Friday, May 3, 2019

Barb Buys a Camper!


The month of March is said to be “In like a lion, out like a lamb” so what about April and May? April 30th brought us 5”s of fresh snow. We spent the day running errands in Rapid City then shoveled the house for a couple hours. I bet not many people can say that “We shoveled the house”. That’s what happens when you have no roof. May came in the same way with another 4”s except this snow was heavy and wet so we again spent a couple hours shoveling the house.
We got this much snow two days in a row!

Luckily the garage floor is still dirt and did not need shoveling!

View out the stairway window
Luckily the next day got up to 50 and almost all the snow melted and we were able to get back to work. I spent the day working on the trapezoid windows on the front gable end. Having never done one before it required several calls to Kevin as well as a Google search. By the end of the day, the traps were done!
Still need to frame in between the traps
But back to the title of this post. As you know, Barb has been looking for  a pick up camper to take on our next Alaska adventure (hopefully summer of 2020). She had come close to pulling the trigger a couple of times but something was just not right, usually the distance. Plus, she was looking for a particular model of Lance with a door on the side instead of the back. When she found one that was exactly what she wanted in Salt Lake City I knew I was in trouble. 

After numerous emails, phone calls, photos and a short negotiation Barb was packing up the truck and heading to Salt Lake City, just a short 10 hours down the road! So the next morning she set the alarm for 3:00am and headed down the road. My request for pictures of her adventure went pretty much unheard, she took 2, count them, 2 pictures on her nearly 20 hours on the road.

Not sure what mountain this is but I am guessing it is some slopes in Park City
She arrived at the dealership around 1:00pm and was packed up and headed home at 3:30pm. She drove until 11:00pm arriving at the Walmart in Casper, WY. The next morning she was home at 9:30am where she promptly..... started working on the house. That lasted about 3 hours when she went in to get a drink of water. 30 minutes later when she had not returned I went to check on her and found her and Daisy asleep on the recliner. Oh well.....

So now we are the proud owners of a 2007 Lance 1191. It is 11'-6" long, has a side door, satellite dish and a solar panel.

Here are a few pictures of the inside......
 The main reason for buying this camper is to take to Alaska next summer but also for short trips here and there. Don't ask us why but sometimes it will be nice to jump in the camper and make weekend or week long runs somewhere without dragging the big rig with us. Weird, I know......

Barb made on more purchase recently when she bought Daisy a bSeen LED light up collar. We should have bought one of these years ago as Daisy is a wanderer and we are always trying to keep track of her with a flashlight in the dark. Now we just follow the glow and know exactly where she is!
That's it for this week, next week visitors start arriving again!

36 comments:

  1. Congrats on the truck camper. Looks perfect. I really like the side door. Do you think you'll pull the Jeep on the next Alaska excursion?

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    1. I don't think so, we did not take it last time and did not seem to miss it. We will probably take it to Arizona next winter though. We missed it when we did not take it last time.

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  2. It looks very nice. Good job Barb! I think Lisa wants to get one of those collars for me. I tend to stumble around in the dark after a couple of beers. Not sure why.

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    1. That is a great idea, that way she will be able to find you when you pass out in the desert!

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  3. Nice truck camper! The extra space will make a big difference for you guys!

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    1. This time we have two dogs so the extra space will be appreciated!

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  4. Looks like a great camper. It definitely is easier to "take off" quickly instead of taking your whole house. lol

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    1. I know, seems silly right? We are excited to take it on its maiden voyage!

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  5. Just think, one day you’ll be sitting inside beside a warm crackling fire watching the snow flakes piling up.
    Congrats on the camper...looks perfect! Red can relax now. 😉

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    1. I think the one we got is exactly what Red and Pam have. We would have love to have bought theirs but he just didn't want to sell it!

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  6. The new Lance looks awesome! We plan to do the same when we can finally take the trip to Alaska. We love the flexibility you guys had on your last trip without the big rig. The house looks like itsi coming along perfectly too! Can't wait to see you guys and your place next week!

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    1. For what we like to do up there this is the perfect rig, cannot wait for next summer!

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  7. Nice looking camper. Love the lite up collar.

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    1. Daisy had to go out last night at 1:30, no more wondering where she is!

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  8. Awesome truck camper!! Congrats!!

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    1. I told Barb she should have stopped and saw you at Antelope Island on her way by!

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  9. Glad you found the camper you were looking for, we've discussed the idea of an "escape pod" several times, seems like a great idea to us! Plus, that will fit in the national park campgrounds where the big 5th wheel won't! Definitely a consideration for us in the future.

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    1. You are right about the national parks, most of them are challenging to get into with a 40'er!

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  10. We've recently been discussing options for our longer term future and have talked about maybe getting a van or something small when we set up a home base. While we love our rig, it would certainly be nice to have something easy to take off for a weekend or a couple weeks with. We'll see.

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    1. See, you get it! That is exactly what we were thinking. We are not going to get rid of the big rig but just wanted something a little simpler.

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    1. Now we have a guest room for visitors before the house is finished!

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  12. That Barb knows how to execute, in and out of the snow! ;-)

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  13. Nice looking camper guys! Lance is such a great product and it looks really well kept in the pictures. Great idea and your truck will haul it like a champ.
    Good work on framing the trapezoid too, angle cut window headers, fun times.

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    1. Now we just need to finish the garage so we can store it inside!

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  14. Love the light up collar and congrats on the camper

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    1. I think it lights up the way for Daisy as she is on her after dark walk abouts as well!

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  15. I'm weird too. The wife is not so weird (or maybe more weird) as she does not like the truck camper idea for us. I gotta try to change her mind.

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    1. We all have a little crazy or weird in us, it just varies in degree.…

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  16. Barb is quite the trooper. She must be very ready to get back to Alaska. I think the truck camper is a great idea. Getting the fifth wheel all ready is a lot of work for a short trip. Thanks goodness the snow didn't hang around. You need to get to work! Love seeing Daisy and Dakota!

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    1. She has been pretty excited to get the camper and take put that step behind us, now we can continue to focus on work here!

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  17. Congrats Barb!! That's how we want to go to AK next time. Just not sure when that'll be since my folks are getting into their mid 80's. After this summer we'll be spending summers in IL while we still have them.

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    1. That is the reality of many fulltimers that we can sympathize with. Taking care of your folks is the right thing to do.

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  18. Perfect get-away camper! Like you if we go back to Alaska, Betsy will be left behind for sure. There were so many missed stops simply because of our size.
    Wow Barb, Im so bowing in front of you right now, you are such a trooper.

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    1. We really enjoyed having a camper last time we were up there. We were able to camp pretty much anywhere and quickly pull off without a problem.

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