Our new Baughman BP712RG trailer

I decided to get a all aluminum trailer to haul our Yamaha Rhino on since they are a lot lighter than the steel models which will save on fuel over time and will be better when going up and down steep hills. Our trailer is a 7X12 which we can pull behind our fifth wheel and still be under the maximum length in most of the states we will visit in the future. I special ordered mine with brakes and a brake away switch to meet other states requirements and to help on steep down hills. Also these trailers come with a 5 yr axle warranty and a lifetime warranty on the aluminum trailer. They are made in Salt Lake City UT, and I bought it from Montana Trailer Company in Billings MT.

Our 2006 Yamaha Rhino 660 SXS

Well we have our SXS now and we will take it with us on future camping trips and run around in it instead of our pickup so less wear and tear on it. It is a 2006 Yamaha Rhino 660 with aftermarket body kit and full roll cage.

 We added some skid plates to help protect the axles front and rear so now it has almost full protection underneath. The plates like the rest of our skid plates were made by Pro Armor.

Our seats were in terrible condition so we bought new ones from PRP.

 Much nicer, but there will be much more to do over time to make it the way we want it.

Furrion Vision S install

So the weather is nice and I have installed or rear back up camera on our trailer. Our trailer is a 2002 Laredo 27RL and is 30' long so you need a good wireless camera not a cheapie for that length. The install was not as clean as I wanted but it is temporary anyway and as normal things don't always go the way you ant them to. I wanted to hook up to a hot wire through the light cord plug ins not the running lights, but when I had the last plug in installed on my pickup I didn't have them hook up power to it for charging batteries since it is so inefficient anyway and I couldn't find a hot wire on the rear of my pickup to do it. So I had to wire it to the lights and I removed the center clearance light and could not find a decent place to ground the camera  and I was not going to pull my overhead cabinet inside apart to do it there so I ran both wires down the back of the trailer by running them to the ladder and tapping them down and securing them with zip ties.
I grounded to my hitch that was added on and spliced into the driving lights wire. I plugged in and powered up the camera and the picture came right up without it having to search for the camera. As a added bonus this camera has motion detect in case something moves behind you when you are backing up and you can even hear someone walking or talking behind the trailer. And since I only put 4 small screw holes in the trailer we can move this camera easily to our next trailer down the road.

Free or low cost camping ideas

The best way to find free RV parking spots is to ask the local police or sheriff office. 

A phone call is all it takes

Private lands owned by timber companies that allow free camping.

Arizona has a public lands recreation permit ($20) that allows free RV camping on state lands.

We always recommend asking for overnight RV parking permission when looking for a free spot 

to spend the night.

Truck Stops – Asking permission is usually not a requirement Be considerate of the big rigs!

Walmart – Not all stores allow overnight RV parking due to city ordinances. Check store for policy.

Cracker Barrel – These nationwide restaurants usually allow free overnight RV parking.

Big Box Retailers – Kmart, Best Buy, Sams Club often allow free RV camping.

Highway Rest Areas – All rest areas allow a few hours of free RV parking, but noisy. But some

do not allow overnight parking look for signs when you pull in. 

Roadside Parks & Picnic Areas – The early day version of the rest area. Check for signs about

over night stays.  

 

Fairgrounds – State and County facilities may allow RV camping when not otherwise in use.

Parks – City, County, State, and Community parks often have free RV camping.

Keep a list of the places you find to stay at, you never know when you may go though there again.

New kitchen dishes and storage for them.

We replaced our plastic dishes with ones from Corelle that are supposed to be hard to brake and added holders from Camco secured to the cabinets to hold them in place.

New closet hangers

We bought new clothes hangers the type were you hang the clothes and the drop one end to take up less space. They do give you more space you just want to hang shorter items on the end that you let down.

Backup cameras

We normally don't need a backup camera but since we are going to tow a trailer behind our fifth wheel I decided we need to keep a eye on it so we purchased a Furrion Vision S observation system a a RV show.
Once it warms up enough I will install it and do a review of it after our first trip out with it.