Our Camper

Maddox and I are both long-time tent campers. But, a while back, I realized that more convenience and comfort means we can take more trips…

I started with a little Aliner hard-sided pop-up. It was just big enough for the kid (3 or 4 years old at the time) and myself. The key was that I could pack it up in advance…in fact I’d leave most of our gear in the camper… come home from work on a Friday, and take off for a weekend of camping. It also had a little 3-way fridge (and sink and stove), which meant I could also pack the food up the night before. Add in a “real” bed, and its clear why we barely used our tent after this.

It was also easily towed by my red Jeep Wrangler (the Rock Lobster), another plus…

As the family grew, in size and number, we found we had 2 adults, a rapidly growing tween (with friends), and a big hound. And our desire to camp only grew. So around the end of the 2018 camping season, we started talking about a new camper. Something a little more modern, and a little larger than the tiny 15 year old Aliner. We did some research and realized that, while we wanted more space, we also wanted to make sure we kept it small enough that it would be under the length restrictions of the state and national parks in our area. We thought through how we’d use it, and realized that the kid would soon want to bring friends on our trips. So, we needed beds for 4…

This all added up to the 2019 Forest River Wolf Pup 16BHs – Black Label Edition, seen up top.

The key features for us in choosing the 16BHS model were:

  • Total length under 20ft (common cut-off length for the parks in our area)
  • Queen size (almost) bed, enough room for 2 adults
  • Bunk beds for the kid and a friend
  • Reasonably sized shower
  • Good-sized fridge
  • Plenty of storage
  • Towable by a reasonable family vehicle (3,100lbs empty, 3,900lbs full)

We also upgraded and got the “Black Label Edition”. Many of the upgrades are cosmetic:

  • Fiberglass body
  • Alloy rims
  • Frameless windows
  • Solid wood cabinet doors
  • Nice countertop

And I’m not gonna lie, the aesthetic impact of the fiberglass body and rimless windows were a pretty big factor in our choice to go with the upgrade.

But, there were also a few practical upgrades with the Black Label level:

  • Deeper sink with pull out faucet
  • Built-in battery disconnect
  • Battery Minder (voltage gauge)
  • Upgraded mattresses on all the beds

And there were a few features we weren’t/aren’t planning on using, but who knows:

  • Microwave
  • Air conditioner
  • Toilet
  • HD TV antenna

The microwave and the AC require external electricity. And even when we have a site with power, we don’t use them. Maybe if its hot enough we’ll use the AC someday… I will say, when I’m working on the camper in the driveway on hot days, I’ve been known to put it on.

And sites we go to (so far) have decent bathroom setups. So, we haven’t yet used the toilet in the camper. Why deal with pumping it out if you don’t have to?  So, since this was originally written, we’ve used the black tank a few times when a dump station was easily available and a bathroom wasn’t.  I will say, emptying the tank is not as bad as I thought it would be.

And the OTA TV antenna is also pretty pointless. If we watch something, its something streamed or downloaded.