Bought Late, Now We Can't Wait!

[triley2280]

We bought a TR 30 ODK LATE in the season looking for the best deal, now we have cabin fever and need to get out there and start camping. We are not new to camping. My parents would let us borrow their camper when ever we wanted it. I guess I am looking for some discussion on this particular model or one very similar and how can you make camping more cost effective rather than having to pay $20-$35 a night at campgrounds?

I am also wondering what are some must have items for a camper?

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Triley2280,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get more suggestions from other Trail Runner owners soon and not only them, but others that boon doc also. Lots of options out there depending on your requirements when you set up camp.

Enjoy the forum and attend a rally when you can and meet lots of great folks.

Jim M

 

[cookie]

Welcome to the Heartland Family and Heartland Owners Forum.
Trail Runner 30 ODK, I like that floor plan. Congratulations.
There are a couple of ways to save some money on campsites. Having a membership to various organizations will get you a discount on some CG's.
Good Sam, Passport America are a couple.
Corp of Engineers parks, (COE) have pretty attractive rates and some of them are really nice.
There are state and county campgrounds as well.

Everybody has their own must haves.
Leveling blocks, a surge protector, water pressure regulator, a good one, water hose, waste hose, misc. tools.
Others will chime in and help you spend your money.

Be sure to check out the Iowa Chapter Rally coming this year. June 20- June 22 in Altoona
Also there will be a Heartland Regional Rally in Amana.
All right in your backyard.

Peace
Dave

 

[iawoody2]

Welcome from another Iowa couple. Don't forget a good tire guage, and check tires often.

 

[Silverado23]

The county, state and COE parks are great values. Many are quite inexpensive and offer water and electric hookups. Save some money on short weekends and use electric only sites.

Check out the Midwest camping and the Iowa owners groups. I have worked on making a list of many Iowa (along with other Midwest) campgrounds that can help you find inexpensive places to stay.
Iowa heartland owners group: //heartlandowners.org/group.php?groupid=16
Midwest Camping Group: //heartlandowners.org/group.php?groupid=36

I found a park not too far from my home that I enjoy visiting frequently. It has water and electric hookups and is less than $20 a night. A discounted prepaid coupon book for this particular park is available. By getting 7 nights for the price of 6 and the nights do not have to be consecutive, just used in the calendar year purchased.


Also, Check out the two rallies scheduled for Iowa. You can meet many other heartland owners from around Iowa and across the US.
Iowa Chapter Rally: //heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...na-6-20-2014-to-6-22-2014?p=338988#post338988

Heartland Central Region Rally: //heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...7-2014-to-10-5-2014/page2?p=334749#post334749

 

[JohnD]

Welcome to the Heartland family!

State parks and national forest campgrounds are generally inexpensive to stay at . . . usually $25 or less per night!

And . . . you can also do what we do . . . pretend camp!

In other words . . . use your camper in your yard!

We bought ours in September of 2012 and had no plans on using it until spring of 2013.

But we couldn't wait, so we decided to take it out on Christmas Day of 2012.

We found an RV park that was opened year round not far from home and booked a couple of nights.

Even though our Trail Runner had been winterized, we still were able to use the stove, furnace and electric (ie.- TV's), and brought a few gallons of water for cooking and coffee!

Of course, the RV park had shower and bathroom facilities.

While it was cold and snowing . . . we still had a blast!

Here are some photos from that trip:

 

[triley2280]

This is some great information that is much needed. We will have to pick up some necessities for our camper over the next couple months. starting with a bigger truck. Hahahaha. Thinking F-150. Trailer is 7,000 lbs dry.