Officially moved to the "Dark Side"

[teejaywhy]

A bit late with this announcement, but our popup is sold and we now have a 23' Travel Trailer. I had not checked in to the Popup Portal for some time, but apparently a recent registration to another site (RV Life?) started generating email messages linked to the Popup Portal. So I returned to browse some topics and see if any of the friends from years back are still around.

Main reason for the change is we are now retired and have transitioned from weekend campouts and week-long visits to a single destination, to more of a "travel" mode where we are taking longer trips and often just overnighting in a spot on the way to somewhere else.

We had 14 great years with our 2005 Jayco Baja 10Z. Many trips to the Arizona high country, Colorado and California. The popup is a wonderful camp style, we especially liked the ability to unzip all the windows and let the breeze blow through. Very much "camping."

But after a couple of longer trips that involved overnights, we realized that the popup is not ideal for this style of travel. After many years of contemplation, we pulled the trigger on a new 2019 Nash 23D in September 2019. Gosh, been 2.5 years already. We have traveled to Oregon, Colorado, Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee and are planning to visit Yellowstone/Grand Teton in September of this year.

So here is a shout out to @PopUpSteve, for a great site and many years of shared comaradarie. The highlight being the 2012 Arizona Spring Rally where we met a whole BUNCH of popuppers including PopUpSteve in a special guest appearance.

So here are a handful of pics of the old popup (now getting loving use by a former work colleague) and some pics of the new TT.

2012 Arizona Spring Rally:

The Baja 10Z and full glamping setup:

Carlsbad State Beach CA overlooking the ocean:

The new TT - Grand Mesa CO:

Meeman-Shelby State Forest - Memphis TN:

Washburne State Park OREGON:

 

[neighbormike]

Congratulations! That is pretty much my dream trailer! Unfortunately, no dealers anywhere near here.

 

[kitphantom]

Welcome to the Dark Side. So far, for us, the benefits have outweighed the minuses, especially has cranky joints have caught up with me.

 

[jmkay1]

2019 Nash 23D

Had to look this up never heard of the Nash before. Looks like a very nice looking camper. The video I saw shows the bed cushion folds up behind the couch kind of curious about this. Is yours like this? Anyway congratulations and welcome back to the portal. You can see others on here have also gone to the dark side as well.

 

[teejaywhy]

Had to look this up never heard of the Nash before. Looks like a very nice looking camper. The video I saw shows the bed cushion folds up behind the couch kind of curious about this. Is yours like this? Anyway congratulations and welcome back to the portal. You can see others on here have also gone to the dark side as well.

The "Sit and Sleep" is an option - from what I can tell, a sofa that folds out to a bed. We chose the straight queen bed.

 

[theseus]

Very nice! I too have moved to the dark side and am thoroughly enjoying it.

 

[PopUpSteve]

Enjoy your new camper and stop back anytime. That was a great rally in 2012 in AZ, met lots of great folks. I'll be out in the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area in September as well. Look for me on the road.

 

[Sjm9911]

Congrats, and your alowed to stay here, plenty of folks on the dark side. Welcome back.

 

[teejaywhy]

Of course, a TT comes with new experiences:

 

[kitphantom]

@teejaywhy - I dreaded learning how to dump the waste tanks. It is no where near as bad as I feared. My poo-adverse, sometime camping, buddy watched me do it last year, and admitted it wasn't so bad. (She wants a trailer of her own someday, I told her places to stop in and have someone dump for her were extremely few and far between.)
Mu biggest issue has been handling the connections with small, arthritic, and cranky hands. We finally have a fix for the two main connections, I'm
good.

 

[neighbormike]

Of course, a TT comes with new experiences:


View attachment 83085

A small price to pay in my opinion!

 

[DiamondGirl]

Welcome back and to the Darkside. It’s a nice trailer. I found a used unit but it was gone before I could tour it. They were going fast like HOT CAKES back in 2020. Can’t wait to see all your new adventures. Maybe we’ll meet up sometime in the pines.

Happy Camping…

 

[teejaywhy]

@teejaywhy - I dreaded learning how to dump the waste tanks. It is no where near as bad as I feared. My poo-adverse, sometime camping, buddy watched me do it last year, and admitted it wasn't so bad. (She wants a trailer of her own someday, I told her places to stop in and have someone dump for her were extremely few and far between.)
Mu biggest issue has been handling the connections with small, arthritic, and cranky hands. We finally have a fix for the two main connections, I'm
good.

Just an fyi, I briefly considered this waste hose system (before going with the standard Camco Rhino flex hose): The "Waste Master" uses a cam lock connector (requires modification to your drain outlet). No personal experience, but maybe easier than the twist-lock style?

https://store.lci1.com/waste-master-20ft-hose-kit-and-cam-lock-connector-359724.html

 

[firepit]

A bit late with this announcement, but our popup is sold and we now have a 23' Travel Trailer. I had not checked in to the Popup Portal for some time, but apparently a recent registration to another site (RV Life?) started generating email messages linked to the Popup Portal. So I returned to browse some topics and see if any of the friends from years back are still around.

Main reason for the change is we are now retired and have transitioned from weekend campouts and week-long visits to a single destination, to more of a "travel" mode where we are taking longer trips and often just overnighting in a spot on the way to somewhere else.

We had 14 great years with our 2005 Jayco Baja 10Z. Many trips to the Arizona high country, Colorado and California. The popup is a wonderful camp style, we especially liked the ability to unzip all the windows and let the breeze blow through. Very much "camping."

But after a couple of longer trips that involved overnights, we realized that the popup is not ideal for this style of travel. After many years of contemplation, we pulled the trigger on a new 2019 Nash 23D in September 2019. Gosh, been 2.5 years already. We have traveled to Oregon, Colorado, Ohio/Kentucky/Tennessee and are planning to visit Yellowstone/Grand Teton in September of this year.

So here is a shout out to @PopUpSteve, for a great site and many years of shared comaradarie. The highlight being the 2012 Arizona Spring Rally where we met a whole BUNCH of popuppers including PopUpSteve in a special guest appearance.

So here are a handful of pics of the old popup (now getting loving use by a former work colleague) and some pics of the new TT.

2012 Arizona Spring Rally:

The Baja 10Z and full glamping setup:

Carlsbad State Beach CA overlooking the ocean:

The new TT - Grand Mesa CO:

Meeman-Shelby State Forest - Memphis TN:

Washburne State Park OREGON:

And you have the right TV....It's refreshing

 

[cjm0mmy]

@teejaywhy - I dreaded learning how to dump the waste tanks. It is no where near as bad as I feared. My poo-adverse, sometime camping, buddy watched me do it last year, and admitted it wasn't so bad. (She wants a trailer of her own someday, I told her places to stop in and have someone dump for her were extremely few and far between.)
Mu biggest issue has been handling the connections with small, arthritic, and cranky hands. We finally have a fix for the two main connections, I'm
good.

My husband has small hands and I have arthritic hands so sometimes removing the caps to dump is tough. On another site, oil filter pliers were recommended to help remove the caps. Bought this one from amazon ASAP.

 

[kitphantom]

We have something called PVC pliers, which work great, except they too are too large for me to use one-handed. Courtenay made me a jig, basically a board with a slot in it that goes over the extension on the drain extension. That keeps it from rotating in either direction, so I have both hands to use to hook and unhook th ehoses and caps there. At the drain end, I discovered that the elbow into the sewer drain holds things steady there.