LIVING IN THE BED OF A PICKUP : What went right!...........and what didn't

After working three weeks on our camper, almost every day, we decided that we needed to take it out for another test run before our road trip. We had done a lot. We tore out the bathroom and installed storage shelves where it had been, we put in a new shelf toward the front, we repaired two access doors to the wheel wells, we put up handles so we could safely get into and out of bed at night since it's a loooooong way to the floor, we got a plumber to make it so we could use our water storage tank, our sink, and empty used water into what formerly was a dump tank. We installed hardware to use our new jacks, and we put in two new tie downs so the camper would be more securely held onto the pickup. We put on new window shades and caulked the entire camper.

Oh yes, and we repaired the right rear end of the camper that had sustained a lot of water damage and so was basically falling off the camper.

Here is the "before" photo of that section:

Here is how it looked after it was shored up inside. We added steel braces to the outside of the corner to strengthen it even more. Good thing we did, as you will find out later.

Here we are happily working away.

Removing the old bathroom:

Building a storage closet in its place:

Adding a storage shelf at the front:

Painting the wood used to shore up the underside and right rear side:

Vicky's "new look:" Like it?

Vicky caulking. Her least desirable job:

Installing additional tie downs and the lifts for the new jacks:

We went to the Kalaloch campgrounds on the Peninsula. After consulting the weather forecasts, we found there was a one-day window of nice weather. The campground was open, but we learned after getting there that it had no hookups for water or for electricity. At first we were a little chagrined, but then realized that this would provide a better test of the water, battery, and propane systems for those times when we had to "rough it." When we have electricity and water hookups, we don't have to use propane, the lights and pumps in the camper, or our own water system. It's hard to predict how often we will have full hookups and how often we won't, since we will be traveling in the off season.

Just in case the campgrounds didn't have water hookups, I had filled our water reservoir before we left. We found a beautiful spot right on the ocean. Here is a photo that was taken right after we parked in our spot.

THIS is what it's all about, don't you think?

So how did it go?

First, we'll start with what went right.

There were no water leaks, pretty good for a 41-year-old camper. That's a biggie. It was constructed well, with a a one-piece fiberglass top that extends down the sides that eliminates seams that could leak. And we would know if there were water leaks because it rained on us, heavily at times, driving down to the campsite on our first day, and all night and all day of our third day when we were packing up to leave and driving home. We won't have a better test than this.

The propane system worked well. We cooked on the stove and in the oven. We also used the furnace and the gas light (until I broke it, that is).

The water system worked well. We could turn on the sink and have running water. We could wash in the sink, pull the plug, and empty the used water into the storage tank. No leaks.

We fixed the stairs into the camper, and have an idea for making them even more secure.

We made long lists of things we needed and how to store our supplies.

Now, on to what didn't go so well.

I had a pretty scary experience. On our first morning we decided we'd take a walk on the beach. On the stairs down to it we passed a sign that said that no swimming or wading was allowed because logs could roll in. Fine. I'm not up for swimming or wading in freezing water anyway. We could see that the tide was coming in, but that there was about 30 feet of dry sand before the beach ended with a huge collection of large logs. It looked like we had plenty of room to spare before the waves would make our feet wet. This photo shows similar logs at a different spot on the beach.

We had just stepped over them, planning on walking up the beach for a ways, when Vicky tapped me on the shoulder, pointing to a huge wave that was bearing down on us. We started running, but I was behind her and didn't make it through the logs.

The water lifted me and the logs as if they were toothpicks and slammed us all together. When the water ran out, they were pulled back with the tide and over me. I was trapped in a position where I couldn't move. My right leg was caught between two logs, both about 15 inches in diameter. It hurt. And I was bent over backwards, so couldn't plant my other foot to get upright to try to free myself. Surprisingly, I had stayed upright through all of that--I attribute this to having quick feet from dancing. I don't know if that's true or not, but it makes me feel better.

Vicky yelled for help, then lifted me to a better position so I could see if I could free my leg. I couldn't. I handed her my camera case, not wanting it to get wet. (odd what you think about at those times--and then later that day spilled coffee on it anyway).

Some people at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach heard Vicky yelling and came down to help. The woman dialed 911. The big worry was another huge wave since I wasn't in a position to protect myself, with my back to the sea.

How did I get out? Before the men got there, Vicky went to the end of the log (a good 10 feet long and 15 inches wide, knelt down, and lifted it about two inches--enough for me to free myself. It wasn't as heavy as a newly-felled tree log would be, but it wasn't light either.

And then we ran for the stairs.

The people at the top had been sitting there for about an hour watching the tide coming in. They saw the big wave, the biggest they had seen that morning, and said to themselves they hoped we would be OK. That's when they heard Vicky yelling. They later said that it was forecast to be one of the biggest tides of the year.

Here's me in the camper, right after. I know what you are going to say when you see this photo, so don't:

My leg:

By the next morning I had a huge knot there.

So what's the take-home point? We read the signs that were posted, and didn't see anything that looked dangerous. It was a freakish wave--none had come even close to where we were. Could we have reasonably anticipated something like this, or did it just fall into the category of what can happen when you are in the outdoors? Would I rather have something unanticipated happen while enjoying nature or, say, while taking a shower in my own home?

So while this wasn't exactly the high point of the trip, at least we were both safe. And I'll never forget the sight of watching Vicky hoisting that log. I think she could have lifted the pickup if she had needed to.

On to the other learning experiences. I wouldn't say that it was something that didn't go well, but we did learn that propane is a very wet heat. Talking to the guy in the spot next to us about it, he informed us that a gallon of propane gives off a gallon of water. What this means is that when we are cooking we need to run the exhaust fan all of the time. We also realized that even a steaming cup of coffee gives off a lot of moisture. Certainly cooking does. Plus, it is a very small area so we generate a lot of moisture from breathing.

By morning, both days, the inside of the camper was like a cold sauna. I'm not sure how we are going to handle this in the future except to run the exhaust fan a lot of the time. We were cautious with it this time because we had no idea how long our 12 volt battery in the camper would work. We decided we would purchase an additional battery so we can run off of one of them until it runs down, and then be more cautious with the second one. Problem maybe solved. Plus we learned to cover all cooking pans. And I guess we learned that I needed to put the lid on my coffee cup anyway in a small enclosure like our camper.

When we have electrical hookups this won't be an issue. We can run our electric heater and the fan much as we want to.

I also cut my left hand three times in three days--twice with a knife and once with a tool. I virtually never do this. How come? One of the many lists we made during this trip was our "to buy" one. I noticed Vicky quietly adding band aids to it. And obviously it was because of me, although she was much too nice to say so.

The other "learning experience" is a bit embarrassing--I ran into two ferries. Two. I hope this doesn't put me on some type of list.

The first time was because I was too close to the side of the ferry when I drove in. I scraped a wall that extended out about 6 inches. I felt the truck shift to the side. When I went to survey the damage I was surprised there wasn't any. I had installed 4 pieces of metal along the sides that were the lifts for the new jacks. One of those hit the wall and pushed the truck out. And didn't do any damage to the camper! I was quite impressed with the strength of the camper that it would do that.

The second time was more serious. We were the last vehicle they tried to squeeze on. We were told to hug the right side, and then at the last minute make a sharp left. Because of our previous experience, we had Vicky watching out the side to make sure this didn't happen again. The last time she looked we had 6 inches to spare. There were also two ferry workers watching us and telling us where to go and where to turn. But what we didn't know was how much the rear end swings out behind the pickup wheels. When we turned sharply to the left, we caught the jack on the right rear of the camper--the side of the camper we had fixed.

It bent the jack brace, a strong piece of hardened steel. Like the last time, but more surprisingly still, instead of the jack and brace catching and pulling the right rear corner off, the force bent the brace instead so the corner we had repaired was intact. We did a good job fixing this. I'm not impressed with my driving skills, but my carpentry ones seem to be OK.

The ferry workers felt awful, Vicky felt awful, and I felt incompetent. Accidents happen even when everyone is trying to be careful. I was impressed with the ferry worker who filled out the accident report. He was so sorry, feeling worse than he needed to have felt. He told us that the state would pay for the repairs, but that seemed silly to us. I was the driver, not the state. And like Vicky said, people are always upset because they don't try to squeeze one more person onto the ferry, and that's all they were doing--trying to get us in. We told him we weren't going to file a claim.

After we got home we found we could still lower the jack, so it was usable. Since the only purpose of that particular jack is for stability (the new ones are to provide the lift), we decided to just leave it and not try to bend the brace back. It will be a constant reminder to us that we have to be careful. That could end up being a blessing in disguise--maybe from this experience we will have learned something that could prevent a real problem. You just never know.

So, hit two ferries and no damage to the camper. We love our camper. It's a good one, even if it cost us almost nothing, needed lots of repairs, and is 40 years old and looks it.

Here are two photos of that jack before we left:

And here it is now.

We had a lot of fun. We cooked 4 great meals, learning that this is something we can do in the camper. We don't want to eat junk for 2 months, so this was important. We saw some stunning beaches, and even though one was a bit too up close and personal, the rest of them were wonderful. We also saw beautiful fall colors on the Peninsula. We took walks, ran across interesting trees, and sat around a campfire with a friendly couple parked next to us who invited us over. They had been on the road, camping much of their lives, yet were like us in that their pickup was 17 years old and their camper was 30 years old. They had gradually repaired everything like we had done. We learned a lot from them, including where we are going to spend the first night on our road trip. We hope we meet more folks like this.

When we do this for real we'll have our bikes and we'll find places to hike. The whole idea is to be outdoors and see parts of the country in ways we couldn't otherwise. We're excited.

Dinner: