Why We Bought a Travel Trailer
We didn't always dream of owning a camper. We were quite content camping in a tent for years. Heck, we even registered for a tent when we got married! One of our wedding guest actually bought it for us and gosh, were we excited. Our very first tent as a couple that would fit more than two sleeping bags. We still have that tent. I can't bring myself to part with it. Cory gets it out of the attic and "camps" in the front yard with T. Maybe this summer Beck will earn his spot in the tent too.
So how did we find ourselves in the market for a camper two years ago? It was a tiny seed Cory planted in conversations here and there along the way. Once T was born, a tent didn't seem as appealing so we sent her to stay with relatives in their camper while we camped in our tent. I could see the novelty of a camper, but I wasn't quite ready for RV ownership when she was still a baby.
Our aspirations for a RV actually came about when we parted ways with a jeep. A jeep that we loved dearly, but it too was something we owned that didn't quite fit the needs of our growing family. So as we said goodbye to the jeep, Cory began searching for the perfect starter camper. We found a 2011 Keystone Sprinter travel trailer in fantastic used condition. We made it our own by recovering the sofa and dinette cushions, updating the window treatments and gave it a few other face lifts here and there.
After a year and a half of camping adventures in the Sprinter, we began to discuss selling it and updating to a newer model with a floor plan that I just loved. Cory gets all of the credit for his diligent research in making sure we purchased the very best camper for us. We had a few priorities in our search for a new travel trailer:
Quality - We hope to keep this camper until the kids are much older. Since they are only 5 and 2 years old, we hope we have many memory-making years ahead of us (while they think we're still "cool").
Customer Service - In the rare instance we do encounter a problem, we want consistent customer service that provides solutions.
The floor plan - We wanted a the camper to have bunks, seating directly in front of the TV, ample storage and plenty of counter space in the kitchen area.
So which camper did we buy? A Grand Design Imagine 2800BH and we all LOVE it. The floor plan is perfect, our experience with Grand Designs customer service has already lived up to the hype and the quality is unmatched!
Our focused has transitioned from finding the perfect RV to making the most of our weekends. We've planned a camping trip or two almost every month of 2018. We'll be reviewing campgrounds, checking out local attractions and sharing what we've learned along the way.