New to teardrop-life & excited to be here -- any Denver-area CI owners?

D

DannyandEmily

Newbie
Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp? :)

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny
 
DannyandEmily said:
Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp? :)

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny
Click to expand...
Be sure to call Cary at Camp-Inn and let him know you are purchasing it. He can help you with all kinds of helpful info, including about your specific trailer. He and Craig are the best when it comes to customer service. It doesn't matter that you are buying it used. Give him a call.

If you have the time, a trip back to Necedah would be the best place to take it for a checkup and to have it thoroughly gone over.

You live in one of the best states to visit (I've been wanting to visit Ouray in the fall for a while now) although I've never camped there. Any of the National or state parks in Utah are great spots to visit. I've taken mine to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Yosemite many times, as well as some one offs.

Good luck and Enjoy!
 
DannyandEmily said:
Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp? :)

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny
Click to expand...
If a paper copy of the manual for your year doesn’t come with your CI they are available free as a pdf or low cost as paper from tinycamper.com. Here is the oldest pdf version, came out in 2012

Tip 2; read everything you can find at that website. Especially the FAQs!

Tip 3; read this whole forum. More realistically, search is your friend. There are centuries of camping experience on this forum!

I expect you’ll really enjoy getting your bed off the ground, out of the wind and weather, not to mention running water, a stove, countertops, and storage!
 
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DannyandEmily said:
Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp? :)

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny
Click to expand...
Welcome!

There are so many great places to camp in the West you could spend twenty years and still be exploring.

Imho the most important thing to do is just get out there and enjoy it...the Campinn has some nice features that make it glamorous camping on two wheels..." glamping" but for many of us, its just camping off the ground...and many of us moved up just like you, from backpacking, car camping, a small towed trailer, like a tent trailer
and the CampInn is the next and last luxury step: the all in one very well built reliable cozy land yacht thats easy to maintain, store in garage and just load and go.

So just go with "keep it simple" like camping and dont sweat the small stuff, you'll pick up all the ins and outs as you go, and make it yours.

There is a temptation to gear up and have everything and its common after 2-3 years to the be in the stage of what can I leave behind, do less hauling, to just enjoy being outdoors.

So save some time and money and learn how to safely hook up, run the brakes, back into a parking spot, safely chock it for the night, hook up to electric and thats it:
so thats your setup and take down...easier then unloading the car and setting up a tent if you dont need all the accessories...and pop the galley hatch for coffee and breakfast, without unloading stove, coolers, utensils, pots and pans etc etc all that clutter you carried in your pack or car trunk...its all organized in one place. When you are done, wash your dishes, close the hatch...pop a cold one and watch the Milky Way wheel overhead...its big sky country and many Dark Sky areas you can see the whole universe above you...vs shut up in a forest.

There are a couple good "checklists" for what to do before leaving, and I'd always say read the owners manual twice as thats got more tips.

As to where to go - in SWUS...

I recently read about the "Grand Circle" tour:

rjourney.com

Grand Circle RV Road Trip: Horseshoe Bend to Bryce to Zion

Grand Circle RV road trip: a 10-day itinerary anchored at three RJourney parks (Roam Horseshoe Bend, Bryce Canyon RV Resort, Cedar City) for Zion access.
rjourney.com rjourney.com

After that my advice is just
Start by using the search function here and reading old posts on anything of interest.
20+ years of archives is pure gold and will help you ask more good questions.

So many helpful folks here who will share.
Have fun!
 
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There is a great resource you should find. Look for your local "Tearjerkers" and start making some friends. Tearjerkers.net is once place to look as well as on facebook. The only trouble I see is that Denver (Rocky Mountain Chapter) does not have a director -- the guy who organizes such things.

Now...if yhou are the type :) I am sure directors from other chapters would be willing to give advice how to do it. I've seen those who simply pick a park and show up and others who put on a spread similar to the CICO. Our hoosier chapter is more like that. Andy does a fantastic job of putting together monthly trips, even teaming with other chapters in the area (bluegrass (KY)) and doing large multi-state gatherings.
 
JohnC said:
Be sure to call Cary at Camp-Inn and let him know you are purchasing it. He can help you with all kinds of helpful info, including about your specific trailer. He and Craig are the best when it comes to customer service. It doesn't matter that you are buying it used. Give him a call.

If you have the time, a trip back to Necedah would be the best place to take it for a checkup and to have it thoroughly gone over.

You live in one of the best states to visit (I've been wanting to visit Ouray in the fall for a while now) although I've never camped there. Any of the National or state parks in Utah are great spots to visit. I've taken mine to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Yosemite many times, as well as some one offs.

Good luck and Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much and appreciate the insight!
 
SethB said:
If a paper copy of the manual for your year doesn’t come with your CI they are available free as a pdf or low cost as paper from tinycamper.com. Here is the oldest pdf version, came out in 2012

Tip 2; read everything you can find at that website. Especially the FAQs!

Tip 3; read this whole forum. More realistically, search is your friend. There are centuries of camping experience on this forum!

I expect you’ll really enjoy getting your bed off the ground, out of the wind and weather, not to mention running water, a stove, countertops, and storage!
Click to expand...
Thank you! Yes we have the owner's manual and lots of other documentation to review, thankfully!
 
The Postman said:
Welcome!

There are so many great places to camp in the West you could spend twenty years and still be exploring.

Imho the most important thing to do is just get out there and enjoy it...the Campinn has some nice features that make it glamorous camping on two wheels..." glamping" but for many of us, its just camping off the ground...and many of us moved up just like you, from backpacking, car camping, a small towed trailer, like a tent trailer
and the CampInn is the next and last luxury step: the all in one very well built reliable cozy land yacht thats easy to maintain, store in garage and just load and go.

So just go with "keep it simple" like camping and dont sweat the small stuff, you'll pick up all the ins and outs as you go, and make it yours.

There is a temptation to gear up and have everything and its common after 2-3 years to the be in the stage of what can I leave behind, do less hauling, to just enjoy being outdoors.

So save some time and money and learn how to safely hook up, run the brakes, back into a parking spot, safely chock it for the night, hook up to electric and thats it:
so thats your setup and take down...easier then unloading the car and setting up a tent if you dont need all the accessories...and pop the galley hatch for coffee and breakfast, without unloading stove, coolers, utensils, pots and pans etc etc all that clutter you carried in your pack or car trunk...its all organized in one place. When you are done, wash your dishes, close the hatch...pop a cold one and watch the Milky Way wheel overhead...its big sky country and many Dark Sky areas you can see the whole universe above you...vs shut up in a forest.

There are a couple good "checklists" for what to do before leaving, and I'd always say read the owners manual twice as thats got more tips.

As to where to go - in SWUS...

I recently read about the "Grand Circle" tour:

rjourney.com

Grand Circle RV Road Trip: Horseshoe Bend to Bryce to Zion

Grand Circle RV road trip: a 10-day itinerary anchored at three RJourney parks (Roam Horseshoe Bend, Bryce Canyon RV Resort, Cedar City) for Zion access.
rjourney.com rjourney.com

After that my advice is just
Start by using the search function here and reading old posts on anything of interest.
20+ years of archives is pure gold and will help you ask more good questions.

So many helpful folks here who will share.
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Great advice to not overthink it at the start and iterate as you go! Thanks so much for the insights.
 
3 things come to mind.

Minimize What you Bring

The biggest thing I struggled with was having too much to do. It's super easy to start adding things. One suggestion is that, for the first season, every time you put something in the camper, you put a small piece of blue painter's tape on it. When you use it...take off the tape.

At some point, perhaps at the end of season 2, if something has tape on it -- you probably don't need it. Exceptions: Fire Extinguisher and a basic toolbox. Having a set of wrenches and a socket set saved my bacon more than once! T

If you read my campers' confessional post from this morning. That was one of the bad situations -- if I didn't have those tools, it would have been a very bad weekend. Fortunately, campings are extremely well made, and problems like this are not that common thanks to a very simple (but elegant!) design. This is the first time I've had a problem like this.

Maximize the adventure

What are your "goals" - are you staying more or less local, or will you be doing long trips frequently? When trip planning - especially on long trips, and I am TERRIBLE at this, is to find reasons to slow down. Get-there-itis really hurts the fun. Places like AtlasObscura can lead you to some fun places. Search counties -- many fun spots exist off the beaten path. Like this one!

Eliminate the Stress

Communication and expectation setting...our ground rules:

1] We start our day early, but not too early - either stopping for breakfast or making something quick.
2] Bathroom breaks need to be communicated clearly. Stop at that McDonald's. Not, If you use something, I need to stop.
3] On the road, dining can be as simple as a rest stop and opening the galley, or finding a local restaurant that appreciates your business. Finding local businesses is a great way to support small businesses....and they appreciate it!
4] We do everything we can to be off the road at 5pm. At 3, the non-driver is looking. Or better, the night before you pick a spot. When we travel the same route, we know where we'll probably stop - I'll schedule those in advance.
5] Order of preference for night stops: Attempt to be 5-10 miles off the main highway, county parks, state parks, are best. Then, KOA's and private campgrounds. Mostly KOAs for convenience. Read reviews - there have been stops we wish we had passed on.
6] Exceptions to any and all rules are possible, but it must be agreed upon in advance, for example travling until 8 if that means we get home....but either party in the car has full veto power.
 
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