Timberlake Campground and RV Park - First Safari Motorhome Trip

With our big Northwest RV trip looming only four weeks away, we needed a nearby shakedown cruise to verify that my various motorhome repairs were holding and to discover other issues that needed to be addressed. Timberlake Campground and RV Park was chosen as our destination. Situated in the Columbia River Gorge, this family-owned facility reads northwest with its thick stands of Douglas fir, under-story Vine maples, and ferns.

www.timberlakecampgroundandrvpark.com

We'd stayed in site 26 (electric & water) for $34/night. The roads are gravel, and the staff guides you to your site by having you follow their ATV. We had plenty of room to back into the site. Because the site was on a terraced sloped, I was a little anxious about keeping the rear wheels on the gravel as I backed while turning at the same time. The camp staff kept a lookout and provided ongoing confirmation that I was going OK.

A very lush RV park. Our son, Sean Mack, and his girlfriend, Madison Bates,

drove up in Madison's car to share Saturday dinner with us.

As planned, our shakedown cruise proved the new water pump worked fine, but it uncovered some new items to add to the ToDo list. We discovered that it was nearing impossible to get the stove to stay lit, the right rear leveling jack seems to have a slow leak that causes you to have to adjust it every couple of days, and the refrigerator is missing its drip tray resulting in water dripping off the cooling fins and eventually running out the front of the unit. While setting up the awning, I learned that someone had bent the forward support leg just enough to cause the process of extending and retracting to require more force than is normal, so this also went onto the ToDo list.

Our new mat. Easy to sweep or hose off. So much better than the
artificial turf we used with the tent trailer.

The awning pull-down strap broke (UV rot), so I tied a piece of
line to it as a temporary fix (added to the ToDo list).

We purchased two bundles of firewood when we checked in. Using the foolproof Boy Scout one match method, we didn't have any trouble getting the campfire going after we stacked the kindling and set a match to the newspaper shoved down the center of the stack. Sean and Madison were present to celebrate the accomplishment;-)

Our folding bag-chairs were the next to require repairs. Three of the four had broken plastic feet, so I whipped out my duct tape. The chairs worked flawlessly, but they didn't come home with us, as they were donated to the nearest dumpster at the end of the trip.

Sean and Madison joined us for hot dogs and smores.

The campsite was wonderful. Equipped with a very nice fire pit and picnic table (plastic top and seats). As for the Safari motorhome, it turned out to be very comfortable, luxurious in fact.

Laura really enjoyed herself. What started as a casual discussion in Ilwaco, WA
eleven months earlier as we browsed Craigslist had become a reality.

Ah, Smores! The faces say it all.

Timberlake RV Park turned out to be perfect for our first trip. Beautiful location, well maintained and clean facility, friendly staff, and nice guests. We will definitely be coming back. While they advertise WiFi, I found its reliability and performance not good enough to support working from the campground. Cell phone service, both voice, and data were good.

The motorhome performed very well. While the ToDo list grew a bit, that is to be expected with an eighteen-year-old vehicle, no matter how high-end it was back in 1996. The trip was helped by transferring the camping gear of our 1993 Coleman tent trailer to the motorhome. We found we had everything we needed for the trip.

Getting ready to return home was pretty easy. I stowed the awnings, put the outdoor furniture away, disconnected and stored the water hose, and visually confirmed that all the leveling jacks had fully retracted. It had been a wonderful weekend. With Laura and me aboard, we slowly started to pull out when my eye caught a movement on the left side of the motorhome. I'd forgotten to disconnect and stow the shore-power cord. Fortunately, I only dragged it ten feet, and it still had more it could go. With disaster averted, we finally had everything put away, so we headed to the RV dump station at the RV park for our inaugural holding tanks dump, which fortunately when flawlessly.

The 300 hp of the motorhome's Caterpillar 3126 engine combined with the Pacbrake made easy work of the gorge's ups and downs. On the way back to Vancouver, we stopped off at Beacon Rock State Park for a walk. A perfect conclusion to a perfect weekend.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much

Celtic Safari is Born

After years of tent camping, Laura and I purchased a new Coleman Pioneer Chesapeake popup trailer in 1993 while living in Boise, Idaho. Here's a picture of the trailer in 2010 sitting next to a Safari motorhome at Fidalgo Bay Resort in Anacortes, WA. Who would have guessed we'd be purchasing a Safari four years later.

Our 1993 Coleman tent trailer in 2010 next to a Safari motorhome

It all started in the summer of 2013. Laura and I were vacationing and working from our Bayliner 38 motor yacht for the summer while berthed in Ilwaco, WA, at the mouth of the Columbia River. Even with the big boat, camping had remained an annual activity, but popup trailer camping in the Northwest can be challenging. Although we had gotten very good at keeping everything dry while setting up or closing up the tent trailer, we were looking for an easier way and something that would extend our camping season.

We had pretty much convinced ourselves that a tow vehicle and trailer was in our future. As we started costing out the options, we suddenly realized that we didn't want that much money tied up in a tow vehicle that would be underutilized most of the year. After the first of the year (2014) our searching turned to motorhomes, and by March/April, we pretty focused on finding a late 1990's gas Winnebago something.

We got introduced to our first Safari motorhome in mid-April. While the unit we saw was pretty worn, the overall design, cabinetry, and the fact that it was a diesel intrigued us. When we had to take back an offer on a Winnebago Adventurer that failed inspection beyond what we were willing to deal with, our searching started to focus on Safari motorhomes.

Our 1996 Safari Sahara diesel pusher motorhome sitting next to our 1993 tent trailer.

When our efforts to purchase a 33 footer with a green paint scheme fell through, Laura found this 35 footer (measures 35' 6" end to end). I wanted to stay under 35' because our RV pad has a gate at one end and a fence at the other (total length is 35' 3"). We had owned a 33' Winnebago Chieftain in the early 1990's, so when designing the RV pad I couldn't imagine us ever owning something over 35'. When Laura found a unit with a burgundy paint scheme, great layout, and an affordable price, the fence separating the RV pad from our Japanese garden got sacrificed.

A Safari features an aluminum body, with stainless steel basement doors.

Laura found our motorhome on Craigslist, sitting in Snohomish, WA, just southeast of Everett. We went up one weekend to inspect and have it surveyed, and then we went up again the following weekend to transact business and bring it home.

One of the nice features is that all of the major windows have awnings.

Unlike many, we actually looked for a unit without slide outs. In the second half of the 1990's slide outs were still relatively new technology, and the seals and actuators are high failure rate components.

Safari motorhomes are known for their custom painted murals (it was a $1,000 option).

No two are alike, and hidden in each are several other animals waiting to be found.

Our motorhome is named "Ellie".

Safari motorhomes were built in Harrisburg, OR (between Albany and Eugene). The Safari brand name was purchased by Monaco Coach in 2002, however, the Safari Coach name was no longer being used by 2009. One of the features we like in the motorhome is the solid wood cabinets. The wood was locally sourced Oregon Alder.

The dining table expands to seat four.

The sofa converts to a bed.

Driving the motorhome is very comfortable. The are lots of ergonomic adjustments, visibility from the side mirrors is excellent, and the rear camera serves as a great rearview mirror substitute. As for actually driving a vehicle this long and wide, it takes a little practice as you learn which reference points mean you are centered in the lane, but fortunately the coach tracks very well, so you don't find yourself wandering all over the road trying to go straight.

Ultra leather, six-way adjustable seat. The steering wheel column tilts and telescopes.

Laura's computer workstation.

The driver and passenger seats swivel so that when parked they can provide more seating in the main cabin.

Leather swivel recliner. Laura's favorite chair.

The African inspired decorations didn't survive the new owners.

Aside from the oak flooring in the kitchen and bathroom (I keep wanting to say galley and head), the coach has Berber carpet throughout that has held up very well. In fact, after I cleaned it, it looks nearly new. These photos are before the carpet, headliner, and all of the upholstery were shampooed and cleaned by me.

We plan to replace all the carpet with a material more practical for the Pacific Northwest.

The elephant stain glass window is unique to our motorhome.

Married to a formerly professional chef, pastry chef, caterer, and restaurateur, you can image Laura had a lot of requirements when it came to the kitchen. Aside from storage and ample counter space, she wanted the stove and sink away from furniture.

We have a lot of inside storage.

The Corian counter-tops are very nice. We've really come to appreciate the convection microwave oven.

We've owned a large sailboat and a motor yacht, and hanging storage, let alone drawers has always been very limited. The Safari is awesome when it comes to storage. Having the coach parked next to garage means there is almost no packing. We just transfer the clothes from our closet in the house to the closet in the motorhome.

Looking aft into the bathroom and the clothes closet to the left.

I think if we were full-time RVers we would probably prefer the washer/dryer instead of the additional pullout drawers in the closet, but based on our current usage pattern we like the storage.

On some units, this is where the washer/dryer goes. We like having the pullout drawers.

Ah, gold tones abound in this motorhome (remember it is a 1996 model). Found mostly in the light fixtures, door/drawer pulls, and the shower, we've already started converting everything to oiled-bronze. The shower will remain gold.

Looking aft into the bedroom.

The shower/tub is great and the skylight brightens the space.

Lots of light when standing at the vanity.

Pocket doors separate the bathroom from the main cabin and the bedroom.

The bedroom is spacious, fitted with a queen size bed, and loaded with lots of storage. Equipped with its own air conditioner, you have a lot of control over the temperature in the warmer seasons.

Even the bedroom has lots of storage.

Queen size bed.

Original African inspired fabrics.

The bedroom has its own AC unit

Overall we purchased a solid motorhome with some deferred maintenance issues and in need of a few updates, Almost as soon as we got the coach home I started addressing the most urgent issues (there weren't many), and Laura and I started upgrading light fixtures, faucets, and the fabric color theme in the bedroom. We're looking forward to the trips and the projects that make the coach feel more like ours with every upgrade.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much