Well, We Upgraded Campers…

Yes, yes we are only 15 months into camper ownership, but in those 15 months we’ve traveled a lot for a family of four and the majority of it is now in the camper. Because of that, we’ve learned a lot and we’ve rapidly discovered many things that we loved about our original camper, but also, the things we didn’t love about it. So, one night, Matt was just researching new floor plans and we discovered that Jayco came out with the perfect floor plan for our little family of four. So, I thought I’d write a little post walking you through why we decided to upgrade and why we decided to do it now.

Things We Wanted to Upgrade and Why

Four Season Camping: While winter may not be the ideal time for a lot of people to camp, we genuinely missed getting out and about in the winter. We pictured ourselves in the southwest, but the temps would drop too low for us to take the Original Camper. While our new one isn’t some sort of crazy sub-zero camper, it is a four season camper which will open up a lot of doors for us to travel in the cooler months.
The Kids Will Have Their Own Room: Our OG camper had two bunks with full size beds. We fell in love with that idea because it meant that they’d be able to truly have space and grow into them. However, we’ve realized that the angle of these bunks are so insane that it’s actually really difficult to get in and out of them, and the top one is basically non-functional. Plus, the bottom bunk has no hear or air bent, so it was always really cold or really stuffy. This new one has a full blown bedroom for them. It has three bunks and 2 recliners that they can truly grow into and can make that space their own.
Larger Living Space: Because this camper is 6 feet longer, it has six more feet of living space. More room for the kids to play in the living area, and honestly, it’s a better TV setup for when we have family movie nights.
The Kitchen is Bigger: This is going to be a game-changer! Especially as we get out and about for longer periods of time, having more than a half of a counter is going to make the living time in our camper so much easier.
The Bathroom is Near Our Room, Not the Kids Room: Our OG camper had the plus of a small tub – great for kids – but it was located right next to the kids’ living space. So when we old people have to pee in the middle of the night, or hell, even when we just want to shower after we get the kids down, its innately disruptive.
We Love the Idea of a Cozy Fireplace: Yes, it’s essentially a glorified space heater, but I love that we’re going to have a built-in heater that’s electric and it has the appearance of a super cozy fireplace. This is a silly upgrade that we wanted, but we do finally have it.

Want to See the Upgrades?

We haven’t completely gotten it all setup, but I did make a little Instagram reel with a mini-tour of the things that we “upgraded” in this camper. Check it out below:

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A post shared by Paige + Matt | Travel + The Outdoors + Camper Life (@fortheloveofwanderlust)

Why Upgrade Now?

Matt and I went back and forth on this for a bit – honestly it was only about 24 hours because we ultimately agreed – but the biggest reasons were:

I don’t want to be paying on a camper for the rest of my life. We didn’t and will not be paying cash for our camper. We’re lucky that we’re in a position to purchase something like this and it still look like a “responsible” financial decision for us (ya know, as responsible as a recreational debt can be in general). But, I don’t want to be making a camper payment for the foreseeable future. I’d like to just get it paid off as quickly as possible and then not have a camper payment for many, many years to come.
Our original camper is so wonderful, but the things we disliked were very apparent to us. If we were more casual campers, we’d maybe not have upgraded as soon as we are. However, we’re in our camper a lot, so that means that we were frequently put out by the need to pee and waking up a kid, or the lack of kitchen space, awkward television angle for movie nights, weird space for kids or whatever it may be. We’re looking to do a lot of camping over the years, so we want it to be the best fit we can afford and can pull with the truck we have.
We want the kids to love camping and we think the sooner they have ownership over their own space, the better. Just like we want them to feel comfortable in their rooms at home, we want them to feel comfortable in their space in the camper. Their room is one they can easily grow into. It has a place for a TV, lots of personal storage and is just really cozy. I think they’ll be really happy with this decision in the long term as well. For now, they already both love the space and Charleigh is quite pleased to get to climb the ladder and up and around all the different bunks.

This is a pretty exciting upgrade for us that is going to allow us to travel longer, allow Matt and I to be able to use our space more on trips and all of us to enjoy camping more and more in the future.