By Dean Sprague
This decision was not taken lightly but I finally decided to part with my 2015 Jaguar XKR-S. I think it went to a good home though. A gentleman from New Hampshire (in his 80’s) purchased the car. He was in route from Road Atlanta to home where he spent the weekend campaigning his 1963 Jaguar XKE fixed head. He was the first to view my car and didn’t leave until he owned it. The R-S will complete his Jaguar collection and leave me with only one, the 2014 XF. I will miss it greatly but life is short and new adventures are waiting. This article is not really about the loss of my XK but the acquisition of another toy, a camper and the required tow unit.
My original concept of purchasing a midsize SUV with a 5000 # tow capacity (Subaru Assent) went by the boards when my wife picked the camper she wanted. Now I needed something that would pull about 7000 plus pounds, transport at least 5 people, have lots of room for stuff and still get fairly decent mileage, well around town anyway. I surveyed the market and decided to go with a new 2019 Ford F 150 pickup with a crew cab, twin turbo Eco Boost engine and the max-towing package option. This had the biggest rear seat room combined with the best mileage and it is rated to pull 12,700 pounds. Actually, I drove it to Maine to break it in before towing and averaged over 24 miles per gallon overall for the 2500-mile trip. I couldn’t complain about that. I also put a fiberglass camper (ARE) topper on the bed along with a Bed-rug and matching headliner. It’s like a giant playpen! Well that’s what my grandkids said anyway.
Now, let’s talk about the camper. This was an acquisition that blossomed. I got my “I don’t really like camping” wife involved by putting grandkids in the mix. The only thing that saved me from a 45-foot 5th wheel was the parking limitations of my driveway, thank you, and thank you. Of course, we still ended up with a bit more camper than I originally envisioned but it is really quite nice and I can still (just barely) back it up my driveway. We decided to get a little higher end model for increased environmental efficiency and durability. We had to order one because Bev ‘needed’ virtually all the options. Typically I discovered, dealers don’t order them that loaded for retailing on their lot. We ordered a 2019 Forest River Surveyor 245 BHS Platinum model back in early June from a hi-volume wholesaler in Ohio. This saved us enough money to offset the additional options and more but required us to go to Ohio to pick it up. Oh well, what a good excuse for a road trip.
However, I was told because of the tariffs several parts were delayed so it took longer to get it than estimated but when it did arrive in late August we ended up with a 2020 model. This changed a few things some good some not so good but over all she was still very happy with it. The interior materials were different but fancier, the optional upgraded mattress for the front bedroom was no longer available and the grill in the outside kitchen was changed back to a stove. Bev liked the interior changes but she was not happy about the loss of the grill or the cheap mattress. I made lemonade though by getting a credit for the bed and she used the money to order a cool-gel memory one on line. She also found a grill on line that is designed to sit on the outside kitchen stove or picnic table and still plug into the onboard gas line so all is well.
Actually it’s difficult for me to view this as a camper. This luxury lightweight has residential style kitchen cabinetry, 2-door refrigerator/freezer, microwave, stove with oven and under mount sink (all in stainless), spacious pantries, seamless countertops, a full dinette, a large entertainment center with TV, DVD, USB and WiFi with tons of extra storage. It also has fully ducted air and heat including an enclosed and heated underbelly and much more. This ‘glamper’ was as close to roughing it as my wife was willing to get.
Why get a camper at all you may ask? Well as I mentioned earlier it’s about grandkids. I wanted to recreate the adventures I had with my kids growing up with campers. It gave us some of the most memorable experiences we ever had. This time however, we may on occasion need additional room for their parents. We finally found campers that were designed for this purpose. They have bunk beds and couches along with convertible dinettes plus a front separate master bedroom. I discovered that the additional length required for the couch would make it too long to make the cut in my driveway. It was decision time again. No couch and live with the occasional inconvenience of knocking down the dinette to convert it into a double bed or store a longer camper with a couch off site. We opted for no couch. The Surveyor we choose has two full size bunk beds not quarter ones so adults can use them and when you have younger children they always seem to end up in the same bed anyway, especially little girls so we should have lots of room. Also, now that the camper is limited to about a 25-foot box, 28 feet overall instead of 33 plus feet required for the couch units it will fit into almost any campground that offers full hookups.
One of my “bucket lists” trips is to visit the Canadian National Park system along their southern border but that can wait. We are now planning an over the road adventure for this coming summer. You may be aware I am from Maine but my grandkids have never seen it so I want to show it to them. My family has a camping compound there that we can use anytime so that will probably be our first major trip. In the interim we plan to shake it down with several weekend get always in the mountains. You know we live in one of the best areas in the country for just getting outside and enjoying nature. The adventures are waiting so pack your toothbrush and lets get out there and soak it up!
