Craziness! I got a trailer!

Now I have been researching trailers for at least 6 months seriously, and joined Sisters on the Fly in May... but I somehow didn't really think I would pull the trigger and go for it.

Somewhere along the way my husband realized that I was obsessed and he would have to give into this obsession to rid me of it. He also did this with the chickens and second dog which I researched and researched also. Both of those actually made more work for me, and so has my latest obsession.

Day 1: Went to see trailer, looked in every compartment, underneath and as far as I could on the roof. Talked to the owner on the phone, got my questions answered and agreed to purchase. Met up with owner and he gave me the run down of all of the systems. No hitch, no where to store the puppy!
This is me totally freaking out at buying her.
Day 2: Convinced my Dad (who already had trailer hitch) to go with me to pick it up. All the way I was regaled with stories of how wonderful an airstream was and how he would take me over to the dealership to get a new one (with what money? not his!). I bought a 2 inch ball because his was smaller. Somehow he ended up keeping it. I installed it after removing the disgusting old one that was all greasy. We somehow got the car backed up exactly eventually - this was the most frustrating part of the whole thing. Ball was not sitting all the way in the hitch. I figure out that it wasn't all the way open and got it to sink down on the ball. At this point Dad is much better and is more on board now that he hasn't had to do a lot of grimy work as he expected. He has a four prong plug for electric, this is 7 and newer. We pull away, but go slow home (he takes the corners way to tight for my peace of mind). At home I had planned to park it in front of my house, which had a slope, but it didn't look too bad or narrow... until I had a 16 ft trailer sitting there. At this point I call around first to the place I had scoped out on the internet that was close-ish to our home. $35 a month sounded great now that I have this behemoth with nowhere to put it! $35 a month buys you a spot in a fenced but somewhat sketchy u-haul/junk shop parking lot. I realize when we get in there that there are a lot of NICE trailers and boats there, so any potential vandals would go for them first before my little trailer. :) This might work. We lock her up and take off. That was a crazy day and it was only 1pm. Problem is that she is now away from the house and I can't go out and look at her so instead I browse ebay for interesting items to decorate her. I come up with the name Sugardolly, which my grandma used to call me, and it sticks after a family brainstorming session.

Days 3-6 - Work... storage place closes at 5pm w/out prior arrangement so there is no way to go see her after work without planning.

Day 7 - I work from home which allows me a quick run over with son in tow in the morning. Picture above. He squeals when he sees her and I wonder if it was wise of me to create another generation of trailer fans. We look around. I take pictures of the 7 prong power cord. That afternoon I head over to the auto accessory store for my hitch appointment. They don't seem to know anything about sway bars - I need to research more. They also ask if my husband can look at it for me. I give them a "you're kidding" look, and he backs off. I buy the extender car mirrors in addition to hitch and power... of course the 7 prong costs more too for wiring your car. Now I have a brand new hitch and a trailer (no trans-cooler yet), so I can pull to get new tires on Tuesday. Tuesday will also bring a trip to the DMV!

Here's the caption on craigslist of the one I ended up getting:

1965 Kit Companion: Cute and cozy vintage "canned ham" in good condition. 14ft. with flushing toilet and holding tank. Exterior recently painted by Auto Body Shop. Dry and clean. Winterized at ollinger's travel with roof sealed, furnace cleaned and serviced, new holding tank plumbing. Interior is original condition with baked bean brown appliances (full propane stove and refrigerator) retro light fixtures. - all appliances original and in excellent working condition. New battery, electrical hookup, plus 20 gallon water system (hook-up or fresh water tank). Dinette and rear couch are upholstered and fold down into beds. Tires still have good tread and the trailer is light (1800 lbs) and easy to pull. New zippered awning installed! Windows are louvered and in working condition. Great for on or off grid use. Lots of cool little compartments and cubby holes.