Rita the Casita’s Maiden Voyage

Yesterday was my first day “home” in two weeks. By home, I mean Franklin and I’m using the term loosely at this point. Two weeks ago I headed south to my first home in Denton, GA where the Casita has been parked since I bought her. My dad has been doing a little work on her here and there trying to get her ready for me to move into. I spent a couple of days taking care of the necessary annoyances like getting insurance and a tag for her. Hint: don’t try to get a camper tag in a state where you don’t currently possess a driver’s license. Thankfully, my grandmother is also on the loan for the camper and therefore we were able to get the tags in her name for the time being. Thanks Nana!

After procuring the tags and insurance, Rita the Casita was legal to haul, if not quite ready to live in (yes, I’ve named her Rita). We’ve still got to figure out how to get the hot water heater to work, she needs a new battery soon, and we’ve still got to reinstall the floors (right now the floor is just exposed plywood). I had to be in Birmingham, Alabama Tuesday to get set up for a dock diving event. I’m going to be working with North America Diving Dogs for the next few months, traveling around and putting on competitive events. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, google it. It’s pretty cool. So Tuesday morning I loaded up, hooked up, and set out on my maiden voyage with Rita.

On the road…

Everything went pretty smoothly during the 5 hour haul from Denton to Birmingham. I purposely chose to take backroads instead of heading for the interstate. Driving on interstates is nerve-wracking when I’m not hauling a trailer. I figured I’d give myself a break and take it slow and easy.

Once in Birmingham I got set up easily. Leveling was simple and I was right beside my water and power hook-up. Unfortunately I didn’t have a sewer hookup, but that was manageable since there was a bathroom (with showers) inside the facility where we were putting on the event. Things didn’t turn out to be quite so peachy, however, once I realized that apparently the electric they had me hooked up to was not strong enough to run my camper, much less run it AND all of our event electronics at the same time. We kept tripping the breaker, causing my A/C and fridge to cut out.

My first and second nights in the Casita were a bit wild. The southeast had massive wind and thunder/lightening storms those two nights. I was mildly concerned but quickly dozed off and it never ended up being a problem. I was situated behind a large hill that I think helped block a majority of the wind.

Space management

It quickly became apparent that my biggest challenge in this little egg is going to be space management – especially with the two dogs. I’m currently brainstorming ways to block them from having access to my bed while I’m not in the camper. I’ve got the side dinette down into bed mode for them to sleep on, and I’d prefer them not to be on my bed to help keep it cleaner, longer.

I’ve also got to come up with some storage solutions. I only took what clothing I thought I’d need for this trip and I can’t help but wonder where on earth I’m going to put everything else? I’ve really got to get to work on downsizing my wardrobe and getting rid of some of my belongings.

Dumping…

Up until this trip my biggest fear was dumping my black water tank. I’d never done this before and really didn’t know what I was doing. Well, this fear turned out to not be completely unfounded as this was definitely the most annoying thing I dealt with on the first leg of this trip.

When I packed up and left Birmingham last Monday morning, I set out in search of a place to dump my tank. I was using an app called SaniDumps and it told me I could dump at a small RV lot down the road for a small fee. I pulled up there and was told that they did not indeed have a dump site, but they sent me in the direction of Camping World. Ok, that’s fine. Except that my GPS feature on my phone is apparently broken and I drove around for nearly an hour trying to find Camping World. Once there, the dump site was in a terrible location which required me to do a 5734 point turn (I’m exaggerating) to get to it. Then I went to pull the cap off the dump valve and dirty, smelly poo goo started leaking out everywhere. This isn’t supposed to happen, right?? I dunno. I just gritted my teeth and held my breath and got the sewer hose attached. From that point, things went smoothly and I was able to successfully dump the tank and get on the road. I’ve since dumped the tank again and the same thing happened. I think I have a bad seal or something that is allowing some of the liquid to get past and settle in the cap. I’ll have to address this problem.

Stop #2: Perry, GA

I finally left Birmingham after the dumping fiasco and headed to Perry, GA. I remember being in high school and during certain times of the year (October and February) I pretty much lived at the Georgia National Fairgrounds during livestock showing season. It was neat to go back there and relive some of those memories. I got to Perry and got hooked up in the late afternoon. Once again I had water and electric (thankfully this time it was a true 30 amp hookup) but no sewer hookup, but I again had access to bathroom and shower facilities on site. It was interesting to be at a dog show and do the RV thing. I’ve always gone to dog/horse/livestock shows but we always stayed in hotels. I knew lots of people who camped on site, but had never been a part of that. It was interesting to see and be involved in, especially considering that this event is HUGE. The show was the Peach Blossom Cluster, a big AKC event featuring conformation, agility, obedience, lure coursing, barn hunt, and dock diving (and probably some other dog sports I’m forgetting). There were hundreds of dogs there, and it’s always cool to get to see all the different breeds.

We were in Perry from Monday to Sunday night and I slept like a baby in the Casita. By adding the 4 inch foam topper, I’m pretty sure the bed is more comfortable than my bed at “home”. My mom came and stayed with me Friday and Saturday night, and it was obvious from the start that there was not really room for the two of us plus the two poodles in the camper. She took their bed in the side dinette and I ended up letting them sleep in the truck. Side note: my dogs are trained to “car crate”, which means basically they look at the vehicle as a crate and are comfortable sleeping there. They don’t bark or fuss while in the vehicle, just like they don’t in a crate. They frequently sleep in the truck when we car-camp so it’s not a big deal for them as long as it’s cool enough outside.

Lessons learned

1. Dumping is a pain… although I don’t think it will be so bad once I fix the leakage problem.
2. The Casita is a great camper for solo travel. I’m not sure I’d want to do it long term with another person
3. I need to carry leveling blocks. I had to borrow some at the Perry site because I couldn’t get the camper level side to side in the space I was in.
4. I’ve got to figure out some space management techniques for clothing, kitchen stuff, and bathroom supplies
5. I CAN hook up by myself, in the dark. I can also back her up with minimal issues if I just trust myself and do it.

For now, Rita and I (and the dogs) are back in Franklin. I finally got her to the mountains! I’m going to spend the next couple weeks working on moving into the camper and out of the house, getting rid of things and organizing. We head to South Carolina on the 26th and I hope to be a little more prepared/organized that trip.