Camper Trial Run April 2011

In April 2011, over Easter Weekend, we took the pop-up on its maiden voyage. We learned a lot about what all we didn't know. '
One of my favorite stories of this 4 day adventure was having the pop-up weighed. We are towing it behind our Honda Pilot which has a limited towing capacity. We had to learn about the tow weight, the hitch weight, the tongue weight? etc. (I'll have Mike add to this post because I really don't understand all of it or the right terms.) Regardless, once we  got it all loaded up and hitched we had to have it weighed. Now, where in the world do you get your car and trailer weighed???
After a little Internet surfing, we came upon Cat Scales. These a big mamma scales at many of the truck stops. We headed east on I-40 towards Fall Creek Falls and found the first Cat Scales we could find. Of course, it was located at a GINORMOUS TA Truck Stop.  TA Truck Stops Here you can do it all. You can eat, shower, shave, gas up, buy souvenirs, and get your vehicle weighed! Yehaw!
Mike had the fortunate job of asking the helpful ladies behind the counter where to go to get our trailer weighed. She motioned around the side and we all piled back in to our SUV with pop-up in tow to head over to the weigh station. Now keep in mind that there are a good 25-30 truck drivers and big rigs hanging out in and around the weigh area. Many are just sleeping in their cabs but for those that were awake, we provided quite a show.
We pull up on the scales and look around for the button to push for the weighing process to start. Mike notices that the button is about 10 feet off the ground. Obviously the button is designed to accommodate 18 wheelers and their cabs, NOT morons in a fancy SUV with a pop-up. After glancing around to see who all was watching this spectacle, he climbs on the edge of the Honda Pilot and pushes the button. A scary voice comes over the speaker and screams: "First Weigh or Re-Weigh?" to which he responded..."Huh?". and she says again, "Sir...is this your first weigh or your re-weigh?" Mike looks over  at me and I shrug and he answers: "First Weigh???" She then says, "OK, go ahead." We get back into the pilot and wait for a minute and something tells us the process is over. We head back inside to see what our next step is. The lady behind the counter hands us an official looking carbon copy form that has our weight on it. The good news was that we were under weight and officially allowed to tow that pop-up.
Although set up and break down that weekend was pretty brutal, we still managed to get two full days of loveliness in. We stayed at Rock Island State Park which is really close to Fall Creek Falls. It was VERY quiet and provided some much needed stillness for all of us. The camper slept amazingly well which was a relief and the weather was gorgeous all weekend. We actually had hoped for a bit of rain to see what would happen but there was not a drop to be had.
All in all, a successful first run!