September 7, 2019

So we go to the RV dealer to pick up our 20ft R-Pod at 9am. They start hooking it up with the hitch and anti-sway bars and give us instructions on hooking it up and unhooking it. The anti-sway bars are under a lot tension.

So we take off on our first adventure. The first thing I test are the electric brakes on the trailer. The setting for the electric brakes (80) seems fine. The trailer isn't pushing the car on a stop, and the trailer brakes aren't locking up when I stop.

Without a trailer, the Chevy Traverse gets 27mpg on the freeway. In Illinois the maximum speed for a car pulling a trailer is 60mph. At our first stop we checked mpg and we are getting 15mpg. Once out of state the speed limit hits 70mph and our mpg go down to 12.5 and 12.8mpg. Important note: standard trailer tires are rated for 65mph. The tires that came with R-Pod were rated for 75mph. Always check the MPH rating on trailer tires.

Our first stop was a KOA campground in Albert Lea, Minnesota. I didn't expect a lot of people at the campground. Who wants to camp in corn field? Surprisingly there were a lot of people camping here. Their store was well stocked and our site was fine. I hooked up the water and electric.