New to teardrop-life & excited to be here -- any Denver-area CI owners?

[DannyandEmily]

Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp?

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny

 

[JohnC]

Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp?

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny

Be sure to call Cary at Camp-Inn and let him know you are purchasing it. He can help you with all kinds of helpful info, including about your specific trailer. He and Craig are the best when it comes to customer service. It doesn't matter that you are buying it used. Give him a call.

If you have the time, a trip back to Necedah would be the best place to take it for a checkup and to have it thoroughly gone over.

You live in one of the best states to visit (I've been wanting to visit Ouray in the fall for a while now) although I've never camped there. Any of the National or state parks in Utah are great spots to visit. I've taken mine to Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Yosemite many times, as well as some one offs.

Good luck and Enjoy!

 

[SethB]

Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp?

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny

If a paper copy of the manual for your year doesn’t come with your CI they are available free as a pdf or low cost as paper from tinycamper.com. Here is the oldest pdf version, came out in 2012

Tip 2; read everything you can find at that website. Especially the FAQs!

Tip 3; read this whole forum. More realistically, search is your friend. There are centuries of camping experience on this forum!

I expect you’ll really enjoy getting your bed off the ground, out of the wind and weather, not to mention running water, a stove, countertops, and storage!

 

[The Postman]

Hi there - we are in the process of purchasing a used 2010 560 Ultra - it was our dear neighbor's who passed away. We are very excited to join this community, but have only tent-camped before so feeling a bit out of our element (everything from towing to electrical).
1. What are your tips for a new to Camp-Inn owner?
2. Are you in the Denver area and would you be so kind as to show us yours (all the buttons, hookups, etc)? Also where do you have yours serviced?
3. What are your favorite spots in the Southwest to camp?

Thank you!
-Emily and Danny

Welcome!

There are so many great places to camp in the West you could spend twenty years and still be exploring.

Imho the most important thing to do is just get out there and enjoy it...the Campinn has some nice features that make it glamorous camping on two wheels..." glamping" but for many of us, its just camping off the ground...and many of us moved up just like you, from backpacking, car camping, a small towed trailer, like a tent trailer
and the CampInn is the next and last luxury step: the all in one very well built reliable cozy land yacht thats easy to maintain, store in garage and just load and go.

So just go with "keep it simple" like camping and dont sweat the small stuff, you'll pick up all the ins and outs as you go, and make it yours.

There is a temptation to gear up and have everything and its common after 2-3 years to the be in the stage of what can I leave behind, do less hauling, to just enjoy being outdoors.

So save some time and money and learn how to safely hook up, run the brakes, back into a parking spot, safely chock it for the night, hook up to electric and thats it:
so thats your setup and take down...easier then unloading the car and setting up a tent if you dont need all the accessories...and pop the galley hatch for coffee and breakfast, without unloading stove, coolers, utensils, pots and pans etc etc all that clutter you carried in your pack or car trunk...its all organized in one place. When you are done, wash your dishes, close the hatch...pop a cold one and watch the Milky Way wheel overhead...its big sky country and many Dark Sky areas you can see the whole universe above you...vs shut up in a forest.

There are a couple good "checklists" for what to do before leaving, and I'd always say read the owners manual twice as thats got more tips.

As to where to go - in SWUS...

I recently read about the "Grand Circle" tour:

Grand Circle RV Road Trip: Horseshoe Bend to Bryce to Zion

Grand Circle RV road trip: a 10-day itinerary anchored at three RJourney parks (Roam Horseshoe Bend, Bryce Canyon RV Resort, Cedar City) for Zion access.

rjourney.com

After that my advice is just
Start by using the search function here and reading old posts on anything of interest.
20+ years of archives is pure gold and will help you ask more good questions.

So many helpful folks here who will share.
Have fun!

 

[Sweeney]

There is a great resource you should find. Look for your local "Tearjerkers" and start making some friends. Tearjerkers.net is once place to look as well as on facebook. The only trouble I see is that Denver (Rocky Mountain Chapter) does not have a director -- the guy who organizes such things.

Now...if yhou are the type I am sure directors from other chapters would be willing to give advice how to do it. I've seen those who simply pick a park and show up and others who put on a spread similar to the CICO. Our hoosier chapter is more like that. Andy does a fantastic job of putting together monthly trips, even teaming with other chapters in the area (bluegrass (KY)) and doing large multi-state gatherings.