My hands were buried in the warm sudsy water of my RV sink when I first saw Carolyn’s trailer pull around the bend. It was cold, maybe 15 degrees, and I was lingering so the water could warm up the chill on my fingers. As I dragged the soapy-sponge across the plates and pans I saw her truck pull past me then circle around, pulling behind it a teal and white retro trailer.
I squinted to see the model; it was cute, and short and the brightest color I had ever seen on a camper. Even the hubcaps were lined with teal, which shone across the campground and through the fat snowflakes that had begun to fall.
An hour later I looked out the window again, and the truck
was gone. The curved body of the trailer sat untethered, waiting for its owner to return, and I marveled at how quickly the lady I had seen must have unhooked all of that equipment to drive away. When I was planning my Nomadic Life, I considered a trailer…but I was scared.
Yes, I ultimately chose a rig I could jump into right away and drive away if needed, but more than that – I was scared of the hitch. As I passed trailers on the road I would glance at all the metal and chains and think, “nope. Too hard.” This lady made me re-think that assumption.
Colorado is not the most temperate place to RV through the winter, and I had constructed a skirt of Reflectix that enclosed two space heaters below the belly of my rig. That kept my pipes from freezing but required me to bundle up and go outside to adjust the skirting anytime I saw the undercarriage temperature had dropped. It was during one of these outings that a voice called out to me.
It was the owner of the teal, retro camper walking over. I put down the duct tape I was holding and waved. Yes! I scored on this little trip outside, I thought, because I had the chance to meet the superwoman who handled that hitch.
To my surprise, she was even tinier than I thought. Maybe it was all the winter-layers that made her 5’1” frame look small in comparison, but above it all was an easy smile and quick wit and I knew immediately we would be friends. We chatted about the weather and how we were handling the freeze and then Carolyn invited me over to see her home.
The moment I walked in I was transported to the vintage RV Life of the 1950’s. The ceiling of the trailer was lined in wood and curved down into the corners of the bed, which was adorned with pillows and framed by homemade curtains. Adjacent to the bed was an equally vintage looking dinette and a perfect little kitchen in which a kettle sat warm and waiting on the stove. It was the kind of home that immediately gave me images of curling up for days in bed, reading a book, and baking cookies as I looked out with a cup of tea onto whatever landscape stretched beyond the windows.
“This is it!” Carolyn said proudly.
“It’s so cute!” I answered, and it was. But I learned soon after that this was not Carolyn’s first trailer and she shared with me the twists and turns that led her to her current full-time Nomadic Life and the most adorable 18’ trailer I had ever seen.
Carolyn and I visited several times on that trip, again later that year and this past Spring, we had this exchange:
Q: WHAT KIND OF TRAILER DO YOU HAVE?
A: A 2017 retro 180R. It is the cutest little retro looking but brand new trailer. It’s 18’ long, 20’ with the hitch.
Q: DO YOU FIND IT’S BIG ENOUGH FOR YOU?
A: I’m still working on that. I’ve been sorting through my stuff again and down sizing some more. I’ll get there.
Q: WHAT ARE YOU PULLING IT WITH?
A: Right now, I’m pulling it with a 2008 Nissan Frontier, I have a little trouble going up hills so I’m thinking about trading it in for an 8 cylinder.
Q: YOU STARTED OUT WITH A DIFFERENT TRAILER, RIGHT?
A: I did. I started out w a 23 ft AR1 Maxx; I didn’t have the proper weight distribution and sway control, so when I went up to Idaho on my maiden journey, I was going down 1-15, came out from behind a hill and got caught by a gust of wind. And I jackknifed. I kept it upright, stayed on the road. Fortunately, the person on the road behind me was a Camping World employee, so he kind of took the center of the two lanes and kept the traffic back, so nobody else was involved. I kept it upright, but the frame of the trailer was twisted, and they totaled it. So, it was not my best day. But, I have to say, it was definitely not my worst day, I came through it with no injuries and no one else was hurt.
Q: AND THEN YOU DECIDED TO GO SMALLER?
A: Well, first I continued on with just my truck and my stuff in a UHual.
Q: WOW. WAS IT SCARY TO EVEN DRIVE A UHAUL AFTER THAT?
A: It was. It was a small little thing, but it was. I thought a long time about if I wanted to do the trailer again.
Q: BUT EVENTUALLY YOU GOT YOUR NEW 18 FOOTER?
A: I did, I did.
Q: AND YOU LIKE IT?
A: I do. I always liked the idea of a vintage trailer, but I don’t really have the talent or the wherewithal to do the renovation myself. I’m thinking of doing some interesting things.
Q: LIKE WHAT?
A: Like dressing in entirely 50s style. I haven’t got the stuff to do it with at this point. But I do have my sewing machine and some patterns and fabric, so that might be next.
Q: HOW FUN! AND WHY A TRAILER INSTEAD OF A CLASS C OR A CLASS A OR SOMETHING?
A: Because I want to be able to separate my transportation from my living quarters. Just to be able to park the trailer someplace, BLM land or a State Park or wherever, and be able to go in just the truck is what I wanted.
Q: HOW DO YOU FEEL LEAVING THE TRAILER WHEN YOU’RE NOT THERE?
A: I haven’t had any trouble. The times I’ve done it I’ve met neighbors on the BLM that help keep an eye on things. And I do have safety locks, a hitch lock and two wheel locks. So it’s locked up.
Q: DO YOU GET LONELY ON THE ROAD?
A; I do sometimes. I haven’t quite pinpointed what causes the loneliness. There are sometimes that I’m just fine going and wandering in and out of sites I want to see, but then…maybe it’s the cycle of the moon! I don’t know. Now I’m ready to get going on my own again. People that know me know that I need my alone time too.
Q: AND NOW YOUR PLAN IS TO DO ROUTE 66 AT 66. IS DOING ROUTE 66 AT 66 SOMETHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO?
A: My daughter planted the idea in my head. I always thought the idea of doing route 66 was cool, and maybe I’ll do it. My daughter challenged me to do it while I’m 66 years old. The idea of getting a trailer had been swirling before I retired for about 4 years. I was going to retire at 70, because you get more money out of Social Security, but then I said, if you wait until 70 you’re not going to do this!
Q: SO YOU HAVE A VERY SUPPORTIVE FAMILY?
A: Yes, Yes, everyone in my family Is supportive of my travels.
Q: HAD YOU EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE?
A: Tent camping. And only at music festivals. So, it wasn’t like camping in the woods.
Q: SO, FOR FOUR OR FIVES YEARS BEFORE YOU RETIRED YOU HAD THIS DREAM BREWING?
A: Yes! It’s a dream you can make come true. It takes research and planning, but you can do it.
Q: YOU COULD HAVE A REGULAR RETIREMENT, AND A HOUSE, AND GO OUT TO LUNCH WITH FRIENDS OR WHATEVER OTHER WAYS YOU WANTED TO ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT, BUT INSTEAD YOU (ARE TRAVELING THE COUNTRY IN A TRAILER). WHICH DO YOU THINK IS BETTER?
A: Oh, I’m definitely happier with this. As for a house, I sold the house to buy the trailer. I’m not homeowner material. If I stop this, I’ll be a renter.
Q: YOU STARTED ROUTE 66 WHEN YOU RETIRED. WHAT STATES HAVE YOU DONE SO FAR, AND WHAT STATES ARE YOU GOING TO NEXT?
A: I’m going from West to East. I started at the Santa Monica Pier in California. So, I’ve done all of old Route 66, which I’m following as much as possible. I’ve done California and Arizona and I stopped temporarily in Gallup, New Mexico and headed off to do some other things. I think I’ll do New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. My original plan was to do all of Route 66 while I was 66 but now I am think I’ll be like 67 or 68. Eventually I’ll make it all the way to Chicago.
Q: SO IT’S NOT ROUTE 66 STRAIGHT THROUGH, THEN? YOURE TAKING TIME TO SEE OTHER THINGS?
A: I’m seeing things. I’m stopping at all these weird places, like a town in California with the Bottle Tree Ranch. It’s amazing. It has poles with branches coming off the poles, and there are bottles on the poles with all kinds of decorations.
Q: WHATEVER WEIRD OR GREAT STUFF HAVE YOU SEEN SO FAR?
A: In Hackberry, Arizona there is the Hackberry General Store. There are all these old cars outside, and it’s just a cool place. Also, the Grand Canyon Caverns. They do some ghost tours and things like that but seeing the rock formations inside the earth is just fascinating.
Before Carolyn drove off towards her Route 66 adventure, she gave me a chance to do a video tour of her rig and for my YouTube channel. At the end of the video she shows us all how she hitches her trailer to her truck from beginning to end. We get to watch as Carolyn hops up onto a stabilizing bar in her ballet-flats to check the connection, then crouch down to attach a row of chains. I remembered back to that snowy day in December when I first saw this amazing lady pull into snowy Cheyenne Mountain State Park solo, wondering how she handled that hitch. Well, with ease, it turns out.
Thank you, Carolyn, for sharing your life with my readers and YouTube viewers! You are a gem and an inspiration. Safe travels!
Thank you for reading! And, let’s help other people discover everything the RV life offers by sharing, liking and subscribing.
Be Happy. Create More. Set Yourself Free .
Robin
CreativityRV
Hi Robin, I wonder if you can get some very important information to Route 66 Carolyn? I’m a 57 year old single mom and have been camping in every type of RV there is, starting with tents, pop ups, Teardrop’s and on to Class A, B, C. I’ve towed several different types and sizes of trailers and each with different types of towing vehicles.
I want her (and you) to know the easiest tow vehicle and easiest hitch set up. Easiest for towing trailers and most stable is SUV. I pulled trailers in both SUVs and trucks and the SUVs have been so much more stable. I guess because the trucks rear ends are so light they tend to be more all over the place. I’ve had V6 and V8s (engine not the drink) and still both engines, the SUVs pulled better. Even better than my F350 Diesel.
Now easiest to hitch and unhitch by FAR, is a 5th wheel RV because you have NO equalizers or sway bars to attach. I was seriously intimidated at first but OMG how easy it was to tow and hook up. You simply back up to your hitch (and you can easily see the hitch since it’s in the bed of your truck. No more getting in and out of your vehicle to see how close you are), when you hear the click you get out, lock the hitch brake, plug in lights and raise front legs and go (that’s rv legs not your legs) lol. Faster, safer, easier, however finding a small one is a chore. Unless you go to the Escape or the other Canadian built fiberglass one, it’s hard to find one near 20’ long.
This was a lot longer than I anticipated so most important thing to get to Carolyn is SUV rather than truck unless she is going to need the bed of her truck for storage.
I live in Seattle, your stomping grounds. I am sharing custody of my 10 year old with her other mother. I tried living full time in RV while sharing Custody and it was too hard due to daughter being in West Seattle and you know there are no RV parks here. Closest is Bellevue. I was in Fall City since I work in Snoqualmie. Let me know if you run into other mom’s trying to do this Nomad life while sharing custody. I know there are traveling families, but the custody thing is a tough one, with 50/50 Custody splitting weeks.
Stay gorgeous, stay happy!, love your channels. Be careful what you say because some don’t know any better.
Hi Dennie,
Thanks for all the info! I’m sure Carolyn and everyone else will appreciate the advice. Have a great day, Robin