Althouse: Yesterday, we seemed to have state park all to ourselves.

March 8, 2022

Yesterday, we seemed to have state park all to ourselves.

47 comments:

Paddy O said...: That's fun! What kind of popup camper is that?; 3/8/22, 9:16 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "What kind of popup camper is that?"

You can see the words on the camper: Four Wheel Pop-Up Camper.; 3/8/22, 9:20 AM
gilbar said...: you're camping in the parking lot?; 3/8/22, 9:20 AM
Ann Althouse said...: We have the slide-in model that fits into the bed of a pickup truck (with the tailgate removed). There is also a version for a flatbed truck or for a pickup without removing the tailgate.; 3/8/22, 9:23 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Is this the formal announcement or did I miss something?; 3/8/22, 9:24 AM
Wince said...: My Barbie, er, my GI Joe had one of those.; 3/8/22, 9:25 AM
Paddy O said...: I love it. That seems like a perfect balance of comfort and convenience.

Bad times for road trips--we're taking one in a few weeks ourselves--but that probably makes for more freedom on the road.; 3/8/22, 9:26 AM
Narr said...: Who is trapped inside this time?; 3/8/22, 9:27 AM
Meade said...: Extra man-points to Wince for having a Barbie er GI Joe.; 3/8/22, 9:28 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "you're camping in the parking lot?"

No, you're not allowed to camp in the parking lot. We were hanging out there during the day.; 3/8/22, 9:28 AM
Ann Althouse said...: In fact, that's a state park where you're not allowed to camp anywhere. Gaylord Nelson.; 3/8/22, 9:29 AM
Howard said...: $23,500 for my Frontier short bed. $15K for the empty box version. The tent poles holding the pop up look too few and too thin for high winds.; 3/8/22, 9:36 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "The tent poles holding the pop up look too few and too thin for high winds."

It's usable for sleeping in the unpopped position.; 3/8/22, 9:39 AM
Meade said...: Those “tent poles” aren’t tent poles.; 3/8/22, 9:44 AM
Enigma said...: Is that a Peloton "enjoyment prisoner" in the back?

[That's a joke]; 3/8/22, 9:49 AM
Ceciliahere said...: It looks like you and Meade are really traveling around chasing waterfalls in a camper? I have never gone camping in my life.
I’m impressed that you are game to camp out. I don’t know, maybe you’ve done this before. Good luck in your travels. I know that I could never do a trip like this. I’m too much a creature of comforts. I’d love to see the national parks, but stay in a nice comfortable lodge with a big bed where I could try to sleep. Campers are a different breed.
I’m looking forward to some beautiful photos.; 3/8/22, 9:55 AM
Owen said...: Wait! There's a woman trapped in that camper! Call 911!; 3/8/22, 9:59 AM
Dave Begley said...: We want more pictures!

And, FYI, Omaha is on Interstate 80. Drive west.; 3/8/22, 10:00 AM
Beasts of England said...: Possible caption for bottom photo: ‘Are you sure there are no more Joro spiders out there, Meade?’; 3/8/22, 10:02 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: So are you going to rename the blog "Travels with Meade"?; 3/8/22, 10:06 AM
TaeJohnDo said...: It looks like a great setup. The Ford is a proven vehicle and the slide-in is from a quality company. I'm not sure your model has a porta potty, and I doubt it has a shower. Our 2013 20.5' Pleasure Way on a 2012 Ford E350 Chassis has a wet bath and an outdoor shower. It is a challenge taking a shower inside but doable. Even if you don't have a shower, many State Parks have shower facilities and there are options for showers on the road if you are going out for extended trips. Short trips are great - you have all you need. The longest we have been out is five weeks, with a variety of boon docking, FS and State Park camp sites up to a Luxury RV Resort. We prefer to go boon docking and staying in FS or NP areas. We get 14-16 MPG and can park in the average parking spot. I upgraded the battery, added solar and replace the 3-way fridge with an AC/DC IsoTherm 115. Any RV you get will be a compromise. Ours works for us. I know you will love yours, and it will expand your photo and hiking locations.; 3/8/22, 10:14 AM
Howard said...: They look like undersized pneumatic struts. Like the size of the struts on the back window of my Leer topper.; 3/8/22, 10:25 AM
Jim Tantillo said...: We have a Northstar popup in a Ram truck, I'm guessing you've removed the jack system for traveling, but what kind of tie-down system are you using in the bed? most often people use frame-mounted tie-downs like TorkLift. Anyway, looks like a nice setup!!; 3/8/22, 10:47 AM
Dave said...: So, when your inside but not asleep, you can pop that guy up and have head room. If the weather turns bad, or when you sleep, you can drop the top back down?

I know there is a lot of hate towards green energy, but an off grid solar system is useful. I put roof racks on my Subaru, then I strapped solar panels to the racks. I had a battery system inside, and so I basically had a mobile power. I had considered adding a utility "rig" to the car by getting a small trailer and moving the batteries and charge controller there.

So many possibilities, but creating such things is also a big part of the fun for me. I'd imagine the truck insert is much more super easily.

I'd have to add a trailer. I couldn't stand it.; 3/8/22, 11:17 AM
Tomcc said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/22, 11:41 AM
Tomcc said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/8/22, 11:47 AM
KellyM said...: Nice rig, and suitable for overlanding. Is there any 4x4 driving/camping in Wisconsin?; 3/8/22, 12:18 PM
guitar joe said...: My wife had been researching van conversions and saving money for a down payment. We settled on a Ford Transit and she did most of the work of converting it. Her goal was to make it off-grid, so we carry 1000 watt batteries and we have solar panels on the roof to charge them. I installed shore power, so we can plug in at campsites. But even campsites that are filled up often have sites without hookup, so we have that option. We camped at a state campground near Rehoboth DE for 5 days, and had plenty of power to watch TV, microwave, etc. We have a couple of outdoor cooking options, and we have a foot pump sink that lets us wash dishes.

Campgrounds have showers and so on, so we skipped putting indoor plumbing in the thing. We had an old Scotty camper, which was fun, but with hooking it up, driving it on the highway and then setting it up, we ended up using it maybe a handful of times a year.

We got the Transit in March 2020, were on the road by late April, and have used it more in the last two years than we ever used the camper. Load up, drive off. We spent three weeks in Florida last year, and 10 days just two weeks ago in South Carolina. When my wife retires next year, we look forward to lots of trips. It's a blast!; 3/8/22, 12:26 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: I took a look at that website for the pop-up camper. Pretty major investment. I couldn’t believe that Althouse would actually be joining in on those camping adventures in that “tiny house” but there she is. Atta girl.
I lived in a tiny camper for about six months parked in a friend’s driveway, used the bathroom in the house. Never again for me.
But you’ve got a 4x4 truck so getting out into the wild is going to be spectacular. Having a tiny house will be cool.; 3/8/22, 12:34 PM
Howard (not that Howard) said...: I looked them up after your earlier post. Very slick (pun intended)!; 3/8/22, 12:37 PM
Begonia said...: I hate XC-skiing at governor nelson at the trails that lead out from that lot--lots of people walk on the tracks and ruin them. Skiing at Blue Mound, however, is sublime.; 3/8/22, 12:38 PM
Aggie said...: What a great choice. And with 4 wheel drive you can take it deep into the National Forests, really get some great views and experiences. I hope you have a 4-season ball!

My nephew-in-law has just finished up his internship and in the interim before starting his new job, my niece, grand-niece, and NIL took an extended road trip for about a month, hugging the southern / western states and hitting all of the California coastline, where weather is moderate this time of year. They had a great time.; 3/8/22, 1:10 PM
rehajm said...: YouTuber Dr. Hannah Straight has a similar setup. She takes great backcountry trips around the Lake Tahoe area. Looks fun...; 3/8/22, 1:20 PM
Sheridan said...: Kind of reminds me of the old Alaskan hard-sided pop-up campers. Of course, my memories date back to the late 1950's. Amazingly, Alaskan campers are still being made! Might look into one since soft-sided campers aren't permitted in Glacier National Park (bears, you know).; 3/8/22, 1:40 PM
farmgirl said...: I’m glad to see the pop up. I wondered…
When I hear 4wheel- I think squeal.; 3/8/22, 2:14 PM
Christopher said...: Is that a Peloton "enjoyment prisoner" in the back?

I was going to say, somebody let Althouse out!

Looks like great fun, happy for you two!; 3/8/22, 2:17 PM
gadfly said...: Ann Althouse said...
"What kind of popup camper is that?"

You can see the words on the camper: Four Wheel Pop-Up Camper.

Actually it is a Four Wheel Pop-Up Camper Granby Model Slide-in, on a full-sized Ford XL 8' truck-bed. Although the interior layout is not mentioned, a front or side dinette design is my best guess. Assuming that a porta-potty is included, extras such as a shower and king-sized bed are harder to guess.; 3/8/22, 2:17 PM
Ruth and John's Travels 2 said...: You will LOVE your FWC. We love our Fleet/Tacoma combo, and have taken it as far north as Wrigley(on the Mackenzie River) and as far south as the mouth of the Rio Grande, downtown Los Angeles and New Orleans French Quarter.
I know (very well) that they are not cheap, but IMHO they are the best made campers around, and the north/south sleeping arrangement is a bonus for those of us who are a standard deviation or two taller than the median.
Have fun you two.; 3/8/22, 2:18 PM
Iman said...: That set-up is way cool!; 3/8/22, 2:53 PM
Iman said...: If this truck is a-rockin’, don’t bother knockin’
If this truck is a-rockin’, don’t bother knockin’
If this truck is a-rockin’, don’t bother, c’mon in 🤭; 3/8/22, 2:57 PM
Heartless Aztec said...: Yep. We've wandered America, Canada and Mexico in our surfer hippie vans since the mid 1960's. It's a great way to see the sights and just hang out with Americans everywhere. State Parks are the coolest. We're off to Cheaha State Park in the mountains of Alabama. Gorgeous place. My hippie Ford Transit 250 van is called "Wind, Water, Gravity". See you around.; 3/8/22, 3:06 PM
Wince said...: Ann Althouse said...
"The tent poles holding the pop up look too few and too thin for high winds."
It's usable for sleeping in the unpopped position.

All this talk of popping and unpopping of tents is making Meade uncomfortable.; 3/8/22, 3:46 PM
Lurker21 said...: So long as you and your hostage enjoyed yourselves ...; 3/8/22, 4:40 PM
Original Mike said...: "I know there is a lot of hate towards green energy, but…"

NO! The hate is for coerced green energy.; 3/8/22, 5:48 PM
Narr said...: If my wife and I were the van and camper kind, I would insist on the classic bumper sticker--

Ass, Gas, or Grass.
Nobody rides for free.; 3/8/22, 5:57 PM
walter said...: And Walmart lots!; 3/8/22, 8:55 PM
paminwi said...: Maybe Ann can camp in the Wal-mart lots during the summer looking for Justice Clarence Thomas! Seems he does the regularly. Could be an interesting “campfire” conversation.; 3/9/22, 10:44 AM