Our Journey Starts: Happy Wife, Happy Life
The summer of 2020 provided tremendous opportunities to visit Lake Herrington and Sara’s dad. We crossed several milestones that year. We learned we are kind of like dogs and might be open for adventure.
The Dog
Driving home from a glorious Lake Day, Sara is surfing Facebook (don’t worry, I was driving). Lo and behold, her friend was selling a camper (travel trailer). My first reaction was, “Hell, YES!”. Not really, I’m a bean counting, number loving accountant. I quickly surmised we needed a Big Boy Truck.
What came next?
The Truck
Then, a low mileage (95,000) 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 with the big ole 6.0 gasser appears in my driveway with a cute young man dressed in blue (the young man was around before we acquired the truck). What the hell did I know? I thought this is a great deal, one owner, low mileage truck. And coming from a guy who drove an Acura 4 banger, well, 6.0 liters of horses under the hood seemed like enough to pull just about damn thing I could dream. How do they fit horses into liters? Anyway, goodbye fuel economy. Hello, King of the Road!
Truck – Check!
The Camper
Now, we need our first camper. We jumped on the wagon literally as it was pulling out of town. RV campers of all sizes, shapes, colors, and prices were selling fast but at rather reasonable prices. In September 2020, RVs only required a single arm as payment. We visited several local shops and had a mixed bag of experiences. We shopped online and had an idea of the features we needed—ideally, separate rooms for the kids and parents and one slide out.
Our online shopping via RV Trader helped us find our needle in the haystack. The Ameri-Lite 274QB…32.6′ of memories! This baby has it all. A bunkhouse for the kids, a lovely kitchen for mom, and a comfy couch for dad!
Raving Fans!
The Journey Home
Taking this beast home the same day was not possible. I had my Big Ass truck, but no dice. Alas, waiting another week would probably make me a better truck driver! Maybe so, and maybe not.
Once our week or two of waiting had passed, we were ready to head to our favorite RV dealer, 62 Sales, to outfit our truck with a brake controller and weight distribution hitch. Thank God I said yes; we needed that hitch during checkout. With our hitch in place, our Ameri-Lite was ready to roll.
Heading home, Sara and I felt every bump in the road. More than once, we asked, “Is this right?” Dear Lord, this seems terrifying as hell!
We made it home. On our next drive, Sara decided to follow me for good measure. Maybe she was terrified of my truck drivin’!?! Either way, we have a good pic of my backside as I cruised around the neighborhood.
And that’s how our journey began!
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About Us
Mike & Sara began RV camping in 2020 and instantly loved the lifestyle. We found the thrill of exploring new places, breaking our vacation routine, and crossing off all those “one-day” trips was a blast! At Our Campfire Unplugged, we enjoy sharing our experiences to help fellow travelers live their best lives.
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