From SUV to Adventure Rig: Our First Step Toward Trailer Camping

We’re taking the first steps toward being able to haul travel trailers! This Friday, our Honda Pilot is going in for service to address two recalls. While it’s in the shop, we’re also having a hitch and wiring harness installed. Once that’s done, we’ll be ready to start pulling trailers.

We’ve been talking about adding a hitch to the Pilot for a while, and we’re finally getting it done. This will allow us to start renting trailers and see if we enjoy that style of camping. I’ve already set up an account on Outdoorsy, which makes it easy to find local trailers for rent and test out the process. Many experienced campers recommend renting before buying, so this should give us a good sense of what owning a trailer would be like.

I’m currently watching two trailers on the site—one in Eudora and the other in Gardner. Renting is pretty affordable, around $90 per day, which is still cheaper than most hotels. The biggest upfront cost is getting the hitch installed, but it’s right around what I expected, and it’ll be finished on Friday.

It’s been a long time since I’ve driven with anything in tow, so I’ll need a little time to get used to it again. I used to drive my dad’s truck with a boat attached and never had trouble backing up, but doing it in a Honda Pilot—with limited rear visibility and relying mostly on mirrors—will be a new experience. Still, I think I’ll manage and I’m looking forward to giving it a try.

One of the main reasons we’re considering a trailer is that it would let us camp earlier in the year and later into the fall. One of the trailers I’m eyeing doesn’t allow pets, but the other one does. For our first trip, we might leave Oliver at home so we can focus on learning the ropes, but we’ll see. Hopefully, we enjoy it as much as we do tent camping and can include Oliver in future trips.

One thing we’re not getting installed on Friday is the hitch ball. It was recommended that I purchase that separately, and I’m considering a multi-size hitch ball that can be swapped out depending on the trailer. On my dad’s truck, we only had one ball hitch since we mainly towed a boat or a trailer with a tractor, so it was pretty straightforward. I’m not sure how it’ll work with different rental trailers, but I’ll figure it out.

I’m really excited to get started. We’ve been thinking about adding a hitch for a few years now, and it’s finally happening. I’ll definitely share future posts about our experiences and hopefully some camping trips throughout the year—not just in the summer.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week!

We Made Our First Trip to the Kansas City RV Show on Saturday to Look Around... Thinking About Future and Camping

Explore 2024 NB20.3

Carrie and I have been tent camping for a few years now. We really enjoy the experience of tent camping although having a travel trailer would help us to be able to camp earlier and later in the season. We do have long-term plans to get a travel trailer, so this weekend we made a trip to the Kansas City RV Show to look around. 

We had a fun time walking around looking at the different options from small dome options to full motorhomes. It is truly amazing how much can be fit into the various options. Still, we are pulled to the direction of a travel trailer because we can hitch it to our Pilot, get to most any location, and leave the trailer while we site see or go to hiking locations.

Explore 2024 NB20.3 Floorplan

The travel trailer that we reviewing is the Explore 2024 NB20.3. We are a few years out from doing anything about this new adventure, but it is fun to review and look at options. Some things we need to figure out include towing capacity of our Honda Pilot. I see it has a 5,000 lbs towing capacity, but the NB20.3 lists figures over the 5,000 lbs. Futher research is needed to understand if our Honda Pilot could haul this device not to mention also need to get a hitch for our Pilot.

It is exciting to review and think about getting a travel trailer. We are still a few years out before we do get one though. So, who knows, maybe at a future future Kansas City RV Show we will get a trailer once we have figured out hitch, storage, and exactly what we are wanting to buy.

As we look to camping for the spring, summer, and fall, we already have one spot reserved and talking about getting other dates selected for other camping adventures throughout the summer. We only went twice last year, so hoping to double, or triple, the amount of camping adventures this year. One day, we will have a travel trailer and be able to camp earlier and later into the season which will be a lot of fun.

Have a great week and if you are using a travel trailer, I would love to connect and discuss what you selected and why.