Tags
5th Wheel Camping, Arizona RVing, Coach-Net Camping, Lake Havasu Camping, summer rving, Summer RVing 2020
Lacey and her husband Jeff have been with Coach-Net for a total of 16 years. Lacey is the Technical Services Director and Jeff is one of our Dispatch Agents. He also has a few RV Tech certifications under his belt! They live and breathe RVing! They have been on multiple RV trips in the past, but the most recent was a special one! Read on to see why!
Where did you go?
Lake Havasu City, AZ to visit family
Was this your 1st time RVing?
No, we have been RVing plenty of times in the past. We have owned smaller trailers, but this was our first time with something this large and our first time pulling our new 2020 Palomino Puma Unleashed 5th wheel!
What’s the fondest memory of your trip?
Spending time with family on the lake! We borrowed a family member’s kayak and ended up falling in love with it. So we bought some of our own and took them out multiple times while we were there. Being that we have a toy hauler, we were also able to bring our SXS with us which made for some fun off-roading trips in the desert. Lastly, we made a little day trip up to Williams, AZ to visit Bearizona, which was a very cool place to visit.
Did you find anything challenging about your RV trip?
There was a definite learning curve to hooking up a 5th wheel and towing something that large for 1200 miles. We hit a lot of wind on I-40 on the way there which made it even more challenging. Operations wise, both my husband and I are RVIA technicians, so we did not have any issues other than learning where certain things were on this particular unit.
We also started teaching our daughter how to operate things as well. Since this was our first time taking out a new vehicle, we knew that there would be “shake-down” things that needed to be fixed. Most were minor that was fixable with some basic tools, but we did end up getting a faulty toilet and Dometic had to ship us a new one that we were able to install ourselves.
Would you go again?
Absolutely! We plan to try to make it a yearly trip, but hopefully not in the summer heat next time. Even with two AC units, the trailer had a hard time keeping up with 110+ degree temps outside.
Where would you like to go next?
This fall we are excited to visit the dunes at Little Sahara in Oklahoma. We also want to take it down to Galveston Island State Park which is another one of our favorite destinations.
Why do you love RVing?
Both my husband I have always loved camping as kids and thankfully our daughter has followed in that tradition. It is so nice to have a little home away from home whether you are in the woods, the beach, or in a family member’s backyard. Being able to work remotely from the trailer is the icing on the cake as we can get away much more often. It is a lot easier to put yourself in the customer’s shoes when you are literally living the RV lifestyle along with them!
John E. ~ “Great support from everyone I spoke to, and the phone technician know immediately what my problem was, told me what to do, and my problem was solved!”
Tonya has been with Coach-Net for four and a half years. For the past two years, she has been responsible for our Accounts Payable and Compliance. She and her husband have four teenagers at home and they love to travel, explore new places, and spend time in the outdoors. They make sure to take one trip a year without the kids each May to celebrate their anniversary. This year, for their 19th, they decided to take the RV out for the first time. Read on to see how her trip went!
Our goal was to see Garner State Park, but camping there is usually booked far in advance so we booked a site at a local RV Park, Camp Riverview RV Park in Concan, TX. I highly recommend this place. Our site had full hook-ups and sat only a few hundred yards from the Frio River. The staff was awesome. They greeted us upon arriving and even had people available to help us pull into the site and set everything up. I’m not ashamed to admit, we let them. It was hot! Thanks, Bill!
We went on Memorial Day Weekend, so it was four days and three nights. After our whole family being together on shelter-in-place orders since mid-March, we were well ready for this trip! We spent time at the RV park of course, but we also visited Garner State Park, the Frio Bat Cave Tours, and did a half-day float on the Frio.
Yes and we truly enjoyed the experience. My parents had a really nice Dodge Conversion van growing up. That was as close as I ever got to RV’ing. Neither of us had pulled anything that size or set up an RV before. We took turns driving the 350 miles down south and I think I did a pretty good job pulling it.
I would most definitely go again. We plan to! We like to camp with the kids several times a year. We all enjoy hiking and swimming. My son Noah especially loves to fish and build campfires for us. They are super excited to take the Airstream on our next trip.
The most challenging aspect of the trip was pulling the airstream behind the truck. I have pulled a few 10-12ft flatbed trailers in the past to move into my home or help friends move, but hauling a 23ft Airstream down the highway was a new and daunting task. No, it’s no 40ft RV, but it was without a doubt the biggest trailer I’ve ever hauled. However, it was definitely worth the nerves.
RVing allows us to bring the comforts of home to the beauty of nature. In my mind, it’s the best of both worlds, one moment you’re out exploring and breathing in the fresh air and the next you’re nice and cozy on the couch in your RV. I can’t really ask for more! 
Haley is our fun-loving, funny & spunky office manager here at Coach-Net! She has been essential to Coach-Net for the past year in making sure everything in the office is ship shape! She was able to take out our Airstream recently, here’s how it went!
For both of my trips, the majority of my friends had never been camping or used an RV before, so it was really great getting to show them how much fun RVing could be. For the May trip, I think one of my fondest memories was actually the time spent driving out to Broken Bow. We all act in musical theatre and we spent a lot of the drive singing and listening to different shows. During our second trip, we took a lot of videos and pictures, and my friend, Nolan, made a video commemorating the trip that was so funny and is a lot fun to look back on.
Surprisingly, there weren’t many challenges on our trips, even though I was the only one that knew much about RVs, and it was my first time taking one out myself. I am one of the trainers here at our call center and used to be an agent on our previous RV Core Team, so it was really cool to see the conceptual knowledge I have learned and taught over the years get put to use as we figured out things along the way. I will say that probably the most challenging part was setting up the first night on our May trip. It was already really dark and I hadn’t been to Beaver’s Bend before, so we didn’t know how to reserve and pay for a spot, and getting set up for the first time when it was so dark outside wasn’t easy.
We spent 3 nights, 4 days with family and friends enjoying the resort’s amenities, as well as, exploring the historical surroundings, boating around the 10,000 Islands, watching the airboat tours taking people out to see the alligators, and soaking in the vibrant sunsets. As usual, we packed as much as we could to get the most out of each day.
Our fondest memories of this trip were made celebrating New Year’s Eve at the resort. We enjoyed a nice Prime Rib dinner and entertainment in the clubhouse, followed by a spectacular fireworks show over the water. It was a wonderful way to ring in a new decade with exciting “cheers” to making many more memories together RVing.
We are always up for another RVing adventure, whether it be in an RV Resort, State Park, or Campground. There are so many beautiful places left to be seen on our traveling bucket list.
Way back in 1987, Coach-Net was created for RVers by RVers. Many years and even decades have passed, resulting in so much change. RVs have progressed in size and with countless electronic updates. And the widespread use of the internet has not only made our trip planning infinitely easier, it has allowed our exploration of the outdoors to be so much more accessible. And with the passing of time, even Coach-Net has changed, continually updating our methods and tools to better serve our members. But while many things have changed, there is one thing that has always stayed the same. We are RVers! The only way to truly understand the intimidation a new RVer has when driving their RV, or setting up in a campground for the very first time is by experiencing that moment ourselves. For this reason, Coach-Net proudly owns not just one, but two RVs – a motorized and a towable unit both available for our employees to go camping with family and friends, at no cost. We want every person working for Coach-Net to have that personal camping experience and we want to be able to share our experiences with you.
