Newbies to the RV world

Ak Mike · 07-27-2023, 10:44 PM

We’re brand new to the RV world, planning to pickup a micro Minnie in the Midwest late August if everything comes together and the creek don’t rise. We’ll spend a few days getting used to everything then head north to Alaska (gotta love an adventure!). I’m sure you all will have plenty of advice, especially those who’ve already been there done that! We’ll welcome your comments suggestions and advice. We’re both early 70’s and still not too old to learn (despite having already made a lifetime of mistakes) yet looking forward to the dusty trails with our little trailer!

**Eagle5** · 07-27-2023, 10:56 PM

Greetings Ak Mike,
That does sound like a wonderful adventure! My dog's heritage is from Alaska, and I bet she will want me to take her up there too!
I don't know about the creek rising, but go soon enough so it doesn't freeze-over, OK?
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

thompwil · 07-28-2023, 05:52 AM

Howdy and Welcome,

Lots of good information on this forum and good people willing to answer questions.

I went to Alaska in 1967 with my parents who were towing a 20' travel trailer with an International Travelall. I was 13 years old then and what an adventure it was. Ten weeks on the road from PA. Back then it was 900 miles of gravel road through Canada, beat the daylights out of the rig. I remember all the good fishing spots along the way when we stopped for the night. An awesome trip of a lifetime !! Safe travels and enjoy.

**creativepart** · 07-28-2023, 07:01 AM

Welcome,
Perhaps I’m the only one, but it occurs to me that an Alaska trip is both a wonderful experience and one best taken after many more than “ a few days getting used to everything” for an RV newbie. I’d think an Alaska trip would be a better 2nd year of RV camping trip than a 2nd week of RV ownership trip. But you do you.

Regardless of my thinking, best of luck to you.

Marine359 · 07-28-2023, 02:02 PM

Hi and welcome Ak Mike.
We are in our early 70s as well, and have been enjoying our Micro Minnie for about 3 years. We’ve taken a couple of very long trips (a couple of them over 6,000 mi).

Having suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, I may be able to offer up some advice which will be worth what you pay for it.

Please do not plan a trip to Alaska shortly after picking up your Micro Minnie.

1. If buying new, Your Micro Minnie needs a really thorough PDI (search the term on this forum for more info), and you’ll find everything will not be right. Your first night should be camped near the dealer, so you can take it back the next day if necessary.

2. Things will break within a few weeks which you will need to fix yourself (hope you’re a good wrench), or wait ages for warranty repair. Being on the road to Alaska will not be compatible with your repair efforts.

3. Although well built and durable, Micro Minnie’s are not engineered for rough roads. We have suffered a couple of major fails that required me to perform time consuming repairs. We camp on BLM a lot and use forest service roads. The roads to Alaska are going to shake stuff loose just as much. Hopefully you won’t have your fridge fall out of its cabinet, or the fresh water tank retaining brace break loose. These are very real experiences. Carry tools, so you can make field repairs. Most stuff you’ll need can be purchased at big box hardware stores. Don’t want to be scary here, but be glad you’re buying Winnebago, as most other brands will have more fails.

4. You may want to spend some time camping in your micro Minnie to determine what upgrades you may want to install before departing for Alaska. We spent 3 months before undertaking what I would consider major and non-trivial upgrades (DIY) that transformed our micro Minnie to suit our boondocking camping style. You can take a look at them on my album. Chances are you’ll want to at least upgrade your electrical system. Nothing is worse than being out in the boondocks and running out of power, and consequently being forced to use a noisy generator.

And here’s my biggest suggestion, worth its weight in gold: Consider putting off your Alaska adventure until next year. It will give you the time you need to handle suggestions 1-4 above.

Happy trails

Ak Mike · 07-28-2023, 03:03 PM

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! My apologies as I really didn’t do a good job with our ‘backstory’ on my first post. We are new to the RV world although not new to adventure at all. My first trip up the Alcan was in 1971, just out of high school, then another trip in 1973 with my bride as I was stationed at Fort Richardson. We went back to Iowa in 1975 when I got out of the Army and I got a degree in Automotive Technology. Back to Alaska in ‘78 and been here ever since. We’ve done boats, ATV’s, airplanes, snowmachines and motorcycles, this will be our first RV. I’m no stranger to zip ties and duct tape and can tell a 9/16 from a 1/2” without looking at the markings. So I’m not too concerned with our trip home and am looking forward to learning the RV world and meeting new friends!! Mike

**creativepart** · 07-28-2023, 03:20 PM

Mike... all that is great and will prepare you for everything but the poor quality control on your brand spanking new travel trailer.

We can only give you our best advice. You want an adventure? You will get one bigger than you can fathom the day you trailer that MIcro Minnie out of the dealer's lot.

Keep us informed. We hope you prove every single one of us completely wrong.

Ak Mike · 07-28-2023, 03:31 PM

I’m thinking of starting a ‘blog’ type thread and see how it goes….that way we can share our adventures and misadventures as well. Maybe I could have a future as a writer! Hahaha!

Marine359 · 07-28-2023, 03:33 PM

Can’t wait to read your blog!

**creativepart** · 07-28-2023, 03:42 PM

Make it a thread here... don't use the "Blog" function you see listed.

15 years ago Blogs were getting big and the software developers that created this forum software thought they'd better include one in the Forum software.

But it's never worked well, been popular, been looked at and visited by members here. In fact that whole section is likely to be removed in the not too distant future.

So, just start a thread in the Campgrounds and Travel forum. Here's a link below and then simply update it as you go. Others will be able to respond to your posts there which will actually improve your postings:

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f257/

I did one of these on a 4,500 mile 6-week trip I took a couple of years ago. It was very fun to do.