Sweeney
Administrator
Executive Summary: Were not to stay when heading to the nest, where to eat when you get there too early and a great place for dinner. Driving impressions, and fuel economy are better than expected overall. VERY cool coincidence.
November 11'th, we started our trip north, staying at the Baymont on the west side of Madison. Worst...Hotel....Ever. The rooms where clean, but the first floor smelled what I would anticipate an indian restaurant built in a former morgue would smell like. Fabreeze just made it angry. The place stunk. The management didn't seem concerned.
The 12'th was pickup day arrived! We checked out of the hotel, we left as soon as we woke up. Making a quick pass through the dells (I had never been there) and were still about an hour early. Sadly, the local restaurants were either still closed, or closed for the season. We found ourselves at "The Family Affair" restaurant in Friendship....simple menu, but everyone was friendly. Kind of the typical greek/armenian place. Simple, Good, and friendly.
Arriving at CampInn, our delivery went pretty much as expected --- Carry and I spent as much time discussing airplanes and flying as we did the camper. But, everything was fine...as expected.
They allowed us to linger in the delivery area with 2 cans of Collenite 885 paste wax....It took 2 of us about 2 hours (we didn't time it) to put on a coat, haze , and wipe it down --- the wax went on easy and was a little hard to remove if it dried too long, just as has been reporeted. A buffer would have been awesome --- but a half dozen microfiber towels did the trick...and when it was done it looked great!!!
It was raining, and about 35 degrees,with flurries....We didn't even try to cook . The last time I was in Necedah, I found a great pizza joint --- Chicago style thin crust. I thought it was "The dirty turtle" -- it wasn't. But, we still had a really good pizza. Not exactly "on plan" in our diet...but some times, you have to say "What the heck" Dirty Turtle --- you'll have a great yelp/google review coming soon.
The Furnace was a great winter addition. While awake, it could easily toast us out. Overnight, we had to play with the temperature setting a little bit to find the 'sweet spot' -- but I am glad we have it in the winter but suspect I will miss the storage in the summer. Pick your poison wisely
November 13'th -- we departed early -- hovering right at freezing we decided to just pack up, hook up, and make a run for it. We were gone before the neighbors who were there overnight as well were moving. Too bad, I wanted to see his "Foamie"
For the drive part:
1] 70mph wasn't a problem, I could do it --- but it started to feel a little 'heavy' - 65 seems to be the sweet spot with this towing combination. How I determine that is by turning off the cruise and not looking at the spedo --and I wait a few miles...seeing where I naturally find myself. 65. Perfectly acceptable for travel in my opinion.
2] Economy -- the Rav4 shows only tank averages or trip averages -- it doesn't look like a huge difference in economy between 65 and 70. 1-2 mpg maybe? But there was a small drop. Hard to tell until you do a fulll "test loop". My economy was better than I expected....around 26.
3] Feel -- except for the weight, which you will feel in "sluggishness" in acceleration, I never felt the trailer behind me. Hill climbing, I slowed down a bit just to lessen the stress on the drive train. But, being passed by trucks felt no different than when I was driving without the camper. I didn't feel any side sway or instability of any kind.
Saving what I think the best for last. I've stated in this forum a number of times, I have owned a camp inn before. Currently, it is in Louisiana after we sold it. Serial Number 518. While doing the walk through, we checked the serial number on the new model 1038. For those who are opposed to doing math in your head...1038/2 = 518. Cary swears it is wierd coincidence. I'm not 100% sure...but its still a cool coincidence, or shows an amazing attention to detail by a company. I'll take either one, but suspect a little of both.
In the nest, I saw several of your campers
I can't recall but I saw the Tuesday delivery ... you're going to love it
November 11'th, we started our trip north, staying at the Baymont on the west side of Madison. Worst...Hotel....Ever. The rooms where clean, but the first floor smelled what I would anticipate an indian restaurant built in a former morgue would smell like. Fabreeze just made it angry. The place stunk. The management didn't seem concerned.
The 12'th was pickup day arrived! We checked out of the hotel, we left as soon as we woke up. Making a quick pass through the dells (I had never been there) and were still about an hour early. Sadly, the local restaurants were either still closed, or closed for the season. We found ourselves at "The Family Affair" restaurant in Friendship....simple menu, but everyone was friendly. Kind of the typical greek/armenian place. Simple, Good, and friendly.
Arriving at CampInn, our delivery went pretty much as expected --- Carry and I spent as much time discussing airplanes and flying as we did the camper. But, everything was fine...as expected.
They allowed us to linger in the delivery area with 2 cans of Collenite 885 paste wax....It took 2 of us about 2 hours (we didn't time it) to put on a coat, haze , and wipe it down --- the wax went on easy and was a little hard to remove if it dried too long, just as has been reporeted. A buffer would have been awesome --- but a half dozen microfiber towels did the trick...and when it was done it looked great!!!
It was raining, and about 35 degrees,with flurries....We didn't even try to cook . The last time I was in Necedah, I found a great pizza joint --- Chicago style thin crust. I thought it was "The dirty turtle" -- it wasn't. But, we still had a really good pizza. Not exactly "on plan" in our diet...but some times, you have to say "What the heck" Dirty Turtle --- you'll have a great yelp/google review coming soon.
The Furnace was a great winter addition. While awake, it could easily toast us out. Overnight, we had to play with the temperature setting a little bit to find the 'sweet spot' -- but I am glad we have it in the winter but suspect I will miss the storage in the summer. Pick your poison wisely
November 13'th -- we departed early -- hovering right at freezing we decided to just pack up, hook up, and make a run for it. We were gone before the neighbors who were there overnight as well were moving. Too bad, I wanted to see his "Foamie"
For the drive part:
1] 70mph wasn't a problem, I could do it --- but it started to feel a little 'heavy' - 65 seems to be the sweet spot with this towing combination. How I determine that is by turning off the cruise and not looking at the spedo --and I wait a few miles...seeing where I naturally find myself. 65. Perfectly acceptable for travel in my opinion.
2] Economy -- the Rav4 shows only tank averages or trip averages -- it doesn't look like a huge difference in economy between 65 and 70. 1-2 mpg maybe? But there was a small drop. Hard to tell until you do a fulll "test loop". My economy was better than I expected....around 26.
3] Feel -- except for the weight, which you will feel in "sluggishness" in acceleration, I never felt the trailer behind me. Hill climbing, I slowed down a bit just to lessen the stress on the drive train. But, being passed by trucks felt no different than when I was driving without the camper. I didn't feel any side sway or instability of any kind.
Saving what I think the best for last. I've stated in this forum a number of times, I have owned a camp inn before. Currently, it is in Louisiana after we sold it. Serial Number 518. While doing the walk through, we checked the serial number on the new model 1038. For those who are opposed to doing math in your head...1038/2 = 518. Cary swears it is wierd coincidence. I'm not 100% sure...but its still a cool coincidence, or shows an amazing attention to detail by a company. I'll take either one, but suspect a little of both.
In the nest, I saw several of your campers
I can't recall but I saw the Tuesday delivery ... you're going to love it 
