My bride and I just returned from a 3 week trip to the pacific north west to see our newest grandchild and his parents. Great time, great trip, and the cutest, snuggliest little bugger around.<br /><br />I pulled my minimally converted cargo trailer with my 07 Tundra. Averaged about 12 mpg for the entire trip.<br /><br />Trailer is a 6x12 Featherlite V nose with barn doors in rear and rv door on the side. I built a full size bed frame across the back about 18" above the floor for storage bins, spare tire and tools, suit cases etc. <br />Also installed a 240 watt solar panel, two 12 volt deep cycle batteries, 600 watt pure sine inverter, dorm fridge and fantastic vent. In the V nose I installed a 24"w x 36"l x 12"d oval plastic cattle feed tub as a shower basin that I plumbed in a ball valve and drain to the outside and use a garden sprayer as the shower system. Purchased a Thetford porta pot from Wally World that sets perfectly in the shower basin. Fashioned a shower curtain rod from pvc pipe that hangs from the ceiling to completely enclose the shower tub. Also bought a cheap 4' counter top from Menards that sits over the fridge for kitchen work. A low cost 2 burner propane camp stove also from Wally was used to cook and heat shower water.<br /><br />The full sized bed fit perfectly across the back of the trailer. the Featherlite inside dimensions are 76" (6' 4")across so we could sleep comfortably when we needed to stretch out.<br /><br />Upon leaving the PNW, our first stayover was at Cabelas in Post Falls, Idaho. They have a nice area for rv's and encourage you to stay. It got a bit cool through the night so I reached under the bed, pulled out the sleeping bag and unzipped it to use as a blanket across the both of us and it worked great. Stayed that way the rest of the trip. In the morning, or before going to bed at night if it was cool, I would turn on the little buddy heater and it warmed up real fast. Forgot to mention I purchased a two pack of carbon monoxide detectors and installed them both for good measure. They never alarmed.<br /><br />Second and third nite was in Glacier Nat'l Park. What a beautiful place.<br />Couldnt travel the whole length of "going to the sun road" due to construction, but was in awe of what we seen. They said they would be closing the road last saturday due to weather.<br />Next we stopped in Great Falls, Mt to see the falls where Lewis & Clark came through. They have been somewhat dammed, but we discovered the L&C interpretive center which was really really good, and then discovered Great Falls was also home to the Charles Russell Museum and viewed some of his great western art. And we got in for half price of $6 since they were re-doing some exhibits.<br />Stayed at Wally parking lot that night along a noisy road, but we managed to sleep well anyway.<br /><br />Next destination was the Little Big Horn Battlefield. Another amazing place of great beauty. Fall colors and late afternoon sun sending down those rays through the clouds made it surreal. Traveled to Miles City, Mt and stayed at another Wally that night. <br /><br />Next morning off to Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Park in the southwest North Dakota badlands. Again at half price of $5 since water was off and only had pit toilets (as did Glacier). Beautiful place again. Lots of wildlife as in: Buffalo along the road, prairie dogs, deer, coyotes etc. Amazing views. Picked up a screw in my truck tire but didnt want to pull it for fear of it going flat. Couldn't find my gauge. Went into tiny Medora, ND on a Sunday and found a tiny motorcycle repair shop open by accident and they sold me one of their used gauges. Thanks folks!<br />We left Monday morning and phoned ahead to a tire shop in Dickinson, ND that got us right in and they removed the screw and patched the tire. We finished our trip home to South Dakota that day.<br /><br />The misses and I really enjoyed the trailer. It pulled well and was comfy. The solar was one of the keys to the success of the trip. Buying and managing ice gets old.<br /><br />Another nice feature was the fantastic vent. Removes excess humidity after a shower and cooking and other odors in a hurry.<br /><br />The main key is having a wife that can put up with a few of the discomforts. Like a bit cool in the morning, showers every other day Vs everyday, making do with limited cooking utensils and so on. She is a trooper and my best friend.<br /><br />What would we do different next time?<br />1) Upgrade to a larger inverter. When the fridge kicks in, the inverter maxes out and "trips". But it always comes on again after while. Could be a minute or could be 30 minutes.<br /><br />2) Buy a fire extinguisher. Didn't have any incidents, but should have one never the less.<br /><br />3) Better shower system. Not much pressure with the garden sprayer hand pump even though we kept pumping it while the other was in the shower. Tough to rinse the shampoo from her hair.<br /><br />4) Better lighting. Just using battery operated LED's and its a bit dim.<br /><br />5) Add more coat hooks to hang backpacks, purses, garbage bags etc.<br /><br />Please dont ask for pics as I don't know how to post them and am computer dense.<br /><br />
PNW trip report
- Thread starter Blaker55
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What a great trip! Too bad about being computer dense - pictures would be nice. Is your wife computer dense too? ;-)
Coffee Tim
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Sounds like a wonderful trip and a great rig you have created. A 5 gallon bucket of warm water and a 12 volt sureflow pump hooked to a showerhead makes for a great shower.
gadgetMe
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congratulations on you great adventure, before you know it you will an old pro<br /><br /><br />Sureflow is a 12 Volt rv water pump, you can pickup one online or from any place that sell rv supplies. <br />I have even seen them in wal-mart (if they have a rv section)<br /><br />you may also want to consider adding a small shut off valve at the shower head to conserve water during the shower. <br /><br />Since you have solar power, consider using 12 volt LED lights running from your house battery, they are very bright, use very little power.<br /> On inverter size I use a 1000 watt modified sine wave for everything (computers, tv, satellite, charging batteries, electric chainsaw, well you get the idea) without any troubles, you could upgrade to a 1200 watt for very little additional cost.<br /><br />I am in the "more is better too much is JUST right group" <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /> <br />Putz
peacetara
Well-known member
I'm just headed into the PNW, in Portland, Oregon today! (I know not the right time of year, but I'm not staying all that long)<br /><br />I agree on the lights, I have a 9 LED light bulb (looks more like a computer board) with 9 led's in it, and is 12V and it lights up my entire 72 SQ feet really well! I haven't the slightest where to get them, I got a used one from someone here on the forum.<br /><br />I agree about the fire extinguisher, it was the first thing I bought for my house.<br /><br />I haven't even attempted a 'shower'. I just use baby wipes or the spray bottle and towel thing, until I visit a friend, and then I steal their shower/bath. For now it's working out great, but I'll have to work out a system to wash my hair eventually. everything else I keep clean without issue. So it's good to hear about your thoughts!<br /><br />Thanks for the update!<br /><br />With Love,<br />Tara
Coffee Tim
Well-known member
The Shureflow pump is a demand pump. It has a pressure switch on it and when you turn on the faucet it runs and when you turn off the faucet it stops. An off/on showerhead is most helpful to turn the water on and off while you soap down after wetting down. Then just turn on and rinse off.
G
Guest
Guest
Good report and sounds like a nice trip...thanks for the report..<br /><br />Sounds like a good setup too. <br /><br />Thanks,<br />Bri
