We would heading out for early winter camping in Zion in less than two weeks and I knew we didn’t really want to tent camp through the Thanksgiving Holiday. For the last several weeks, I had been checking out Craigslist, looking for good deals on small “pop-up” style light camping trailers. We had one of these early in our married life and liked it, but little did I know how hard it would be to find a decent trailer in Southern California for a good price. I looked for several weeks and was literally on my way to take a look at one when it sold. I was disappointed but took the time to head to a small dealership to look at theirs and get ideas but everything was waaaay too expensive and too heavy for my towing needs. Although a Rivian can tow really heavy loads, it does lose range when towing. So I needed a light trailer I could tow and still get enough road-tripping range to be worth it. Finally I found a trailer that looked like it would work for a price I thought we could afford….several hours away in a remote corner of the desert outside of Barstow, Ca. We took a drive out there and looked over the trailer, but it was not plugged into anything nor did it have water in its tanks, so I couldn’t really check out the systems as well as I should have. Big Mistake!!! I should have insisted! Never the less, we bought the trailer and hauled it home….working on it when I could in the few days I had left before the Zion trip. Most of what I focused on was some minor fiberglass work on the top to make sure it would be waterproof and getting new tires put on…as they were suspect to begin with.
So we took off early in the morning as we were hauling a trailer long distance for the first time and didn’t know how the Rivian would react (it did great), but we would do a conservative drive regardless. We made it to Baker, Ca comfortably where we stopped at the modern and open Tesla pull-through charger, then on to Las Vegas where we used the Rivian Adventure Network pull-through charger….and into Washington, Utah where charging with a trailer was hard. We first found a Tesla Charging station in a crowded parking lot with no pull-through chargers….but decided we could not make that work. Heading across to the very busy Walmart Super Center…..we found the Electrify America chargers and I had to wait. They would not all work for us….but I did make a way to pull through (blocking half a lane) so I could try to fast charge. Several chargers decided they were not fast chargers….and charged really slow. When I finally had a car move off another fast charger and could pull more into it, it was fast and I charged. This would be my last charge before Zion….as Zion doesn’t have many chargers and no pull-through chargers.
Once into Zion…nearly in the dark…we needed water so we headed to the fresh water pump and gray water dump area. I was able to pull-through and attach my water hose with no problem. Then I started to fill the trailer water tank. But to my chagrin….water came pouring out of the tank….as the fill cap had been previously glue into the tank and was now completely dry rotted….unable to hold any water. So for this trip, we could not use the water tank at all. Problem # 1. We solved this problem by having a 5-gallon jerry jug with us and several water bottles.
Getting into camp, we backed the trailer into our spot several times…reminded me of anchoring, it’s always good to provide entertainment for camp neighbors. It was now dark. Using headlamps and assorted curses, the trailer eventually went up but the kids also put up their tent, electing to have freedom from parents in their own sleeping area (and they could stay up late with their phones in the tent without us).
Attempting to get some dinner going….we hooked up the attached barbecue but it didn’t work. Propane didn’t flow into it at all. No problem, we could use the stove. We had plenty of propane. So we got out the cooking stuff and fired up the stove. It didn’t work. One burner sorta worked……kind of. Not enough to get food for a hungry crew in the dark and cold. Barbecue and stove didn’t work…..FUUUUUCK. Problem # 2.
We quickly called an audible and took off to find somewhere in Springdale outside of Zion that was open and still serving food. Luckily, we found a great pizza place that was still open. Back to the campsite we went….knowing we were going to have an interesting camping experience with most of the trailer not working and Thanksgiving days away.
Back at the trailer, it was getting chilly, so of course I went out to turn on the switch for the heater and the fridge…in the dark. I mean, we were paying for power and we were plugged in….so why wouldn’t it work? Yeah….nothing worked. So no heater and no fridge but luckily we had done some decent planning and had our large cooler with us….so again…..FUCK! Problems # 3 & 4.
The only two EV plugs in most of Zion are at the Visitors Center Parking lot, which was walking distance from our campground, so we could leave the truck there to charge when we could find the chargers free. This was mostly late at night, so it was like a game to find it free and get plugged in… then had to go back down and get the truck before I fell asleep.
But at the end of this first night….we had eaten, we were dry and in a good spot at Watchman Campground. Two days before Thanksgiving….more to come.
Compared to problems in the world right now, these little 1st World problems are really nothing….nothing but tiny camping challenges easily overcome. To a family away from home over a holiday, the challenges suck…but overcoming them teaches us important lessons about ourselves and resilience.
Next week: Exploring Zion and prepping to Canyoneer.
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