The Joys of Trailer Travel Life

For years we debated the pros and cons of owning a travel trailer. The pro column was easy to fill. The freedom to travel where and when we wanted while towing our tiny house behind us. Our own bed and bathroom…cooking our own meals…it all sounded wonderful. 
The biggest con was the financial investment; purchasing a truck in addition to a trailer. Reg and I promised each other that if we did it, we would have to make every effort to use it…a lot…so we took the plunge.

Almost eight years later we’ve kept our promise, traveling multiple times to the nearby Oregon Coast, as well as several trips back and forth across country. We have loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. 

Things do go wrong and the fixes don’t always last. Our first trailer had a window leak over the bed. A leak we didn’t notice until we climbed in at night and the sheets were soaked. We also set our roll of paper towels on fire. Now we keep them far away from the stovetop. The worst was when I failed to hook the sewer pipe up properly. Enough said. It’s no longer my job.

Last year our television fell off the wall in North Carolina, snapping into so many pieces that we required not just a new bracket, but a new TV. The heater stopped working in Louisiana. We had water leaks in Texas (twice) and New Mexico. The caulking around our sink was so chewed up I was afraid it was in danger of dropping out from the counter.

So, before we set off on our winter escape this year, Reg had our waterlines updated, our sink reinstalled (it looks pretty again) and a number of other fixes meant to prevent disaster.

As we headed south, we revisited the water leak our second morning on the road. A steady stream of water poured from under the sink, interfering with our morning coffee (sacred time) and generally making us both grumpy. Fortunately, after 25 years of fiddling with automatic garden sprinklers, Reg was able to fix it. So far, so good.

By the time we reached Desert Hot Springs our TV was cattywampus, threatening to come loose (again) despite the strap and towels we thought were safely holding it in place. Much more bouncing around and our new TV would be toast too. Again, Reg was able to fix it, with the help of our “Helpful Hardware Man” at Ace, who pointed out the wrong type of screw had previously been used.

Tucson greeted us on our first day with blue sky and a temperature that reached 64°. Perfect! Today, the palm trees are swaying in the wind and the gray sky is spitting rain at us. Oh well, this too shall pass. At least we have TV.