Well, as promised, here is my report on my first camping trip (as an adult anyway) and my first experience with our recently-purchased 1998 2518.

There were four of us: myself, my wife (an avid camper in her youth), our 5 yr-old daughter, and our 4 week-old newborn daughter. We pulled the 2518 with our 2005 Honda Odyssey that had the factory coolers installed for the power steering and the tranny.

We decided to try French Creek State Park here in Southcentral PA for a couple of reasons. First, it is cheap. It cost us only $42 for 4 days. Second, it is close by (about an hour drive). Third, we've been there before and know the amenities: clean bathrooms, hot showers, lots of hiking, playgrounds, a giant pool (on the lake), two large lakes, geocaching, orienteering, frisbee golf, and more! Fourth, they have electric and a dump station and water nearby each site. We took a portable 5 gallon jug to fill our holding tank.

We were not disappointed! I started hitching up around 2:00 and we were on the road by 3:00pm. Check-in was easy and the campground was only about 25% full! However, the contact station for the campground is at the top of a fairly long hill. The Honda didn't complain, but it smelled really hot. The engine temp gauge was normal so I suspect the tranny was taking a beating. (I have an appointment to get the tranny fluid swapped out with AMSOIL next week!) I spent about an hour unhitching, leveling, and hooking everything up while the girls got the van unpacked. Everything went so smoothly since I had been practicing setting up the TM and tearing it down since last October when we bought the thing! It has been in our driveway for 8 months!

The park was beautiful and we were greeted by a flock of wild turkeys in our campsite. We roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and s'mores by the fire and had a typical camping day! We had no problems whatsoever with the camper, with the kids, or the entire 4 days. We had one breakdown (the upper hinge pulled out of the wardrobe) which was easy to fix (remove the door!). We switched beds after one night thinking the baby was better suited in the back with the curtain. And we compiled a list of the "nice-to-haves" for our next trip.

We went geocaching, hiking, bike riding, went to the playground, went to the pool, looked for constellations and planets, and of course, had a fire every night.

In case anyone is interested, I made a webpage of our trip. You will find some nice photos of the family and our TM. Here's the link:

http://www.sageadviceltd.com/sage/ba...g606/index.htm

Sorry if it is a long post but I wanted to share a wonderful experience with my new "TM family" and look forward to many more camping trips this summer!

Dean

Dean,
Thanks for sharing your first TM camping experience with us. You have a beautiful family. Enjoy them while you can... they grow up soooooo fast. We now have 6 grandchildren who are learning how much fun camping can be with their parents and grandparents.

French Creek State Park looks like a wonderful park. I'll bookmark it in my files should we ever get back to visiting PA.

Thanks again for the post and pictures.

Loved the web site pictures. Looks like a super place to go. As stated above, enjoy these times with the family. Seems like yesterday I was teaching the kids about the outdoors and enjoying the good life, now they are taking their grandkids out. Where does the time go???

[BOB_STRONG]

Dean,

We live in northcentral Pa. right on the New York State boarder. We are directly above Williamsport. I was just wondering if the campground was near State College or is it farther down towards Harrisburg?

Great pictures. Your little one at 4 weeks old reminds me of when we took Ron's grandson camping for the first time all the way to Cape Cod. He too was only 4 weeks old. We were a little hesitant, but we took the chance. It was 500 miles just one way. We were lucky that he loved to sleep once the vehicle started moving. They are never too young to start taking them camping. Dominick is 8 now, and he can't wait to help me hitch up the TrailManor and get ready to go camping. They learn quickly how to do things.

Hope your next trip goes as well as your maiden voyage.

[fcatwo]

Dean

Thanks for the report. I notice you are thinking of Switching to Amsoil transmission fluid. Our 2002 Odyssey used a Honda specific transmission fluid called ATF-Z1 and I had the impression it would raise warranty issues to use anything else. The 2005 may be different but you may want to check with Honda before changing or make sure Amsoil will take care of any problems Honda doesn't. It's really none of my business of course so please ignore this and accept my apologies if I'm out of line. I might mention that Odyssey transmission replacements are about $6K per copy.

Dean,

Your first trip report was most heart warming. Took me back many years when my family started camping. Thank you for sharing and posting pictures as well.

Regarding Amsoil, I have used Amsoil in my vehicles for years. Our current Honda Ridgeline has Amsoil in the engine, transmission, transfer assembly and rear differential. And, yes, I did check with Honda corporate office prior to switching to Amsoil. No problem with warranty. The Honda consultant I spoke with added that he thought it was a good idea to use synthetic lubricants, especially when towing.

Many more happy camping trips to you all.

[B_and_D]

From the pictures (thanks for posting them!) you guys look like pretty happy campers in your "new" TM. It looks really well-kept. What a great find!

I'm glad that you found a nice TM and that you are enjoying it. We loved camping with our kids when they were little (still do, even tho they're teens now) and ours both had their first camping trips before 1 year old. Camping just really brings the family together and we look back at our pictures and enjoy the memories of our trips, whether they were in the cabover camper, the tent, our 60's Aloha (I don't know how we all fit in that thing, it was only 12' long) or our TM.

May you have many more wonderful family camping trips in your TM! Take as many as you can; time does go by so quickly.

It looks like you all had a great time. You have beautiful family. We really enjoyed your pictures. So, when is your next trip? That is usually the topic of discussion that my wife and I have on our way home from a camping trip.