The Maiden Voyage of Tater

OK, I can hear you now: “Who, or what in the heck is Tater…?” Well a long story short: that is the name we decided to call our new 2720SL. It is a stuffed animal character that is so ugly it is cute we found at Baby Land General Hospital (Home of Cabbage Patch Dolls in Cleveland, Georgia) that was named this so we decided it would be our mascot and then became our TM’s namesake. OK, to the story: WOW! What a first trip and a taste of some extremes; 50 mph wind gusts, sleet, rain, set-up in the dark at “the wrong place” as it had no power and the battery was drained from the reefer and reefer fan…I LOVE IT!

We two RV virgins pulled our new 2720SL into a never been to before campground in the dark with blowing winds (35 – 50mph gusts) and sleet. The campground map the manager said was permanently affixed to the office door had been “lifted” by a prior camper with a bad memory so we headed-off for lands unknown and a campsite for the weekend. (The”office” closed this time of year at 2pm.) We selected a very nice secluded and “dark” spot in the back and began our set-up procedure. Backed into a “tight” spot perfectly with much assistance and I might add through only the use of a flashlight and walkie talkies. The TM battery had been totally drained by the reefer and fan earlier in the day (left on their own for far too long before we sailed-off onto our weekend adventure….Lesson #1 of many to come) After setting-up the bare basics perfectly leveling and stabilizing our unit in the blowing wind and sleet (using headband flashlights) I plugged-in to shore power and quickly surmised there was no power. After much double-checking of our predicament we broke camp and headed for another spot.

The next most promising spot (The first one I found!) was a “pull-through” (I had had enough maneuvering for one night) heading in the direction back towards the entrance; I quickly jumped-out of the TV and plugged-in the power first, then unplugging the TV (Remember the TM battery was dead…) we selected the outside light just above the cord storage area and it lit!!! We were more than excited as you could imagine!

So arriving at the campground at 7pm we were finally snuggled into our unit at 9pm with a lesson learned the hard way and never to be forgotten. (After visiting the office the next morning to settle up we found-out the first area we had selected was available exclusively on a “for sale” basis only and that was the reason there was no power.)

The first night additionally was a little unnerving as a “weather front” blew through even into the next day with steady 20 – 30mph winds and in quite faithful intervals 35 – 50mph gusts. WE WERE LUCKY in the fact that the pull-through site we had selected was end to end directionally “west to east” as the western winds hit us on end rather than from the front or rear but still buffeted our little unit; but coming from the west at least lessening the degree of a rollover danger. Saturday the winds did not lessen but the clouds were gone at least for our location so it was sunny. The heavy storm clouds were trapped in the mountains directly to our north where we had planned to travel on a Saturday day trip to visit our trusted “primitive” camping tent area. A good two inches of snow was on the ground and more was still falling.

We both had thought there was quite possibly an area for Tater we had remembered near our primitive site so we planned a trip to "drive it" and “measure it” as a potential site for us to take “Tater” (All our primitive tent site’s were too small or tight for any RV) The area was beautifully blanketed in snow and if not for the second move of the weekend already I would have suggested we pull up stakes and bring “Tater” here but the unimproved ghastly bumpy, pitted gravel road combined with the overall tightness of the site was more than I wanted to play with this weekend. (That is why we selected an RV campground and drove here with just the Jeep to measure) We found it is only: 44’ deep X 35’ wide. It is an elongated deepened wide spot in a curve of the road overlooking a precipitous drop in the Southern Appalachians accessible only via a Rangers fire road.

We came back home to Tater after a long drive through the mountains and stop-off at the Baby Land General store and enjoyed a nice relaxing balance of the weekend watching DVD’s and listening to the wind howl. “Tater” was absolutely a joy to have and we both had wished we could have stayed indefinitely but the weekend was over. We had many “little” set-up and take down boo-boo’s but they were nothing major, just the kind of things you have to endure to learn the ropes and call yourself a TrailManor Captain. I look forward to my first set-up and take-down without a single hitch no matter how minor! “Oh wow honey, the antenna is still up….” “Honey, aren’t you supposed to put the stairs up first…” “We have to disconnect Tater AGAIN so we can close the rear cargo door of the Jeep, etc., etc” All in all playing in the backyard with our new home away from home prior to setting-out for ports unknown was invaluable but the TrailManor forums were worth their weight in GOLD! As I have already said so many times before thanks to all of you for your assistance, it made this “maiden voyage” a positively joyous occasion for my wife and me.

The amenities of the TrailManor and even the “RV” lifestyle in general were a very nice change for two primitive campers. Heat, Bathrooms, Reefers OH MY!!