Manic Googling and "Impulse" Research and Shopping

I had trailers on my mind... Camping with scouts is fun but restrictive. Families cannot share sleeping facilities. If Captain Stubborn wants to have a trailer sleep over in his BFF VeryGoodFriendSon#2's trailer, he cannot. Adults cannot bring alcohol. Cute and Perky couples cannot bring wine from their overflowing wine rack. VeryGoodFriends cannot break out their blender for margaritas. DaddyDocs cannot pack a few Newcastles or Fat Tires or Red Tale Ales in the ice chests.

While we understand the reasons for these restrictions and as leaders we accept responsibility for enforcing them, they do slightly cramp the camping style. Make no mistake, we are not lushes, but Valentine's dinner, even outdoors in the cold, would have been lovely with some bottles of wine, right? Let's hear it for responsible drinking.

We have at least two more Scouting campouts in the next six months and the chance to go camping with our village tempted me. I immediately started Googling trailers when we came home. I quickly found the major manufacturers. I scoured their specifications for dry weights and gross weights. I looked through floor plans for the little icons that revealed showers and toilets. In no time at all I found a few models of Starcraft tent trailers that I could love. I looked at other manufacturers, too, but none had the storage I found in the Starcrafts.

I started searching for those models on sale. I learned that tent trailers really seem to hold their value well. I found a few used units for sale, in the styles I wanted, but none anywhere near California! And their prices were slightly higher than Mr. Enabler had expected. This turned into a good thing...

-----

Here is what I require:

- A shower and toilet are non-negotiable.

- The gross weight has to come in under 3500 lbs. The further under the better. But...

- I need some storage. I want as much counter space as I can get for the galley. And I need storage. (Yet ANOTHER Cub Scout mom, upon giving me a tour of her trailer in Barstow, strongly emphasized counter space and storage. I easily agree with her points.)

- A heater.

This is the smallest 2009 model available with a shower and toilet combination - the 2108. Really too small for us but at least it has some storage, right? DISCONTINUED in 2010.

I quickly discovered that for some reason, many tent trailers have more beds than storage spaces. My family of five can easily fit in a basic tent trailer: DaddyDoc and I on one end, two boys sharing the opposite bed, and the third boy on the dining table bed. That said, there is no law that all of us must sleep in the trailer! During the years before we dated, DaddyDoc had a 2 person tent of his own. Except for that rainy night in Durango, DaddyDoc always slept in his own little 2-man tent. He enjoyed his independence and privacy. I have no problem kicking kids to the curb. I mean... Surely my own children would enjoy the opportunity to have their own tent away from their pesky parents? What child would not like the opportunity to keep his headlight and ipod turned on without their meddlesome parents telling them to turn them off and go to sleep?

Another runner up, the 2009 2406. A little more room, a bigger dinette area, still has a shower, look at that storage! DISCONTINUED in 2010.

I found "The New 2009 Trailer of my Dreams" for just $1000 more than the "Used 2006 Trailer of My Dreams". At an RV dealer. In Las Vegas. As I looked at pictures of the used units and the price of that trailer in Vegas and I came to two realizations:

1- The cost of a new trailer I found online wasn't that much more than a used trailer. These things really retain their value.

and

2- I could have a trailer toilet that no one else had ever pooped in.

In Las Vegas.

-----

The 2009 2407 is getting bigger - see how the dinette slides out? The kitchen has that counter, too. But what? No Shower. What's that about? It doesn't really matter because it's DISCONTINUED in 2010.

My anxiety level rose. What if we drove to Las Vegas and I hated the trailer when I saw it in person? What if they sold the trailer before I could buy it? How would we get to Las Vegas to get the trailer? Who would watch my kids because that would be a miserable trip for them? What if they shipped the trailer to us and we found out that it smelled like a dead skunk? What if we bought it only to find out that something even more magical sat in a dealership just down the road from home?

When I get manic, I do not waste time. I could not waste time! DaddyDoc contacted the dealership in Vegas. The sold one of the two units a few weeks ago. I cancelled plans with friends and cleared my schedule to go visit RV dealerships the very weekend after the Barstow trip. At our first stop we wandered through several dealers in one location, seeing tent trailers and ultra-lights built by a variety of manufacturers. We learned several bits of information very quickly - and what we learned only fueled my mania:

-- March is the tent-trailer season. New models arrive in just a few weeks.

-- As such, dealers have very few tent-trailers currently in stock. They seem to only have smaller models left in stock.

-- "The Trailer of My Dreams" is a now-discontinued model. With the 2010 models, Starcraft discontinued several of the sub-3500 lb floor plans, to include each model on my list, even the runners-up.

-- For the small tent-trailers we saw, without showers and toilets, in California, dealers are asking $2000 more than "The New 2009 Trailer of My Dreams" in Las Vegas. Read that again: $2000 more for a SMALLER trailer with NO shower or toilet.

-- The dealers expect to offer the new models, with extra sleeping space instead of extra storage, for $4000 to $6000 more than the cost of "The Trailer of My Dreams" in Las Vegas.

We pulled over near the back of the dealership area, DaddyDoc pulled out his iphone and called the dealer in Las Vegas. Soon, we had made a $100 deposit on "The Trailer of My Dreams."

-----

And there she is... isn't she LOVELY? Ok, yes, the shower is right by the front door. I know, that part is a tad wrong. I wish it were in the opposite corner. But look at all that storage! And the dinette that slides out!! It's the slide-out dinette that pushes the 2409 well into prime territory. Don't fall too much in love with it though, it's been DISCONTINUED IN 2010!!

Click here to see the sad little floorplans that remain in the 2010 options.

Our friends enabled us along the way. They offered some tidbits of advice. Mrs.VeryGoodFriend is certain that we will want to upgrade in just two years. Mr.Enabler offered us a electric brake thingie for the MommyMobile which he has on hand. The Enablers and Mr. VeryGoodFriend both offered us rides to Vegas in their trucks to pick-up "The Trailer of My Dreams" as the MommyMobile needs some upgrades before she can pull the trailer. A friend from church hooked us up with a mechanic who made us an offer so good we can't possibly refuse: Rather than upgrade the MommyMobile ourselves, we will leave it with our friend on Friday and his neighbor the mechanic will install all the parts for us on Saturday! Even our friends who do not camp gave us a spare set of kitchen knives for our trailer kitchen! The set came free with another purchase. Like us, they have a very good set for their home kitchen and had no real use for this set, which would be fine and dandy for the trailer. We gratefully accepted their gift!

But could I really let go of the anxiety? Of course not. One phone call confirmed one of my deeper unspoken fears: An friend listed above lost a trailer from a local dealership. Like us, she made a deposit on the trailer she wanted, but before they could finalize the deal, another person walked into the dealership with cash and bought it out from under them.

I prepared myself for a week of anxiety focused on this one issue: Would they still have the trailer when we pulled into the dealership on Saturday morning?

DaddyDoc proved once again why I married him. Work, Schmork. He got on the phone Monday morning to our bank and to our dealer. Fortunately for us, our bank is also affiliated with our insurance company. By the time DaddyDoc hung up the phone, the bank arranged to send the funds to the dealer and "The Trailer of My Dreams" was added to our insurance policy.

While our village produced a volunteer to babysit the kids, they rebelled at the suggestion. It would seem that the excitement of purchasing a tent trailer overrides the potential boredom of an eight-hour round trip. The VeryGoodFriends pointed out that their pick-up has a DVD player inside. The children reminded us that they have ipods with games and even movies.

On Saturday morning, bright (well not entirely bright,) and early, we shall climb aboard the VeryGoodFriend's pick-up, armed with homemade goodies, snacks, a thermos of coffee and a credit card to purchase gas and meals to begin the turnaround journey to Las Vegas.

I did have to disappoint Mr. Genius slightly. He mentioned that he has always wanted to see Vegas. I informed him that Mr.VeryGoodFriend would NOT be driving "The Trailer of My Dreams" down the Strip on a Saturday afternoon.