We bought a new RV!

We knew we wouldn't be without an RV for long, because we still love this mode of travel. But what kind of RV would we purchase? We knew we wanted to down-size because we wanted to use our mid-size pickup to tow it. The job assigned to our Chevrolet Colorado pickup would change from being towed behind a motor home to now towing a trailer. With a 7,000 pound towing limit, that narrowed down the possibilities greatly. We finally got our choices down to several models, and went to visit dealers to spend time inside the RVs for a closer look. From nine years of RVing experience, we knew we needed something that was comfortable enough to spend time inside on those rainy days. Some of the couches were ridiculously uncomfortable, but this one wasn't bad.

In many of the little trailers, the area behind the sofa is a murphy bed. To save space, the couch flattens and the bed comes down from the wall. One of our priorities was having a bed that we didn't have to put on sheets and blankets every night. This murphy bed keeps the bedding in place, and it only takes a few seconds to get it ready for sleeping each night.

Another priority was a dinette. While some trailers have little tables you can set up in front of the couch, we prefer a permanent dinette. We have found this is a great place for playing games or typing on a computer. It also provides another work space in a kitchen without much counter space.

That dinette makes into a little bed, so we can still take a grandchild along with us. We'll throw a sleeping bag on, and we have overnight room for a third small traveler.

The kitchen is small, but has everything we need--a microwave, a gas stove, a 12-volt refrigerator, and a good-size sink. We found that many of the little trailers have a laughably tiny kitchen sink. This model has an oven that we don't need, but that can be used as kitchen storage space.

The bathroom is actually bigger than the one in our big motor home, with a nice big counter and storage behind the mirrors.

Another priority was a shower big and tall enough for six-foot-tall Mark. His head will be in the sky light, but he can stand up straight while showering. Check!

Another priority was a trailer with no slide-outs. We had four slide- outs on our motor home, and we learned that they can be a blessing and a curse. We intend to do more boondocking, and we won't always be perfectly level (which is needed for slides). That limited the number of choices to only a few floorplans. At less than twenty-feet in length, the one we chose has a very compact floorplan.

Welcome to our Rockwood Geo Pro!

Another priority was the solar capabilities of the Geo Pro. Because of its smaller size, we'll be able to camp in those little forest service campgrounds that were too small for our big motor home. With some solar power, we'll also be able to camp without electric hookups. We plan to change to different batteries and add more solar, but that's the subject of another blog.

We bought a hitch for the pickup, the braking system, and we're ready to wander more of God's wonders in our new RV!