16 Feet of Chaos, Pull-Through Only

Hello! From a cute little travel trailer in Utah. Kick Ass Swag is on the move again and have rarely been 'at home' the last few months actually.

Summer was a busy one for us, as it is for lots of us right? Schools out, routines change, kids need entertaining and we love to travel, so this summer saw us cruising with the whole family, Idaho to visit friends for a week, and a fun new addition to the family.

Our travel trailer! TBH always a dream of mine, Regina needed a little convincing, and still requires confirmation that this is the BEST PURCHASE EVER! There have been some obstacles though.

From the humble beginnings of 'just looking' at trailers on a Sunday, to full blown ownership, 'hook us up', 'how do we work this thing' by the end of the week. Our first two night Trailer Adventure was in Cattail Lake AZ. We pulled the thing (it guzzled gas), we pulled through the site (who knows how to back a trailer?) and pulled together to set up camp. It's small at just 16 feet but has an inside bathroom, Air Conditioning and a place to set up laptops.

Mobile Office unlocked, level One.

Seriously, bottom of the rung. This thing is put together with spit and hope. But, it was affordable. We didn't want to buy some Big Rig and then be afraid to pull it! And we have SUV's at the moment - although all of that may change. (Yes we checked and double checked the weight loads, Dad)

Our first Trailer Adventure was good, we swam in the lake and Little 'L' and I went on a hike. The store there was minimally stocked, Rangers cleaned and tidied the park. I brought my hammock and had a couple naps in it over the 3 days away. We learnt that in about 36 hours we completely filled the grey water tanks. Shit. Well, not 'shit', but you know.

We learned that although we got lots of awesome stuff for the trailer (it was like Amazon Christmas each day for a week after we got the thing), there were a few things that would elevate this experience. An outdoor rug for one, an outdoor trash bin and new camping chairs.

We learned how to dump, we navigated our way into our storage site and we learned how to unhitch the thing. One of our biggest take aways was that a) this is NOT Regina's wheelhouse. b) Dani works better alone, doing everything, without anyone watching her. So... thats what we did on Trailer Adventure Part Two. Washington, Southern Utah.

What a beautiful RV park, so neat, the clubhouse, pool and ice plunge (!?) were awesome too. Clean bathrooms and a laundry on site! We again got a pull through site (haven't learned to back it up yet). Regina and Lenny went across to the little playground while Dani put down the support legs, plugged it in, attached the hose, the grey and black water pipe, opened the awning, set up the patio, outdoor cooking area and seating.

We discovered that the air conditioner wasn't working and after a short fly off the handle (Regina) we chat GPT'd it (what did we do without AI?!) and checked our fuses only to find out the breakers were off at the pole we connected too. Easy fix. Next stop on the what-else-could-go-wrong train was the door. Regina had bought a new fangled key fob, code entry door handle/lock and Dani put it in. But perhaps not well, and the damn thing wouldn't latch from the inside. (Untested at installation) Until the time that it did latch and did not unlatch. With not only Regina and Lenny but also the dog, inside at the time of not-letting go. Trapped, it was maybe 10 minutes that felt like an eternity and all of our marriage and relationships were tested. Thank goodness the AC was working and the satelite was set up. TV was a distractor for both the kid and the dog. Meanwhile tense and borderline panic communication existed between Regina and I through the little window. We pulled, we pushed, we pull/pushed and push/pulled and then resorted to Regina unscrewing the fucking screws, while Dani attempted to jimmy the door open with a flathead screwdriver. Already planning in her mind to get the dog and the kid out through the underbed storage / crawl space or the dinning table window, but Regina? She was stuck in there, call the fire brigade.

Not entirely sure what worked, but eventually the door popped open and we celebrated the release of those trapped. After removing the thing, putting it back on, we were able to recreate a working door, from both inside and outside, but that lasted just one night. And we did not dare to lock the door from the inside with both of us in there. By the second day, the fucking thing wouldnt latch when closed from the inside, so door rendered useless. Here is where the bungee cords that I deemed useless actually came in handy. Securing the door enough so that we can sleep. We'll fix it back home when no one is inside of it.

And that's it really, we are on travel home day today, I will make some breakfast on our outside Blackstone grill. Then I'll send Regina and Lenny over to the playground while I pack it all up. With a big old smile, fun memories, plans to stay here again. And thats our little Travel Trailer Adventure update. Hope your Fall is equally as adventure filled (minus the trapped scenario).