T@Bbers

belvagillespie

Where is everyone? Are you guys all traveling ALL summer. I keep checking for some camping stories. Seems like everyone else is waiting for their T@B to be delivered.

We had a great time out west in June. 3 weeks and 5,600 miles on the road and very little access to internet. Or really time to post because we are camping!!! We had a fast paced trip. So fast, that we did not use our PahaQue canopy until we got to Idaho and camped with our adult children. They helped put it up for us. Glad we had it, the winds and sand in Idaho and Utah were constant during our time there. We do not have a tent set up. Probably would be a good idea for the extra space. We cooked almost every night out of the clamshell. Used our I Heater several nights. Used the AC in Utah. Everything worked like a dream. 

We hope to hear from some of you when you get a chance to post. 

Biggest surprise: Craters of the Moon

Best camping site on the planet:  Red Fish Lake, Idaho

Most fun camping spot: Three Mile Island Crossing, Idaho

Most expensive: Jackson, WY. 

Not impressed: KOA camp grounds

The way I got interested in the T@B was reading the travel post of a Little Guy traveler. When I read his post, I read his entire 3 month journey. I knew that we could do it, Come on, Let's inspire some future T@Bbers. 

We got new tires before we left on the trip. 2014 model and our tires had worn because we had had the wrong hitch. 

We never really needed all those locks! 

We took too many clothes. 

Love the performance of the Yeti. We kept it in our SUV. 

We did lose another tag. Bought another one for $3.00 when we got home. 

Gas was the most expensive in Utah. 

We did not get great gas mileage but it was not terrible. Better than the price of an airline ticket and rental car.

Grateful for our beautiful state parks and for our national treasures, our National Parks. 

Wanderoo

Hi, Belva -- I thought you were going to sell your T@B?   Glad to hear you did not.  I camped last week at Mueller State Park near Divide, Colorado.  What a beautiful state park!!!!, and I'm VERY glad I had the PahaQue awning.  It rained every day for about 2-3 hours, and it was lovely to sit under the awning, read a book, and watch it rain.  This is my 6th trip with ClemenT@B and I learn more every time I take her out.  Last weekend a deer jumped in front of me (15 ft.) in the middle of the day.  YOWSER!  I hit the brakes softly and, luckily, it continued across the road.

If anyone is contemplating a trip to Colorado, this is a WONDERFUL state park. We went in to Cripple Creek for a gold mine tour and lunch.  Very interesting and a great trip.  BTW, the elevation of Mueller SP is 9,600 ft.

I'm hoping to squeeze out 2 more camping trips this season before I have to winterize.  Happy Trails!

belvagillespie

Hi, Beth, thanks for the post of your great adventure. I'd love to make a trip to that part of Colorado. I love Colorado. You look like you are having fun. I like the way you have the T@B set up with the "split level" campsite. 

I wish we would have had the canopy like yours. I think it is a must for the T@B. You are smart to stay in one place for a few days. We pressed onward at too fast a pace.

I am going to sell the visor, T@B cover separately from the T@B. Yes, She is still for sale. No one truly interested, yet. I am not pressed to sell her just thinking ahead for we will need next year. We are still camping with her. Loving her and having fun with driveway picnic parties. 

We have used up our vacation time. I can't complain, 3 weeks out west in the T@B was a blast. But we will have a lot of opportunity for one-nighters on into the cold weather or until we sell her. 

I have plans to camp with a T@Bber whom I met on the forum. They do not actively post but read and enjoy our info. We are hoping to camp together by September. 

I also have been keeping up with a Forum Friend from the Little Guy group. She lives in Austin and is a bicyclist. We met for dinner when we traveled to Austin last spring. She has had a marvelous bike trip in Colorado. She post on FB, so I have been able to enjoy thru her posts her Colorado adventure. 

It was hard to post during our trip. We were tired at the end of the day and we had very little internet availability during our travels. 

We have a lot of deer in our neighborhood. Seems like I drive with an eye out for deer every day. We did not have any close calls with wildlife. Saw the magnificent Bison in Yellowstone. You would not want to bump into one of those fellows.

I did have an ant problem in Santa Fe. The campsite was crawling. The RV guy sprayed around the T@B. After he did it, I was sorry I had had him spray. All I could think about was getting ants inside the T@B. 

I am sure someone has a good idea of preventing ants. I did see a camper near us that had white powder around their stabilizers  Do I remember something about Ajax or Comet being used for that? I bet some of these veteran campers know what to do that is more environmentally friendly.

Richard is obsessed with getting the T@B perfectly level. Drives me a little crazy but I do appreciate it when I go to bed in a level bed. How are you doing leveling your T@B. We use the blocks. I assume you do travel with wheel chocks to keep T@B in place. I know you have everything. Just like us. I think we (new T@Bbers) all went thru a buying frenzy last fall and early winter months.We will have to depend on the new T@Bbers to help keep the economy  strong.

We got a lot of visits from other RVers and campers. The word cute is constant. We saw several T@Bs along the way. Most were very friendly. Most had never seen a T@B Clamshell. 

I think the best part of having a Clamshell and a T@B, is that you can turn the T@B toward the lake, a view, toward a private area, You can place it anywhere on the campsite that you wish. We cook outside, and have our breakfast, lunch and dinner in the outdoors. I took a toaster oven. I store it under the sink in the clamshell. I do not take a microwave. I left the NuWave cook top at home. I could have used a better serving bowl. 

I decided that I do not like the plates and bowls that I bought for the T@B. 

I used Viva paper towels when traveling. They are great for  T@B travel.

When we got home, I washed and cleaned T@B completely. Took out everything. Then I reorganized T@B for the shorter camp trip. I think that I have packed differently for every camping trip. But the long 3 week trip took some planning. I used a Gander Mtn. storage bin, fabric with 3 zipperd bins to hold our food and I kept it in the SUV. I was perfect for us and I had just enough food packed from home. I had no problems finding fresh veggies and other stuff along the way, such as Bison for Bison chili. We have a Yeti. We like it more than we thought we would.. It is heavy, so we kept it in the SUV the entire trip. We have a drain hose that connects to the side so we could every few days drain the water and then add more ice. I did have some food that did not do well in the frig after a day+ of boondocking. I wish I had the solar panels. 

We have made our reservations for the 2015 BRR. We will be there, maybe in T@BbyKay or maybe is something a little larger. Not too big. I want to have a dedicated bed. We are having our first grandchild next year so we will want to travel to visit Baby G. Not to mention our other 5 children who are scattered about the country. 

Beth, have fun this summer. You look great. T@B looks great. Life is good. Enjoy. Hope you will stay in touch. 

T@BbyKay

Wanderoo

Well, the "split-level" campsite was not a forethought!  Ha!  I had barely enough room on the asphalt for the T@B, and then to be able to pitch the T@B awning?  Whew!  I only had 2 inches of ground space to spare.  So glad the sides roll up so that I could go in and out that way.  (The awning can also be staked at the T@B side.)  This awning is a must if you camp where there is frequent rain, as in the Colorado mountains.  It's totally doable to set up even by yourself, although I did need to utilize the pullout T@B step to get it pulled through the Keder rail at the top.  (And a hammer to pound in the stakes!) 

Yes, Belva, I use the leveling blocks.  I had to use 3.5 inches on the last trip, the most ever.  I'm also anal about getting the T@B as level as I can.  I'm usually only 1/2 bubble away from Bulls-eye. 

I tend to travel light -- I don't have a microwave nor a toaster oven nor a Dutch oven.  I did just buy one of those clamp-together cast iron campfire cookers -- haven't tried it yet.  I also got a tiny, mini crockpot which will be great for throwing in a chicken breast and a can of mushroom soup with some raw veggies on top, go hiking, come back and have dinner!

So glad to hear you guys had a wonderful 3-week trip.  Yes, that would take some planning.  I have learned, for me, that trying to undertake too many miles is too short a time depletes the experience.

I have seen the Yeti's at ACE Hardware.  They work on ice only, right?  If I took a trip longer than a week, I would probably want a Yeti or an ARB.  What are the advantages/disadvantages? I've had no problems with my 3-way refer, but I'm thinking that being able to buy meat and keep it frozen for a week while camping would be great.

So much to learn during the first year as a T@BBer, and I'm proud of myself.  I  know my ex-husband would drop his jaw if he knew that I truly have fulfilled my dream of buying a "trailer" and traveling around. 

Lovin' my T@B!

  

SunnyTAB

We have three more outings planned making it a total of 5 this summer since we picked up Sunny.

Interesting Belva, our clamshell kitchen is slightly different in the back. Our cabinets open upwards (do yours open sideways?) making it harder to put a TV back there though we'd really like to. We also don't have stereo speakers, but I'm sure we could if we were mechanical at all (which we are not).

We're still sticking close to home: Port Townsend this weekend (for 2nd time), Wine Country RV in Prosser in Sept, followed by Lake Cushman at the end of September. All within a few hours from Seattle. Then it will be too chilly until Spring.

Let's get some planning in for next year! We'd love to hit another T@B rally. Anyone made any 2015 reservations yet?

belvagillespie

It appears that every T@B made is a little different. Ours was made in early 2013 but listed at the dealer as a 2014. I guess you would lose some cabinet space if you installed a TV in your clamshell. 

We enjoy watching movies on our short outings. not so much TV when we travel and camp. 

I just listed our T@B for sale in the BuySellTradeRV.com. So sad to sell her but we need a dedicated bed for 2-3 week journeys. I really love our T@B. If LG could have the larger model ready by spring I would wait for it but I do not think that will happen. 

I am not going to give her away, as Evelyn has mentioned. Most campers do not know the quality and value of the T@B. They are comparing The T@B other campers and that comparison is not a valid one. 

The Yeti can be used with dry ice, also. I have not tried it, but plan to do so. Did I mention, that they are HEAVY when loaded. 

The true beauty of the T@B is you can pick up and go, close to home or away without a lot of fuss. I keep my T@B ready to camp. She stays in the driveway. We back up the SUV and off we go. That is a different story when you have a larger camper. If, we get a  little larger camper and do not like it. Maybe the larger T@B will be ready at that time. 

We have signed up for a T@B rally called the BRR held in Tennessee in April-May 2015. That may be a long way to go for you. But it is a great group of people. I promise you would have a great time. Being around other T@Bbers is the most fun you can have. Because everyone has a familiar adventure spirit about them. 

Beth, I installed both of the storage pouches that we had talked about. I did not think I would have room for both but it worked out.

Evelyn, your yard sounds wonderful. I know you have enjoyed it this summer. 

Everybody, have fun this week. I'm stuck at home doing planning, meetings, and end of VBS on Friday. Noah's Ark on Friday!!! Last week we did the story of The Feeding of the Five Thousand, I took 2 real whole fish to help as an aid in the story. Some of the children had never seen a real fish. Imagine that. Makes me want to take them all camping with me!!

SunnyTAB

Wow - I loved looking at all the pics. Sunny looks so spartan compared to yours. We barely have one TV - lol.

Our cabinets are accessible from both sides (which I'm guessing yours are too), so we wouldn't totally lose that cabinet, just one access point for it. We have used the radio inside the trailer, but my husband wants to rig up a projection screen along one side. Personally, I don't mind reading a book.

I hope you find the perfect buyer for your rig. I totally understand needing something bigger. I don't know how much longer my back can handle ducking and bending. Guess I'd better do more yoga in the off season.

CodeJunkie

Wanderoo/Beth, it sounds like we were camping in the same area at about the same time!  I was at Eleven Mile State Park near Lake George for 3 days, Aug 1 – 4.  Truly a beautiful experience in my PopT@B.  The Alde performed flawlessly and kept me toasty-warm during the cool mountain evenings, and the FanTastic Fan took the heat out during the day.

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Those daily afternoon showers were perfect for napping right before cooking dinner.  The bear country warnings did have me a little on edge while cooking, even if it was inside the T@B.  I was very careful to clean up everything and use the bear-proof trash receptacles in the park.  Definitely a place

 

Belva, I hope we have a chance to meet at the 2015 BRR.  I am signed up and have reserved campsite #43.  This will be my very first ever rally and I’m so excited to think of seeing other T@bbers layouts and meeting their owners.  I know I’ll learn a lot.  You were at the BRR last year, right?  I think I remember seeing your name on the Facebook page for the rally.  It sounds like such a fun time!

 

Happy Camping!

belvagillespie

Hi, CodeJunkie, yes we are planning to be at the BRR. We have a reserved site but cannot recall the #. We will be there, maybe not in our T@B, but in another travel trailer/camper. We will love it. We had a great time this year. it is a real confidence booster. We were already doing most of the right things with our T@B. At the rally we discovered that we were using the wrong hitch. We ordered the correct one on the internet. The hitch was delivered quickly. The new hitch with the 6" drop greatly improved the towing of the T@B. 

We were Bear Aware while on our Western trip. No problems for us during our trip. 

I look forward to meeting you, as well, at the BRR. By that time, we'll be big buddies. Have fun until then. I have met some really great people since we discovered the T@B. It is a friendship that is unlike the ones you may share with neighbors and co workers. With the T@B, there is such a passion and spirit of adventure that does not exist in many other places. T@ Bbers get it. 

CodeJunkie

belvagillespie wrote, "With the T@B, there is such a passion and spirit of adventure that does not exist in many other places. T@ Bbers get it."

 

It sounds like I'm going to fit right in with this group!  I definitely love an adventure!  And, I definitely love my T@B!

mickietucs

belvagillespie - when you say you had the wrong hitch, would you clarify?  And which hitch did you order? Does the type of hitch ("drop" if that's the correct terminology) change with the height of one's TV? When I get my TV and see the height of the hitch receiver, do I then order the ball/hitch with a certain drop? Thanks!

belvagillespie

Michele, Hey there, I feel your excitement and totally get it. 

I am not very technical. But here goes, We had a 3" drop on our hitch. it was installed by the RV dealer, so we thought we had the correct one. We had lots of sway driving on  the highway. it was not until we went to the BRR and saw and talked to other T@Bbers that we figured out what our problem had been. The sway and bumps wore out our tires in 7 months. Yes, I guess it does depend on the height of the TV. Check in with Nathan or other informed people on that one. (Michigan Mike). We ordered the 6" drop hitch from Etrailer.com, I think. It came very fast after we ordered. We have a clamshell model, maybe it sits differently from the std. models. 

The problem, is that we took the dealer to know what we needed. Take control! You have been on the forum now for awhile. You are smart and know who to find out what you need. 

Let me know how it goes. Best wishes to you, and by the way, Happy Camping is in your future!!!

mickietucs

Thanks for that info. I'll be sure to measure both when the time comes --- it's so informative to get everyone's experiences --- hope to "pay it forward" once I'm on the road and gain experience!

Jimbo

Michele, My dealer stated that the top of the TV hitch ball should be 16 1/2 inches, the T@B manual states 16". I am within these and don't have a sway problem. However, in past experience with a regular travel trailer, another factor to consider is the that the tongue weight should be between 10-15% of the total wet (totally loaded) weight of your trailer. The dry tongue weight of a T@B is with-in that range from the factory. So keep in mind that your added contents should be evenly distributed front to rear. A Cam shell may be more difficult to achieve this, but I don't have a CS so others will have to comment on this point. Hope this helps.

SunnyTAB

Jim - Search Blue Ridge Rally or go here.

Wanderoo

Debbie/CodeJunkie -- Wow, that's amazing you were very close to where I was at the same time!!!  I have been to Eleven Mile State Park, too. When I camped at Eleven Mile, I did not have T@B.  I backpacked into one of the walk-in sites.  Very nice and remote, but difficult to get to!  I also rented a kayak when I was there and paddled around the rock outcroppings.  I would recommend that.  Did you fish there?  What site were you in and did you like it?

I wish I could go to the BRR next year, but probably won't have enough vacation time.  Just too many places I want to go to!!!! 

If anyone is on their way through Colorado, let me know.  I will be at Lathrop State Park in southern Colorado late in September.  Won't have any problem getting a campsite then, and there are lots of pull-through sites. 

)

CodeJunkie

Beth, I'm not sure of my campsite number, but it was up the hill behind the park office and overlooking the lake. I chose a non-electric site since it was too cool to need the a/c. I didn't do any fishing, but I did do some hiking and site-seeing in the area. I would definitely camp there again.