Several months ago, we began thinking ahead to Cindy's retirement--and about how we would like to travel among these great United States (and Canadian provinces) on an extended basis. Pop-up trailers are not so good for this kind of travel (although plenty of people do use them for that) because of the inconvenience of the format:
- No access while on the road.
- Roughly an hour to cycle up and then down.
- Only a tent between you and cold or heavy weather--or bears! (Really.)
The benefits of the form are unmistakable: Despite the small footprint when closed, they can seem unexpectedly large when open. In good weather, all of the walls "disappear", because everything opens to screens. In cool or wet weather the large side windows admit a lot of light and view.
They are great. However, we knew that we would chafe at the inconveniences, so we began considering a _next camper_.
We knew that we wanted the usual amenities (hot, pressure water; forced-air furnace; air conditioning for travel to places where heat and humidity are issues; real head with shower; good-sized refrigerator; twin bunks; all in a small package that is easily towed and parked. The sleeping arrangements are very important to us, and because not very many people like that style--there were none like it on the used market--we ordered one from the factory in Rice, TX.
Casita manufacturer:
Ours is a 17' Liberty Deluxe, which means that its interior has a split galley and a real head with stand-up shower; twin bunks can be converted into a king bed or a very large dinette. We believe that by converting the entire sleeping arrangement to dinette it may be able to dine _eight_; six would be easy. Enclosed head compartment, stand-up shower.
Its dry weight is only a little more than _Walden_'s (note that it has far more tankage); it tows extremely well.
They would have delivered it to our home, but going half-way for it seemed like more fun; Phil. R. and I drove to Crescent City, CA, for the handoff. There are pictures.
Casita Handoff Trip with Phil, to Crescent City, CA:
We will miss using the name "Walden" for our place of away-from-home refuge, because of the literary and other associations that come with that name. However, we are going to move on. (Nothing has come to mind just yet. "Casita Royale" and "Eggstended Vacation" just don't seem quite right.)
We'll see.
Mark_
11:42 04 December 2012
