Wow. What a week. At this time last week we didn’t have a quote on putting in our Sanderling driveway. Now the basic drive is in and awaiting surface material (road base or decomposed granite) and erosion-control retaining walls. Lot of work to do over the Summer, but we can get on the lot! The excitement didn’t end there: We bought an RV trailer.
Arctic Fox trailer logo (Dealer photo)
It is a 2000 Arctic Fox 26X model, bumper pull . This unit has a kitchen-area bump-out and rear bedroom. The basic design has not changed over the years, with the exception of the front window. (Newer units don’t have one, this one does.) We don’t have the recliner shown at the left edge of the slide-out, or the TV on the cabinet near the main entry door.
Floor Plan (Dealer photo)
While looking over the rig we found it already has 3 solar panels (total of 60 watts) mounted on the roof to help charge/maintain the twin batteries. The trailer comes with 2 each 30 pound propane tanks instead of the standard 20 pound units.
Trailer – entrance side view (Dealer photo)
Bump-out / slide (Dealer photo)
Manufacturer web site, which has more interior and construction details, is: http://www.northwoodmfg.com/index.php?page=makeindex&make=arctic&type=traveltrailer
We spent last Wednesday looking at RV lots in Grand Junction and saw some very nice — but very expensive — units. We looked at toy haulers but eventually ruled them out as they are not “4 season” rated. (4-season trailers have furnaces and methods to heat the fresh water and holding tanks, allowing RV use later in the Fall and earlier in the Spring. Since the trailer will be parked at 9,600 feet elevation, we decided the 4-season rating outweighed the transport and storage area a toy hauler offers.) Five RV lots and a dozen or so trailer tours later, we realized we wanted a used unit with a living room slide that was reasonably priced. Which is pretty much what we purchased.
The trailer comes to De Beque this Friday. The dealer, Humphrey RV and Trailer, is replacing the carpet in the bedroom, testing all the systems, and cleaning and detailing the trailer. (It has just come in on trade when we looked at it and had not been “gone through” yet.) Price: $8,600.00 plus tax and licensing. Our thought is we can spend weekends and vacations in the trailer for the next several years. While the RV purchase expense takes away from our long-term home construction budget, it saves hotel/motel fees, gives us a place to cook meals, and provides sanitary facilities on-site. ($100 per night for motel stays x 20 mountain visits per year = $2,000 annually for motel fees without the RV.)
We have window where spice rack is shown, different flooring. (Dealer photo)
Hm-m-m-m, transport. Our next challenge will be getting the trailer to the lot. We’re going to borrow a neighbor’s truck to make the initial trip from dealer to De Beque and, once on the mountain lot, use the Scout to tow the rig to and from the RV dump station. The Elkhorn Ranch dump station is about 15 miles away (provided by our homeowner’s fees); that’s where we’ll dump the grey and black water tanks. Experience will dictate how often that needs to be done. (Grey water is kitchen and shower water, black is toilet.) Now, how to get the RV from De Beque to the mountain lot is still in the works. Biggest problem is to make sure transport vehicles used have electric brakes; a controller costs about $130.00 and will need to be purchased and installed in the Scout to ensure safe braking to and from the dump station. If we end up getting a pickup, the brake controller will be relocated to it. (I can dream about the pickup.)
The “fun” part is making lists of what we need to put in the trailer. A 2nd tea kettle, linens, pots, pans, cooking gear…neither of us has camped in a long time, and it will undoubtedly takes us a few outings to get everything we need. Us and the 3 dogs…should be a hoot. Oh yes, an outside containment area for the dogs is on the list too.
A 10 by 12 foot storage shed will need to be erected fairly quickly. We need a place to store the chain saw, portable generator, and other equipment we will be using to clean up the lot, work on retaining walls, and landscaping where necessary. We are in for an active Summer!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
Please notice on the Arctic Fox 26X floor plan [above ] the bedroom is on the far end of the RV — with the bathroom between the bedroom and the living area– featuring two doors enclosing the bathroom. Two doors and two thin walls may not be much to shut out the sound of Jer’s snoring, but it sure beats some of the other RV floor plans we walked through. I’ll take it.
The “fun” just keeps rolling on. The lumber yard/hardware store in Grand Junction had it’s 20% off everything sale yesterday. Had to send Mr. Fields over for various items to be used on the lot. Where the heck we’ll store them between now and then is open to discussion.
Ties, gates, pavers, drain pipe…all to be used on our Sanderling lot.
Good thing I squirreled away and stored what money I could through the winter, because the $$$ are sure flowing out this month. The IRS gets their cut next month too.