Oct 10 – Knives out! inside the Casita

“Hide the knives” was the advise given by more than one when Vivian and I shared our plans to travel several months in a 17-ft Casita Trailer. That was 5 months and 10,000 miles ago. And as far as the knives go, we’ve made plenty use of them for cooking and dining inside the Casita.

Fact is, we love traveling in our Casita. Our resolve to never tow anything bigger was fortified while driving up a steep, narrow curvy road in northern Alabama as we approached the end of our 5-mon long travels. We were on our way to Lake Guntersville State Park, a place we had been before with the fifth wheel. As the truck pulled the Casita effortlessly up the hill, the memories rolled in. Seven years ago on August 5, 2018, it was a very different drive and went something like this:

After 8 hours on the road pulling our fifth wheel mostly in torrential rain, our ends were frayed as we drove the final 5 miles on a curvy, narrow and steep road into Lake Guntersville State Park. Only one week into our maiden voyage, a series of mishaps have goaded us to second guess ourselves. Not the least of which was taking a wrong turn down a road that could pass for a bike path. Then there was the moment when getting our fifth wheel over the railroad track as a train barreled towards us. Buried under all that was the fact we were pulling a 12,000 lb fifth wheel that had no brakes because they got burned out within minutes of starting our journey – our first, and by far not the last mistake.

Fast forward to Oct 10, 2025. Memories came back in full as I calmly drove up that same mountain road to return to Lake Guntersville. The same truck is now pulling a 3500-lb Casita trailer. More so, Vivian and I are not the same RVers we were on August 2018. We have traveled over 50,000 miles in our fifth wheel. All the mishaps, dumb mistakes, the never ending maintenance and repairs, and the close calls and near misses over the years have not beat us; rather they have strengthened our resolve to continue our RV travels.

But we are over it – or rather, our fifth wheel has reached our limits. We have basically taken it as far as we wish to take it. And this is where the Casita comes in, to take over where the fifth wheel left off.

As I effortlessly eased the Casita into our campsite on beautiful Lake Guntersville, I thought about Aug 5, 2018 when Vivian, with great effort, backed the 33-ft fifth wheel into the site ( a task she had performed only twice prior to that), and only after our camp neighbor moved his truck. And then there was the leveling system that went awry, lifting two wheels off the ground. It took some time, but eventually we solved that problem, one of many to come. This time, we had the Casita parked and leveled within minutes.

Hide the knives indeed. Resting on our laurels, we travel lighter and more nimbly, and for the most part, stress-free.  The Casita is a joy to pull down the highway! No longer do repairs and maintenance dictate our itineraries, no longer are we waiting for the next shoe to drop, or as it were, a failed slideout or a leaking roof.

We lived 5 months in our Casita while reaping the rewards of giving up some comforts. During those few moments when we missed our comfy lounge chairs or full size bathroom, or the space to allow two people in the kitchen, we told each other, “keep your eyes on the prize”.  Oh the places we’ve been and the places we will be!

No longer do we need to

• park in a parking lot campground and drive many miles to get inside a national park – now we can camp inside the park.
• schedule campground stays to do laundry and a grocery run – now we can stop at a laundromat or grocery store along the way.
• get on the roof to inspect, wash, seal, repair, etc – now we have much less of that to do and it can be done from a ladder.
• concern ourselves with the slideouts – now we have none!
• make so many camp reservations ahead of time – now, we have many more campsite choices.
• avoid narrow roads and low bridges – now, we fit.
• pack our lunch in a cooler for the road – now we can stop and make lunch with full access to the kitchen and refrigerator.

I can go on. The bottom line is this – the Casita is here to stay, knives and all.

Stay tuned, as we prepare for our (next) epic adventure.

Most RV blogs are a wealth of information especially relating to all the things that can go wrong while traveling in an RV. Vivian and I certainly have had our share. Here are some stories to learn from, relate to, and maybe have a good laugh (at our expense, of course).

Right out of the gate, we wasted no time in making a common newbie mistake – burned out brakes.

We coped with two major breaks at a Florida state park, only 200 miles from home – an ankle and a hanger bracket.

Two major issues resolved in Elkart, Indiana – a slideout and the suspension.

A series of events along the way to the Canadian Rockies – from a flat tire to a broken leaf spring.

One of our worse nightmares that can happen anywhere – happened in Oklahoma.