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i am bossy

The Set-Up.

Once upon a time there was a family of three, and their names were Bossy, Bossy’s husband, and Bossy’s daughter. They were a family of three because the fourth person, a certain someone named Bossy’s son, decided he had only 96-hours of camping in him and therefore was lagging at home in order to girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend work and would take the train to meet up with the family mid-vacation.

goodbye

So this family of three woke up very early one Saturday morning, and we’re not talking about seven in the morning or even five, we are talking about 3:00 a.m., due to a little thing called Towing a Trailer With No Experience and a little thing called Driving Past New York City During Rush Hour—and put those two together and it spells: Bossy did not want to learn how to tow a trailer as she drove past New York City at rush hour.

So the family of three drove off in the dark, and they drove and they drove, and they drove some more and drove a little after that, and it was still only eight in the morning. And so they stopped at a diner and then they drove and they drove and they drove some more and then drove for a bit longer and before they knew it, it was time to drive some more.

But finally they arrived at their destination, a bucolic State Park in Vermont:

empty-site2

The first trick was backing the Viking pop-up trailer into the site. Actually Bossy kids—it’s not a trick: it’s an antic wrapped inside a mystery slathered in legerdemain:

backing-in2

For instance: did you know that when positioning a trailer, you must turn your steering wheel to the right to make it go left, and turn your steering wheel to the left to make it go right?

neither-did

But once situated in the space, the family got straight to work setting up their camp:

popping-up

Setting up a pop-up trailer is similar to setting up a tent minus approximately two hundred tent poles and the equivalent number of curses.

In simple terms, a pop-up trailer is a utility box with a house living in it. To assemble this house, you need to crank-up the roof of the box, allowing the emergence of walls made of screening and vinyl—and then extend the two arms which house the sleeping bunks, and the third arm that holds the dining room table (if you have one) (and Bossy has one.)

Here are the instructions for the above: Crank, push, pull, zipper, push, pull, crank crank crank:

popping-up2

Then the vinyl walls snap under or over each other allowing for mosquito-tight living quarters:

velcro-walls

The next step of assembly was extending the awning over the front door:

stormy

The family of three known as Bossy and Bossy’s husband and Bossy’s daughter enjoy eating by the campfire, but they don’t enjoy the bugs who also enjoy eating by the campfire, so the next step of the process was to assemble the screen house that lives around the picnic table:

screen-house

And finally, with everything in place, the family of three retired to the inside of their pop-up trailer where they hid for two days from the rain.

rain-set-up

The end.

Want To See All Of The Different Viking Pop-Up Trailer Models?

And Here’s More Info About RV Camping.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. merlotmom thinks she should come and deliver some wine to bossy and bossy’s family. one thing, merlotmom hates camping. but if you ever go to hawaii, i’m there.

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  3. I am insanely jealous of you! And major kudos to whomever got the awning to fit PERFECTLY over the screened in dining room. That rocks.

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  4. well as nice as that pop-up camper is, just be glad you don’t have stella with you. i can imagine that a big dog trapped in a pop-up camper during a rain storm might not be the most fun way to spend your vacation!

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  5. Somehow I think Bossy may not be so excited about leaving Stella at Bossy’s house? Without Bossy to care for Stella and pick up Stella’s elephantine poops? But perhaps there is enough gin in Bossy’s pop-up camper to soothe Bossy. Here’s hoping.

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  6. I gotta get me some of that legerdemain.

    And PS? Based on evidence spied at the local market, Bossy’s Son’s Girlfriend got dinner cooked for her *at least* once.

    But I’m no rat.

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  12. I remember that same camper was called a “tic” when my hubby first learned to drive with it and then it was called “house in a box” when he learned to put it up. Oh, and the backing up thing? Just so we didn’t have to call the camper “@#$%!!” and do the jack knife manuever we physically PUSHED it into the site on several occasions.

    But boy once we had it set up! It was awesome!

    Have fun!

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  14. P.S. Make sure Bossy and family eats and drink lots and LOTS cause sometimes when you go to put all that screening and beds and velcro and tables and cabinets back in the box you need to sit on the corners in order to get it locked again.

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  15. Tent-ish, Trailer-ish…hmmm looks fun-ish. I will check back after you have been there a few days and you are in need of support..one way or another-ish.
    have a great time!!
    Lisa
    coastal nest

    Reply

  17. Maybe it’s just where I live, but it’s really difficult to find places that rent popup campers. I’m not ready to commit just yet. Viking will let me borrow yours, right?

    What I want to know is, what does one eat on a camping trip? Beans ‘n’ weenies? Smores? Isn’t that it?

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  18. Whoa. East Coast camping looks WAY more civilized than West Coast camping, which involves DIRT and no mown lawns (not that I’ve seen, anyway).

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  19. BOSSY blogs about her holiday – er, vacation – while ON her vacation, just so that we can join her vicariously. What a lady!

    Pass the gin, please.

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  21. oh, but seriously..what do you DO in a pop up camper for 2 days in the rain? oh.. yeah.. blog. I wonder what my 5 CHILDREN would do? oh.. yeah.. KILL EACH OTHER.

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  25. Bossy, I love you and I hate to say this but someone needs to…

    Bossy’s daughter looks a tad like Katie Holmes sitting at that picnic table

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  29. Can you please give a tutorial on the reverse, right means left and left means right lesson to the pre-schoolers recklessly driving their Barbie Jeeps and Cadillac Escalades through the neighborhood? And by through the neighborhood I mean, of course, across my flowers? KThanksBye.

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  30. one thing we learned from camping in a trailer with an awning: lower one side of the awning when it rains. If you don’t, rain collects on the awning until it gets so heavy that the supporting poles give out and the awning comes crashing down, rainwater and all. Guess how we know? P.S. Guess how we know to put the awning away in a windstorm?

    Reply

  31. My kids would learn every cuss word ever invented if I had to assemble all that velcro and get caught in the rain and eat Beanie Weenies for dinner. EVERY SINGLE CUSS WORD EVER.

    Hello, Staycation!

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  33. That left is right, right is left should be only for the mathematicians. Next time get a drive-thru/pull-thru space….seriously.
    Either way, Stella could have handled that one handedly.

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  42. How great that Viking offered to sponsor you.

    Why did you pick them instead of the offer from SuperLuxuriousSpaHotels, Inc.??

    Seriously, though it looks way fun. Your daughter will remember for all her life how fun it was.

    Reply

  43. I’m glad I’m not the only person who doesn’t enjoy camping…bugs, rain, small enclosed spaces…and then we have to pay for spaces to stay in…isn’t that adding insult to injury?

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  46. Ah, yes, rain camping. Which, really is a redundant phrase in my experience, since ALL camping involves rain. Hopefully, it also involves some really good campfire food, though. And, from what I can see, fabulous views! I hope it dries up a bit for you at some point soon.

    Reply

  47. I think Bossy’s son is preparing Bossy’s family of three for that rough patch that will be happening in a few weeks.

    Our family did that pop-up trailer adventure in Lancaster PA once upon a time in the 1960’s. Never again.

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  53. Bossy husband is a rocker and now a pop-up camper! The campsite looked great once assembled.

    I was a good dobee and visited the Viking site and browsed all the models, floor plans and specifications. These campers really make you wonder why people continue to camp in tents! Why not go in a mobile hotel room? Without room service, though….

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  55. Vermont campgrounds put California’s to shame. Vermont gets grass pads. We get asphalt. Or dirt.

    BOSSY’s Son and BOSSY’s Daughter made Tootsie’s heart feel a combination of love and sadness.

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  57. biddy actually learned how to drive and back up a trailer at an entirely too young age.

    she also drove a 42 foot motorhome, towing a jeep, at the ripe old age of 19.

    biddy’s grandfather was not a fan of the phrase “i don’t know how”

    Reply

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