The Beast

Before you begin RVing, your rigs must have names. Meet ours. We call it "The Beast" because it is so big. It's also been called "Irv" on occasion, sort of an expanded form of "RV". It's 38 feet of diesel guzzling, convenience providing, wide turning radius, transportation.

Connie

Meet the other (rig, coach, RV, motor home, camper...take your pick of names). It belongs to Leola and Doug. They have named it "Connie" because it is the Conquest model. But it has turned into "The Beauty" to go along with our Beast. It's 31 feet of gas guzzling, dog accommodating (they have three of them), transportation.

The Toad

Finally, meet the Honda Pilot. No fancy name for this vehicle, just like any appliance you consider basic and indispensible...like a toaster. It gets towed behind the Beast and gets used for all those excursions that can't accommodate an RV. There is no way we could have done this trip without it. And no, "Toad" is not a typo. It's RV slang for a "towed" vehicle.

Towing

The Pilot gets towed via a system called the "Blue Ox". It took me a few days before I went "Duh...Paul Bunyon and his Blue Ox." It's really quite easy to hook up, and works in conjunction with the "Brake Buddy" attached to the car's brake pedal for helping in stopping the car when being towed. Enough information there.

The Commander's Seat

Jim and Doug have done the majority of the driving on the trip. The RVs are set up differently, ours being a Class A (think bus) and Doug driving a Class C (think truck). Doug and Maggie are on the right. Jim is on the left.

The Queen's Seat

Corinne and Leola are navigators, each possessing their respective thrones. Here's Corinne's throne with Callie occupying it.

Navigating

To get as far as we have, navigating is necessary. Leola relies on her AAA TripTiks and maps. Corinne relies all too much on 1) the RV's GPS and 2) her laptop and GPS unit. We've stayed on track most of the trip. We just won't mention the little side trip down windy mountain roads that the GPS took the RV's on in the Mt. Rushmore area. Here's the RV's GPS.

Interior while traveling

This is what the Beast looks like while we are traveling down the road. It has 4 slide outs, all pulled in for travel. It's very comfortable, much more so than a mini-van.

Interior while stationary

This is the Beast once all the slide outs are out. The vehicle goes from 8 feet wide to 12 feet 6 inches wide. You can easily host a soccer team in here. Trust me, it's been done.

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Children while traveling

Here's the bedroom while traveling. If you want to get to the closet, you have to crawl over the bed. This rooms makes a great get-away for the kids. They lay back there and read, or watch a DVD on the TV. When we stop and the slide-outs go out, it's pretty roomy.

Slide-outs

To extend a slide-out, one person is inside at the control panel, while the other person is outside making sure the slide out isn't going to hit anything, such as a tree limb or the neighbor's RV. Corinne is extending a slide out here. Jim is has a walkie-talkie outside. We haven't hit anything yet.

Slide-outs can be tricky

You have to be careful where you extend your slide-outs. This was our camp site at Grand Teton National Park. We had to position the RV so that the slide-outs have room and the doors for the under floor storage can open all the way. It gets to be a science!

Control Panel

For those of you who are really curious, this is what the control panel looks like. The controls appear daunting at first. But we quickly got the hang of things. These control (from the top), the heat/AC, water pump, water heater (12v and 120v), slideouts, generator and energy usage, and tank levels.

Dogs while traveling

Bailey, Honey and Maggie have it pretty good when traveling with Leola and Doug. The dogs have their own bed, which they use when they aren't on the couch, bed, the passenger's lap, or just looking out the front window. The dogs adapted really well to RV travel.

Cooking

We have almost all the conveniences of home. Almost. We both have three burner stoves, double sinks, a microwave/convection oven, and a refrigerator/freezer. What is missing is the dishwasher. I suppose we have to rough it a bit. Leola, are those dishes done yet?

Bathrooms from the inside

Both RV's have bathroom sinks, showers and toilets. You don't miss using public bathrooms at all.

Bathrooms from the outside

Having those plumbing conveniences on the inside, however, means you have to deal with the output on the outside. Doug is unhooking his sewer line in preparation for leaving. He will also have to unhook the electrical and potable water hose. And did I mention the hose for rinsing off the dog's feet?

Bathroom Connections

Here's a look at what the Beast's hookups look like. It includes the water hookup, the sewer hookup, an outside shower head (no we haven't been showering outside), a soap dispenser, and a light for those late night arrivals.