Well, we took the tear out for it’s first trip and had a great time. It pulls really well behind the truck and it was easy to forget it was back there. We had great weather with warm clear days and cool nights. Even with the windows and sunroof open, we stayed nice and warm. The only issue we ran into was when we tried to convince Heidi (the dog) that she had to sleep at the foot of the bed. Well, that and only packing DECAF coffee!!! You can bet that before the next trip, I am going to roast and grind some fresh, real, coffee.

This is so much better then tent camping!!! It only took us about 7 minutes to setup camp, and tear down we timed at just 8 minutes. It really seems like we can have “grab abd go” camping if we keep things stocked and ready. The galley worked out well, but we still need to get a line on where stuff goes both in camp and on the road. The bed was very comfortable and we even spent some time in the cabin playing Yahtzee after the sun went down. We are keeping a small pad of paper handy while camping to take notes on what we want to change for the next trip but so far, there is not that much to change.

We went to one of my favorite areas around here (11 mile canyon) and stayed in the Springer Gulch campground. It is a great place to camp at this time of year. Even the fishing was good on this trip! On Saturday, I caught a nice 14″ rainbow trout that we cooked up for dinner in the campfire. Then, I went out again on Sunday and fished for a few hours after breakfast and brought home two more nice trout that are waiting in the freezer.

It seems like the little stuff is what takes the longest. Since the last post we have been knocking out a number of small issues as the tear gets closer to being road worthy. All of the door and hatch seals have been put on, so we should be water tight now. Most of the last minute paint touch up has been done and I think there is only one more coat of polyurethane to put on in the galley. We also replaced the interesting (but useless) swing away tongue jack with a better quality unit from the local farm store. Probably overkill, but I trust it a bit more than the old one.

A lot of teardrop builders seem to have the most trouble with the hatch. For me however, it has been the doors. I just don’t like how they are built. I guess it is because I thought I had a great idea on how they should be built and didn’t pay attention to those folks with more experience. Imagine that… For now, I think they will work, but I have added another item to my “next time” list.

Let’s see, what else have we knocked off the ToDo list? Curtain rods are installed and curtain material is waiting to stitched. Lights have all been installed and tested. Drip rail has been installed. Galley latches have been installed…