Winter Trip With Rented Trailer

[DVD]

We usually like to get out into nature for a New Year's trip, and this year followed that theme. But for a change, we rented a little trailer - an Airstream Basecamp 16. It's not a rugged offroad trailer by any means, so we adjusted accordingly. Compared to our usual tent camping, the additional creature comforts were much appreciated during the long, cold (even in AZ) bleak midwinter nights.
We spent a few days exploring southern Arizona (Patagonia, Coronado Forest, and Kartchner Caverns), then headed to New Mexico to meet family, visiting Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and the Prehistoric Trackway. Here are some photo highlights to give a flavor of the trip.

Typical camp scene (sunrise). We found nice dispersed campsites and stayed in different locations for 7 nights.​

Even though we had the trailer, we still had a camping vibe.​

I'm not an astronomical photographer, but it's always a highlight to get into dark-sky locations (Orion here). We saw the Milky Way every night for 7 nights.​

We brought the bikes, but didn't use them very much - short days and cold mornings. But it was nice to explore the vicinity on bike.​

Patagonia State Park. We hiked along a birding trail and packed a picnic. A deer meandered through the woods right across the little stream.​

The trailer is meant for offroad use, and we took a gravel trail through the Coronado Forest. It's always interesting to see the switchbacks below on the trail.​

Monument (in the middle of nowhere, near the MX border) to Father Marcos de Niza, the first European to enter present-day Arizona in 1539 - 80 years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock.​

Border fence. They don't have the big new fence in this remote area.​

Carlsbad Caverns. We were blown away by the immensity and beauty.​

Unbelievable sights inside the caverns, and they just go on and on!​

Continued on reply.​

 

[DVD]

Just a few more highlights...
White Sands. We took a fairly lengthy hike with the extended family. Cool that after 30-min, you can be away from the crowd, hiking on dunes with only animal prints.​

More White Sands, subtle beauty of the sand ridges.​

More White Sands, interesting shifting dunes.​

Overall, it was a great trip, and we are shopping for a more offroad-worthy trailer.

 

[gator70]

I wanted to rent this model, for extended family that will visit. It was my plan to tow it with my expedition vehicle. Would you rent this again?

 

[DVD]

Hi, there is a lot to like about the Airstream Basecamp 16 (ours was the REI edition with a little bit of a lift and solar). We loved the indoor toilet, indoor cooking, and heater. So this trip showed that we liked the concept of overlanding/dispersed-camping trip with a trailer.
For the little kitchen, one night, we made camp late, and it was really nice to not have to break out the table, stove, etc. to make a nice dinner. Then in the mornings, my job is to make the first 2 coffees, and it was much nicer in the heated kitchen than outside when temps were in the mid 30s.
Also the trailer towed like nothing - well we did have a hit on gas mileage, but no problems at all with tracking or driving 70-75 mph on the interstate.
Offroad, we didn't exercise it much, but it allowed us to take advantage of dispersed camping opportunities. We traveled on paved roads for the majority of this trip, but when it was time to find a campsite, we'd look for trails into public lands and always found decent to nice spots. One example was near White Sands, where there's not a lot of nearby public lands for dispersed camping. We were planning to camp at a state park, Organ Mountains or something. When we got there, it was impressive scenery, but lots of people with music and such. I was very happy when my wife said, "let's go somewhere else." We headed around to the other side of the mountains that had trails on BLM land, and found a nice dispersed site.
But we're not considering one for purchase due to the following:
Minimal offroad capability. I want something I can take on much tougher trails. The basecamp has a standard ball hitch, marginal clearance and protection, and from research I've read that the rivets don't hold up well on jarring offroad trails.
No full-time bed. Not a big deal compared to tent camping, but it was still a bit of a hassle to convert from seating/dinette mode to sleeping mode and back every day.
Minimal outdoor orientation. After this trial run, we researched offroad trailers and like the ones that have slide-out kitchens and are designed more for spending time outside the trailer.
Summary: we really enjoyed the trailer, and it was good for the purposes on this trip, but it's not what we're looking for long term.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Thanks for posting.