Shaking it Down in the High Country

Great post - your photos are lovely, and I appreciated the travelogue. Camping in Colorado is a retirement dream for me (still 8 - 10 years away), so it's interesting to read your tale. Enjoy your new R-Pod!

The camp ground is very sparse.  I understand that they had to cut all the trees down because of the beetle problem.  The surrounding area is still very beautiful and with temps in the 60's during the day, the lack of tree cover wasn't terrible.

Great pictures!! Looks like a great time!!

We took our 171 out for the first time over the weekend.  We've tent camped both in Florida and here in Colorado, but this is our first travel trailer.  There are quite a few RV's in our family and we've had the pleasure to camp with our family on many occasions.  However, camping with someone in their RV and being responsible for everything are not the same

We picked State Forest State Park in the high country in Northwestern Colorado, because it's fairly close to home and the park is known for moose sightings, hiking, fishing, etc. 

The drive was beautiful and we really tested the towing capabilities of our Jeep as we pull over Cameron Pass.  Colorado Hwy 14 is a winding route that follows the Cache La Poudre River through some spectacular canyons and over a pass that is less than a thousand feet lower in elevation than the Eisenhower Tunnel on I70.  There is no need to be in a hurry on this route, as the max speed limit we encountered was 45mph.  The low speeds helped us with fuel economy also, which clocked it at 16.6 mpg for the round trip.  I would say that about 100 miles were on the interstate and the rest was a nice low speed hike through the mountains.  We opted for sway control on the Jeep and pulling the trailer was a smooth experience.



We set camp at Bockman Campground in State Forest State Park.  The site has fire rings, a nice flat pad for the camper, and vault toilets.  Otherwise, it was pretty rustic, exactly what we were looking for including the one message I love to see on my phone when I want to get away.




We found the 171 to be very comfortable on this short trip.  My son used the dinette bed and grumbled some about the cushions, but he seemed to sleep fine.  Easily accessible storage space was at a premium, but I think we have a solution for that.  We removed the microwave when we got home and it seems like we will have quite a bit more space available when we go out next week.  We intend to boondock in the R-Pod and don't plan to haul a generator along with us to run the microwave.

Backing into our spot had to give our camp neighbors a chuckle, but we did get it parked (eventually).  I guess you have to start somewhere.   



It did get a bit chilly at night and both my wife and my son felt cold in the camper the first night.  I set the thermostat to 60 on the second night and everyone was comfortable.  I've read more than a few posts talking about how the heater will drain the battery and I was concerned about how using the heater would work out.  I think I may look at an alternative to the built in furnace in the future.  My solar panel kept the battery topped off, but I haven't hooked up my inverter yet to support devices that will likely suck more power from the battery. 

We did find that we can charge a cell phone from the stereo, as long as you turn on the unit and select USB as a source.  One of the main reasons I initially considered for installing an inverter was to allow phone charging.  Phones drain quickly if you don't put them in airplane mode when there is no service.





We were able to go fishing at a small reservoir near the campground (didn't catch anything) and we found a few easy hiking trails nearby. 

Overall, the trip was a ton of fun and the trailer performed wonderfully for us.  We forgot lots of things that we should have brought with us at home, but nothing that was truly essential.   I think we learned a few things that will make our next trip even better and maybe we'll do a better job backing the trailer up next time too.