JayArr
Well-known member
We're back from 26 days on the road from Vancouver BC to Ottawa ON and return.
Other than a two day trip to a local campsite this was our first outing with a travel trailer. We had lots to learn but also found lots to love.
We traveled about 600 km per day on a set route with campsites pre-booked. We thought it best to have reservations in case Covid made it difficult but have learned that it's pretty easy to find a site if you're willing to go without elec/water. On some sites where we couldn't get a serviced site we would just fill the fresh tank on the way in and then dump before leaving the next day. I can see services being necessary if you're staying for more than 2 days but we realized we're travelers not campers.
We learned quickly that sleeping in and not leaving until 10 or 11 results in more hours on the road in the hottest part of the day, we adjusted and started leaving between 8 and 10. We typically drove 8-10 hours per day but this included stops for pictures, gas, let the dogs pee, and lunch.
I've got to say I love having a kitchen on board! In 26 days I ate only one fast food sandwich! No restaurants, all meals were in the camper prepared by us. We ate very well and I lost ten pounds. (I eat a lot of fast food at home). I was not expecting this at all and it was a very welcome bonus!
Compared to camping this is a snap, between pulling into a campground and having a beer in a lawn chair typically only took ten minutes. Likewise we could pack up and go in a flash. Because we were only in most places for one night we don't unhook and after the first few days I stopped bothering with the stabilizer jacks.
Our trip in short form:
Vancouver
Clearwater BC
Jasper/Hinton - 2 nights
Banff - 2 nights
Gull Lake SK (just before Swift Current)
Moosimin (on the SK MB border)
Stop in Brandon for a celebration of life for my cousin
McGregor MB (between Brandon and Winnipeg)
Wabigoon Lake ON (halfway between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay)
Thessalon ON (50km past Sault Ste Marie)
Take the ferry from Manitoulin Island to Tobermory (2 hours)
Wiarton ON
Penetanguishene ON (My buddies house, 2 days)
Bourget ON (Michelle's Mother, 2 days)
Take the northern route over the top of Algonquin Park
Lavigne ON (between North Bay and Sudbury)
Take the norther Hwy 11 route to Nipigon
Hearst ON (Near Kapuskasing and the middle of nowhere)
Thunder Bay (my sisters place)
Lake of the woods ON (at MB border)
Travelling west we weren't supposed to stay in MB so we drove the entire province in one day.
Moosimin SK (same campground as heading East)
Gull Lake SK (same campground as heading East)
Instead of #1 to Calgary we went to Lethbridge and took #3
Beaver Mines AB (Rodeo campground at the BC border).
Climbed Crowsnest pass in the cool morning air.
Grand Forks BC
Home!
We're towing a 19' Fleetwood trailer with a GMC Envoy XL (4.2 litre) so we had to take it slow, 90 km/hr was about the limit but this allowed us to take some interesting side roads since the divided highways no longer held any advantage. The car developed a leaky water pump but that was easily changed for $85 in my MIL garage and the route home was to take Hwy #3 from Lethbridge to Vancouver because Michelle wanted different roads/sites.
I would not recommend Hwy #3 to anyone towing anything! It was nothing but a series of up and down hills. You spend a half hour climbing up a summit in 2nd (or 1rst) and then you spend a half hour descending in 2nd or 3rd, repeat over and over:
Crowsnest Pass - elevation 1,358 m (4,455 ft)
Kooteney Pass - elevation 1,774 m (5,820 ft)
Bombi Pass - elevation 1215 meters (3986 ft)
Bonanza Summit - elevation 1535 m (5,036 ft)
Eholt Summit - elevation 1028 meters (3372 ft)
Anarchist Summit - elevation 1,491 metres (4,892 ft)
Richter Pass - elevation ~650 m (2,130 ft)
Sunday Summit - elevation of 1,284 m (4,213 ft)
Allison Pass - elevation of 1,342 m (4,403 ft)
I now need a new transmission, it's slipping. Granted it had 250K kms on it but I'm sure the last two days were just too much for it.
Before our next trip I'll have to flush the cooling system and replace the rad, install a new transmission cooler, replace the transmission and have a look at the rear suspension.
All in all we loved it, we are definitely converts and looking for more trips, routes and destinations. I can see us doing a lot of this in the future.
Jeff and Michelle
Other than a two day trip to a local campsite this was our first outing with a travel trailer. We had lots to learn but also found lots to love.
We traveled about 600 km per day on a set route with campsites pre-booked. We thought it best to have reservations in case Covid made it difficult but have learned that it's pretty easy to find a site if you're willing to go without elec/water. On some sites where we couldn't get a serviced site we would just fill the fresh tank on the way in and then dump before leaving the next day. I can see services being necessary if you're staying for more than 2 days but we realized we're travelers not campers.
We learned quickly that sleeping in and not leaving until 10 or 11 results in more hours on the road in the hottest part of the day, we adjusted and started leaving between 8 and 10. We typically drove 8-10 hours per day but this included stops for pictures, gas, let the dogs pee, and lunch.
I've got to say I love having a kitchen on board! In 26 days I ate only one fast food sandwich! No restaurants, all meals were in the camper prepared by us. We ate very well and I lost ten pounds. (I eat a lot of fast food at home). I was not expecting this at all and it was a very welcome bonus!
Compared to camping this is a snap, between pulling into a campground and having a beer in a lawn chair typically only took ten minutes. Likewise we could pack up and go in a flash. Because we were only in most places for one night we don't unhook and after the first few days I stopped bothering with the stabilizer jacks.
Our trip in short form:
Vancouver
Clearwater BC
Jasper/Hinton - 2 nights
Banff - 2 nights
Gull Lake SK (just before Swift Current)
Moosimin (on the SK MB border)
Stop in Brandon for a celebration of life for my cousin
McGregor MB (between Brandon and Winnipeg)
Wabigoon Lake ON (halfway between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay)
Thessalon ON (50km past Sault Ste Marie)
Take the ferry from Manitoulin Island to Tobermory (2 hours)
Wiarton ON
Penetanguishene ON (My buddies house, 2 days)
Bourget ON (Michelle's Mother, 2 days)
Take the northern route over the top of Algonquin Park
Lavigne ON (between North Bay and Sudbury)
Take the norther Hwy 11 route to Nipigon
Hearst ON (Near Kapuskasing and the middle of nowhere)
Thunder Bay (my sisters place)
Lake of the woods ON (at MB border)
Travelling west we weren't supposed to stay in MB so we drove the entire province in one day.
Moosimin SK (same campground as heading East)
Gull Lake SK (same campground as heading East)
Instead of #1 to Calgary we went to Lethbridge and took #3
Beaver Mines AB (Rodeo campground at the BC border).
Climbed Crowsnest pass in the cool morning air.
Grand Forks BC
Home!
We're towing a 19' Fleetwood trailer with a GMC Envoy XL (4.2 litre) so we had to take it slow, 90 km/hr was about the limit but this allowed us to take some interesting side roads since the divided highways no longer held any advantage. The car developed a leaky water pump but that was easily changed for $85 in my MIL garage and the route home was to take Hwy #3 from Lethbridge to Vancouver because Michelle wanted different roads/sites.
I would not recommend Hwy #3 to anyone towing anything! It was nothing but a series of up and down hills. You spend a half hour climbing up a summit in 2nd (or 1rst) and then you spend a half hour descending in 2nd or 3rd, repeat over and over:
Crowsnest Pass - elevation 1,358 m (4,455 ft)
Kooteney Pass - elevation 1,774 m (5,820 ft)
Bombi Pass - elevation 1215 meters (3986 ft)
Bonanza Summit - elevation 1535 m (5,036 ft)
Eholt Summit - elevation 1028 meters (3372 ft)
Anarchist Summit - elevation 1,491 metres (4,892 ft)
Richter Pass - elevation ~650 m (2,130 ft)
Sunday Summit - elevation of 1,284 m (4,213 ft)
Allison Pass - elevation of 1,342 m (4,403 ft)
I now need a new transmission, it's slipping. Granted it had 250K kms on it but I'm sure the last two days were just too much for it.
Before our next trip I'll have to flush the cooling system and replace the rad, install a new transmission cooler, replace the transmission and have a look at the rear suspension.
All in all we loved it, we are definitely converts and looking for more trips, routes and destinations. I can see us doing a lot of this in the future.
Jeff and Michelle
