What happened to 5 years??
I am not sure why I stopped recording our summer (or winter) camper travels, but I’m sure it doesn’t matter. (COVID certainly was a major block!) I may be speaking to myself, so…to myself and those who still have a link to this blog…I will update my camping news!
We decided to upgrade our camping experiences to something a little more expansive and comfortable. We thought about replacing our Truck House Adventure camper, but the only camper we really felt was an upgrade was the Big Foot, and its weight was pretty well going to force us to trade our 2005 GMC Sierra Duramax 3500 to a newer model with larger GVWR. The costs for the 2 new units would have been prohibitive! So, last Easter of 2022, after visiting the Armstrong plant for BF, we stopped at Chilliwack to take a look at trailers – at the Escape Trailer Company.
We were sold! We decided to get on the rather long wait-list for a newly designed 23’ trailer, but since the prototype was not finished we informed Escape that we would opt for the E 5.0TA (fifth wheel) – whichever came first when our name came up on the wait-list. That final commitment – “Your turn” – came in early January and we booked production of our new E 5.0TA which was completed on May 23. We picked it up in Chilliwack on May 24 and proceeded to head east to the Okanagan Valley, where we spent 2 nights at a very empty South Beach Gardens in Penticton. (I used the empty sites to practice backing up into various sites, and then we had a wonderful time sharing notes with my cousin Jan and her husband Darrell who had been instrumental in our purchase of the Escape.)
On Friday the 26th of May we headed to Nk’Mip Campground on Osoyoos Lake where we joined 156 other Escape Trailer owners for a “Rally in the Valley”. Great company! Shared food! Fun Entertainment! And we were able to visit many trailers to examine their modifications.
Here is the new “Truck House – Jr.”
We have had a great few days getting to know our new road home. Tomorrow we will head back to Chilliwack to get a couple of small things looked to on Wednesday as well as get a reconfiguration of our Anderson Hitch.
Many happy greetings to any of you who still hold the link to this blog! I will be sending more pics of this unit soon!
Best wishes and we hope that we will be able to show our house to many of you soon.
Sandy and Tony Dobson
roadquill1 
Hi Tony and Sandy, great to see the blog with new travel adventures! Hope to see you over here one day. Dana
Dana
May 28, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Hey Dana! I hope you got my previous reply, but if not – we’ll bring Truck House Jr. over to Sechelt soon, we hope. I assume Secret Cove has a place to park our 37 foot combination.
coastmariner
May 29, 2023 at 6:41 pm
Hi Tony, Will be great to see you. Not sure about 37 feet here, will depend on dates I think. Let me know what the timing might be. Dana
Dana Brynelsen
May 29, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Hey Tony and Sandy…it has definitely been quite awhile. I’m glad you
are still road tripping, and with your new rig, it should be wonderful.
You might be interested in reading some of the info on the site
loveyourrv.com. The author is the husband of a pro photographer who used
to lead an online photo sharing group I was part of. They are full time
RVers, and, in fact, I think in the summer they are in Campbell River or
somewhere else close to you.
I think of you both all the time and especially when I make Sandy’s
cookie recipe which I do frequently. It is my all time favorite cookie.
Derek, Randy, and I chatted a couple of weeks ago. Next time we get
together in Zoom, we’ll let you know so you can join us.
Happy to receive your camping newsletter.
Ellen
Ellen Kinsel
May 28, 2023 at 4:06 pm
So glad to hear from you Ellen! We are both doing well! I’d love to chat with you all in Zoom – anytime! Let me know! Greetings to Jerry!
T
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 4:57 pm
Pretty fancy camping to me! Wow, very modern looking.
Do hope that Keremeos /Cawston were alive and flourishing. Soon it will be time to get the cherries picked if there are any trees left. My old farm and the entire Cawston bench was all grapes the last time I visited.
Sent from my iPad
>
Diane Cripps
May 28, 2023 at 4:21 pm
Thanks Diane! We are just a bit too early for the cherries – at least here at Nk’Mip, but it looks like a bumper crop is on the way!
T
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 4:58 pm
This is a beauty! I hope you love it – as soon as the backing up gets perfected. Happy camping! Gerry
Geraldine Handel
May 28, 2023 at 4:32 pm
Thanks Geraldine! This unit is a beauty and I am quickly becoming adapted, though not yet adept – to reversing into a spot. It is no longer a “Kodak moment” of death-defying risk-taking!
T
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 5:01 pm
Great to see the Quill resurrected! Wonderful to hear of your new travel plans & see your new ‘Truck House Jr’. It will be super for you & Sandy.
Enjoy your travels.
Cheers Gus 👍😎
Angus Whitmore
May 28, 2023 at 5:23 pm
Thanks Gus! We will be back on the Island on Wednesday. We are really looking forward to much use of THJr.!
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 5:27 pm
Look awesome! Glad I’m still on your blog. Happy trailer fun ☺️.
Leslie
May 28, 2023 at 5:29 pm
Thank-Leslie!
coastmariner
May 29, 2023 at 5:54 pm
Many many happy trips!!
You will enjoy the space and comfort in your new truck house. Safe travels
Hugs to you
Math and Don
Margaret Carmichael
May 28, 2023 at 5:50 pm
Marg and Don…Thank-you both! We, too, are looking forward to many more trips – in much increased comfort!
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 5:53 pm
Happy to see roadquill back in operation!
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
Violet Brzovic
May 28, 2023 at 5:57 pm
Hey, Tony!
Was great to hear about your new adventures in your amazing home on wheels. Will await more news. I trust that Sandy has it nicely organized
Love
Rich and Shirley
Shirey
May 28, 2023 at 6:03 pm
Thanks Shirley! I’m sure that she does…but when I go looking for something, it has been re-organized elsewhere! We’ll get there (to “nicely organized”)!!
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 6:14 pm
Thank-you Shirley and Rich! Yes…Sandy has it organized – sort of! I certainly don’t understand the organization plan yet, but I can be trained! I hope that the Birch Bay site will accommodate the new length!
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 6:22 pm
way to go!!
hilltopgirl
May 28, 2023 at 6:13 pm
Congrats, we down sized from a 38 foot Rv to a 20 foot trailer, o my we sure find it small , But 87 years old , we still like to camp[ me ] more then Les.
Happy camping still for you.
Greetings , Les and Betty .
Sent from Mailhttps://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986 for Windows
Betty Nault
May 28, 2023 at 6:14 pm
Fantastic to hear from you Betty! Our greetings to both you and Les! We were just wondering if we would hear from you, or if we had lost the connection. Our new unit is 21’ from the pin to the bumper so it is pretty compact! Best wishes to you both and perhaps we’ll meet up on the road again sometime.
coastmariner
May 28, 2023 at 6:18 pm
Real happy for both of you continuing to live your dream. Looks like a great setup. Please keep us on your link, as we look forward to more travel news.
Don and Paula
Don McLeay
May 28, 2023 at 8:07 pm
Congratulations on your new house! Impressive. Enjoy!
Guy
May 28, 2023 at 10:53 pm
Congratulations on your new Road Home you two! It looks AWESOME!! Safe and happy travels! xox
Shiela & Ieuan
May 29, 2023 at 8:42 am
Thanks you two! We are just departing Osoyoos. We’ll be back in town tomorrow night. See you soon!
coastmariner
May 29, 2023 at 10:06 am