Newbie here! Hi!

[lestahhh]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the lifestyle. My wife and I are in medical field so we decided to become travelers which means we bounce from hospital to hospital in 13 weeks contracts. We move to Florida this spring and will be traveling throughout the state avoiding cold weather! We decided to buy an RV so we wouldn't be wasting money on air bnbs or hotels. Plus we wanted to experience an active outdoors and beach experience! We bought a Springdale 295BH 33.5 ft TT couple of weeks ago and been using it since. I'm hauling it with a Ram 1500. I do have lots of questions about operations and maintenance of a TT but I don't know where to post those. Right now I'm having issues with my tank sensors. I get pumped on Fridays and by Sunday I'm reading 2/3 on gray and black tanks!!! My galley one barely moves except when we cook. Is there a way to fix this? Thanks everyone!

[sourdough]

Welcome to the forum from another FL winterer.

If you are looking at the sensor readouts IMO just ignore them. They are notorious for never giving any thing close to an accurate reading. I've never looked at them other than on the initial walk through. With a little experience you will know when to DUMP the tanks.

You mentioned getting "pumped"......why? Are you in an RV park and using your dump valves or ???

[wiredgeorge]

Since you are full timing in your camper, it will likely be loaded to the gills. It is about 10K lbs gross weight and that points to a 1300 tongue weight. At 33' long and 1300 lbs tongue weight you should start shopping for a more suitable tow vehicle. You likely didn't want to hear this but that truck/camper combo you have is a safety concern and if you are in an accident, a legal liability. Welcome to the forum; quite a bit of expertise here.

[lestahhh]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Welcome to the forum from another FL winterer.

If you are looking at the sensor readouts IMO just ignore them. They are notorious for never giving any thing close to an accurate reading. I've never looked at them other than on the initial walk through. With a little experience you will know when to DUMP the tanks.

You mentioned getting "pumped"......why? Are you in an RV park and using your dump valves or ???

Thank you! I'm in a primitive park that only has city water and electrical hookups. So we have a truck come out on Fridays and drain us. And I have started to notice that even when the sensors read full, I can still see down the toilet and don't see any water. Maybe I should ignore them. I just would hate to underestimate it and end up with water backing out.

[lestahhh]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Since you are full timing in your camper, it will likely be loaded to the gills. It is about 10K lbs gross weight and that points to a 1300 tongue weight. At 33' long and 1300 lbs tongue weight you should start shopping for a more suitable tow vehicle. You likely didn't want to hear this but that truck/camper combo you have is a safety concern and if you are in an accident, a legal liability. Welcome to the forum; quite a bit of expertise here.

Thank you for your recommendation. The dry weight is actually under 7100 lbs. I drove it 4 hours with no issues at all. But I do want to get a bigger truck anyways. Prob gonna get a Ram 2500 diesel.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Since you are full timing in your camper, it will likely be loaded to the gills. It is about 10K lbs gross weight and that points to a 1300 tongue weight. At 33' long and 1300 lbs tongue weight you should start shopping for a more suitable tow vehicle. You likely didn't want to hear this but that truck/camper combo you have is a safety concern and if you are in an accident, a legal liability. Welcome to the forum; quite a bit of expertise here.

I'd have agree with George! That's a lot of rv for a 1/2 ton truck!
Will it pull it? Yes!
Is it safely within the weight limits of your truck? Probably not!
If you'd post a picture of the yellow/white tag on the driver's door jamb along with the manufacturers weight tags accurate advice can be given as to your trucks weight capacities & abilities.
Danny also gave good advice on the tank sensors. I've owned several rvs none of which were the sensors worth a second look. The bath grey tank will be obvious when full as the shower will back, typically fills the fastest unless you both are very good at taking Navy showers. The toilet makes distinctive burp/gurgle when nearing full. The kitchen/galley tank should last as long as the black tank unless you do an excessive amount of dishwashing.
I'm assuming when you say your being "pumped" that you're boondocking somewhere with no dumpstation available.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by lestahhh

Thank you! I'm in a primitive park that only has city water and electrical hookups. So we have a truck come out on Fridays and drain us. And I have started to notice that even when the sensors read full, I can still see down the toilet and don't see any water. Maybe I should ignore them. I just would hate to underestimate it and end up with water backing out.

How many of you are there? You mention you and your wife and nothing about kids, but it is a bunkhouse model?

If you are having them pump the tanks once a week and you aren't having any problems I'd go with that. With the size of your holding tanks I would think you might have issues if you had kids but ....

Your grey tanks (galley and bathroom) let you know they're full by backing up into either the kitchen sink or the bottom of the shower. Your black tank lets you know it's time to dump when the toilet starts "burping" (pushing a mushroom type of bubble back up when you flush). With time and regular usage you will know when those things occur and then schedule dumps so that nothing gets too full. We go 4 days and I dump and we have larger tanks. Our issue is the bathroom grey tank as we both take long showers so it fills up quickly. The other 2 have enough to dump at that point but aren't nearly full. Just watch, listen and log. I keep a calendar on the fridge and note dump days so I don't forget (happens more and more these days).

[Gary R.]

Greetings and welcome!

Great advice given by the folks here. It didn't take my DW and I long to learn the tank indicators are for the most part worthless.

Enjoy your Springdale! It's fun to learn about all the stuff!

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN.

[lestahhh]

Thanks again everyone! I'm loving the feedback. I'm at work but I will post the weight placards tonight. A friend has recommended perhaps I should invest in an external tank, so maybe I'll look into that. In the trailer, it's just my wife and I and our baby. We do bathe him every other day unless he crawls around outside. But he doesn't use much water. Maybe a couple of gallons at most. He has a collapsible tub. We do take Army showers! (We are both prior Army, though I'm now in the Reserve, couldn't stay away!) We haven't heard any of the noises yll are saying the tanks would make so maybe the sensors are really ate up. Same friend recommended I pour boiling water and see if that dissolves any gunk throwing the sensors off so I'll do that tonight too.

[markcee]

Welcome!

Due to your full-time circumstances, highly recommend the path you are following, with getting an HD truck. As you have seen, you can definitely pull that load with a half-ton, but can you safely carry/stop it? That's the key. You are doing the right thing in looking at a truck upgrade.

We were in same boat as you.....9500 GVWR (vs. your 9700) with a modest load and pulling it with a well equipped 1/2 ton. It is just the two of us. Our TW, 'wet' for camping at around 8400 lbs loaded, was just over 1200 lbs. This, without loading the bed of the truck with much of anything. Our payload and rear axle were capacity were just under max. I am curious to see you actual weights will be.

As mentioned, it's all about what your truck can do in an emergency situation. If you are considering the full-time life long term, or at least longer than you think you will keep your current trailer, I would recommend skipping ahead to a 1-ton. A 3/4 ton diesel will give you a net gain of about 500-700 lbs of payload over your 1/2 ton gasser, as those diesel engines are heavy. Suggest you skip ahead to a 1-ton if going diesel. This will give you some cushion for a heavier trailer....at a nominal price difference. Ride quality will not suffer between 3/4 and 1 ton.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by lestahhh

Thank you for your recommendation. The dry weight is actually under 7100 lbs. I drove it 4 hours with no issues at all. But I do want to get a bigger truck anyways. Prob gonna get a Ram 2500 diesel.

The gross weight is closed to what your camper will weigh when loaded for camping; dry weight will NEVER be seen as it is the weight coming off the assembly line with no batteries, empty propane tanks, and NO options. You may want to actually go to a truck scale and weigh; there are many posts on this forum explaining how to get accurate measurements. You payload capacity of your Ram truck is on a yellow/white placard on your driver door frame.

Folks can explain the liability issue better than I but law enforcement and/or your insurance company knows how to determine if you are over payload in the event of an accident. Be safe! And by the way, the tank sensors are notoriously inaccurate. If you have to determine how much is in the tanks, google aftermarket replacement solutions are they are out there and some are very accurate. My shower dumps into the black tank and if I fail to notice the black tank is full, it backs into our tub when someone is taking a shower and someone (my missus) gets snippy. Very snippy.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by lestahhh

Thanks again everyone! I'm loving the feedback. I'm at work but I will post the weight placards tonight. A friend has recommended perhaps I should invest in an external tank, so maybe I'll look into that. In the trailer, it's just my wife and I and our baby. We do bathe him every other day unless he crawls around outside. But he doesn't use much water. Maybe a couple of gallons at most. He has a collapsible tub. We do take Army showers! (We are both prior Army, though I'm now in the Reserve, couldn't stay away!) We haven't heard any of the noises yll are saying the tanks would make so maybe the sensors are really ate up. Same friend recommended I pour boiling water and see if that dissolves any gunk throwing the sensors off so I'll do that tonight too.

Your sensors are probes that sit at 3 levels on the side of a tank. They are pressed through a rubber grommet. There is also another sensor towards the bottom and side of the tank. Fluid almost always covers this sensor and when fluid fills the tank to the level of the first sensor (of the three), it complete an electrical circuit and the first light on your tank monitor lights. More fluid and 2nd sensor is covered and monitor lights at a higher level and same for 3rd. Problem is, these sensors pick up stuff and don't conduct reliably in many cases. Most experienced campers ignore them.

I installed Horst Miracle Probes on my RV in hopes of tank accuracy. Horst now has a new product that looks very very promising if you need to make accurate measurements. Horst Miracle Gauge. Have a look:
https://horstmiraclegauge.com/

Also consider an electrical management system (EMS) which is discussed MANY times on this site. MANY camp grounds have unstable or problematic power at their pedestals. An EMS can save your expensive electrical components. A surge protector can not.

[travelin texans]

(QUOTE) Same friend recommended I pour boiling water and see if that dissolves any gunk throwing the sensors off so I'll do that tonight too.[/QUOTE]

Unless you fill the tank completely with boiling water it'll never get to the sensors. It may dissolve some of the gunk in the tank bottom, but you'd need to dump immediatly.
Others will recommend bags of ice which is a waste of ice. A 5lb bag of ice in 40 gallon tank is like adding 1 ice cube to a gallon of water.
There are also several magic potions to cure the sensor inaccuracies, in my opinion a good squirt of Dawn dish soap with a couple gallins of water after dumping & before traveling works just as well for less $$. The sensors won't work any better but the tanks will be a bit cleaner.

[dutchmensport]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on getting your new camper. I hope you have many great and fun adventures with it.

I'll not comment on your tow vehicle, weights, or any of that. But I will respond to your original comment and one of your original concerns ... the tank sensors.

First, Black tank sensors very seldom actually work. Well, they work, they just don't work correctly and here's why.

"Crud" (for a better choice of words here), goes down the toilet, and that "crud" will get caught on the sensor probes inside your black tank. This happens and there's not much you can do to stop it. When "crud" gets caught on the sensors, the sensors will indicate your tanks are fuller than they really are.

I have found, in over 20 years of personal RV ownership, that there is a way to keep the sensors clean and working. And here's the solution.

When you break camp, you need to dump your tanks and flush them as much and as best as you can. You can fill the black tank full of water several times, use a Flush King on the trailer valve outlet on the sewer line, or use a tank wand. Whatever you do, flush and empty the tank and with lots and lots of water, empty the contents of the tank, as empty as possible.

The problem is... there is still stuff caught on the sensors.

Now that the tank is empty and flushed, close off the drain valves and now add 4 or 5 gallons of water down the toilet. Now add about a half a cup of Dawn dishwashing liquid and pour it down the toilet. Now, travel to your next destination.

What will happen, the water and dishwashing liquid will splash and pulverize the inside of your black tank, also pulverizing the sensors with splashing water. The dishwashing liquid is a grease cutter. It's great, not only for removing cooking grease off dishes, but it's good for removing automotive grease off your hands, your tools, carpet, the floor, even laundry. In addition, the dishwashing liquid will clean the rest of the tank too, and keep it from smelling. You won't need any other chemicals for odor. You can also use Tide laundry detergent. This works well too.

When you reach your next destination, if you are able, now dump your black tank. If you are not able to dump right away, that is really ok too. But any new "crud" added to the tank will, first of all, be treated with slippery soap, and second, not stick to stuff and flush out.

The only problem with this method is the fact, it is not a permanent cure. It has to be repeated over and over. So, every time you move the camper, do this. Your sensors will work (at least for a while) until they need cleaned again.

This will work pretty well for a few days. But in time, if the trailer does not move, crud and gunk will collect on the sensors again. So, it's really important you dump, add water, add the dishwashing liquid, drive to your next destination, and dump again, every time you move the trailer.

In time, you will learn how full your black tank is all the time, without sensors. You'll just know when it's time to dump it. You'll recognize it by the sound of the water hitting the bottom of the tank when you flush your toilet, and by subconsciously monitoring how often the toilet gets flushed.

FYI, this same principle works well for the grey tanks too. Leaving some dishwashing water in the grey tanks and then traveling to your next destination does wonders to help clean them too. You'll be shocked how much stuff and food particals actually sticks to the inside of your grey tank.

Pick up a clear section of pipe that fits on your tank outlets (valves), so you can actually see what is being discharged from your tanks, and how much MORE come out when you repeat flush a second, third, forth, even a fifth time.

Good luck and happy camping.

[lestahhh]

Good morning everyone. Sorry for the late reply. For those of you wondering about the towing and payload of my truck, the placards at the door don't have the weights on it (weird, I know). Only for the tires for the truck. But I had researched it on the Ram website by VIN back when I was at dealership and it's listed as 8290 towing with payload of 1390. Back then when I was buying the truck, I was planning on getting a smaller TT, like 23-25 footer, so I was ok with this truck mostly bc of all the whistles and bells it comes with. But at Thanksgiving dinner, my friend's neighbor told me he was selling his TT, the one we currently have, the 33.5 footer. My wife fell in love with it and needles to say I bought it. I moved it 4 hours away with barely anything on it. Not even fluids and empty propane tanks. It does however have solar panels and batteries that he installed, as well as a June oven in space where external kitchen goes (inverters in there too). He's an electrician or something, can't remember but I know it's his field. Anyways, he gave me everything he had such as weight distribution bars and brake controller. I drove it around the block a few times and truck purred beautifully. So I felt ok to drive off. The trip was smooth. I used to be a truck driver in the Army so I take hauling very serious and know from personal experience what can go wrong. I drove at 60 mph at most on highways. TT came with side/rear views cameras so I was aware of surroundings and traffic. Nonetheless, I do want to upgrade to at least a 2500 but the truck market is god awful right now. I'd hate to overpay for a newer model or one with low miles, and I'd hate to end up with a truck with ton of miles that I'm gonna have in shop once or twice a year. Right now my truck is a 2018 with barely 30k miles on it. The question now is, is it really a critical need to drive to next site in a couple of months with a 2500 or can I use my current truck? I would def drive with empty tanks. We don't have much in it except for clothes and pantry items.

As far as the sensors go, we ignored them and have been showering and pooping just fine. We are keeping our eyes and ears open for sounds though. Next thing I'm doing is upgrading the thermostat. I've read on this site everyone is swearing by the microair so I'm gonna order that one asap. I've installed thermostats before at my previous houses. This one shouldn't be much difficult, right?! Lol. Thanks again everyone and have a blessed day. I'm def open minded to ylls advices so keep them coming. The next thing I want to familiarize myself with is everything solar. Oh also, the TT does come with Hughes PowerWatchdog. Someone mentioned investing in an EMS.

Sorry for the long post. I wanted to provide followups for those that took time to provide me feedback.

[flybouy]

Sounds like you are on the right path. A 2018 vehichle should have the payload info on the tire pressure sticker. Above the tire pressures should be the statement about payload. The best way to find out your actual remaining ppayload is to load up truck and trailer and visit a Cat scale. Go to catscale.com and download the app. The truck payload will be the GVWR of the truck minus the weight from the scale slip.

You may be suprised at how quickly the truck payload dissappears as the factory payload does not factor in a passanger or anything else the you or anyone else has installed or placed on or in the truck. As for your next move to another campground drive carefully and don't get fooled because it " tows fine". The excess payload/undersized tow vehichle may not be an issue under "ideal conditions" but one day when you need more truck is the day you won't have and wish you did.

[dutchmensport]

One more comment about the tank sensors: Going through the process of adding some water to your empty tanks and then adding Dawn or Tide and then traveling to your next destination, not only helps the sensors, but more important ... it cleans the inside of your tanks, keeping odors down and build-up from happening. It hurts nothing to do this, except a squirt of dish washing liquid, and you have everything to gain. Plus, you don't have to buy RV specific chemicals for your tanks this way.

Another tip for your black tank.... When you wash dishes, wash them in a basin or a tub and when done, pour the used dishwashing liquid down the toilet instead of down the kitchen drain. Adding dish water to the black tank this way also helps to keep build up from happening in your black tank .... and costs absolutely nothing.

When we sit stationary for several days, we'll do this to help clean the black tank better. It does help eliminate odors. (and costs nothing).

[wiredgeorge]

Here is an example of a payload placard; "the combine weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed"... that is your payload. That means the stuff in your truck including you & passenger and gear, etc., the weight of the hitch and the tongue weight of your camper. I mention this because it is not just a safety issue but also, if you are involved in any sort of accident, there are legal ramifications.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by lestahhh

Good morning everyone. Sorry for the late reply. For those of you wondering about the towing and payload of my truck, the placards at the door don't have the weights on it (weird, I know). Only for the tires for the truck. But I had researched it on the Ram website by VIN back when I was at dealership and it's listed as 8290 towing with payload of 1390. Back then when I was buying the truck, I was planning on getting a smaller TT, like 23-25 footer, so I was ok with this truck mostly bc of all the whistles and bells it comes with. But at Thanksgiving dinner, my friend's neighbor told me he was selling his TT, the one we currently have, the 33.5 footer. My wife fell in love with it and needles to say I bought it. I moved it 4 hours away with barely anything on it. Not even fluids and empty propane tanks. It does however have solar panels and batteries that he installed, as well as a June oven in space where external kitchen goes (inverters in there too). He's an electrician or something, can't remember but I know it's his field. Anyways, he gave me everything he had such as weight distribution bars and brake controller. I drove it around the block a few times and truck purred beautifully. So I felt ok to drive off. The trip was smooth. I used to be a truck driver in the Army so I take hauling very serious and know from personal experience what can go wrong. I drove at 60 mph at most on highways. TT came with side/rear views cameras so I was aware of surroundings and traffic. Nonetheless, I do want to upgrade to at least a 2500 but the truck market is god awful right now. I'd hate to overpay for a newer model or one with low miles, and I'd hate to end up with a truck with ton of miles that I'm gonna have in shop once or twice a year. Right now my truck is a 2018 with barely 30k miles on it. The question now is, is it really a critical need to drive to next site in a couple of months with a 2500 or can I use my current truck? I would def drive with empty tanks. We don't have much in it except for clothes and pantry items.

As far as the sensors go, we ignored them and have been showering and pooping just fine. We are keeping our eyes and ears open for sounds though. Next thing I'm doing is upgrading the thermostat. I've read on this site everyone is swearing by the microair so I'm gonna order that one asap. I've installed thermostats before at my previous houses. This one shouldn't be much difficult, right?! Lol. Thanks again everyone and have a blessed day. I'm def open minded to ylls advices so keep them coming. The next thing I want to familiarize myself with is everything solar. Oh also, the TT does come with Hughes PowerWatchdog. Someone mentioned investing in an EMS.

Sorry for the long post. I wanted to provide followups for those that took time to provide me feedback.

If that 1380 is the actual payload you're severely overlooked.
Payload of 1380 - tongue weight of approximately 1260 (13% of the 9750 GVWR of that rv) - the weight of the hitch at about 100lbs - the weight of everyone/everything in/on the truck = a negative number by my calculations which = too much rv or too little truck.