We have returned from our 10 day trip to California.
This was the longest and greatest length trip we have made hauling our CT conversion. We learned a lot on this trip and will make modifications accordingly. Number one lesson learned is we need more secured storage space. We left Boise figuring we could pile stuff on the bunk beds. Not a good idea. It all bounced out and was all over the floor of the CT by the first rest stop. We need some sort of cargo net to hold things in place if we want to use the beds as a storage area, otherwise it ends up on the floor of the CT.
Our galley worked as planned. The Sears dorm reefer was more than adequate. I froze a bunch or water in its freezer and that was more than adequate to keep the entire reefer cool as we traveled i.e., no power to the reefer. The microwave was a blessing. Fire up the Honda EU2000i gen and we were good to go. Same with the little no name resistance built in fan heater we had with us, which worked great as long as the gen was running, in fact it got the CT inside too hot and we had to shut it down. It's a tiny thing and I am amazed at how well it heats the insulated CT, until the gen runs out of gas, that is. We spent last night again in the Winnemucca Wal-Mart parking lot with the gen and little heater going. All was fine until the gen ran out of gas at 3:00 in the morning. Things got cold rapidly after that. Spring in Winnemucca can be very cold at night. By 6:00 am we were shivering so I had to get up and hike a mile to the local Chevron station to fill up our 2 gal. gas can. Got the gen back up and running by 6:30 and by 7:00 we were as warm as toast. We heated our breakfast in the microwave along with water to wash our faces/birdbath and brush our teeth. We took our time and relaxed to enjoy the morning in Winnemucca then headed for Boise and home. The pic attached is coming back into the Boise Valley after going over the Owyhee Mountains pass, a beautiful sight for we who live in the valley and are returning home.
What we didn't do was make a checklist of what we needed for this trip. Our CT had been sitting idle for too long and we made the assumption that everything was in there that we would need. It wasn't so we had to make due without a number of things we thought we had.
A small porta potty isn't good for 10 days. We rarely used it on previous trips, more of an emergency thing, so never gave much thought to it and its capacity. Mistake! It is full.
All in all the CT was a blessing to have along. No matter where we were we had a home. Even though we stayed most of the time with family it was nice to have as a refuge, our home away from home. If we needed to stop for a restroom break while on the road the CT had us covered. If we didn't want to go the distance we had a place to stay. We could pull over at any safe roadside spot and take a break, cook some food, or just relax out of the traffic. Our little 6x10 Ct is, arguably, one of the best investments we have made.
We still have a lot of work to do to finish it, and this trip has given us the needed enthusiasm and additional ideas to get it finished, or at least further along the way to getting it finished. We are thankful that we found this forum that has provided us with so many great ideas about converting a CT to a multiple use, and thankful to all of the fine folks here who have given us so many great ideas and insight.
Don & Christi,
