Checklists, checklists, and more checklists!

In preparation of any camping trip, one should go through their RV and check to make sure they have everything they need to make their trip fun and headache free. Especially when they bring their RV out of winterization. This was kinda the case for us during our last camp out. I found that during our stay at Dosewallips State Park, I was quickly reminded that I forgot to pack a few key items for any trip. For example, towels, table to BBQ at, tables to eat at, green scrubby pad, and so on. During the winter months, those items and some others were removed from the RV to use in the house. I forgot to put them back in the RV prior to leaving. Hence the title of this blog entry. Checklists are a great tool to help you remember what to pack and what not to forget. Even if you have a duplicate item in your house and the RV, say hand soap, it's always good to check to make sure it's full. Checklists are an easy way to take the guesswork out of what to bring. I recommend downloading a copy of a pre-made checklist for a typical RV and customizing it. There are a lot of good checklists out there but they probably have items on there that you don't need. I downloaded one for a full timer RV and went to make an excel spreadsheet. By combining the full timers and my ideas I came up with my own checklists. I use the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet for different areas in the RV like kitchen, bathroom, storage compartment, etc. Now I can go through and check off the items, even if they were already there, and go buy replacements if needed.

Checklists don't stop there. Sure they help remind you of items to bring but they can also help you remember step-by-step instructions on how to do things. Airline pilots use them all the time to make sure they go through the steps on how to operate the airplane. Lets hope they do and not only rely on memory and just "wing it!" These checklists can be prepared for just about anything. You can have your "pre-departing the house" checklists to go over stuff like check the tire pressure. Or check the torque on the lug nuts for the wheels. Then you can have your "At the campsite" checklist for setting up your campsite and plugging in the shore ties. Whatever you can think of, you can make a checklist for it.

So bottom line, don't just think that you'll remember everything needed for an enjoyable trip. Sure you think your memory is a steel trap and you'll remember everything. But think about it; it's better to have checked it and not needed it, then to have not checked it and realized it was something you could not live without. It's okay to make a checklist to remind you what to bring, how to do stuff, etc. The more complete it is, the better your trip will be. Which reminds me, I have to go and check on a few things... Till next time!

Review: Puyallup RV Show

Today we went to the RV Show and Sale at the Puyallup Fair Grounds in Washington State.  According to the web site this RV show is billed as, “Every leisure need from tent  trailer to your vacation home on the lake.” Well the show does have its good features and we’ll cover those later, let’s start with the web site.

Buying the tickets online was very easy. A straight forward interface let you select how many tickets you wanted and then let you pay online with a major credit card. After purchase, the site took you to a screen where you could print your tickets. The web site even sent you a friendly email confirming your purchase. However with this ultra cool high tech way to purchase tickets there was an additional charge for convenience. I don’t understand why an additional charge is needed for having one computer talk to another computer. I even used my paper and ink from my printer to get tangible tickets. Where did it cost them?

Getting tickets online meant that we could skip the line and head straight to the entrance gate where we were welcomed to a vast array of RV’s waiting to be toured. There was a table as soon as you walk in where you can pick up a bag with some show information and various deals. Also included was a show map which was very helpful because this show was big. Not only could we tour the RV’s outside, there was a pavilion with row after row of RV’s inside; along with several booths demonstrating the latest gadget and gizmo to make your RV experience that much more enjoyable.

One thing was for certain, we had a lot of ground to cover if we wanted to see everything. We started inside, due to the clouds outside threatening rain, and were surprised as to the floor layout. It showed a market trend of what consumers seem to be interested in, travel trailers and fifth wheels. The building was stuffed with them. A lot of the major players, i.e. Jayco ,Holiday Rambler, Lance, and Forest River, to name a few, were available to tour however we were surprised that some very key manufacture’s were not there, i.e. Airstream, Cruiser RV, Winnabago, and Eco were a no show. Also another issue we found strange was the lack of sizes of the different RV’s that were on display. If you were interested in a rig from 26-31 feet, that show had it. With slides, with-out slides, bunk beds, outdoor kitchens, toy hauler, automatic everything, and automatic nothing could be found. But if you were looking to something smaller that could fit in the tighter campsites, your selections were lacking.

Outside the pavilion treated you to a display of more travel trailers and fifth wheels with very few class a and class c models to see. If you were in the market for a class a or c, you were wasting your time. But outside was nice and you were introduced to a couple of new ideas. One was “tiny houses.” They look like a glorified tool shed on steroids and on wheels. They have wooden sides and a shingled roof but are completely towable and street legal with hookups to the campsites. The neat part is that you could purchase one of these tiny houses built for you or you can purchase just the blueprints and build one yourself. Another was pre-manufactured homes were on display. We toured a couple of them but were not really interested. This blog is in fact all about RV’s so back to that. Along with the tiny houses there were tiny rv’s in the form of teardrops trailers. These trailers are a throwback to the era of having an affordable, towable with the family car, RV without breaking the bank with modern conveniences available. They are perfect for the weekender who just wants to camp and be able to sleep off the ground.

The show did treat their patrons to a couple of freebees while there. One was a complimentary ride in a train towed by a tractor for those that wanted to get to the other side of the fairgrounds but didn’t want to walk. Also it was big fun for the kids. Another was when you entered the show they handed you a card that fit an ATM looking machine in the pavilion. If you didn’t mind getting your email address sold six ways to Sunday, you could get some coupons for a free pair of garden gloves or a $1 off on a purchase at a few home improvement booths at the show.

So grading the quality of this RV show had us scratching our heads. It definitely had a vast abundance of RV’s to look at and tour. Product booths were available complete with the pushy sales people to get the product in front of you. Parking was easy and so was getting in. There was a food court available if one was hungry as well.  However the layout of where stuff was could have been better. Sometimes we got turned around and found ourselves walking past the same RV a few times. Also there could have been seminars made available for those getting into RV’s for the first time and needed an introduction course, or for the veterans looking for new ideas or had questions. In all we would grade the 2012 Puyallup RV Show a C+ based on the examples above and past experiences going to shows around the Puget Sound.

This brings us to the Best In Show for both trailers and motorhomes.

For travel trailers we chose the Surveyor Sport SP-189 by Forest River. This RV is perfect for the couple who are just starting out their own RV adventures. It is small, lightweight and have all the amenities of the bigger travel trailers while keeping the cost down. If you want more information goto: http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/default22.asp?nav=rec&page=survw&choice=brochure

For best in show in the realm of motorhomes we went something non-standard. In today's market where the price of a gallon of fuel seems to keep rising and rising showing no end in sight; it's a welcome relief that there are some manufacturers out there trying to keep the RV dream alive by creating economical motorhomes. Trying to squeeze out every little bit from every gallon burned. Our selection is the Tahoe 190 RBS by MPV. This is a rear bath with a slide out class c motorhome featuring the main sleeping area over the cab. Perfect for the couple thats looking for something small but wants a motorhome. For more information visit: http://www.mvprv.com/products/Tahoe2/index-tahoe.html

Dosewallips State Park: Apr 27-29 2012

Located in Washington. Had a good time at this park.  Surprisingly the park was people and kid quite for the most part. The only real noise came from Hwy 101 that ran right next to the park. This is not an official review of the park. That will come later. Just a quick post about our first camping trip of the season. It was great to get out and get back into the fun that is RVing.