Noile dot Net

This post is a composite, with photos, of all the tips we´ve gathered as we figured out how to best maximize our Aliner experience.

Photo of a white, triangular, camper with a high, Alpine-style, roof.
The camper is parked with woods behind, walking sticks leaning on
an air conditioner attached to the side of the trailer, and a blue
striped rug on the ground beneath the camper door.

As trailer camping newbies, we had a lot to learn. Tips below are in two sections: Organizational and Mechanical. A lot are specific to our Aliner Scout, but some may be at least a little useful to other new campers, too.

Continue reading →

We recently bought an Aliner Scout, a hard-sided popup camper. We´ve been looking for ways to find tranquil moments, and this turned out to be our solution. Simplicity and convenience are really important to us, and our tow vehicle is a near-vintage Honda Element with a low tow weight limit, so camper weight was also a critical consideration.

Photo of an Aliner Scout triangular pop-up camper in woods
showing a blue rug outside the door, hiking sticks to the left of
theair conditioner, a love seat to the left of the camper, and a
picnic table further left. There´s a fire ring in front of the
picnic table.

In the previous post about our new Scout, I wrote about our first overnight in the camper, and our long trip home from the dealer.

This post discusses why we chose the camper we did, and how we keep the weight down for towing.

Continue reading →

This is something a little different for Noile, which is being presented here along the lines of ´better living through crafting of one sort or another´. It has nothing to do with fabric, sewing, or weaving, though, but just generally to do with ´better living´: We bought a hard-sided Aliner Scout camper.

Since we got our Aliner, we´ve been camping every chance we could. We camped the night we bought it — in a thunderstorm, 120 miles from home! — and stopped last fall only when burn bans were put into place which kept us from making the campfires we love.

Our first meal in our Aliner Scout. The meal, set out
in the dinette side of our camper, was homemade baguette;
green grapes; multi-colored grape tomatoes on stainless steel
camping plates; a slab of orange Mimolette cheese (on a cutting
board with a purple knife); and a green Granny Smith apple.

Dinner, our first night, shown in the photo above, was delicious. We´d driven only a few miles from the dealer, and it was pouring rain outside. We were well-fed, snug, and cozy inside.

However, the drive home the next day was a nightmare: We had no experience towing any kind of trailer, the highway was daunting, and we both wondered if we´d make it out alive. They let people pull trailers without any training?!? YIKES!

At any given moment, we were this close to parking the rig and leaving it by the side of the road — it was harrowing.

Continue reading →