Well, after much research and a lot of searching and looking, we finally found what is now our next generation camper. It is a 2020 16ft Bunkhouse model Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup. It has all the basics I wanted. A queen size bed for Akela, bunk beds for me, a dry bathroom with a decent shower. It has a 2 burner stove and deep sink, a LARGE refrigerator that runs on shore power or Propane. And a rooftop A/C unit that works well. Also of course there is a furnace, and many interior lights, a hood above the stove to remove all the heat from any cooking. The bed lifts up and there is a ton of storage underneath, along with easy access to the water pump and hot water tank. And Best of all, there is a “Back Door” next to the bunks that you can lift up the lower bunk and you have this HUGE space for bicycles or riding lawn mower, or whatever you might want to put in there. Check out the video here: WolfPup Introduction
The Purchase was a fail though because we got all google eyed over the poor beast and did a very poor job looking it over. When we got there it was freshly washed and cleaned up and just looking at it I could tell it had everything I wanted. Propane Frig, Outside Shower, Bunkhouse, Dry Bath. The seller started right off talking with me and telling me all the great things about it and then said they were downsizing to a tab trailer. They used to have an Aliner but got out of it for bigger and then went back to smaller. Well “Aliner person” grabbed my brain and the rest is bad history. The frig was working already working on propane, I checked for any roof issues and inside water stains. Everything looked good. The tanks and underside looked good, but I wasn’t really looking as close as I should have. So when I went to negotiate price, I really had nothing to use for leverage. The unit was priced about $2000 more than I wanted to pay, but it was 2 years newer than most of the others, and had everything I wanted. So I caved in and wrote the check.
The drive home was a bit different from pulling the Aliner. Gas Mileage dropped to 10mpg. I definitely knew it was back there. It seems to bounce a lot and dance from side to side. The trailer came with a weight distribution hitch, but I didn’t bother to hook it up for the 2 hour drive back home up the interstate. Well we made it home without incident (this bodes well for a safety engineer). But once I got it parked in the back yard on the parking pad next to the Aliner, I could see some interesting issues that were going to need repair. I could hear the Aliner Laughing!
First thing, I was excited to get back in it and plan the mods. But I found once I opened the door and pulled the stairs down (they fold up inside the doorway), I could not get the door to close. The trailer seemed to be too short and the stairs side frame stuck up above the bottom of the door. So we adjusted the stairs as low as they go, and no luck. The door still hit the stairs. Then I remembered the seller had the camper “Leveled” with 2 blocks under the wheel. This lifted the trailer up approximately 3 inches, and that probably fixed the door issue. Well my parking area is almost perfectly level. Very minor slope so the water pools in one area. So I crawled under and saw the springs seemed to be absolutely flat. This trailer has leaf springs which should be bowed up(like a smile). These looked pretty flat and worn(now I had a frown). And the door side was much worse than the street side. So as I’m looking at the springs, I notice the tires have different tread. So to aggravate the bad springs, the tires were not equal either. Different brands, same size, but not equivalent. Now I think I understand why it was bouncing around and dancing on the way home. And while underneath I noticed there were a couple gas lines that were hanging pretty low. That’s an easy fix, but I was suddenly shocked to realize I never really did a through evaluation of this camper!
I guess like everyone else, I get a little excited when I see the perfect camper and I’m distracted by conversation about some totally unrelated thing like Aliners. So below is a link to the strike list for the money team at my bank to start shoveling money at the camper. The Good thing is I can do almost everything myself, and I have a lot of time to do it (not working). Just to cause myself more grief I may continue to look at used Wolf Pups to see if I could have waited and gotten a better deal. I’ll keep you appraised. For right now, I really have to make sure the Aliner is ready for the big trip up to Maine. I’ll be on the road for 2 1/2 months. Longest I have ever been on the road. It will be a real test of my love of travel! How do you think you would do? And where would you like to go? Leave me a comment or two, and We’ll see you in the videos!
WolfPup-xlsx
Rick & Akela
GoingNoWhereFast
LOL. Queen size bed for Akela and bunk bed for you. Glad to hear you are heading to Maine. I am looking for an email address for you so I can tell you about where my husband and I stay when we go to Maine. We stay at one campground for at least a month for a very reasonable fee. I will share it with you, but I don’t want it out on the Internet. Then there is another place where we park for one or two nights at no charge. If I am unable to find an email address for you, contact me at my email address. We love Maine and we hope you will, too!
Hopefully I sent you an Email. Great Comment.
Hey, Rick!
It looks like it will be perfect for you and Amelia, and Akela’s future pup.😉 A little envious of your huge fridge/ freezer, but at least my new Rove Lite 16RB HAS a freezer, which my Aliner Ranger did not.
I’m having a 200W flexible Renogy solar panel and lithium battery installed. I pick it up on Apr 18th. I only have one propane tank as well. I’m so used to having two tanks and not having to be concerned about running out of propane. Of course if runs out, it would likely be on a chilly night at our annual Portal rally at Winhall Brook in late Sept. I was so cold last year! Fortunately, my fridge is 12v, and my hot water in on demand, so there isn’t a lot propane needed. Debating whether to bring my Buddy heater just in case. I do have a Bluetooth sensor for my tank, and it’s a short jaunt to exchange my tank at the hardware store in South Londonderry.
I still have 1 1/2ft of snow in my yard. We’ve hasp so many cycles of alternating snow/freezing rain/rain, that it’s more like a stationary glacier. Looks like warmer temps are on the way. We might even reach the low 60s a couple of days next week!
Safe travels, and stay well!
Muskoka ON 🇨🇦
On the freezer / frig size. You know in the aliner I have a frig with tiny little freezer. 90% of the time I put food in there when I take off to camp, and then end up taking it back out when I get back home. I eat very little on the road. I have to work like hell when I’m home to maintain this level of fatness. So I’m not sure what I will stick in this frig, but I guess if I’m out for more than a few days I may get hungry and eat whats in it! Akela is always willing to help!
I agree with JK. Don’t look back. Enjoy the new trailer and the Aliner too. So, Akela got first choice of the beds…… Apparently, he approves of the Wolf Pup. Have you ever considered Nova Scotia and the areas around it as a destination? (Please forgive me if you already have a video from this area – my memory is terrible.) Happy Camping and Exploring!
Oh I never let the past color my future. Sometimes I learn, but I’m pretty thick headed…lol. I’m going to let Nova Scotia and New Brunswick go to Slim. He does a good job and I’m not as good at “Ah” as he is. lol. I’m just starting to learn “Southern”.
Rick. I’ll be sad to see you letting the Aliner go at some point. Yea, those things happen to all of us. Just make the best of it a move forward. My nephew has a very similar Wolf Pup, maybe 18 feet, and puts his family of four in there with their dog. Of course the two kids are small yet.
I will be curious about your long trip in the Aliner. I’ve often wondered how I would do in mine for a long trip as well.
Ya, I got to thinking about it and realized I really haven’t camped in one spot for longer than maybe a week, and then back on the road. So I’m not sure how well I will do hanging out in the North Maine Woods. Hopefully there will be enough for us to do and we’ll be able to avoid the hoards of bugs people are warning me about. lol
No sense looking backwards, you did the best you could at the time with the information you had available. It’s a good thing you are handy and knowledgeable about fixing RVs. Look at it this way, once it’s fixed, you can rest assured you know your camper inside and out. Patience usually pays off and so does being able to accept the unexpected. Good luck and take care.
Thanks. It is taking alot of time and research to figure all the stuff out going on. But I seem to have enough time, we just have to get out and go camping !!
A friend of mine purchased a Wolf Pup trailer and really enjoys it. Hope you do as well!
Cool, I’m spending way too much time on the Forest river and Wolf Pup Forums learning about all the mods and Maintenance and troubles they have. I still think it is the right camper!