When we bought the Aliner, a primary reason was to be able to take off quickly for a night or two away without much prep and without the clean-up that typically comes with camping. To do this, we took a look a how we may use this foldable room on wheels. We came up with three ways. The first is as a hotel.To use the Aliner as a hotel we made up one plastic storage container of essentials.

These include:

1. Flashlights
2. Small tool set (just in case)
3. Cleaning wipes
4. Disposable cups
5. Matches

In our camper, we keep a first aid kit, hot dog sticks, mountain pie makers and safety supplies for the Aliner, as well as folding chairs in case we want to build a fire to sit around. We don’t take food on this “hotel” trip, but are prepared to hit a grocery store to cook something if we are somewhere with limited or no options for eating out…. but the plan is to eat out.On top of that, we need to grab our clothes and toiletries, some bed linens and towels, and food for the dog and then we’re off!  Camper hooked up to the truck and packed in 1 hour (and we’re not really that efficient in hooking up the camper yet.)

When we visited Cook Forest State Park last fall, we did tested our plan and it worked. We ate out for our meals and came back to the campground to shower and sleep off our hike. When we got home, we simply did a load of laundry, closed up the camper and called it a weekend. I could so get use to this. I may never want to “rough it” again.