Long story short, I am a widower, my late wife and I LOVED camping the TX Renaissance Festival, and now that I have the Sportsmobile, I was able to do so in more comfort and honestly privacy than previously possible...
I arrived and set up Thursday afternoon.
The good. The 12v / Solar worked absolutely flawlessly. And I mean flawlessly. I may have overbuilt the 12v system. Now that the Lifepo4 is in, and the lead acid / battery isolator is out, Starcool seems to be working again now that I do not need it because it is so danged cold...
The fridge did what it was supposed to do.
The new Seaflow portable toilet kept me from having to use the big plastic poo boxes... Or even leave my van at all.
The Joolca Ensuite Awning kept everthing protected, and close to the side of the van.
The Coleman Classic 2 burner stove did it's thing with its usual efficiency. Boiled water fast, simmered after some fiddling which is typical, and didn't go through but maybe 1/4 of a pound of fuel.
The penthouse roof / bunk allowed me sufficient space to stash the solar panels where they are protected for transport. I think I can eke the kick stands in there as well. standing height / walk around room was awesome. Definately worth every penny for that penthouse roof!
My Ozark Trail 15" smokeless fire pit, not quite a Solo Stove copy as this one collapses and packs up MUCH smaller than a similar size Solo Stove. but it worked better than I could have hoped. I had it far enough away to not burn myself or the van down, but close enough I was enjoying the heat quite well...
The bad.
The bed is rather uncomfortable. I woke up every morning with a serious back ache. I have a 3" Memory foam mattress pad coming that should fix this problem.
I forgot my pillows. The only ones available were the throw pillows that came on the dinette. Very uncomfortable and keep my head at least 8" away from the van wall making me sleep on an angle. Withoug the pillow I have more than enough room. Remember to throw the Therm A Rest camp pillow in the camper before next trip dummy!
The tip out rear windows and tip out sliding door window have no sort of bug screens, and the Ren Fest campground had abundant flies this year. No problem just bring out and turn on the Thermacell. Couldn't find the fuel for the Thermacell... Ended up using Citronella candles which worked okay, found the fuel for the Thermacell as I was packing up. Found a proper permanent home for the Thermacell and leaving it there.
Not having the onboard water system restored meant I relied on AquaTainers and a water pump, but my new water pump was defective and left me using gravity for my water system. No showers. Dang...
I brought flannel sheet set, as well as a couple of fleece sleeping bags. Should be good down to 50 deg F. Well we got down to 52, and I had apparently forgotten to close the sliding door window. Was a bit chilly, not bad, but definately know I need to bring a big sleeping bag next time...
The ugly. I bought a Joolca water pump back in April, I tested the heater using my garden hose, it never occurred to me to test / verify the pump, and sure enough my pump was defective. It would simply never prime no matter what we did with it... Good thing is it is still under warranty.
Alternator amp light on the van came on and stayed on. Alternator test shows no problem. I know the issue is the signal wire from the back of the alternator has a bad connector. my mechanic is trying to source one up without resorting to a bone yard... The alternator is working and the gauge is showing the proper voltage / battery staying charged including driving home 2+ hours. It is just the idiot light on the dash is offended. Hopefully they will get that fixed soon.
And to top it off. I forgot to bring a chair of any sort. And I have a stack of camp chairs.