[jmcope]

We finally had a chance to make a short camping trip to christen the new Cougar. I admit up front that we love the new camper. The added space and storage are very convenient, and everything worked great. Took a while to find all the necessary settings for radio, television, and speakers, but very nice in the end.

Discovered we need a few more 2 inch and 4 inch blocks for the stabilizing jacks. We had two jacks almost fully extended. Guess I need to go to the lumberyard in the next few days. Also discovered that the sloped campsite prevented using the little step ladder to inspect the top of the slide before retracting. That sounds like a trip to Walmart. Amazing all the things that are different with a new unit!

We've added a couple of stick-on plastic hooks on the outside by the door. We hang an outdoor clock and thermometer on them. Inside, we've added an inside thermometer, a few towel bars, and a toilet paper holder. I'm sure we'll keep adding little conveniences over the next few trips.

We still have our issue with the old WD hitch (chain hanger type) and the nose cone on the Cougar. Discovered a second problem also related to the hitch installation. The technician mis-installed the pesky sway control (friction bar assembly that fastens between a small ball on the hitch and a second small ball on the trailer frame.) The ball to ball distance should be 24 inches, but was installed at 23. That results in limiting the right hand turn radius. Bottom line, I bent one of the hitch components making a too sharp turn. The Equalizer hitch is on order, and should eliminate both problems.

Anybody have any suggestions they would like to share with us new guys?