Kalamazoo, MI

This was our first camping trip of the 2004 season and our first trip in our new Trailmanor 3023 travel trailer. We traveled to the Kalamazoo, Michigan area to stay at the private American Campground as their ¹"guests". Towing the with the Jeep Liberty went well. The weather was very cooperative. And the campground was nice - many amenities. All the other campers we met (including another Trailmanor owner!) were also very nice. One couple even invited us in to tour their Express 2000 5th wheel trailer by Travel Supreme.

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Main gate at the campground	Ruby catching a nap after a walk	The 3 Musketeers - say cheese!

Long distance picture of our trailer (r)	One of the 2 lakes at this campground	New mini-golf course

Playground	New pool and pool house	General Store / propane / dump

Our rig	Nancy relaxing - with wine, what else!	Jim prepping dinner

An overview map of the trip from our home to American Campgrounds near Kalamazoo, Michigan

A close-up view of the map at the campgrounds area - northwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan

I was really able to put the Jeep Liberty to the test of pulling a loaded trailer. In total (truck, 2 adults, gear, trailer, supplies, full water tank, full refrigerator, bike rack, 2 bikes etc.), we weighed 8,880 pounds. I need to check my Jeep owner's manual to find the approximate weight of the Jeep itself in order to determine the weight of the trailer and to ensure I was within the gross weight rating of the Jeep/trailer combination. Later, when I am more educated on the matter, I want to weigh the entire rig by axle to ensure I am within the ratings and that I am load balancing the trailer contents as well as I can.

With the exception of the usual traffic delays near the Illinois/Indiana border, the drive up went smoothly. It took us about 4 hours to go the 178 miles, including a 30 minute stop along the way. I got 13.5 miles per gallon.

We didn't have a map of the park and being new to camping, we didn't have the best sense of what to look for in a site. Turns out, the site we chose, up against the woods but near the lake, did not have a sewer hook-up due to DNR regulations. It worked out fine though as we had power and water.

The first night (Friday) we did not have a fire as we are not bringing our own wood and the guard shack was closed. I grilled steaks on the Smokey Joe charcoal grill. I used a chunk of hickory wood in the grill and it added a nice flavor to the steaks. I also steam grilled broccoli and warmed some bread on top of the grill lid. A little wine and we had a nice "first dinner" in the trailer. We ate inside since it was dark out by this time.

It rained overnight as forecasted. No leaks in the trailer but the rain pinging on the roof was a new thing for me. That and getting used to the trailer bed made for fitful sleep the first night.

The old coffee maker from the house made it's way to the trailer and was put to good use. We loaded it up before we went to bed so we just hit the button in the morning and she was ready to go. Nice cup of coffee and a nice walk for the dog - it was all good. I made a left-overs omelet with eggs, cream, chicken (from dinner at home a few nights prior) and broccoli from the first nights camping dinner. Added a little Emeril Essence spice and it was pretty tasty. No toaster in the trailer so I lightly buttered some bread and pan fried it on a griddle. So far, the Atwood stove and oven in the trailer are pretty functional.

We have a "Dorothy style" doggy basket for Nancy's bike so we can take Ruby for bike rides too. She loves it! So we biked through the campground a few times. I went off-road with mine on a gravel trail into the woods. After crossing a small bridge, the trail turned to sand. That was had to get through. I ended up in a huge open space where they currently store trailers for members but where they plan to expand their sites yet this year.

We took a few walks in the campground and met several other campers. We were especially impressed with an Express 2000 5th wheel trailer by Travel Supreme that one couple gave us a tour of. Great layout and a lot of vertical height inside. We're both tall and our kids are even taller, so we're always comparing ceiling heights in trailers.

We even ran into another Trailmanor trailer owner. I biked over to meet them on Saturday as they were closing up. They are from Michigan and this was their first time out with the Trailmanor. It's a 1998 2720 (I think). They said they liked it because they could easily set it up and they could pull it with their mini-van. Always have to go meet any other Trailmanor owners!

We bought wood for the campfire from the campground. It was $3.18 per bundle. Seemed like a fair price. We ended up needing more. Nancy tracked down a guy on a golf cart from the campground and he gave her a huge load for free from a stash by the main office.

Saturday night, I grilled salmon, shrimp and scallops. On the stove, I pan-fried some halved Brussels sprouts and I made a fresh lettuce and veggie salad. We had a nice dinner!

Breakfast Sunday morning was simple. Some fried corned beef hash, some blueberry muffins Nancy made in the trailer oven the day before and a couple of fried eggs. Simple, yet tasty.

Since it was only a weekend trip and our very first trip in our trailer and only the second time we've ever trailer camped, we did get out to any local nature sites to bike, hike or explore.

The drive home went faster than the drive up as the border traffic was less congested. It was very windy (30-40 MPH gusts), but the rig remained pretty steady. While I definitely needed both hands on the wheel, I didn't feel like I was being pushed around too much. At one point, we came upon an accident involving a full-size sedan that was pulling a small (maybe 8') enclosed rental trailer. It appeared that the rig jack-knifed due to wind. The trailer was still connected, yet on its side and the car was perpendicular to the road, covering the inside lane, with its rear wheels 3 feet off the ground and the front end ground into the road.

In all, we enjoyed our first weekend of the season and the first time out with our Trailmanor. We did make a few mistakes and we also forgot to bring some things with us. We learned a lot about the trailer and about camping too. We're looking forward to our next outing in two weeks in Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin.

Miscellaneous reference for myself: Radio station: 105.7 FM / AT&T: Full / T-Mobile 1-2 bars

¹In February, we received a call from a marketing person for this campground, based on some entry form we completed at a camping show earlier in the year. They offered us a free weekend at their private campground in exchange for a presentation about their campground. While we may have never chosen this area for travel, we figured a couple of free full-hookup nights were worth the going for and we wanted to get the camping season started. Anyway, the "presentation" turned out to be a "time-share style" presentation. The gist of it is to get you to buy into their portfolio of private campgrounds in Michigan and New York. Secondly, they were selling memberships in Coast to Coast. We liked this campground, but they had nothing in IL, WI or MN for us. If we joined with them "and" with Coast to Coast both, we could access thousands of affiliate sites around the country, but at this time in our camping careers, we weren't ready to make this sort of commitment. And we're not ones to spend this kind of money without a good measure of research. That said, we really liked this campground, their other campgrounds looked nice in pictures too and we are intrigued by the Coast to Coast offering.

Trip to Kalamazoo and surrounding area Kalamazoo, MI April 16-18, 2004

Trip to Kalamazoo and surrounding area
Kalamazoo, MI
April 16-18, 2004