Falling in Love with Small RV Camping & the Winnebago Hike 100
Falling in Love with Small RV Camping & the Winnebago Hike 100
Why this is the perfect fit for one couple’s overlanding adventures.
By: Austin & Kirsten Lawrence
Hi, fellow GoLifers! We are Austin and Kirsten Lawrence, and we live on the outer banks of North Carolina – commonly known as the OBX. We are super proud to call this area, where we were both born and raised, our home. We’ve also fallen in love with exploring our home (and beyond!) through overlanding and small RV camping – with our recent adventures in the Winnebago Hike 100 being more enjoyable than ever!
How We Got Started with Small RV Camping
When our two boys were much younger, we did plenty of ground tent camping throughout the years with the Cub Scouts and family outings. In 2016, our youngest son graduated high school and followed in his older brothers’ footsteps in the United States Air Force. It was at this point that we became “empty nesters” and decided that we needed to get out and start our own adventures which led us to the world of off-grid “overlanding.”
We knew that ground tent camping wasn’t for us any longer, as our bodies were getting older and had outgrown finding any comfort sleeping on the ground. We are firm believers that the more comfortable we are when camping, the more we enjoy our adventures and the more often we’ll get out to explore nature.
Our first adventure started when we were introduced to a roof-top tent company and after much discussion and research, decided that was the route we were going to take. We purchased our RTT, mounted it on a bed rack on our Ram 1500 and started exploring areas only accessible with a 4X4 vehicle.
However, after a couple years of RTT camping, we laid awake one night in a windstorm and thought how great it would be to have something a little sturdier that we also could use as a base camp instead of having to fold the tent away every time we wanted to go somewhere in the vehicle. Kirsten is also still somewhat of a “glamper” and wanted some comforts of home.
After a few more discussions over the next month or so, we decided a teardrop style camper would better suit us at that point. We finally found one that fit the bill about a six-hour drive away from our location and soon towed our first “camper” home. It was a basic setup consisting of sleeping quarters, storage, a slide-out galley, and an awning on the exterior.
We’re all about making modifications, so we started making it ours right away by installing an on-demand hot water heater and shower surround on the exterior of the teardrop to make it more like home.
However, with this setup, we still didn’t have some of the amenities we missed, including an indoor bathroom. We’d have to dig a hole, use a five-gallon bucket, or even lug a small porta potty around with us on our excursions, so having an on-board toilet was high on the must-have list for our next RV.
After a few years filled with many adventures in our camper, we decided last year that it was time for a new adventure with a different RV that would have the amenities that we missed. We sold our little off-grid teardrop to a wonderful young family that shared all of their adventures with us and started our search!
Why We Love Winnebago’s Hike 100 Travel Trailer
At last, our current adventure began when we came across an article about Winnebago’s newest towable to come: the Hike 100! At the time, there were only drawings of what they would look like for the interior and exterior. But we knew after reading the article of what these little campers were going to offer, we were hooked!
Our First Impressions of the Hike 100
- WOW, it has an indoor bathroom, with a shower and gear storage all in one! Yes, this is a big perk for us!
- Indoor kitchen with all the storage you could imagine for your go-to necessities for any adventure.
- Stow-away bed that leaves room for us to have two benches to relax on, eat meals, or even just stop at a rest area and take a break!
- The electric canopy with beautiful LED lights makes for wonderful shade and ambient lighting in the evenings.
- The FLX package offering off-grid capabilities with no plug-in power needed and the super quiet Truma Aventa A/C, Varioheat furnace, and AquaGo water heater made a huge impact on us! We no longer have to yell to hear each other.
- The outdoor storage is unmatched with fender well gear boxes and a patented exoskeleton that can be used to hold gear such as kayaks, bikes, and paddleboards.
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