"RV'ing Down the Alpaca
Road" ~ Published in Alpacas Magazine
All the Comforts of Home…Including
the Kitchen Sink
by Helen Fritz Hornbake
 If
you happen upon Jon and Phyllis Turner’s “campsite”
at an alpaca show, stop by and say hello. If it’s dinnertime,
they may even offer you a place at the table.
Traveling with alpacas in a recreational vehicle (RV) “works
out wonderfully,” says Phyllis. “We make several
pots of chili and soups, and people know they can come to
the trailer to eat and have a drink after they set up stalls
the first night.” The Turners, of Shady Creek Farm
in Lathrop, MO, have a three-horse trailer with living quarters,
and they travel to several shows each year. They have friends
who also use their living quarters trailer to transport
alpacas.
“We park with our awnings facing one another so we
have a nice, large ‘patio’ area for entertaining.
Everybody knows they’re welcome!”
Michael and Sherry Alpert, owners of Awesome Acres ‘Pacas
and Pyrs in Oklahoma City, OK do eight to ten shows a year,
and agree that the social side of RVing to alpaca events
is the best part. They have a Cyclone 5th wheel trailer
(with an extension over the tow vehicle) that includes an
8' x 12' airconditioned “garage” for the alpacas.
 “Over
the years, we have become friends with other RVing alpaca
breeders who follow a similar show circuit, or whom we may
meet up with maybe once a year at Nationals. There is a
non-stop social hour going on at RV parking, and it’s
really fun and relaxing. We typically do a big cookout with
our RV friends one evening, and always invite some of our
hotel-based friends who agree that this is the BEST part
of the show,” Michael says. Their RV also allows them
to take along one of their Great Pyrenees.
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The night life at alpaca events is one
of the biggest draws for breeders who choose the RV
way of attending shows. Here, Richard Maurer (hands
in the air), of Meadowgate West Alpacas in Lambertville,
OH, waves "hello" to photographer Doug Herrmann
at this year's AOBA and World Alpaca Conference. The
RV on the right is the Maurers home away from home.
The rig parked across the way is owned by Bill and Mary
Pearce of Five Star Alpacas in LaPorte, IN. Looks like
this crowd gives new meaning to the words, "A good
time was had by all." |
| This 30' Class A Coachmen is home for
Mike and Linda Hitchcock when they travel to alpaca
shows from their Marysville, OH, Hawkspass Farms. Their
grandkids often travel with them and love being able
to "go back to the RV to watch movies or munch,"
Linda says. |
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Rick Horn of All American Alpacas in Murrieta, CA, also
looks upon the social side of the camping venue as one of
the best experiences. He invites friends out to his “Cowboy
Condo,” a trailer housing alpacas in the back with
living quarters near the front. At the show, there are always
refreshments in the fridge. Quips Rick: “Just watch
your friends’ eyes light up when you say ‘come
on out here for an ice cold Heineken!’”
For those who make the RV experience part of their alpaca
lifestyle, the benefits far outweigh the downsides of this
choice, with very few campers admitting that there are any
negatives at all. Rick Horn insists that there is really
no “best part; it’s all good.”
Michael and Sherry Alpert |
The Suri Network Symposium in beautiful
Estes Park, Colorado, was the occasion for Michael and
Sherry Alpert to hit the open road with one of their
Great Pyrenees dogs. For halter shows, the Alperts'
alpacas travel in air-conditioned comfort in the back
section. |
RV Industry Association
Another popular benefit for most RVers is the chance to
sleep in their own bed. “I can park at any rest area,
truck stop, or Wal-Mart and have a free place to sleep.
It’s in my own bed. It saves money, and my alpacas
are attended. While my dinner is cooking, I can check on
the alpacas, freshen the water, and add hay and bedding,”
Rick notes.
| Dante Ballensky and brother Logan of
Red Barn Alpacas, Yacolt, WA, show off the roomy alpaca
trailer that they pull to shows with their Winnebago
RV. |
 |
 |
Stacey and Ron Ballensky tow their alpaca
trailer with this Winnebago Class C motor home, where
Ron says they enjoy "all the comforts of home"
while on the road with alpacas. Also pictured are the
Ballensky twins, Ellie and Logan, and daughter Dante.
|
For some, their RV is a home away from home, and that is
what they like best about the camping experience. Stacey
and Ron Ballensky, of Red Barn Alpacas in Yacolt, WA, are
the parents of seven-year-old twins, so they are glad to
be able to give the kids a break from the show barn. Stacey
also points to the “comforts of home” aspect of
RVing. “In our motor home, we are nearly as comfortable
as we are at home. We have all the creature comforts –
satellite TV, our own shower, bathroom, our own bed and
sheets, etc. Fully stocked cupboards allow us to cook whatever
we like, from simple to gourmet.” The Ballenskys drive
a self-contained Winnebago Class “C” motor home.
(A “Class C” is built on a truck chassis with
an attached cab section.)
Kids are a very important consideration for people who
RV to shows. “The grand kids love it because they can
go to the RV to watch movies or munch, which also helps
to save on the food bill,” Linda Hitchcock of Hawkspass
Farms in Marysville, OH, points out.
Richard and Tammy Maurer, who manage Meadowgate Alpacas
in Lambertville, NJ, and also own Meadowgate West Alpacas,
have been traveling to shows with alpacas for seven years.
They own a 40' Diesel Pusher Fleetwood Discovery Class A
type of recreational vehicle. (The Class A resembles a bus
in design with a flat or vertical front end). The Maurers
spend several weeks each year driving to shows and traveling
in their RV on vacation. They also like “having our
own bed, our own sheets, and our own bathroom that hasn’t
been used by a thousand other people,” says Richard.
“I also like being able to lie down and relax and get
away from everything once in awhile between halter classes.”
He adds that he has never taken his somewhat daunting 67-foot
combination (40' motor home towing a 26' alpaca trailer
plus hitch) to a show and regretted the decision. Hotels
are just not an attractive option for the Maurer family!
Laurie Sue Bakay of Crystal Glen Alpacas in Hewitt, NJ,
likes the convenience of “waking up and being there.”
She and her husband, Jay, agist their alpacas at another
farm so they like the idea that they can get into the show
buildings early and “just hang out with our alpacas:
clean poop, feed, and smooch.”
They find electric hookups and sometimes even water and
sewer at all of the alpaca shows they’ve attended.
In addition, Laurie cites the convenience of being able
to take much more alpaca equipment and supplies plus “packing
is very easy because much of our stuff stays in the RV.”
Are there any drawbacks to the alpaca/camping lifestyle?
Ironically, a few breeders cited the temptation not to socialize
as much as they would like. Lynn Boak of Arroyo Seco Alpacas
in Cheyenne, WY, is an attorney with a thriving legal practice.
She also has some 45 huacaya alpacas. “I wish that
I were not so chronically behind in my work,” Lynn
explains. For her, the attraction in taking an RV to a show
is that she can work in her living quarters trailer during
show breaks and still be near her alpacas. “But I don’t
get to socialize as much as I’d like.”
Mike and Linda Hitchcock love having the “comfort
of our own place!” at shows as well as the respite
their 30’ Class A motor home affords. But they, too,
admit they don’t tend to socialize as much as they
would like.
Another downer can be that some shows don’t offer
good camping facilities and, if they do, sometimes those
facilities are frequently a long walk from the show barns.
Linda pointed out that some camping areas are lacking good
parking areas, but others, such as the Illinois show, are
trying to improve.
Sleeping with alpacas, so to speak, can pose some unique
challenges, also. Michael Alpert points out that the animals
will sometimes move around or kick, “which really reverberates
through the RV.” But even that has a positive side,
he maintains. “To us, it’s their way of saying,
‘we’re here; we’re okay.’”
But for all who participated in this unscientific sampling
of the alpaca RV community, life on the road with alpacas
is the best, some say only, way to go. Ron Ballensky sums
it up well:
“We are all sad after a few long days at a show when
we have to return home to the normal grind. We all like
being together as a family.”
It’s clear that traveling to alpaca events offers
something very special to those who choose the RV way.
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Farm and ranch sightseeing using a Class
B motorhome. |
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