New to the game!

texhater42 · 04-15-2015, 10:18 PM

hi everyone, been reading all of the awesome information on this forum and I'm already so appreciative of all contributors on here! I'm a total noob when it comes to rv'ing so besides reading as many posts as I can I will be asking questions...sorry lol. My wife and I are scheduled to p/u our brand new Passport 2400BH on Friday and are super stoked about it (And yes I. Will be bringing the PDI inspection c/l). Seems, after securing the finances, we thought we were in the clear 'generally speaking' with rv costs...boy was I wrong....SOOO many bells and whistles, filters, covers, levelers and even toilet paper!!...the list doesn't stop lol...I realize not all of these things are "essential" and there will be things that you could live without until you started building up a small rv treasure chest...so, how about it guys/gals...sewage hose/elbow/clear extender (maybe), H2O press reg, drinking hose (10' good?)...rv tp, and deodorizer...what other items are an absolute essential for a typical rv trip pertaining to the vehicle? I have all the stuff for the actual campsite (lanterns, sleeping bags/blankets etc)...just wondering what a seasoned rv'ers typical 'essential' load out kit would be. Thanks in advance guys/gals...only practical experience will be my best teacher, but no reason to start out unprepared.

buzzcop63 · 04-15-2015, 10:33 PM

Wife and I got started camping again in March 2012 with new truck and TT trailer. Did a lot of studying along the way waiting for retirement and the time to travel. Thought I would pass on a few of the things I learned the hard way.

1. If running on 30 Amps do not run A/C and Micro Wave at same time, watch what you have running or the Circuit Breaker on the Pedestal or in the trailer will open.

2. Do not run the toilet fan when the toilet valve is open (flushing) you wind up drafting air down the Black tank vent and into the trailer, not good on the old nose!

3. Buy if you do not have a clear pipe for the Black Tank drain hose and when you dump attach to the trailers drain pipe, helps know when tanks are empty and if you have a Black tank flush when the Black tank is clean.

4. Getting weight checked at a scale is a very good idea. Keep weight down as best you can. If trailer is TT check height of wheel wells front and back of truck before attaching trailer and after, want front height to be same loaded as when unloaded, this will show how well weight transfer hitch is working.

5. Check tire pressure on trailer each time you hit the road.

6. Check date on your tires, (DOT4512 example) tire made in week 45 of year 2012. Tires age out faster then they where out. Four to seven years say the experts.

7. Watch your speed, heavy trailers are hard on tires, and 55 MPH gives better mileage and a lot less heat in the tire.

8. Tire Minder is a good investment for safety.

9. Hand signals agreed upon before backing up and the person signaling should always be visible to the driver.

10. Small portable electric heaters work great and save LP gas when temperatures above freezing.

11. Sky lights, they can let in a lot of light in the morning as well as heat and cold, Camping World has a great push in cushion that just fills the skylight.

12. You can run Refrigerator on LP the night before loading so it is ready to go in the Morning if no 110V is available.

13. Wipe dishes and drain any cans into garbage bag, do not dump down drain, rots and can build up in Gray tanks.

14. Cougar remote control, if you turn on the floodlight you must turn off with the remote or it will stay on. The remote can turn on the flood light even if you have the power from your batteries turned off and are not attached to shore power!

15. Electric hoist on a TT is a very nice addition.

16. Before taking off or putting on Spring Bars, run the jack up to help take weight off the bars. Always set both sides the same number of chain links. Lube the ball and Spring Bars as well as Sway Control with heavy bearing grease. Wipe off when put away hitch or when staying over night to keep from getting on your cloths.

17. Use bubble type level and put in freezer, if bubble stays at least half way in the center you are good, also do not want refrigerator to be un level for more then 1/2 hour, per Trailer Life video by Master Mechanic.

18. Heavy items store low in trailer, light items up high. Make up a list of items to take to make loading for each trip faster and to not leave needed item behind.

19. RK models, cushion in the microwave to keep plate from braking and aliened with turntable.

20. Water hose, 25' is better, two could be needed.

**chuckster57** · 04-16-2015, 01:20 AM

Buzzcop has it pretty well covered, but do not lubricate the sway control. NO grease on the bar.

**JRTJH** · 04-16-2015, 05:20 AM

Welcome to the forum. One of our members developed a New RV Owner Checklist which you can find here: http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9915

There is a lot of good information there.

texhater42 · 04-16-2015, 05:28 AM

thank you all for the replies...so much information available it can be almost overwhelming. We did rent a camper on our last camping trip and we ended up over packing...also all of the equipment was provided so I really didn't give it that much attention...just need to get out there and adjust accordingly. Again, I really appreciate all the input and look forward to hopefully contributing myself when able.

**sourdough** · 04-16-2015, 09:37 AM

to the forum. I don't think I saw it mentioned but think about the way you load the trailer. Our trailer literally sits with everything in it year round with the exception of food. That way when we get the urge we just throw a box of food in, load the fridge and go. Beat the heck out of trying to round up kitchen material, linens etc. every time you want to hook up and go.

14george · 04-16-2015, 03:55 PM

x2 what sourdough said

GaryWT · 04-16-2015, 05:20 PM

Congrats and good luck. Everyone does it a little different and most will not change unless something happens. I carry a 10 and 25 foot water hose and that has been enough so far. I have 40 feet of sewer hose but have never used more than 30 and that was only once. 2-25 foot cable tv wire, adapters for the electric and some extension cord for other things that need power. We have 4 sets of lynx levels for wheel and corner jacks but many use wood. We use liquid aqua chem for the black tank and Scot toilet paper rather than paying the price for rv paper. We carry a separate hose for the black tank flush. For me these are the basics for using the camper.

texhater42 · 04-17-2015, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryWT

Congrats and good luck. Everyone does it a little different and most will not change unless something happens. I carry a 10 and 25 foot water hose and that has been enough so far. I have 40 feet of sewer hose but have never used more than 30 and that was only once. 2-25 foot cable tv wire, adapters for the electric and some extension cord for other things that need power. We have 4 sets of lynx levels for wheel and corner jacks but many use wood. We use liquid aqua chem for the black tank and Scot toilet paper rather than paying the price for rv paper. We carry a separate hose for the black tank flush. For me these are the basics for using the camper.

Thanks GaryWT, how many times have you gotten to a campsite and needed the power adapters? My wife just orders a 50' extension cord haha...I mean...it'll work....may have been a little overkill...pretty sure she didn't realize it was 50'....

texhater42 · 04-17-2015, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

to the forum. I don't think I saw it mentioned but think about the way you load the trailer. Our trailer literally sits with everything in it year round with the exception of food. That way when we get the urge we just throw a box of food in, load the fridge and go. Beat the heck out of trying to round up kitchen material, linens etc. every time you want to hook up and go.

Yeah that's the plan...grab some food and go...do you usually just leave stuff full i.e. hot water tank or even fresh water? Or do you drain after every trip and start over each time? I would think leaving water in the tanks wouldn't be very healthy for both the tank, and germs/bacteria in general...

buzzcop63 · 04-17-2015, 10:08 PM

"Yeah that's the plan...grab some food and go...do you usually just leave stuff full i.e. hot water tank or even fresh water? Or do you drain after every trip and start over each time? I would think leaving water in the tanks wouldn't be very healthy for both the tank, and germs/bacteria in general..."

Depends on where you do your camping. Wife and I camp at state and county parks, water and electric only are supplied so we take filtered water with us in jugs (we re-use Costco fruit jugs) and keep our water tank with only a few gallons to use for the toilet at rest stops. When we leave camp and head to the dump sight we drain the Black and Gray tanks and have them full at the time of draining to get better flow and Flush the Black tank. Once home I add a couple caps full of Detergent and Fabric Softener to the Black tank and just Softener to the Gray tanks, Detergent acts like a Black Tank additive and the Softener is supposed to make the walls of the tanks slippery helping to drain faster. On bacteria do a search and you will find description of how to keep Fresh Water tank safe and clean.

To load, we leave most of the things we need on our trip in the trailer and then only have to load food, clothing and toilet supplies. Best thing is to make lists and use them to know what you want to take, to hitch up, to break camp etc, avoids forgetting something, life moving your truck before you take off the safety chains...

14george · 04-18-2015, 03:33 AM

Camper ready to go at a spur of the moment with exception of food and close

**sourdough** · 04-18-2015, 09:47 AM

We travel with 1/3 tank of fresh water and drain after each trip. We stay at campgrounds/parks that have full hookups so carry the water for emergency stops. I leave the hot water tank full thru the camping months because we use it quite a bit from March/April thru Nov/Dec. When winter is about to hit I drain everything and winterize and let her sleep until the next spring.

As far as adapters I carry one for about everything; 50a/120ac, 50a/30a etc. For water hoses I carry a 25', 15', 6' and 4'. I use the 4' on water faucets that are close to the ground to give me some slack to put on the water filter. Some sites have the hookups a long way from our connections on the trailer so have a 20' sewer hose plus a 15' extension. As time goes by you will experience those places; I was lucky enough on the sewer situation that I was in a town that had lots of RV sites so had a good selection of RV "stuff" when I found I needed extra sewer hose. Just hope you're that lucky if you don't just go ahead and buy it for "insurance"'

texhater42 · 04-19-2015, 09:28 AM

and she's in the driveway....now to start figuring out what I need and don't 'need'...

Festus2 · 04-19-2015, 09:34 AM

FYI there is a list of such items found in the Prospective Owner's Questions forum. The list is in the form of a sticky -at the very top of the page. You might find that list useful.

Now that you have introduced yourself and have been welcomed, you really should start a new thread rather than continue this topic here. This section is intended for new members to briefly introduce themselves and for current members to welcome them. Other topics should be posted in the appropriate forums - thanks.

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