Visionwind

Once the papers were signed with my trusty Solar pen, given to me by my mentor, Mr. Backes, the 2000 Dutchmen Travel Trailer was mine!

I picked her up this morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan and write from Tiki RV Park and Camp Ground in St. Ignace, Michigan, just a few miles from beautiful Mackinac Island where the lower and upper parts of Michigan meet. Tomorrow I will be going to the breakfast in St. Ignace and starting what is to be a two-month journey across the great expanse of the United States.

For now, I’ve given my trailer the name of The Duchess. She’s a 2000 Dutchman travel trailer, 21 foot travel trailer with dinette, full size bed, kitchen and bathroom and it will be my home for the next two months as I travel across the country on the road trip of a lifetime. After looking into getting hotels or renting an RV I finally settled on the idea of buying a travel trailer that I could make my own. Now I didn’t know the first thing about RVs or travel trailers before starting this journey. I spent weeks looking at the options, it seemed like there were a thousand different models and options out there, I liken it to buying a mattress. It seems there were only a few major manufacturers but they each had 10+ lines with each line having lots of different models and options. As if this wasn’t enough, they have fiberglass, pressed walls, aluminum frames, blue foam, white foam, pop out, pop up , and hundreds of more configurations to understand, let alone know how to check.

Needless to say I was in the middle of an ocean of choices with no compass to show me a clear direction to go. One dealer would say one construction type was better (naturally the one they were selling of course) and another dealer would complete contradict it saying their trailers were better build due to pressed foam or some other abstract concept. All I wanted to know was if the trailer would be a good one to house me on my journey.  I wanted a good place to work with good light.  I wanted a permanent bed, not a fold up or fold down.  There had to be shower, a fridge and at least a sink, stove and microwave.  Air Conditioning was a must as well as a heater.  Of all the layouts, I realized the one with the dinette in front, kitchen in the middle and bathroom and bedroom in back was what I wanted.

After much searching I found her in Grand Rapids, MI.