RECREATIONAL VEHICLE TEST – The Adventure Pre-Begins

OK, so last weekend, we went out to the OFTR Family Day dirt-bike-a-thon. See the previous post if this string of words makes no sense to you. Basically you go out to this huge tract of woods where the dirt bike association for Ontario has carved out amazing trails of every variety and they teach you how to manage everything from motocross style circuits, to riding directly over fallen logs, to squirelling around rocks and stumps at a 45 degree uphill angle.

But, what I didn’t reveal is that we took out the RV for the weekend to get a thorough understanding of what living in a motorized home really entails.

Mike Driving an RV

The fine folks at CanaDream sent us out with a 27 footer, with all the amenities – TV, refrigerator, microwave, queen bed, shower, slide out living room – the works. There were three “full-grown” men in the RV, and we didn’t have any trouble keeping out of each others hair, even when we were all inside.

On the first night, we arrived late at the campground, and had to sleep in the parking lot. Only down side to this is you need electrical hookups to run your heat, but it wasn’t too cold. And I have a new found respect for polar fleece! Silver linings everywhere.

The next day we drove over to the dirt bike session and parked the behemoth in the lot while we did our morning session. Ed slept in it during lunch, then we tore back to the camp ground at the end of the day. Needless to say, the ample refrigerator had kept our beverages nice and frosty, and we had our fill. 

Ed and I slept in the bunks over the cab, with more than adequate comfort, and Pete took the queen bed in back. We all shook the earth mightily with our snoring.

The next morning we drove Ed to his farm in Varney, Ontario (don’t try and find it on a map) through some gorgeous agricultural landscape. The wind was a bit intense, and the RV does get pushed around a bit, but it’s an easy adjustment to driving style once you’re prepared. On the way there we stopped at Eugenia Falls in Grey County. We parked at the corner store and took an easy two minute walk down the path to the falls:

WOW. Aparently you can hike to the bottom of the falls from further down the road and go swimming. Shamazing.

Pickle Man Eugenia Falls

Just outside the park, we stopped back in the corner store. I bought some of Pickle Man’s Extra Hot Horseradish and some Mint Chocolate Fudge for a friend back in TO.

In all, the driving experience was pretty good. Most of the time the RV feels just like driving a moving van, and it’s size is only an issue when parking. I mean, think about how many 18 wheelers are on the road, and they get around fine! And as long as you think ahead, parking isn’t much of a big deal either. Mainly, think about how you’re going to get out of where you are. Thankfully rural Ontario has lots of space, so it never became an issue for us.

The living experience was great. We made meals in the RV, slept comfortably, used the amenities, even tested out dumping the grey and black water, and it was so simple – whatever challenges we face on this trip, the vehicle will probably not be one of them. Also, the comfort of picking up an RV that is totally clean, with all of the necessities already in it (soap, plates, rubber gloves, pans, pots etc) and then dropping it off (we did clean out the garbage and swept up the dirt after our adventure) makes life just peachy.

(stay tuned for video of Eugenia Falls)