bugsy running on lone rock beach with the airstream and f-150 in the background

Where we started…

J and I love to travel. We’ve been all over the world on one- or two-week vacations, but our dream for many years has been to take a camper across the US for a few months and see more of our own country. The US is so big that unless you have a lot of time to explore, all you can really do is hop to individual destinations (usually cities) one vacation at a time. We want to have the flexibility to really explore, especially among the natural wonders out West. Getting time off work to do a long driving trip is tricky… but recently the stars have aligned and late this winter we’ll be setting off on our cross country adventure with our trusty sidekick, Bugsy.

Initially the plan was to get a popup or ultralight camper that we could tow behind our Volvo XC, which can tow up to 3000 lbs. We liked rpods and Aliners for their light weight, fun styling, and quality construction. And how cool are these Cricket Trailers? The more we imagined spending day after day after day (with a hotel break sprinkled in here and there) crawling over each other in a teeny tiny camper, however, the more we wondered if we should shoot a little bigger.

So we got a new tow vehicle…

f150

in order to pull a heavier trailer–around 12,000 lbs. And then we started dreaming about Airstreams.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, right? Might as well do it up.

We’re going to pull the trigger on the trailer soon.

Comments

3 responses to “Where we started…”

  1. Tom Sellman Avatar
    Tom Sellman

    Some good information – thanks!

  2. Alice Lee Avatar
    Alice Lee

    Hi from Canada. We’re in the same situation where we have traveled the world but still have a dream of going on road trips across North America. We also went through the same process during our search for a RV except we started off with a Fiat 500 (that can only tow a bicycle) and upgraded to a Honda Ridgeline. We also landed on an Airstream Sport 16 as towing anything bigger was scary and daunting. We’re not big people and ok with being in close quarters. Therefore we believe Sport 16 will work for us on short and months long road trips. I was curious if you had any camping/camp sites experience before you embarked on your RV travels. Most people have told us to try out a RV before taking the plunge on a purchase (too late). I’ve never camped myself and my main worry is more around noise and being able to sleep well at the campsites. Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts on this issue.

    1. bugsy Avatar

      Hi Alice! Yeah, we didn’t try out an RV before buying either! It’s worked out well for us so far! We hadn’t done any camping inside a vehicle before, just tent camping, and we haven’t had any issues with outside noise in our Airstream. We do run white noise apps on our phones while we sleep (but we do that at home too, so it might be more of an addiction thing). Campgrounds tend to be very quiet (quiet hours are generally from 10 to 7) but are often very close to highways–usually the traffic noise is also kind of a white noise. We’ve found neighbors to be considerate. Our recommendation is to do some practice trips at campgrounds close to home and experiment with white noise or ear plugs if needed and find what works for you before setting sail on a longer trip. Good luck and happy travels!!!

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