SunshineAndHayfields
Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2017
- Posts
- 8
Hi Everyone,
We bought a 2012 26ft Keystone Springdale bunkhouse (no slide) in July - we are a family with four and five year old boys and plan to go camping Spring - Fall, about 4 - 6 weekends per year and 1 - 2 week long trips.
Our first trip out we spent a week in the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon, our second trip was a weekend trip close to home to celebrate my son's birthday (his idea and way better than a kid party ). My husband decided he liked the length of the rig (28.5 ft including hitch) for towing purposes, stopping at rest stops, gas stations, etc. He said multiple times he wouldn't have wanted one much longer. We also felt our towing rig (F-350) was great. We went through a Gorge that is extremely windy, and we slowed down and drove safely through lots of wind gusts. We absolutely loved the bunkhouse feature with kids - it was great for them to have their own bed space that did not need to be broken down/rebuilt each day. We also liked having our own private bedroom that the kids didn't go in and mess with our things. We also loved having a couch to sit on at night. We used all our appliances, including propane oven to make a birthday cake that turned out great (I did take advice from an RVer and bought a oven thermometer, which helped).
The set up and take down was surprisingly simple - we printed off some lists from the forum and brought them with us to make sure we didn't forget anything during set up or take down. Our first trip out was a very long car ride and knew the boys would be antsy when we arrived, so we planned and took two very small new toys for our kids to open and play with at the picnic table to buy us maximum set up time with them safely occupied. The second trip, the kids knew the drill and did just fine playing while we set up.
Here were our two biggest mistakes:
1. The first time we took down the canopy, my husband didn't have a good grip on the canopy with the pole and it quickly rolled up within a second, and my hand got smashed in between the canopy posts and the trailer. My husband panicked and I had to instruct him how to release it between screams. It caused quite a scene and about 4 ladies in nearby sites came running to help me. Luckily, besides some big bruises, there was no damage to my hand. Now we know to be very careful and go step by step and double check in this process.
2. We forgot to uncap the end of the sewer hose when we were dumping the tank. We had released the black water, and thought we heard it draining. We then released the grey water. Then we realized that the cap was still on the end of the sewer hose. My husband had the unfortunate duty of uncapping it. Sewage then burst out about 4 feet in every direction. It was a disgusting mess and a lot to clean up. Luckily, no one was waiting in line and we had lots of bleach. It was very scary though.
I think our biggest take home from those mistakes is to go slow, take our time, and be more methodical in the set up and take down process.
Overall, we are loving our trailer and have already booked three trips for the spring/early summer. It makes camping for a week very comfortable and our kids LOVED it - great family time - and can't wait to go again. Hope this helps someone - also if anyone has questions or tips about going with little kids, let me know.
We bought a 2012 26ft Keystone Springdale bunkhouse (no slide) in July - we are a family with four and five year old boys and plan to go camping Spring - Fall, about 4 - 6 weekends per year and 1 - 2 week long trips.
Our first trip out we spent a week in the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon, our second trip was a weekend trip close to home to celebrate my son's birthday (his idea and way better than a kid party ). My husband decided he liked the length of the rig (28.5 ft including hitch) for towing purposes, stopping at rest stops, gas stations, etc. He said multiple times he wouldn't have wanted one much longer. We also felt our towing rig (F-350) was great. We went through a Gorge that is extremely windy, and we slowed down and drove safely through lots of wind gusts. We absolutely loved the bunkhouse feature with kids - it was great for them to have their own bed space that did not need to be broken down/rebuilt each day. We also liked having our own private bedroom that the kids didn't go in and mess with our things. We also loved having a couch to sit on at night. We used all our appliances, including propane oven to make a birthday cake that turned out great (I did take advice from an RVer and bought a oven thermometer, which helped).
The set up and take down was surprisingly simple - we printed off some lists from the forum and brought them with us to make sure we didn't forget anything during set up or take down. Our first trip out was a very long car ride and knew the boys would be antsy when we arrived, so we planned and took two very small new toys for our kids to open and play with at the picnic table to buy us maximum set up time with them safely occupied. The second trip, the kids knew the drill and did just fine playing while we set up.
Here were our two biggest mistakes:
1. The first time we took down the canopy, my husband didn't have a good grip on the canopy with the pole and it quickly rolled up within a second, and my hand got smashed in between the canopy posts and the trailer. My husband panicked and I had to instruct him how to release it between screams. It caused quite a scene and about 4 ladies in nearby sites came running to help me. Luckily, besides some big bruises, there was no damage to my hand. Now we know to be very careful and go step by step and double check in this process.
2. We forgot to uncap the end of the sewer hose when we were dumping the tank. We had released the black water, and thought we heard it draining. We then released the grey water. Then we realized that the cap was still on the end of the sewer hose. My husband had the unfortunate duty of uncapping it. Sewage then burst out about 4 feet in every direction. It was a disgusting mess and a lot to clean up. Luckily, no one was waiting in line and we had lots of bleach. It was very scary though.
I think our biggest take home from those mistakes is to go slow, take our time, and be more methodical in the set up and take down process.
Overall, we are loving our trailer and have already booked three trips for the spring/early summer. It makes camping for a week very comfortable and our kids LOVED it - great family time - and can't wait to go again. Hope this helps someone - also if anyone has questions or tips about going with little kids, let me know.