Hi my wife and I are new members

[The Schneiders]

Happy to find this website. Looks like a great place for all us fiberglass folks to share thoughts and have a little fun.

My wife and I have camped with tents, small campers, fifth-wheelers and also done a lot of backpacking.

Once we say a Casita going down the road, that was it. We watched the "for sale" section of this website and found a great used unit that we bought in late October 2010.

I only wish we were coming up on Spring instead of Winter.

We are looking forward to seeing you folks on the road.

Anyone have any advise for someone new to egg camping?

Bill & Kathy Schneider

[Marinab]

Originally Posted by The Schneiders

Happy to find this website. Looks like a great place for all us fiberglass folks to share thoughts and have a little fun.

My wife and I have camped with tents, small campers, fifth-wheelers and also done a lot of backpacking.

Once we say a Casita going down the road, that was it. We watched the "for sale" section of this website and found a great used unit that we bought in late October 2010.

I only wish we were coming up on Spring instead of Winter.

We are looking forward to seeing you folks on the road.

Anyone have any advise for someone new to egg camping?

Bill & Kathy Schneider

Welcome Bill and Kathy, You will find everyone very friendly here. If you have any questions about your trailer, there is someone here who probably knows all about it. It's a good place to share your stories too. We also would love pictures of your rig. I hope we can meet you at one of the rally's. Again welcome.

Marina

[Donna D.]

Welcome to FiberglassRV Bill and Kathy! I'm not familiar with your location.... what State? Then maybe I could be more helpful.

One tidbit, get a journal and write about your experiences... people you meet and your favorite campgrounds etc. When you're not out camping, you can relive those memories.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Watch this site for gathering's close. There's at least 3 a year here in Oregon and there's one that's a bit closer to you at Mary Hill. One of these summers we want to head up your direction. Lots to see in Norther Idaho and Montana. This winter we plan on heading south for a few months pulling our little 13' Scamp with us.

As Donna say a journal or some sort of recording your travels is a good idea. We started a scrapbook, but didn't keep it up after a couple years. Anne, the other half, does a keep a pretty good journal. On the longer trips I done a website with pictures and text. I plan on doing that again when we head south early January.

Enjoy you fiberglass trailer.

[Brian Van Snell]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Welcome to FiberglassRV Bill and Kathy! I'm not familiar with your location.... what State? Then maybe I could be more helpful.

One tidbit, get a journal and write about your experiences... people you meet and your favorite campgrounds etc. When you're not out camping, you can relive those memories.

Donna:

According to their profile, they are in North Idaho.

Population of Athol was 676 in 2000 according to Wikipedia.

Brian

[Bill&Connie]

Bill & Kathy,
You'll like this website and all the good helpful information. There are a couple of other sites that are more specific to Casitas that are also quite good (and populated by a lot of the same people as here).
BTW, for those unfamiliar with the Idaho panhandle, Athol ID is very near the wonderful Farragut State Park on Lake Pend Oreille. Go there if you get the chance!
Bill& Connie

[Matt in SV]

Be sure to make a checklist for hitching up. It seems like I always need to stop to check something otherwise (bathroom door closed? windows closed? Door locked?Nothing on the counter? Kid in the carseat? Carseat in the car? You get the idea.

[Joy A]

To go along with hitching up, a list of un-hitching/campsite setup also, if you've never had a trailer before.
Oh, and one thing to do quickly is to learn to turn people away gently when you a trying to get setup in your campsite. These little trailers are people magnets. And, no kidding, you can hardly back in without someone coming over being curious.

I used to stop and talk with people but after an incident of forgeting the tire chalks and the trailer starting to roll, I changed my thinking about speaking with anyone that comes along. I now just keep on doing my thing, generally they get the idea. Or, I gently tell them that I'd be happy to talk and even show them my trailer once I've gotten setup. The refrigerator is the one thing that even to this day, 10 years later, I forget to switch over or turn on and that's with no one even being around to talk to.

Ooooooo, the panhandle of Idaho. I was just looking at a map thinking about a trip that direction in June after the Taidnapam gathering in Washington. I've got 4 weeks between Taidnapam and the Big Oregon gathering in Bandon. I been wanting to go to the panhandle of Idaho for several years now. Looks like I'll make it in 2011.

Congrats on your trailer.

Oh, and I too have a journal/log. I actually purchased a small binder and made the pages with spaces for information I'm interested in keeping. I simply fill in the blanks as I travel each day. I revise the layout periodically. I now have a satellite dish so I added a spot to write in the actual signal coordinates, in case I ever go back to that location again. I'm using my generator more so I added a space to list the amount of time I use it each day. My log will sometimes have people I've met written in the margins but my log is really just for travel information(campgrounds, site number, a campground rating, cost, gas fill up, mileage etc.), not flora and fawna.

[Keith Williams]

Originally Posted by The Schneiders

Happy to find this website. Looks like a great place for all us fiberglass folks to share thoughts and have a little fun.

My wife and I have camped with tents, small campers, fifth-wheelers and also done a lot of backpacking.

Once we say a Casita going down the road, that was it. We watched the "for sale" section of this website and found a great used unit that we bought in late October 2010.

I only wish we were coming up on Spring instead of Winter.

We are looking forward to seeing you folks on the road.

Anyone have any advise for someone new to egg camping?

Bill & Kathy Schneider

Again, welcome to the "group". This is a great place to meet people and get tons of information. I would suggest that you learn to use the SEARCH functions on these Forums and you will save yourself a lot of time. There is just an unbelievable amount of information in them.

Be sure and check out another Forum: www.casitaforum.com, if you haven't already done so. This forum has a lot of technical info and some really great Videos on how to use your Casita.

Also, www.casitaclub.com.

There is a lot of duplication but each Forum has some unique things.

Good luck,,

Keith

[Charlene Urso]

Welcome Bill and Kathy.
You won't be too far to join us in Oregon for some of our gatherings. I am sure you will love your new trailer and soon have many tales to tell. Don't be afraid of making your own and fixing it up to meet your needs. Have fun!
Charlene

[The Schneiders]

Thanks everyone for making my wife and I feel so welcome in your camper group. I was very much surprised to see so many replies and some great tips.

Looking forward to meeting any of you during our travels.

Cheers,

Bill & Kathy Schneider

[Lee Senn]

Bill and Kathy Welcome to the wonderful world of fiberglass. My wife, Norma, and I have a very similar camping background to you guys ( only the backpacking was in New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona ). I think you will enjoy the new trailer but the real plus is the folks on this forum. Norma and I hope to meet you at one of the gatherings soon. We also have some similiarity in location. We are on the other end of Idaho, Twin Falls. When camping starts again maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle. Lee and Norma

[Carol H]

Welcome Bill and Kathy. Idaho is special to me as that is where I found my trailer! Would actually like to get back that way again.

[GlendaW]

I like the idea of having a log for campground locations, generator use, propane use/purchase, miles covered, mpg, all kinds of things. However, I type on my laptop while Jeff drives, so I put everything into a spreadsheet. I can always add columns or comments when needed.

For anyone who gets on this or any other forum, they must know their way around the internet somewhat. So, besides logging in information you want to keep and reference later, it's easy also to have a blog & a photo album (all free). I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE reading blogs about traveling, camping, full-timing, — and fiberglass campers in particular. But a few too many people told me they didn't quite know how to have a blog, so (in lieu of having been camping) I "blogged" directions for how I do my blog at Casita Escapes. I'm still learning what all can be included in a blog page, but I think it's fun. Initially it seemed a bit arrogant to think anyone would even care to hear about our mundane experiences, but hopefully our mistakes will help someone else. And I know I'm not the only one interested in hearing about the best, easiest, safest, and least expensive ways to enjoy our Casita.

[The Schneiders]

Thanks Glenda,
I think I may well start a blog. If nothing else, it's a good way to retain travel information. Looks like fun.
Cheers

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by The Schneiders

Thanks Glenda,
I think I may well start a blog. If nothing else, it's a good way to retain travel information. Looks like fun.
Cheers

Last February we went on our longest trip to date. You read about it and see how documented at http://kinnamans.net Comments are welcome.

Watch for us in early January as head out again with the first scheduled stay in Death Valley. Same link as above.

[Roger C H]

Welcome to FGRV! Nice looking rig you have there. We, too were tent campers until we couldn't anymore. Spotted a 16' Casita at our last tent outing and said, "We can do that!"

A log also would help in performing maintenance on your egg. I find tv mileage is not entirely reliable because sometimes I unhitch to make side trips.
Also get in the habit of doing a walk around when setting up and when leaving. This prevents leaving a tire block, etc for the next person to use the site or nor stowing a hose, cable, etc.

[The Schneiders]

Originally Posted by Roger C H

Welcome to FGRV! Nice looking rig you have there. We, too were tent campers until we couldn't anymore. Spotted a 16' Casita at our last tent outing and said, "We can do that!"

A log also would help in performing maintenance on your egg. I find tv mileage is not entirely reliable because sometimes I unhitch to make side trips.
Also get in the habit of doing a walk around when setting up and when leaving. This prevents leaving a tire block, etc for the next person to use the site or nor stowing a hose, cable, etc.

Hello Roger,

Sounds like good advice. Thank you. Now if the snow and rain would only stop and spring was here I'd get out on the road. Not asking for too much, I'm I? LOL