RV Shakedown at Road America

I know what you’re thinking. Did we seriously conduct our Shasta shakedown at one of the world’s fastest race tracks?

Yes, yes we did.

With 640 acres in Wisconsin’s Elkhart Lake, the legendary Road America hosts over 800,000 visitors a year at their twisty four-mile race track. Fortunately for Shasta, she’s not fast enough to qualify for these races!

Because we’re good friends with a race car engineer working the track that day, we were on the crew list for expedited entry. By staying in the upper paddock, we had easy track access for viewing and photography.

Engines roared as drivers raced around the track. During the races, we hiked the wooded trails from turn to turn to capture all of the angles. We wandered around the entire track from the Kink and the Carousel to the Canadian Corner. We ambled across bridges through the woods and back to the rig.

Despite the roar of the engines by day, the paddock was quite peaceful at night.

Of course, this is early May in Wisconsin. As a result, our weather for this weekend was a bit of a mixed bag. Cloudy skies gave way to snow, ice and rain. Temperatures ranged from 31°F to 45°F. Because we still needed to get the LP system inspected, we brought a small ceramic heater with us for warmth. Given the small footprint of our rig, this little heater served us quite well.

All in all, this initial shakedown was a resounding success. During this short trip, we learned just how easy “camping” adventures with an RV can be! We loaded Shasta up with provisions for the weekend a few days before we left. Looking back, I only forgot one major thing–the manuals. Otherwise, we just missed minor items like paper towels and trash bags. We also discovered that our upper bunk feels a bit like sleeping in a sardine can and the double bed is way too firm.

Next time, we will bring along extra padding for the bed and shake down our fresh water, LP and waste systems. Until then, here are a few more shots from Road America!