Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: WillieontheRoad on May 05, 2018, 09:55:08 pm
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We are picking up our new 2100 at the end of May. We have owned a T@B 400 teardrop trailer now for three months and have realized that we've been married a bit too long to be in cozy and cute. Our Phoenix Cruiser will fit us just fine and we are so excited to travel in it. We live in Austin, TX and plan to escape this Texas summer for a journey thorough the northwest. Any suggestions for must-see stops are most welcome.
Thanks and glad to be part of the PC family,
Alan and Joan
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Welcome! You will love the Northwest!
Must see?
1) Mt Hood, do the scenic loop from Portland up us 26 to us 35 to Hood River then west on 84 or us 30 back to Portland.
2) Oregon coast from Brookings to Astoria. Should take a week. And still won't do more than touch the surface.
3) Palouse region of eastern Washington in June if you can
4) Anacortes and San Juan islands
Have fun!
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Crater Lake, Olympic Peninsula - we wandered all over so I can't pin down a specific stop but we did go to Hurricane Ridge for the view and the glacier and were lucky enough to see salmon migrating up the streams on some beautiful hikes in old growth forests. We ran the coast on our last trip coming up through California and Oregon and loved it (lots of entries on our blog). If you take that route, hit Redwoods National and State Forest and camp right in the giant trees. So much to see in that part of the country. We are heading back out there later this year to wander indefinitely.
Enjoy your trip!
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Welcome!
Great photo (cutie dogs) and congrats on your new 2100! :)(:
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No experience with that area, but your post made me laugh. We downsized from our walls closing in after a few weeks 35 ft. Class A to a 2552 in August. I can totally relate to the "cozy and cute"! I still love our "mini home", but check back with me after a 5-6 week trip September. 😂 At least you are up sizing. Congratulations!
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Thomas, you felt the 35 foot was closing in on you and you went to the 2552? Everyone is different of course but for us after about 6 weeks we’re chomping at the bit to get home. We find 8 weeks is about all we can handle. Just the same I’ve known people do months in units smaller than our 2552, I couldn’t but many are tougher than me.
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Willie, congrats to you both on the new rig! I have no doubt you will thoroughly enjoy it. I’ll bet who ever buys your tear drop enjoys it as well.
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Hi Willieontheroad.
You will do well visiting every national park and monument along the way to and from the northwest region.
And (w)
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Joseph-Yes, pretty crazy. Fortunately most of our trips are to destinations that we are gone from the MH more than in it. I (the DW) am much more comfortable in the smaller vehicle while on the road. I am not fond of my baby bed, but everything is a trade off. We long for home and the conveniences after a few weeks too!
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I'm smiling as I read the posts about home. Our 2552 is our home and we can't wait to get back on the road in her. We'll have our granddaughter for seven weeks this summer so three of us will be racking around in there. It can be a bit cluttered at times but we manage well. After that trip we return to Maryland for a few days to return the child and offload her stuff (lots of stuff) then away we go.
Alan and Joan, if you're the type of people to consider a teardrop, you will be over the moon with your Phoenix. As my granddaughter tells people "It has everything you need... And nothing else." That's not quite true since we carry quite a few luxury and comfort items but it's close.
I agree with the National Parks comment. We hit every one we can and haven't regretted stopping for any of them. For those interested, I took out every NP book our library system has and perused Amazon and choose the somewhat new National Geographic "Complete National Parks of the United States" (updated 2nd edition) to go with us. We take only a few physical books with the rest on our e-readers so they have to be good to along. This is a centennial edition with over 400 sites managed by NPS. It has just a bit of information about each site but enough to clue you in on where it is and what it's about.
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Thanks to all our PC members who have welcomed us and given great suggestions for our northwest trip this summer.
We are getting so excited to pick up our new 2100 at the end of May.
Two more questions for now...
1) How does a Phoenix Cruiser ride? We have never ridden in a Ford V10 except for UHauls. hopfully our ride will be much better.
2) What has been your experience with PC beds? Our 2100 will have the electric sofa/bed. Will we need to add a pillow topper?
Thanks again and see you on the road,
Alan and Joan
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Frazzled, I get it and as I mentioned there are people traveling longer in much smaller units and having a great time. Many younger families with tents making great memories. However, It’s not all about size though either. We truly love our home ,garden, community and so on and love being home. Writing this while sitting in the garden by the pool and at times it’s hard to pull myself away from our home more than a couple of weeks at a time. It’s where we are happiest and yet we enjoy traveling and seeing new things as well. Kind of a catch 22 for us. No doubt it really is; Different strokes, different folks.
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Willie, can't help you with the northwest adventure, but the 2100 I might be able to. We picked up our 2100, "Bob", in March of last year. And LOVE IT!!! The sofa bed is a sofa bed. What can I say. We use of memory foam topper that works just fine. I think we almost had more storage in our Sportsmobile than this B+. But it all works. It's size is perfect for the two of us, and touring into small town and different vistas is no problem.
Travel On!
If I can help, I don't know squat, PM me.
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Heading northwest from Austin, there is lots to see on the way and it will be cooler in in the Rockies and then the Sierra Nevadas. National Geographic and Reader's Digest make some of the best books to serve as road guides. The RD books are about scenic road trip loops. We have found a lot of hidden gems thanks to those.
The 2100 will get you a lot of places that anything even a few feet longer will not. We have had ours for five years and have really gotten into the philosophy that the problem is not too little storage space, but too much stuff. In the years of travel, we are like the old wagon trains leaving stuff along the road (usually at donation stations) as we go.
It is a "sofa bed" but I guess my husband and I are just the right size and shape to fit on it and find it very comfortable....with the addition of a 1" memory foam mattress topper. Longest road trip was 2+ months. However, between houses we lived in it for about 3 months and never had a problem. Once you define your spaces and get a flow pattern for movement going, all will work well.
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We moved from a Silver Shadow Little Guy TD... You're going to love the PC! Congrats!
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ReaNL,
We like the way you think. I think we have finally settled on the 2100 that we put a deposit on.
Will be real Phoenix Cruiser owners on May 29!
Thanks,
Alan and Joan
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Recreation.gov is a great place to check out federal campgrounds -- BLM, Corps of Engineers, National Park Services, etc. With an "America lhe Beautiful" card you can stay for 1/2 price. An RV buddy uses the qualifier that everything that goes in her antique 26 foot GMC must service 3 purposes or it stays home. She is the only person I know that has empty storage space in her RV, yet has everything she needs and her husband has room for his tools and spare parts (The GMC's do not have basement storage -- everything is stored inside the coach).
Congrats on the new PC and safe travels.