Ryan dumped the tanks for the first time! All went well and we were on our way back home. We took the shorter route home this time since Ryan felt a little more confident driving the rig. Besides the massive amount of potholes, the ride was fine. There were no signs of overheating while climbing some big hills! We arrived home and were able to park, level, and set up the entire RV in the driveway before Dorothy woke up from her nap!
Overall, I would call this a pretty successful first trip. We did shatter the ceiling lamp on the way home and the table moved around quite a bit because we didn’t put it back into place, but everything else made it! Just to recap, here are some of our “learning experiences” from our shakedown trip:
First Trip Mistakes:
- Going on the assumption that the previous owners had the whole hitch setup properly and not getting it checked out by someone before leaving
- Not researching or asking exactly where to get water to fill up before we parked
- Leveling the trailer with the level on top of a nut!
- Not closing the refrigerator all of the way – good thing we didn’t bring eggs!
- Letting our daughter nap too late = bad nighttime sleepy
- Not moving the table back into place on the way home – we might have a small hole to repair in the wall
- Taking an extra bumpy way home = ceiling light shattering
We also have several things we want to do before we hit the road for 2 weeks in June. Many of them are little things, so I tried to consolidate a bit.
Modifications Before Going South:
- Get hitch checked out by a shop
- Replace the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
- Bathroom: sink plug, new toilet seal, add toilet paper holder
- Finding a better table and chairs solution
- Install some sort of gate across both screen doors – both child and dog could push open if they tried
- Purchase a water filter, pressure regulator, and sewer hose support
- Replace/clean AC filters
- Replace light to the back stairs
- Bunk-room: make blackout curtains, make curtain tie, bring changing pad (for rolling toddler), add more storage, padding underneath bunks (several head bashes occurred), reassemble baby gate for other bunk (so Dorothy can use the new mattress)
- Fix backup camera on truck – it stopped working right after we got back
- Try to flush/clean out black tank, which still reads full
