End of Second Day

7/20/19  Last minute preparations always seem to be needed. Concerns about a loud tire lead to realizing I had bad wear pattern which lead to replacing a ball joint and control arm (remember that pothole I hit in the Yukon?) and then new tires and an alignment. I hate the sucking sound from the wallet but very happy to avoid on-the-road problems. After finishing up all the work related obligations and prepping the house for work to be done while we are gone… we are in the last days before departure. Freezing the semi prepared meals and going over lists. “Glamping” is what we are doing. Camper trips are comfortable because the amenities are brought along though thought out for weight and storage size. That said it is pretty cushy. Yes to take a shower one has to fill the bag and lay it out in the sun for an hour…. hang up the solar shower and it is better than wonderful. Hot water and cool breezes. I love tent camping but knowing one has a queen sized bed and no wet gear to break down makes a long trip comfortable. Once on the road we will do as Thoreau said, “avoid all activities which require a change of clothing”. Simplify.

I don’t like road barns… those monster take it all with you and run a generator to watch a wide screen TV “camping” vehicles called RV’s. There is nothing camping about them and they are a  waste of our National Park upkeep dollars providing a place for a person to park their MacMansion on wheels. It is nuts. Parking lots like at an airport or a mall so people can visit the great outdoors? Wrong. A camping space for a passenger car is all that should be provided. Otherwise stay at a lodge or hotel.

See I like blogs…I get to rant.

The plan is to head to route 9 that goes from Bangor ME. to New Brunswick, Canadian border. There are forestry wilderness campsites along the Machias River about halfway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machias_River
No signs but they are there. Boondock sites. On a river… even has a table and a fire pit which we no doubt will not be using if they weather report is right. Rain. No fun for the first night out but we will make do.

As we haven’t even left yet I thought I’d post some photos of the interior of the camper for those new to this way of traveling. It is a Four Wheel Camper. One of four companies who make light weight pop up campers for truck beds. There are short small ones, midsize ones (ours) and bigger ones for the larger American pickups. It’s all about weight and the engine power to carry it safely. Our started out on our Toyota Tacoma 4 cylinder manual gas engine truck. We did a lot of flapping our arms trying to et up hills in 3rd gear but it did okay. It is now on a mini diesel that has a lot of (torque) ability to handle the speed and hills.

One can buy them as a shell for you to build your own insides or one can have a ‘build’ with as many of the options you want. After getting it and using the camper I tore out a lot of how it was configured and rebuilt it to suit our needs. They call that “mods” on the websites. The best website (IMO) out there for people who like to travel to quiet backroad places usually requiring 4WD and equipment to get unstuck, is call “Wander the West” (WTW). It is a polite helpful collection of people who truly love getting away from the crowds. They champion “pack in pack out” mentality and are generally naturalists. I have learned more from the sharing of ideas and project help with these folks then anywhere else and I am very thankful to many.

How the camper looks inside now is nothing like how it was when we bought it (California… very few out east). There is a fridge/freezer, 20 gallon fresh water tank with counter top pump, a propane thermostat heater with fan, a marine portal potty, a counter top two burner propane stove, two roof vents one with a fan, Lithium Battery charged by 260 Watts solar panels, USB charging as well as 110 V with inverter, a pull out queen size bed, a two seat dinette with table, LED lighting inside and out, screens on all windows, a screen door and folding stairs to enter and exit. The front window can open to access the sliding window in the truck to store things without exiting the camper. On the roof, which has gas struts to assist in popping up the top, there are Yakima racks for two canoes as well as an aluminum rack which carries ‘sand mats’ …used for getting out of mud, deep sand or crossing ruts. There is a compressor to air up or down tires for off road travel as well as a tire patch kit and 3 ton jack. Two Kermit folding chairs to sit outside and on this trip, as well as for the AK trip, we have a large screen house to set up if we stay for a few days so not to be eaten alive by bugs outside the camper. Just added two no-see-ums screened floor vents so the dog has air on her bed.

It really is a compact, safe way to enjoy being in the boonies. We also carry a separate GPS unit with bluetooth to iPad for offline topo-maps and routing. No need for cell coverage. It is so cool. A minimalist’s way to travel as a geezer. A cold beer out of the fridge in the evening or a hot pot of coffee in the morning.