We wanted to go somewhere close for a first run on our new trailer. So we headed out to Cobb Lake BC about an hour from our home.
The first thing I noticed was fuel consumption change. Which is something I will figure out... the best speed and weather our TV can or should tow in 4 or 2 wheel drive.
We arrived at dusk and managed a quick set up before the sun went down. It was very simple and quick. So much better than setting up a tent and camp site in the dark. It did take me about 20 minutes to figure out how to light the propane for our fridge. I was also quite glad that we had some levelling blocks and a cordless drill to help raise and lower the 4 stabilizer jacks.
The next day I set up our Solar panels. I was worried that one basic car battery was not going to be able to sustain the basic power drain requirements. I noticed that through the day, our Water heater, Smoke and Gas detectors were enough to drain the battery by themselves. It would drop from 14 volts to 12.9 Volts at least 3 times a day... causing our solar charging system to kick in. We were not running the radio (the detachable face plate wasn’t even clipped on so not even standby) the fan, lights and heater were not turned on until sundown. And even then we only turned on the heater and the LED flashlight we had was more than enough for lighting. When it came to keeping that battery charged the 3x90Watt panels was probably overkill. (I`m thinking of setting up an additional 2 6volt batteries)
The biggest problem we noticed was over ¾ of the water was lost through the overflow valve during transport. We conserved water for the four days we were there. Not too hard we just boiled water from the lake for washing dishes ect. The Water pump kept having problems and not kicking out but I`m fairly certain it was due to the low water levels so we just turned it on when we used the tap. I plan on getting everything levelled out and using gravity fill to measure in 5 gallons of water... and then mark my tank, repeating the process so I can keep an eye on actual water levels in the future.
Our dogs seemed to work out fairly quickly this new camping experience. Every day we would take the bedding and put it on top of the Toilet, which to us is pointless and will never be used because of the invention of the porta potti. So for most of the day the dogs if they were inside they would just jump up there to look out the windows. At night when the bed was set up they found the cubby under the table that allowed them to be out of the way.
Through the night we would leave the heater set to 60 and it was nice and warm through the night. We noticed two major things. Firstly the biggest loss of heat seems to be through the floor. So I plan on putting the interlocking fatigue mats down. It should help insulate my floor but also its less slippery. The other cool thing is if anything gross hits the floor, we can pull out that section of mats and clean them.
The second night time thing we noticed was the condensation, it wasn’t a big problem. We are kind of curious if any of you have any techniques to help mitigate this
?
Over all our first outing was pretty good. Once everything gets done and figured out. We will have an off the grid traveling cabin to camp wherever we like. This was defiantly one of the best purchases we have done.
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