A Camping We Will Go

Carolyn and I have learned in the few months we've lived in Arizona that we could spend the rest of our lives discovering the wonders of this and the adjoining states. So, we have purchased a new RV to explore the Southwest.

After an Internet search, we settled on Chalet, a pop up camper with hard walls. We checked dealers in Arizona, New Mexico and California and chose Custom RV in Annaheim, CA.

Yesterday, we drove to Kingman, AZ, met two dealer reps, had a quick briefing on the trailer, then drove it home. The drive was a concentrated seminar on pulling a camper. We drove in the mountains through bright sunshine, rain, sleet, and hail before we made it home.

Today we played with the Chalet to become familiar enough to take it out for our first camping trip. Here I am raising the roof with the electronic lift.

The next step is manually raising the side walls.
Aside from levelling the camper, that's about all there is to setting it up.


Inside, the Chalet has a dining/sitting area that converts into a queen size bed.


To the left is a countertop that becomes the toilet and shower when set up.


The cabinet opens and expands into a serviceable bathroom.


To the right is the kitchen galley with a sink and two burner propane stove.



Under the counter is a three-way refrigerator and freezer.


At the other end is sofa that folds out into a double bed giving the unit the capacity to sleep four.

With a heater and air conditioner, we can camp year round. Our first venture will probably be the Verde Valley east of us, Flagstaff, or the Grand Canyon.

Then off to Mexico, Sante Fe, Monument Valley, Lake Tahoe, Sonoma Valley, Lake Powell, ...

So many places so little time.


To tow the Chalet we recently got a Jeep Commander to get us up and over the mountains here.

Our biggest challenge? Getting both in our garage. The Chalet is easy to maneuver by hand on a flat surface. We can squeeze both in with just enough room to spare.