Changes to the interior

 I'd hoped to be well underway in doing some remodeling of the Dutchman's interior but it's been too cold to work out at the hangar this winter. I used to like working in the cold weather but I was a younger man back then, I guess.

But we had a warm spell last week -- it got up to 30 -- so I at least got started, taping off a few sections and priming the old "faux wood" paneling. It doesn't look like much at the moment, I admit. But eventually it'll be a deep grey/blue, which should match the flooring better as well as the upholstery (which I wouldn't mind also updating if I knew how to do it).

The renter-damaged tent panel next to the door returned from the Wisconsin company that does these sort of repairs (same place I bought the all-new tent portion last spring), and I was pretty amazed at their work. The screen was completely replaced where it was ripped and I can't tell anything happened to the vinyl, and there's a new rubber channel along the bottom that slides onto the camper frame. The old one -- one year old -- had split. It takes some abuse in raising and lowering the camper, so I had the company sew some velcro to the bottom to take the pressure off that channel. We'll see how it works.

I'm still trying to find a suitable faucet for the sink but have had no luck so far. The old, cheap faucet isn't made anymore or is out of stock everywhere. I wouldn't want it, anyway, as it leaked far too much.

I'm still planning to add a new sunscreen/canopy, and I've also purchased a vinyl "rug" to place just outside the door.

As weather warms, I'll be working on the usual infrastructure -- wheel bearings and such.

I have no idea what the coming camping season will bring, how availability in state parks will match up to last year's tight squeeze, but I've opened up reservations for 2022 if you want to reserve some time now.

The season ends

 

Black River Falls was a popular destination for the camper this year. Thanks to Brian for the picture.

The last renter of the season is out with the Dutchmen for a little fall foliage viewing. It's 29 degrees and I don't know how she does it even with a working furnace (although the battery won't last that long) and my donation of a Buddy Heater. Me? Frankly, I prefer the warm comfort of my bed with, perhaps, a faithful dog for extra heat.

It was a really great season. Again this summer I met terrific people.  

Nineteen rentals was a new record. Almost every weekend was booked with the exception -- oddly enough -- of Labor Day weekend. And for the most part the weather cooperated too. The reviews submitted by campers were gratifying to read (See them here)

The Dutchmen is perfect for those weekend getaways, which is important because if you read the Facebook group associated with Outdoorsy RV owners, you'll be constantly told that just renting for a couple of days is too much work and not worth it.

Ah, the joys of being retired!  It's fun puttering around the hangar and although cleaning can get a little tedious after you've done it 100 or so times, I enjoy hearing of the camping experiences of the people I meet. By and large, everyone seemed to have had a great time.

When the camper comes back, it's time to get started on its off-season regimen.

This winter, I hope to paint much of the interior; out with the '90s faux wood and in with  combination of grays and blues, I think. 

A panel of the new tent needs to come down and be sent back to Wisconsin for repair, the result of an attempt to retrieve a child's belongings without raising the roof all the way.  That's a pricey fix although I didn't assess the actual cost. His heart was in the right place.

I also have to figure out what to do about the sink and faucet and whether it's worth it. Most people didn't seem to use the water tank or the faucet, which I had to remove because it leaked too much. They seemed to prefer the blue 7-gallong jug.  So far, it's been impossible to find a replacement faucet, which has to be low profile (otherwise it hits the roof when it comes down) and pump action.

And even though most people didn't use the awning, I'll probably install a new one in the offseason. The old one looks pretty beaten up.

And, of course, there's the usual maintenance like replacing wheel bearings etc.

It'll give me something to do at the hangar. The airplane-building project is stalled because of the delay (chip shortage) in getting the avionics package delivered. Ordered it in May. It's almost November and still no sign of it. And what with a killer frost overnight wiping out the gardens, it's going to be up to the Dutchman to keep me out of trouble until spring.

The tentative plan is to open the 2022 camper season on May 1.   I hope to see you then.

Bob

Don't lose Toby!

 

Toby holding Toby

Among the last things I say to people as they're departing for their adventures is "don't lose Chris." Chris is -- or at least was -- the crank that raises and lowers the roof and is, arguably the most important piece in the whole operation.

It's easy to leave the crank in the winch and drive away. Or leave it in the winch and have it stolen. That's why Chris gets special attention.

The crank handle is always named after the last person to lose one. Chris, a good guy as I recall, rented the camper in 2019 when he lost the crank, whose name -- Arturo -- it had for only a couple of weeks.

It's been a good run for Chris but somewhere between here and Prairie du Chien lies Chris.

Toby, a good sport, left Chris in the winch and the rest, including Chris, is history.

The other day Toby got to meet Toby.

Don't lose Toby

That's not camping

The camper, shown at this year's gigantic AirVenture in Oshkosh. Even with thousands of people camping, the place offers more space than a lot of commercial campgrounds.

 Even with the incredible heat this summer, demand for the Dutchmen has been the strongest ever. The biggest problem this year for people has been finding a place to camp. The most popular state parks are booked solid, which serves as a reminder to plan your summer trips during the winter for best results. I've already opened u, p the 2022 season for booking.

One of the illuminating aspects of renting the camper has been seeing the changing nature of "camping." When I was a kid, you put up a tent and lived pretty much by your wits. You quickly learned to do without the creature comforts and, despite our protestations, we found ways to entertain ourselves.

I fear that aspect of camping is disappearing fast, which is why I'm such a fan of Minnesota's state parks, which at least give you a little nature between you and the next campsite.

In early July, my wife and I visited her ancestral homeland of northern Vermont and we noticed that someone has built a new "campground" in the rural part of the so-called Northeast Kingdom. It's an area with mountains and spectacular views. This campground could've been a super place.

Instead, however, the developer basically created a large parking lot and jammed the big mobile rigs in side-by-side. Aside from the fact it wasn't an asphalt parking lot, err campground, it could've been a Home Depot parking lot.

Maybe that's not a big deal for the people in those big rigs with their slide out living rooms, bathrooms, showers and full kitchens, but that's not camping to my way of thinking. And it certainly isn't the environment to take a popup camper.

My guess is this will be more the exception rather than the rule across America, at least in campgrounds not run by the state or federal government. Too bad.

Do you have a favorite commercial campground that harkens back to your youth?

Are you too late?

McCarthy Beach State Park is north of Hibbing

 

It's already been a season of high demand for the popup in the last few weeks with folks taking mostly weekend trips. But yesterday a renter in August canceled her reservation. Why? She couldn't find a campground.

It's hard to tell whether this is a growing problem, or whether people are trying to jam in a few "popular" spots and state parks while ignoring the rest.  But anecdotal data surrounding the end of the pandemic at leasts suggests the demand for campground locations is outstripping their availability.

Coupled with a possible state shutdown, the post July-1 period could be rough for people who want to get away.

And that's another thing: Is it even possible to get away anymore at campgrounds?

I'm a big fan of Minnesota State Parks, not only because they're beautiful, but because they're respectful of the need for space. The private campgrounds? Not so much.

So a short article in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press is worth noting.

Too many campgrounds, it notes, are basically like Target parking lots with people jammed right into each other's personal spaces. This is even worse for people using pop-ups because the people who need to have air conditioning, satellite dishes, and a full-sized living room (the land yacht people) tower over their neighbors like midtown Manhattan skyscrapers.

Choosing the right place to camp requires plenty of research, which should begin in mid to late winter.

So campsitephotos.com seems to be a promising tool.  You can look up what a campsite looks like before you decide whether it's for you.

The site is separated into state park sites available for Minnesota  and a list of private campgrounds. But there are few pictures for the private campgrounds.

The site also has a Campground Assist function, which texts you when there are available sites. I can't vouch for whether it works.

If you plan on camping, I urge you to find a camping spot first, then book the Dutchman.

It's a new season!

 

The camper went out on its first voyage of 2021 yesterday, after an off-season of constant work (or so it seemed) on maintenance items and improvements. She's looking pretty spiffy for a classic gal, I have to admit.

As you're probably aware, the camper is rented through Outdoorsy, a site not unlike AirBNB that handles all of the heavy lifting leaving me to only worry about, well, the actual heavy lifting. On an associated Facebook page, I'm constantly reading stories from other owners of RVs and, mostly, their horror stories.

Granted Outdoorsy is almost exclusively dominated by owners of these big gazillion dollar rigs and not by people who have a pop-up and put the time into it mostly as a hobby and something to do, but I'm always amazed by the lack of respect and interest in making people happy and, most importantly, just meeting new people.

I spent a few decades in the public radio business, mostly interviewing and writing about -- as Amy Klobuchar once described her father's work -- "ordinary people doing extraordinary things." So maybe I'm just predisposed to meeting interesting people and renting out a camper as a facilitator.

But it's what brings me pleasure so no apologies and no horror stories here.

I always invite people who are renting the camper to come out a few days or hours early to get to know the camper, but, more important, get to know me and I them. I'm always thrilled when people take me up on it and from what I can tell, people really appreciate the human aspect of the transaction.

So yesterday, Mary and Tom came out and I gave them a full demonstration of the camper and asked questions etc. By the time they left, they were obviously pretty comfortable with the unit and I had no qualms about watching it leave.

I also always enjoy showing people the airplane building project that's going on in the hangar and describing the history of Fleming Field.

Mary and Tom aren't doing any camping. Some family is coming up for a weekend and they'll use the camper as a spare bedroom. A novel idea.  

Since I have to work the Twins game on Sunday, I'll save them the trouble of driving it back and I'll just go stop at their home and pick it up.

As always, I tell people, "you worry about the camping, I'll worry about the cleaning."

They seemed like lovely people and I feel pretty good having had the opportunity to have them in my life, if for only a few hours on a weekend.

You probably won't hear anything about it on Facebook, though.

Be well.

The Dutchmen gets a new tent

 As usual, I had big plans for the winter in terms of maintenance and improvements for The Dutchman. As usual, I sank into the Minnesota fetal position when the temperature dropped below 30 degrees. You know how it is, right?

Now that the cardinals are singing and the ice is melting, I'm quickly catching up.

As previously noted, the big project this year was the removal of the rear roof wood, which was rotted and leaking. That wasn't fun and all but before winter set in, that was completed. Today, I'm going to do a little more waterproofing of that section. Water and moisture is death to pop-up campers so, yeah, I probably have gone overboard on the waterproofing.

The big task this week has been putting up the new tent (the camper's windows and siding) which arrived from Canvas Replacements in Loyal, Wisconsin late last year, but which have sat in the box because I wasn't sure whether icy cold weather was a good time to be handling vinyl, which usually gets brittle in the cold. This product, I've since learned, is resistant to that sort of thing.

I couldn't be more impressed with the workmanship from this company and the replacement (so far, I've still got two sides to go) has fit perfectly. And, it's clean and gorgeous.

The other thing I wanted to do this winter was get underneath the camper and replace the steel cable that raises and lowers the camper roof. Maybe it could surive another year, but at 21 years old, do I want to take that chance? To me, it seemed like the cable was on borrowed time and I hate the thought that it could snap while a nice family was trying to have a fabulous weekend.

Yesterday, I decided that I'll let a pro handle it so I've made an appointment for next Wednesday for the nice people at Hilltop Camper and RV take care of it. 

That leaves the only other thing on the list: Flooring and painting the interior. I'm going to wait on the painting and next week  I'll see what the big deal is with peel and stick flooring (some pop-up camper owners seen to like it). That seems preferable to gutting the camper just to put down new flooring. We'll see. The only linoleum looks too much like, well, old linoleum.

I'm still on the fence about replacing the awning and am considering just removing it. Few people seem to use it. 

We've already got our first rental request of the year and with things suddenly progressing faster than I thought, I may open up rentals to May 1 instead of June 1.