Seasonal sites: In between visits

[turkii]

First time owning a TT this year after many years of borrowing and renting campers. We will be parked on a seasonal site and I'm curious to know what the best practices are in between visits.

Our camp site is about two hours from our house so we will be back and forth frequently during the spring, summer, and fall. Most times there will only be 2-3 days away from our camper but sometimes there may be 10-15 days between visits.

Should I pull the slides in every time I leave the camper even if I know I will be back in a few days? What about disconnecting or shutting off utilities? There will be times when my wife arrives with our kids late at night by herself so ideally we'd love it to be as turnkey as possible every time she arrives.

Also, is there a "safe" way to store dry foods like cereal, pancake mix, snacks, etc in the camper without worrying too much about critters?

Thanks!!

[advrider]

I shut the water off but leave power on slides out and door locked other than if you don't know how long
you will be away take home perishables. use sealable plastic containers to keep bugs at bay.


Jack

[turkii]

Any issue leaving the fridge running on electric for a few days??

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by turkii

Any issue leaving the fridge running on electric for a few days??

No, many folks keep it running continuously. Main thing with the frig is make sure the trailer is level.

[Paulx213]

I'm getting a seasonal site for the first time this summer so my ideas are just best guesses so far. I plan to bring the slide in when I leave. With it out there are some small gaps if you look carefully and I'd like to keep the little critters out. Also my slide is huge.

I plan to turn off the water but leave the power ( and fridge ) on. We already use sealed plastic containers for stuff, more to keep moisture out then critters.

Definitely will roll up the awning. Not sure about leaving stuff outside, I'll see what the people who have been their for years do.

[Seann45]

Pull the slideouts in. Less chance for rodent incursion that way.

[Big Sky]

The slides left out definitely invite the little critters. We've learned that the hard way.

[Whistler]

We've had our seasonal for 12 years now, no power just water but its only 30 minutes away from the house.
Definitely turn off the water in case of a in trailer pipe failure, and we usually leave the slides out, unless we knew it was going to be longer than a week before our return. Please keep in mind if you do leave them out, to clean the top of them before bringing them in. Debris does accumulate when left like that.
I keep solar attached all summer and only turn the fridge on when we arrive as it only takes 30 minutes or more to cool down.

Congratulation and best wishes on your seasonal site! We've made many happy family memories with ours!

[lx22f/c]

At our seasonal site i leave the slides out.
Fridge on set to auto and i leave the propane on to run fridge in case of a temporary power outage.
Water off but not disconnected.
A/c on set with a programable thermostat to keep it 80 inside then kick on to 70 on friday morning.
We have a safe camp ground so we leave a few things outside but covered up.
Gray and black tanks closed and drained but a few gallons added to black tank.

[rotjovi2269]

I leave my slides out and the water turned off. One good trick to be sure that your fridge has been running fine is to put an ice cube in a cup in the freezer. Check the cup when you return. If the ice cube isn't a cube anymore, your fridge was off for too long to consider food safe.
I also leave my AC set to 80. Really don't want canned goods and other non perishables stored in a hot sweltering camper. Plus, that also means that my fridge won't be working so hard with the interior staying below 80. Congrats on your new home away from home!!

[sask934]

I too am New to camping and will have my trailer at a seasonal site, so please keep the opinions and advice coming. I want to hear about the slides and critters mostly as I want to avoid them at all cost.

As per this thread:

I will be buying plastic containers.
Keeping my fridge on. Ice cube in a cup is a great idea!
Turning the water off.


black tank, if I have a sewer hook up what do I need to do?
I have 3 slides and want to know about slide covers, are they a good idea?

[Redhorse 823]

Slide awnings are great and well worth the money...IMO