Exactly one year ago today, we bought our Bighorn

wyleyrabbit

Well-known member
Exactly one year ago today, we bought our Bighorn at the Earlybird RV show in Abbotsford, BC. We're going back to the show today with some friends, just for fun.

Over the past year, we added a baby to our family and went out with our 9-year-old out and with the baby in our Bighorn for two weeks when he was only two and a half weeks old. We stayed fairly close to home, spending the first week in Fort Langley (BC), then went up to Squamish (BC) for the second week. Had an incredible time!

We haven't strayed too far from home. In our excursions last year, we have added much to our experiences as a family. We figure we probably traveled about 1,500 km total (~950 miles), and stayed about 30 nights in the Bighorn, which isn't too bad all things considered.

On one of our trips to Squamish, we stayed in a beautiful little campground on the valley called Paradise Valley. The owners were very nice, and had a great trip. While that campground doesn't have any internet access, and I had some work to get done, we managed to stay an extra couple of days once I discovered that I could "tether" my laptop to my iPhone and got out to the internet that way, and it was fast! So the family got to stay another couple of days and I kept my clients and co-workers happy. Win all around.

While out on our various trips, we ran into a few problems. Nothing major, and admittedly some of them self-inflicted. In each an every case, we came running to this forum to ask the resident experts for advice on how to troubleshoot and solve our issues. And in each case, the fellow forum members came to our rescue. To everyone here on the forum, thanks!

In one case, I had blown the fuses on our converter when the battery wire I was holding I accidentally touched the trailer's metal frame (which is why I installed a proper battery disconnect switch so that can't happen again). The great part was, we didn't even figure this out for several days because the sun was shining and the batteries were kept at 100% by our solar panels; only once the rain fell for a few days did we notice the batteries were getting low. Lesson learned, and we now travel at all times with replacement 30A fuses, just in case.

In the other case, using the outdoor shower to wash the dog's feet put strain on one of the water hoses behind the universal docking station, and cracked one of the plastic fittings that was attached to the hot water bypass valve. Since we were in a town that didn't have an RV dealer or service center, I had to buy the necessary tools and parts and fix it myself. Initially, I tried to buy the same plastic fittings, but needless to say nobody sells those, so at the recommendation of the hardware store, I upgraded the plastic fittings to brass and it's been great ever since. I am now part way through preemptively changing over all the plastic fittings to brass, and I probably only have a half-dozen or so to go before I'm done. :)

Aside from those, we've had the usual slate of minor issues here and there. Our trailer is currently at the dealership having some of these issues taken care of, and I have every confidence that the repairs, required parts, and replacement items will be taken care of to our satisfaction. I don't know about other RV dealerships, but ours is great.

This past year has been filled with countless great memories and experiences, from trips with friends, to visits with friends, to trips with just the family. I just can't wait to get out and spend more nights in our "Land Yacht".

Cheers,
Chris
 

Jellystone

Well-known member
Sounds like a pretty good year overall. More good than bad. Anyhow, enjoy the RV and especially the time spent w/your family, it's what it's all about. GO RVING!
 

wyleyrabbit

Well-known member
Jellystone,

It was a great year overall! Our goal this year is to double the number of nights spent in our trailer to 60 or more, and to camp in it at least once in every month of the year. The second goal is obviously easy for those in the southern states, but we're up here in western Canada.

Our only challenge so far seems to this month (February) because of the Olympics coming to town and so many of the RV parks are absolutely gouging visitors. One of our favorite close-by places has increased their prices from $35 per night to $50 per night with a 4 night minimum stay. :(

Here's to the great year ahead!
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
Chris, Hopefully your next year will be even better than the first, now you have all the little glitches fixed and it should be all good to go for more camping now.
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Chris, that sounds a lot like our first season, last summer. No major glitches other than the awning motor pooping out in late August. The bedroom floor rip-up/repair occurred after we ended our camping season and had it at the dealer for the motor replacement and some minor adjustments, so that didn't affect us. We managed to spend close to 90 nights in the trailer over the summer.

Getting the itch to fiddle around with it some more before hauling it north again next May. Probably won't be until late March before I can work on it again.
 

loafer

Well-known member
Congrats Chris always interesting to hear how others enjoy their rigs. we live in a province that has so much to offer Rv travellers.
Hope to meet up with you some day
Bill from Chilliwack
 

GETnBYE

Well-known member
Congrats! We are coming up on our anniversary also. I'll have to check the dates to be sure when it is so I can post it also.
Good luck finding a place for February, you are always welcome in Alabama.
Nita
 
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