My First Time
I had so many romantic ideas about my first time. I had constant thoughts racing through my mind. There were so many unknowns and I had so many questions and then there was a virus that was circulating. I needed a safe partner for this experience. After much searching on the internet, I found a company that made it easy, really easy. Cruise America was going to by my first partner. I had the option to choose: 1) a truck camper 2) Compact Motorhome 20 feet 3) Standard Motorhome 25 feet 4) Large Motorhome 30 feet. All great options we needed to think about it. This special time required a special place. Arizona has so many special places, but I needed wide open spaces, water, mountains and more than anything I wanted to take a deep breath without fear of the virus. The bar was set very high or I have a low threshold for patience. I could not find one site that encompassed the state that would filter out all my “must haves”. The best option for us was the AZ State Park website and my gosh I was not the only one ready to break free. There were four sites available in the entire state park system that included a tree and a lake. My first time was not going to be on a dusty patch of dirt, I was determined to pick the best of the four. While I reviewed the pros and cons, 3 of the sites were sold leaving me with the only remaining campsite, I was destined to call this my camp. Our camp was located at Patagonia Lake State Park near Nogales, AZ. Campsite #13. Once the location was secured, I made a call to Cruise America (this was my third call because I had a lot of questions before I committed). I must say their customer service is very knowledgeable and eager to answer even the most mundane. When I booked the RV, I chose the Standard 25-foot Cruise America Motorhome. I declined the kitchen kit and the bedding kits. However, I did choose to prepay to have the tanks emptied. Grey water, black water, I was hoping to avoid both elements. I was lucky that Cruise America was running a special half price mileage promotion, so they included that in my estimate which was great. They advised that I would need to return the vehicle filled up as I had received it. So for $75.00 a night, $500.00 re-fundable deposit and $11.95 a day Peace of Mind insurance I was ready to make this happen. UH-OH “Did you ask about Car Seats? Did you ask about seatbelt locations? Did you ask about on-site parking?” No, No, and No… However, all good questions that James in customer service was quick to answer. We were sent an email .pdf document for the car seat setup - that was very helpful. There is ample parking inside the Cruise America gated area as well as outside the gated area. We were also sent an email link to RVing 101 helping us to orient for our trip which included advice on vehicle operations, trouble shooting and easy to view you tube links. We were giddy with excitement. We packed and packed and packed as we wanted the perfect experience. Cruise America even provided us with a camping packing list.RV, Nature, Good Food and, Relaxation
We prepared salads and food in advance to minimize the mess and enjoy the scenery. Effective! Our check in reservation was for 9:30am. Pro-Tip: take the early check-in if you can allowing you to arrive to camp faster and setup before dark.
Julian helped us check in which was seamless as our reservation had included all our details, insurance, extra mileage, late return, empty tanks, and generator usage. We walked around the vehicle and there was not a lot to record as we had the peace of mind insurance. I inquired about the tanks and water usage Black and Grey and how that equated. Julian let us know it varies maybe 3-4 showers depending on the length, sink usage and number of flushes. We conveniently discovered where the gauges were so we could monitor. Watching the videos is critical for a first-time user as many details may get missed during the check in process.
Pro-Tip: There are no garbage cans, toilet paper or paper towel in the units. Cruise America presented us with a Super Clean RV and does request that you return the RV clean so I would also recommend bringing along a full-size broom and dustpan and cleaning supplies. If you opt for Kitchen Kit a small broom is included. 
We were finally loaded up and in-route to Patagonia Lake. I had Zero experience driving a 25-foot RV so I stayed in the slow lane most of the time and off the freeways when possible. Note: It can be a little hard to handle in extreme wind. We took it slow and were fine. 3pm and we have arrived: We backed into spot 13 and it was easy with the extended mirrors and use of a spotter. Setting up our camp was equally as easy since we had watched the video Cruise America provided; shoreline check, waterline check and the park did not allow for noise of generators so that was a no go. We unpacked everything and then there was a panic over the cooling in the refrigerator.
We had the Cruise Rental Guide out and discovered it only cooled to approximately 60 degrees. We adjusted, but it would have been good to know since we had medicine that needed refrigeration at a much lower temperature.
No worries, we were able to buy extra ice onsite. – problem solved. We made all the beds, unloaded the coolers, set up our camp all while it was just over 90 degrees. There was excellent storage space to unpack food, clothing, S’mores sticks, utensils, my daughters’ 15,000 shoes, toys, stuffed animals and iPads. We also utilized the massive
storage area under the vehicle for Fishing poles, rafts, coolers and towels. Plenty of space!
Our first night was AMAZING! We made the outdoor space as nice as the indoor space. Grilled Hawaiin Teriyaki Chicken, smores, cold beverages and fun neighbors and a campfire.
We cuddled into our beds and then we realized that we were a little warm. We immediately went to the in-cab Rental Guide only to realized that because the weather at Patagonia was 95+ degrees the unit was not going to cool to our expectations. The guide informed us the A/C unit will cool 15 degrees below the outside temp.
We were worried about our dog “Cleatus-Ray” (so named in North Carolina) overheating so we would occasionally start the motorhome to cool things off a bit for good ole’ Cleatus. Total win that we brought a water hose nozzle and hooked it to the waterline and were able to spray him down with water and cool him. Bringing the nozzle was and instant campsite water-park - a lot of fun for our 4 year old! For us: We have decided to not travel with our dog unless we were in winter months.
In conclusion, we had a great “first time”. We learned a couple things the hard way, but we also learned some Pro-Tips along the way. Like most people, we are hooked. Happy RV-ing
What To Look For In Our Next RV Trip
As we brainstormed on our experience, we thought it would have been great to have the option to prepay for the cleaning. We would have been willing to pay $100 to $150 extra for the service. We also thought it would have been a great alternative to offer a cleaning kit for $40. Other options that would have been fun “add-ons” would have been Birthday Kit.
We realized there were a couple things that we missed on our trip; games, cards and activities to do in the down time. This was a great opportunity to unplug but would have been great to channel that into something constructive.
Try Before You Buy:
I cannot stress this enough. If you are thinking of buying …. Great! But I highly recommend you rent first to see what your likes and dislikes are. What your expectations are for class of rv, storage, bed space, A/C unit, or refrigerator. Cruise America was great but there are many other Classes of RV’s for you to try out. I found a great site where you can try some other options: RVnGO