Airstream Maiden Voyage
Our latest adventure was a maiden voyage pulling an Airstream. We equipped ourselves with a truck a couple of years ago with the intention of someday pulling a towable behind us.
Preparing for the Maiden Voyage
The day had come to connect a trailer. And we had questions and some slight apprehensions. Would we get the connections right? Would we feel comfortable driving with a large trailer behind us, much less feel comfortable staying in our highway lane. Could we manage all the hookups without any help?
A day prior to departure, we spent the day getting the rig ready, supplied and spruced.
Starting Out Easy
Our first day drive was planned to take us half way on our journey, which meant a layover in Las Vegas. On the way, we pulled into a Barstow truck stop to refuel. We made it in and out, no problem. We switched drivers here for the second leg of the journey.
After about 290 miles, we pulled into the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. This length felt like a good maximum for one day. Pulling a trailer, at least for us, means going slower than in a car. This type of driving is also more mentally taxing.
The First Night
For night number one, we just needed a place to sleep. So we booked a pull through site at the Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort. Our only connections were hooking up the 30-amp electric cord as well as a hose for water. Ten minutes tops, and we were in the rig. (We’ll recap this RV location in a separate post).
The Full Hook Up Experience
On day two, we headed into Cannonville Utah, just outside Bryce Canyon National Park. The location was also close to Kodachrome State Park as well as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This stay would be the local KOA – another detailed post will be forthcoming on this location. Here, we actually did the whole disconnecting of the truck from the trailer – success!
It’s Like Having Your Home With You on Vacation
Among the benefits of traveling the RV way – your kitchen is always with you. Other than two meals, we prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners in the rig. Our food and our way of preparation. As much as we like restaurants, this helped us keep expenses down while eating our favorite camping foods.
Our journey would include yet a third stop in Glendale Utah at the Bauer’s Canyon Ranch RV Park. And yup, a review of the park coming in the near future.
Unhitched for Local Explorations
Along the way, when unhitched from the trailer, our truck would take us into nearby areas for exploration opportunities. The small town of Tropic Utah would be just one such stop for us on this trip.
In all, we had three RV locations, all with pull through sites. We found the hookup process much easier than we had envisioned. Perhaps our homework in advance to prepare checklists for each aspect (initial prep, arrival, and departure) helped us quite a bit.
Time To Departure
We timed how long it would take us from the alarm clock ring until starting the truck to depart when we left Glendale, Utah. With checklists in hand, we wanted to be sure to check the box on each of the steps for a successful departure. Including time for a leisurely breakfast, getting dressed, and our typical morning routine, it took us 2.5 hours until our truck left the parking lot.
Our Newbie Learning Moments
We learned a few things along the way to further fine-tune these checklists.
Our takeaways as newbie Airstreamers:
Checklists – do your homework in advance for your rig, and follow a checklist to avoid mistakes
Phone a friend – bring the phone number of someone you can quickly call if and when you have questions. We phoned Vince Cardinale from A to Z Motors in Winters, California for a couple of questions we had on day one. He was super helpful and eased our newbie nerves.
Black colored water, why? – We had a short lived concern when we turned on the water and initially started to see black colored water. Oh, oh, was there a sewer issue? Well, we quickly deduced that our very large and completely brand new water filter was the culprit here. Just the initial charcoal coloring, typical and similar to when we change our water filter at the home.
Drawers – be very careful regarding how much weight you put into sliding drawers that have thin bottoms. Our rig had a drawer under one of the dinette seats, with a very thin bottom on it. We loaded this drawer with bottles of water and flavored drinks. Unfortunately the load was too heavy and we are now responsible for fixing a broken drawer 🙁
Set Driving Limits – after logging nearly our first 1,800 towing miles, we have landed at roughly 250 miles daily as a good maximum.
