I'm buying one of these...

[mezmo]

Good to hear you'll be making immediate use of it by
picking it up yourself !

I don't have any specific recommendations as far as
campgrounds go, just a couple sight-seeing suggestions.

Natchez, MS and longwood [Nutt's Folly]:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi ... sippi.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g609 ... tions.html

Images: http://www.google.com/search?q=nutt's+f ... 40&bih=783

Also, Oak Alley Plantation, in Vacherie, Louisiana, along the Mississippi River
[On the way to New Orleans] :

http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/
http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/plan- ... directions

Images: http://www.google.com/search?gs_rn=24&g ... 4APczoCACA

https://maps.google.com/maps?gl=us&dadd ... plantation

These both have been on my "List To See" list for that part of the country.

If you have the time, these should be interesting - if you enjoy architecture
and history. Maybe you could zig-zag the route some to include them.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[Donutboy]

I checked out the videos on the website. These are growing on me. The green one would look right at home behind my Jeep.

I see that an air conditioner is an option. Where does it go? Hopefully not in the window.

I was also intrigued by the 12V water heater. It shows to be made by Engel, but I couldn't find any info on it from the web. This could be useful for other builds.

[wincrasher]

if you go on their Facebook, you can see a pic of the AC. Yes, it does go thru a window and they have so kind of custom cover for it, but it's not a good look. It is somewhat removable if you use a screw gun and remove their custom bracket and reinstall the window. I'd rather they use a "cool cat" in a floor mounted cabinet or something like that.

I decided against the AC option. I have one of those portable room ac unit (sits on the floor) and has a hose to the window. I'll make a custom panel to place in the window to hold that hose. Most places I like to go, I've found I don't need ac, so 90% of the time, I'll leave it at home.

The 12v water heater should prove interesting. I expect it will take a good bit of juice, so I opted for the second battery. Between that and my ac/dc refrigerator chest, I think getting a 3 day weekend out of these batteries will be a challenge. I do have a portable generator and a solar panel if needed. The water heater is 6 liters, or about 1 3/4 gallons - not much, but very hot water. They say it takes an hour to get to temp. That should be alot of juice to do that. And of course navy showers would be the norm.

[wincrasher]

Well, the emailed me yesterday with my pick-up date - Sept. 7. So getting my travel plans together so I can be in Houston on that saturday. Can't imagine that inpecting/picking up this trailer will take more than an hour, then back East I head.

Planning to stop over in New Orleans.

[PKCSPT]

Can't wait to see pictures.

[campmaster-k]

Crickets are very cool.

[JohnnyG]

Saw one camped near me at Gros Ventre campground near the Tetons a couple weeks ago. Wanted to walk over and check it out but it was late, getting dark. They are very cool.

[wincrasher]

Well I picked up my Cricket today. The company founder and designer, Garrett, gave me a tour of the little factory and reviewed all the features of my trailer. Of course, everything was perfect and ready to go. I am so very pleased with the fit and finish and the obvious durable nature of the design. He said they are doing 5-6 trailers a month.

Right now I'm at a roadside campground somewhere in Louisiana outside Baton Rouge. Place is a dump, but there is a little lake and the mosquitos are not totally oppressive. Hilarious that this backwater place has 4G data!

The condition of I-10 is downright appalling! But the trailer scooted right along behind my Suburban. It's at least aerodynamically stable, but there is still plenty of drag. I couldn't really feel the load on my truck - but the mpg dropped from 18 without it, to around 14. But that is going 65-70 mph over flat ground. We'll see how we do in the hills tomorrow. I am a bit disappointed by this - the trailer is only 1500 lbs and I'm getting only a little bit better mileage as when I tow my heavy 5000 trailer (12 usually).

Thankfully, I brought my AC unit, which is doing a fine job cooling things down. It's not really so hot, but the humidity is unbearable. The hot water heater works great too. Took about a 1/2 hour to produce some hot-hot water. When I mentioned to Garrett that folks on the TNTTT forum would be interested in this unit, he got a chuckle out of that. Turns out, the off-road jeep guys use a unit like this that is engine mounted, but he found the German supplier and discovered they make a 12v only system. He'd be happy to give us the supplier info.

When I get home, I'll take some detailed pictures and give everyone who's interested the 2 nickel tour.

[JuneBug]

I'm feeling so badly that I got to this thread just hours too late! Lincoln Parish Park just outside of Ruston, LA is a lovely place to camp (a few miles off the north side of the Interstate).
We found it through mountain biking -- it has a great trail and an annual race, but think of it as a nice hiking trail as well.

Beautiful pines and deciduous trees, and a pretty little lake create a peaceful, quiet, pleasant experience. Even on the weekend of the mountain bike race, it still retains that peaceful vibe.

Lincoln Parish Park

Congrats on the Cricket! I've been to the PrincessCraft dealership in Pflugerville, just north of Austin. They specialize in smaller trailers, aliner/chalet designs, tent trailers, T@Bs, truck campers and (of course) Crickets. The vibe I got from them was pleasant, like the salesman enjoyed the products he was selling. We've checked out a few other regular trailer/RV dealerships; not so much. They just moved from a crowded lot in Pflugerville to out on the Interstate, where a truck ran off the road into part of their inventory the first day of two of their move, but I assume things have been smoother since then.

Anyway, yes the Cricket struck me very much as a home base pod for outdoor adventure sports.

Enjoy and let us know how you like it.