Owner Stories: Four Month Adventure with Arne Stefferud

Written by Arne Stefferud

I recently completed a four-month road trip in the northern tier states east of Minnesota into the eastern provinces of Canada.  This article summarizes my trip and shares what I learned for your consideration on your Vistabule trips.

I began my trip on May 1 from Maplewood, MN and returned on August 26, 2024.  I stayed at 47 locations that included typical campsites at public parks, private RV campgrounds, and home stays with family and friends — some who I met while traveling.  My trailer traveled 7,060 miles in 12 states and 5 Canadian provinces.  Photo and video stories of my trip have been posted on the Vistabule Owners Group Facebook Page under the title “Tales from the Trail”. Editor’s Note: Arne took a ton of photos over the course of his trip, too many to post here. If you are a member of the Owner’s Group, be sure to check out those photo albums!

I met 42 people on my trip, primarily through their curiosity of ROVN ROUND.  I was happy to give them a tour and answer their questions.

One couple, Joe and Arlene Kruzel, loved my trailer when we met on June 11 at a Maine State Highway rest stop.  I opened my phone just before they left the rest stop and showed them the “for sale” ad of #765.  They purchased the trailer in July. Joe has made several modifications to their trailer which he has posted on the Vistabule Owners Facebook page.

Here are ten tips I learned from my trip:

1. Make campsite reservations as soon as possible for portions that are in high season periods. For Memorial Day weekend, I had only one option—which was camping at a private RV Park that was very expensive.
2. Don’t schedule every hour of the trip with activities. Include time to explore based on what you learn from others or at visitor centers.  Give yourself time to relax and not be rushed.  I spaced my campsites between 200 and 300 miles apart and stopped for a travel break every 2 hours.  I also booked most of my campsite stays for 2 nights at a minimum to provide time to explore the park and surrounding area.
3. Don’t overpack. I brought a tote box of clothes that were never used. I also brought two 5 foot x 8 foot plastic rugs that I didn’t use because they would be difficult to clean and dry quickly when packing up to move to another campsite. I used two plastic floor mats to stand on at my galley and one side door.  I cleaned them by flapping them against a nearby tree several times to remove the dirt/sand on both sides of the mat.
4. Use public libraries, restaurants and other places for their free WiFi. When I was in Canada, my cellphone company was charging 6 cents to 58 cents per megabyte of data as a roaming charge.  That can be very expensive.  To minimize my data usage, I used public libraries primarily for their free WiFi to drop my Facebook posts and send emails.  I also used my car’s GPS system to navigate as much as possible.  On my next trip, I will use a GARMIN auto GPS to handle navigation where my auto GPS does not work.
5. Welcome inquiries from others who see your trailer. They could become your new friends.  I stayed at several homes of people I met who were initially interested in my Vistabule.  As noted above, Joe and Arlene are now part of Vistabule Nation. Several new friends gave me travel tips on where I was headed next to enhance that part of my trip. I paid that kindness forward by giving travel tips to van campers I met on a boat tour of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore who were traveling to Upper Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
6. If you want to create a photo album of your adventure, I recommend Google Photos. The software is easy to use and includes a way to insert captions for your photos and videos.  You can share the album with family and friends while you are on the trip by sending a group email to them with a link to your album.  Create a group email list and insert that list in the BCC of your email to protect that information. Send the email to yourself so that you verify it’s been sent out and people can respond to you.
7. I followed Sula Bloore’s April 27, 2020 Vistabule Owners Facebook Group post to cut my bed platform in half. I replaced the Vistabule mattress with two 3-inch-thick tri-fold mattresses 25 inches wide by 75 inches long to create a bed and a chair. I also removed the springs under the bed platform to provide more under bed storage space and discovered that it was very easy to change modes by pulling the straps I attached to the platforms and the Vistabule handles on the sides of the platforms.  This made it easy to access the under bed storage, as well as provide a chair and a bed. Editor’s Note: Split bed as described here is now an official option in the Vistabule build form.
8. Follow your tow vehicle’s manual regarding additional maintenance needed because your vehicle is towing a trailer. I had repairs to my vehicle’s steering mechanism, wheel alignment and replacement of air filters in addition to the normal tire rotation and oil change during the trip.  I also changed my transmission fluid before the trip.
9. Be prepared for possible tire changes. I brought my floor jack and a jack stand with me and used them several times during the trip. This equipment was small and light enough to change a tire and much safer than using my car’s scissor’s jack. Here’s the link to the floor jack I have. Here’s the link to the jack stand I have. I also used two pieces of scrap 2 x 6 lumber – that were 6 inches long to provide a flat surface to place the floor jack on turf or sand and a third piece to place the jack stand on turf or sand.
10. Prepare meals in batches to save time and maximize the Dometic cooler storage capacity. I premade five dinners and five breakfasts and stored them in ten 32 oz. plastic yogurt containers with clear lids. I also used four glass cylinder containers for fruit/berries that fit between the 32 oz containers.  The containers are from The Container Store. Here’s the link to those glass containers.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my 4-month trip very much and look forward to many more trips of this length in the future.  Vistabule trailers make it easy to explore and enjoy the natural and cultural wonders of the destinations you travel to.  They attract people who may become your friends, and possibly members of Vistabule Nation. Wishing you many wonderful trips with your Vistabule.

Editor’s Note: Arne’s trailer features some custom accessories that are not currently available on the Vistabule, e.g., the roof rack mounted awning, and the side-mounted spare tire.