We bought a trailer!          

November 2008...
This recent rainy Sunday Mike and I, and my parents, went to the RV show in Portland.   Just to look.   Just to see what options are available.   You know: research for the deeply-discussed and planned spring-time purchase...   After looking at all kinds of trailers (and this is on top of Janet & I having gone down to a Salem RV show a few weeks ago to do the first go 'round of searching!), we were getting ready to leave (we had missed lunch, and were rather hungry), we wandered through the area of one last dealership, and in there Mike found the perfect trailer...   Given the economy right now, and with the recent gas prices, there were some really good deals to be made.   This trailer fit our parameters: nicer quality, well-built, not too small nor too big, and especially important: a not too tiny bathroom and an area to build a "dog room" for the furry beasts (and the parrot, but I'll spring that on Mike later).  We looked at the trailer thorougly: would it work for us? Did it have the amenities upon which we were insisting? Was it large enough for us (and a bunch of dogs), yet not too heavy? Well, yes to all!   But when he asked if we should buy it - as in not wait until spring - I hesitated. Was it a trick question??   Of course I wanted to buy it!   So we did, yippee skippy!!   (After all of the necessary paperwork, we had late lunch/early dinner at Boomer's BBQ at Jantzen Beach, yum!)

So, Wednesday we drive to the dealer to have the towing 'stuff' checked out (or installed) to the Expedition, and then we'll have a 2+ hour orientation on how to use and enjoy our cool new toy.   Thanks to Deb's comment on video-taping her own orientation with her first trailer, I've charged the battery on my digi-camera and will do the same - it'll probably be a rather handy movie to watch a few times.   After the orientation and some practice... then we get to DRIVE IT!   Here are some pix (below), and as this is as it was on display, there will be a lot of personalizing as I shop for the pots, pans, blankets, etc.   Shopping, dang, what a horrible chore, hehe!

It is a 31' (26'4" plus tongue) 2008 Keystone Sprinter 264BHS with one slide-out, and with a few modifications to what is now a bunkbed area, we will have the perfect trailer for us! With the mini dog room for going to dog shows, or going hunting (Mike is seriously investigating Brittanys, and hopes to soon add a Brittany puppy to the herd), and just plain traveling and sight-seeing with Mike, this will be sooo wonderful!

(And if anyone has any suggestions on building permanent crates/kennels into that dog room, PLEASE write to me, I'd love some ideas! {DarkStarCavaliers -at- comcast -dot- net} The bunk-soon-to-be-dog area is 74" long, but I won't use that length for crates, maybe half of it, with the remainder open for a mini play room if they are locked up, but not crated. However, I have only 40" of width in which to fit these built-ins, or in the meantime, a crate with a side door, upon which I can stack the other crates. I've looked into fiberglass and stainless steel grooming/vet modular cages, and would love to have something pre-fab, sturdy, and so easy to clean, but they only come in 32", 36", or 42" widths, which won't work out quite for maximum use of that space - I'd have wasted space. I need to be able to fit a bunch of Cavaliers, a friend's German Shorthair Pointer, and at least Brittany or two (when Mike gets his Brittany, and/or when he's hunting with his friend who has Brittanys), so I will stack the crates/cages, and am thinking three levels of crates/kennels, I'm just not sure how to do it all!)

November 2008...
Hello again, here's an update! We went through our 'orientation' with at the dealership, and then with our new trailer hooked to our new special hitch, we headed out into the dark and stormy night... (Really! No Snoopy the Beagle story here - there was a nasty rain and wind storm happening!) Mike opted to completely dive in, and he wanted to drive; but with the wind it was a white-knuckle drive. (the term "trial by fire" springs to mind for some reason) It's about an hour's drive to the RV storage place, and while it's a really great slot to park, it's still a back-in slot, and Mike 'volunteered' me to do that job! It only took a few tries to park, but then we couldn't get the trailer unhitched! Yup, pouring down rain, windy and dark. I had to make a couple of phone calls to get the information necessary - the one thing that the orientation didn't cover, oops... Now the fun begins - decorating and outfitting the trailer!