Hello all!
My name is Chelsea and I'm a 25y.o. cabinet maker with a construction/woodworking background. I'm very excited to be a part of this forum--I've been a regular in social media groups, but thrilled to be here with designated threads!
I'm not new to camping--my great-grandparents would bring me multiple times a year in their Class C to state parks. I tent camped with my mother until we were able to get a Class C of our own. We would take the camper and the horse trailer and go to equine-friendly trails and sites. My husband, though not too keen on camping in the beginning, fell in love with the fresh air and relaxing feelings camping has to offer.
At 17, we were THRILLED to pull a 1978 Coleman PUP out of the weeds and work our magic. I remodeled it, patched the canvas, recovered seats, etc. He went through all the mechanical odds and ends. (Definitely his specialty, not mine. lol!) It was free to get off someone's property, but we learned quickly nothing is TRULY free. But I was in love with having a unit of my own. Since then I got the bug again for camping (we quickly fell out of love with PUPs though once a wire snapped and we didn't have the funds or means to fix it). We borrowed $500 from my grandparents to get a 1980 Ally Aljo travel trailer that we pulled with our 1997 7.3 Powerstroke. When the Powerstroke's tranny gave way, my husband and I took on another PUP for a little while.
We then upgraded to a 2017 Ford F250 gasser and could pull a fifth wheel. So we purchased a 2004 Keystone Hornet Sport with front end water damage. Tore the whole front end apart and repaired. Was a wonderful camper til we decided to completely uproot our lives and move back home (6 years away was long enough to realize how much we missed our family and friends). We sold the truck and camper, went down to a 2016 Ford F-150 Platinum with towing package and bags in the rear and just recently purchased our new-to-us 2018 Bullet Colt 172RBCT. This too, needs some love, but was cheaper than our fifth wheel. And I'm not afraid of a little elbow grease!
When we go camping, we're either out on the water fishing or in kayaks, riding trails on bikes or quads, or at a family friend's getting dirty at mud bogs. So the exterior shower is going to come in VERY handy.
I look forward to getting to chat with everyone and learn as much as I can. I've learned a lot with the few short years I've been fixing and repairing campers, and still come across surprises. And always looking for good organizing hacks and delicious campfire recipes! Thanks everyone!