Leela
When traveling, we found that traveling with Ricardo, our larger fifth wheel with slides, to be cumbersome. Setting the camper up takes a bit more effort because of the slides, they add weight which makes it harder to pull in the mountains, and slides also mean that when you're on the road, you only have access to your entire camper when it's parked. Plus, a longer camper is harder to find a spot when traveling. Ironically, when we were on the road, we found that we really missed our original camper, Maria, because of these reasons.
So, we purchased Leela, which is the smallest camper we own. It is a A 24' bunk house with no slides, and in-general is laid out much like Maria, only with more-modern features, a better bed/couch setup than Maria could have, and better storage capacities, even though it's shorter than Maria.
Leela is an all-season rig, with a basic (but growing) solar setup, a DC fridge, and surprisingly enough, an outdoor kitchen. but the size comes at a cost - some of the extra comforts that Charlie and Ricardo offer, such as a dedicated desk, a private room, or reclining chairs. In-spite of these limitations, I find that I feel most "at home" in this rig, mostly because it's so similar to our original setup that we lived in for the first couple years of full-timing.
They’re hunting squirrels, again. I think they may be disappointed to find this spot doesn’t have nearly as many as Shenandoah or Lake Hartwell 😅. That being said, the acorns are definitely still falling, so maybe they’ll get some action.
I just did the single longest drive with a camper in-tow we've ever done. We went 680 miles, starting in Hartwell GA, and parking for the day in Lafayette, LA. I do not enjoy staying in Mississippi Alabama, or Georgia based on previous experiences in these places, so we decided to rip off the Band-Aid and skip all of that in our drive to TX this year. 10/10, would drive again.
That’s a wrap for this summer! Starting our trip back to Texas this week. We have a few fun stops along the way, including the Smokies, the Poconos, and Shenandoah.
I love this little camper so much. It’s not the most comfortable setup long term, but it’s small, easy to haul, and ready for adventure. a real “camper’s camper”, if you will.
Seems silly to have a camper that’s basically dedicated to camping when you literally live in campers full time, but it’s an optimization which I do not regret.
We've cleared most of our belongings leftover in our storage shed in Dover. I have 4 solar panels that I need to either sell, store, or use. I have our travel rig with me right now, so I'm thinking it's time to mount them to the roof. I think I can get all 4 mounted, but it's going to be reeeeeeeeally tight. Hoping I can because 1200w on this rig would be amazing.
We decided to take the travel rig, and spend a few weeks in my hometown in Ohio. It was time to mix things up a bit, and we have some a storage shed full of our house stuff that we don’t really want anymore. It’s time to get rid of it. Naturally, we’re going to visit with family and the like while we’re here, too.
Omg. My bed. I'm back in my bed. It's a crappy camper mattress, but dammit, it's my bed! We're starting our 3 day drive back to Vermont tomorrow. So tonight, I'm not doin' anything but playing video games while laying on this hard, hard mattress of mine.
We took some photos of the stunning Gros Morne national park and will post a blog post when we're stateside again.
Taking a pit stop just before going into Canada. Since we have no slides we are able to use our full camper, including the kitchen and the comforts of home. It's easily my favorite thing about traveling without slides. I lay in a bed, Devin plays with his toys, and Kate sits at the dining table. It's nice.
