My Escape RV

Turn your SUV or truck into a tent camper - Check this out:

Suanne's blog is about her travels in a Prius - she calls it her Prius RV. She left her husband at home and took off alone, visiting National Parks from April till October in her car.  That started me thinking...I have a small SUV.  Why couldn't I use it as my RV until I buy my Class C?  Suanne, I hope you don't mind me copying your terminology and calling  mine "My Escape RV"?

I was telling my neighbor about this, and he mentioned car/SUV tents.  It's so amazing the things you learn when you talk to people, things you would never have found out by yourself. 

So, I did a little research yesterday, and here's what I found. 

The sleeve on the tent goes right around the opening at the back of the SUV.  You can set up sleeping quarters in the car and use the tent for the "living" room with chairs, table, lamps - whatever.

At night I'd put my electronics in the locked car with me, and along with Katie, I'd feel very safe.

If you want to drive off somewhere, just take the sleeve off the car, and the tent converts to a regular tent until you re-attach it upon your return.

There are four models for station wagons and SUVs - this one has an attached sun room. You can also purchase the floor for the sun room for around $30 extra.



This tent fits on the back of a truck - is this cool, or what?!?

These photos are from Sportz by Napier.  I found a few others, but these looked the best and on Amazon.com, they had all 5 stars in the reviews. They recommend using a sealant of some kind for the seams in case of rain, I think they recommend what to use.  I would probably do that, especially this time of year. One reviewer said he got the sealant at Walmart "as recommended by Napier."

This weekend I'm going to break down and spend some money - I'm going to see what I can get as far as camping equipment goes.  I've been putting that off, thinking I should save my money for the RV Fund, but since that's a year to 18 months away, I think I'll do some looking now.  

I already have a sleeping bag, flashlights, bug spray if needed, cooking stuff (extras from when I lived in that horrible cabin in Georgetown - I HAD to replace the kitchen pots and pans and dishes, etc.  They are in a box in my carport storage area and I'll drag them out tomorrow to see what I have.)  I have two battery operated lamps.  I need to see if I have a car charger for all my stuff :  Kindle-Yes, MP3-Yes, Camera-No, Computer-?  What else?

It's not an RV, but...   I'd have the room provided by the tent, and the safety of sleeping in the car with my car keys close, and doors locked.  That's about the best thing I can think of to get me out there for now.

The weather in the San Diego area has been nice and warm lately, so I might actually be able to do some camping with Katie in a few weeks, after I get all my gear together. There are lots of campgrounds nearby. 

I was talking to one of the guys at work about a campground near his house - he lives on the beach. It's at Solana Beach and he said this time of year (off season) it's not as crowded.  Might even have lower prices. He said dogs are allowed on the beach there.   I drive by it on the way home from work and it looks small and crowded to me, but I'll have to check it out.

Pretty neat, huh?  Now I'm getting excited again. !!! 

From me and Katie - have a great Thursday, everyone! : )

My weekend plans

It's Thursday night!  The beginning of my three-day weekend.  Katie and I have a lot to do this weekend, and hopefully we'll get it all done.  As you know, I DO have a tendency to be lazy sometimes. : )

Tomorrow we have grocery shopping, some packages we need to have wrapped and shipped at the Kinkos/UPS store, and then we have an appointment to have the oil changed in the car.

I have a 2001 Ford Escape, I've loved this car since the day I got it, and I hope it keeps running until I need to sell it to go full -timing.  I REALLY don't want to have to buy a new car.  So far, so good.  It still feels like a new car to me.  I've never liked a car so much or driven one so long.  It has 132,330 miles on it, but I've never even thought about trading it in.  So, I try to keep the maintenance up, keep the tires good, etc.  I bought it when I moved to Pollock Pines, right on the snow line, because I wanted a 4-wheel drive and snow tires so I never had to worry about getting stuck somewhere.  You know, Just In Case.

This photo looks exactly like my car.  You'd never believe it's ten years old:

2001 Ford Escape

I noticed tonight I have ants all over the kitchen.  Not swarming, but a thin stream coming out of a high cupboard, down to the stove, across to a drawer and continuing to an upper cupboard.  Also going in the opposite direction on the other side of the stove, across the counter, down by the fridge.  I have had a few now and then out on the patio, but nothing in the house that I can remember this year, and I want to nip it in the bud, so to speak.

I had ant poison in the cupboard, and some spray.  I sprayed the areas lightly (hate doing that in the kitchen) and put the poison stuff out.  Now tomorrow I'm going to have to really clean that area thoroughly.

That's Friday.

There is an RV show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds this weekend, about 20 minutes from my house, and I plan to go either Saturday or Sunday.  It opened today and runs for four days. They are showing new and used rigs, so it's right up my alley.

I just went to the website to check the dates and times, and it is FREE, with FREE parking, and look at this:

It's part of a form you print out and bring with you.  I just printed it out.  Put your name and address on the form, and you get a FREE gift!  I love FREE gifts!  Guess who's coming home with a FREE gift???

I don't know how big the RV show is, but I'll let you know. I'm looking forward to it.

My grandson Gavin has a T-Ball baseball game on Sunday, and I'm planning to meet my son at the ball field to see the game.  He's five, and this year he's totally gotten into sports.  Watches ESPN, collects baseball cards, knows all the players, their teams, all that stuff that guys know.  He's a big Padres fan.  My son has season tickets, and he and Gavin have gone to a lot of the games.  If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them on Sunday.

Then the usual cleaning, laundry, dog walking, tiny bit of gardening, and I want to replace a house plant that died, too.  That should be enough to keep me out of trouble this weekend.

I've been watching hulu.com tonight, catching up on some shows I haven't had a chance to see yet.  I saw the first three episodes of The Whole Truth tonight.  It's pretty good.  I don't know how I've missed the first three weeks. It must be opposite something I usually watch. That's why hulu.com and ch131.com are so great. You don't have to wait for re-runs.

So, I'm now going back to hulu.com to see what else I've missed.

From me and Katie, have a great night, everyone!  : )