August 2020 - Build Your Own Adventure

Big Red Update- Insulation and Electrical

It’s been a few weeks since my last update on Big Red. Life has been busy. Adam has been busy at work- we’ve had a small hurricane and a lot of rain, which always means busy times for his job. School is starting, albeit in a much different form than normal, and the usual back to school stress is amplified because of all the changes.

But we’ve still managed to get quite a bit of work done on Big Red. The roof has proven to be a formidable opponent- the flat sheet of aluminum is just not as strong or water tight as we were hoping. Adam first caulked and sealed all the edges of the roof, but to no avail. Water droplets were sprinkled all over the walls after the first heavy rain. When he got back on the roof to check it out, he saw that water was pooling in the middle of the roof. So he reinforced the center with plywood, making it a little more sturdy and also giving it a bit of a slope so that the water could drain off the sides instead of pooling in the center. He then put down heavy duty roofing tape along the entire perimeter, sealing off all the edges. Even after all that, we still found drips of water down the walls in a few spots. So we bought some roof paint, which is supposed to help with cooling along with sealing any cracks that remained. That finally seemed to do the trick, and Big Red has been nice and dry since then.

Once we were sure that there were no more leaks, we started working on insulation. It was hotter than Hades inside that big metal box! We used these foam insulation boards from Home Depot and cut them to size to fit between all the metal supports that make up the skeleton of the trailer. My dad was gracious enough to come help us one day and we knocked that out pretty quickly. It was definitely worth the effort, because you could immediately tell the difference in the temperature inside the trailer. You can actually stand inside it now without melting into a puddle!

The next project was the electrical system, which Adam was super excited about, but I was pretty nervous. I know next to nothing about electricity, and basically it just scares me to death! Adam took some time to explain the basics of electricity to me and how most RV electrical systems work. Most RVs have two electrical systems- a 12 volt system that runs off a battery, and a 30 amp system that runs off shore power. Big Red already had overhead lights that ran off the 12 volt system, but they were too dim to really light up the trailer. So we put these new, brighter lights from Amazon where the old ones were and added a few more. This required drilling holes into the ceiling panels and running wires to the new lights. After only one scary moment of burning up a fuse, I think we actually got everything wired correctly. It was quite an educational experience, and I felt pretty accomplished when we were done!

Here we are installing lights and ceiling panels.

Adam also ran wire and added electrical outlets for the 30 amp system, which will run the refrigerator, television, and other appliances we’ll need. We bought a small fridge on a great back to school sale, and Adam built a stand for it and installed it in the trailer. The little fridge and the nice bright ceiling lights are the first things that really make Big Red seem like something we can actually live in. It’s very exciting!

The current situation : insulation installed, fridge in, lights up!

This huge project that we have undertaken has been a great experience so far. Adam and I have been planning and working together, breaking things down into smaller projects that we can get done in a weekend and feel like we have accomplished something. The kids have been running around, playing and sometimes helping, always providing a distraction from the hard work and a reason to keep pressing forward. They cannot wait to take Big Red camping, and for that matter, neither can I!

Our Camping Journey

We sold our camper this week. It was bittersweet. I am so excited to continue working on Big Red, and I just know it’s going to be amazing when we get done. But it’s going to be a long, hard road to see it to completion, and we are only at the beginning of this journey. Also, the camper was cozy and comfortable, and it was the vessel for many great adventures.

Now another family is going to make their own memories in the camper, and I am so excited for them. They are a young family just starting out on their camping adventures. Hearing their story made me reminisce over our years of camping.

We started out tent camping at Jordan Lake when Paige was just a toddler. The days were so much fun, splashing around in the lake and exploring the campground. But the nights were long and sleepless. Have you ever tried to sleep in a tent in the summer with no air conditioning on a cheap air mattress with a toddler? It’s not fun! I’m a little spoiled, and I told Adam if he wanted to keep camping then I would have to have a bed and air conditioning. So my dear husband sold his beloved fishing boat so we could buy a pop-up camper.

The pop-up camper had two huge glorious beds that folded out and an air conditioner that was cold enough to make your teeth chatter. It was heaven! We started venturing out to new places, and I fell in love with camping. I had never really enjoyed traveling much before, but something about being able to take my family and our little home on wheels and set off anywhere our hearts desired just made my soul happy.

We had caught the camping fever, and it wasn’t long before our hearts desired something bigger and better for our traveling pleasure. We bought a brand new Keystone Springdale travel trailer, and we may as well have won the lottery! The pop-up camper was more like a glorified tent, but the Springdale was like a tiny house. It had all the comforts of home, and we loved it. We traveled more in that camper than anything before or since. Any weekend we could possibly get away, we would hook that thing up and off we’d go.

Our Springdale on the way to Disney World

We traveled so much in it, though, that we began to make a wish list of features we’d love to have in a new camper. As that list grew, we decided to list ours for sale, just to see if there would be any interest. We sold it almost immediately, and quickly picked out a newer camper with all the bells and whistles that checked off most of the items on our wish list. The Grand Design Transcend was in many ways nicer than our house. It had all the finest finishes and the perfect layout for our family. I thought that it would be perfect, and that we would never want anything else. But I was wrong.

The Grand Design Transcend at home base.

I think that we just enjoy changing things up, trying something different. It’s just part of the adventure for us. We also began to realize that camping is less about having the finest things and more about enjoying the journey and making memories together. So here we are, with our biggest adventure yet sitting in our backyard, getting the makeover of a lifetime as we make a whole new kind of memories.

If you have ever thought about giving camping a try, I hope this is encouragement for you to start, at whatever point you are in life. You don’t have to have a big, fancy camper or the latest and greatest things to get started. We had just as much fun and made just as many memories in our first tent as we did in our big, beautiful camper. Start wherever you are with whatever you can afford. You can build your own adventure!

What Does Travel Mean To You?

What does travel mean to you? For some it’s an escape, a chance to get away from the stress and pressures of everyday life. For others it’s an adventure, a chance to try something different or see something new. Others enjoy the social connections of traveling, meeting new people or catching up with friends or family.

For me, it’s a little of all of it; and my reasons for traveling have changed over time. Traveling, and camping specifically, has always been an escape from reality for me. I have a busy job at a school and our family has seemingly unending social obligations on the evenings and weekends. I am by nature a solitary, introverted person, and setting off with the truck and trailer has always been a way for me to escape all these demands and enjoy some quiet time with my husband and children.

For the last ten years, I have had a baby or small child on my hip. This stage of life has been the most challenging and rewarding years of my life thus far, but it is all too quickly drawing to a close. My youngest baby is almost four, and I am not needed in the ways that I have been in the past. I don’t have to stand constant watch over my children, they have a little more independence and free reign now. This has changed our travel style, too. In the past, it took all of our focus and energy just to make sure everyone stayed alive, didn’t jump into the campfire or wander away from our site. Now that everyone is a little older, we can do some adventuring together. We go on bike rides and short hikes, do a lot of swimming and exploring. It’s quite a different experience, but one I am finding that I really enjoy.

The social aspect of traveling is one that I never really cared for. After a stressful week of working and caring for my babies, spending the weekend entertaining friends and family just felt overwhelming to me. But then 2020 arrived in all its glory and sent us all for a tailspin! I hate to even say it, because I know it has caused many people much grief and heartache, but quarantine and staying at home has been good for our family in many ways. We’ve been able to spend more time together and focus on what’s important to us as a family. Our social obligations have become virtually non-existent, and I don’t feel so overwhelmed and stressed by life. Once we were able to start camping again, we found ourselves actually seeking out the company of friends and family, which was a first for us. I’ve been enjoying this time with others in a way I haven’t been able to before.

Traveling and exploring new places is such an important part of our life that I can’t imagine life without it. It brings us together and helps us to grow and learn as a family. It keeps us active and engaged in the world around us. It leaves me with a sense of good in the world, even during these difficult times. What about you? Why do you travel, and how have those reasons changed over time?