Equipping a new (to me) trailer questions

[wayfun]

My wife and I are buying a used Jayflight 25RKS which will be used primarily in Florida. We expect to be in full hookup parks. That being said I have a few questions about things we'll need to equip the trailer for use. I'm sure there are things I don't even know to ask but so far I have a few questions.

First is about dishes. I would expect that we will use a lot of paper plates and Solo cups to prevent washing. But on the rare occasions when we want to have real dishes I am assuming we would want non-breakable dishes like Melamine. All of the Melamine we've looked at is not microwave safe. I found some Nordic Ware which is microwavable but it only seemed to come in white and my wife frowned on that. Got to be color coordinated you know. What are you guys using for dishes?

Next question relates to water hoses. I assume I will buy one of the RV hoses but the question is how long? I had assumed that if I am on full hookup sites that 25 feet should be enough. Would that be long enough? I am assuming storage space is going to be tight so I don't want to carry more stuff than I would likely need.

Leveling blocks? I had planned to cut up a few 2x8 blocks to use under stabilizing jacks and to pull up on if needed to level the trailer. How many should I carry and is there something better to use? I see plastic blocks at the RV stores. Are they better?

I'm sure I'll have many more questions as this adventure progresses. All advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

[exjay1]

the wood blocks will be fine expecially if you have some laying around somewhere. pick up two 25' hoses just in case you need the extra length also go with 35-50' of TV coax too. As far as the dishes, we have some decent mugs, decent plastic "Y" split design that we found to be microwave safe and not too expensive I believe we picked up from Wally World a few yrs back. To be honest some if the other dishes/silverware etc migrated from our house to the TT and we just got some new stuff for the house.

[Jagiven]

As for hoses, we have two 25 footers. I have never used the second one. However, many times have I wished I had a 7 or a 10 footer, for a second hose. I would recommend a few additional items. A Wye with shutoffs, (just in case you have to share a watering hole), a 90 degree elbow to connect between the trailer and the hose (takes the stress off the fittings), a pressure regulator (to drop extremely high and damaging water pressure), and some people like a water filter.

As for dishes, we have some cheap plastic divided ones, no clue what brand. I think most of our dishes are plastic, and the pans are metal. I place a paper plate or some paper towels between the pots and pans to keep them from banging/rubbing on each other as we drive down the road.

As for leveling blocks, some people love the plastic ones. I have wood blocks. I have 8 plywood blocks (a mix of ¾” and 1” thick). I think they are 5.5” wide and somewhere around 10-12” long. Dimensionally they are about the same except for the thickness. 4 are used under the sandpads, I usually put two side by side under the nose block just for a wider foundation, and the remainder are for the wheels. I also carry four 2x6”, all of them are cut with a 45 degree angle on both ends. Two of them are cut a little shorter so they fit nicely on top of the longer set, just in case I need a lot of height. I have camped a few times where I have used every block. They are all stored in a simple step box, made from scrap plywood.

[PrellFamily]

We had to pick up a second water hose last fall. I'd go ahead and get two.
As far as dishes, I have some microwavable Tuppeware plates and bowls that are great.
Scrap wood works just as well as the plastic blocks for leveling. We have both. The wood block are obviously much heavier.
A 2x10 piece of wood (about 4 feet long) comes in very handy for leveling one side of the camper.

[exjay1]

We have limited storage space in our 165 so this is how we carry the wheel chocks (wedge shaped 2x8/2x4's), tounge and leveling blocks.

[wayfun]

Some great ideas so far. Keep them coming. I like the idea of block storage box.

Dennis

[DocBrown]

For dishes we stopped using "real dishes" years ago. Got to be too much hassle to wash them. The older we get , the less work we want to do. Its a vacation. So all we use is paper plates. However, we use real utensils and for drinks we plastic glasses and insulted stainless steel coffee cups. We also have a set of Govino plastic wine glasses.

As already said the scrap wood will work great. I have two long boards cut with angles on the end to ride up on. And I have used both stacked more than once.

I had to buy a second water hose once from Wally World because we ended up in a site where the spigot was more than 25' from the trailer, but that was something like 10 years ago and we haven't use it since. Like jagiven said, I think I's rather a 7ft hose instead of the extra 25 ft.

[ktbarrentine]

I pack two 25 foot white drinking water hoses, and one 50 foot utility hose (for back flushing my black water drain with a backflushing attachment, which really rocks, by the way....and you didn't mention black/grey water drain hose.... need one of those, for sure!! need to make sure you get one that hooks up to your quick-disconnect drain fitting, and has the adapter to hook up to the various types/sizes of sewer lines you will encounter). Also... We are using corelle dishes. so far so good, but we make sure they are packed well for travel. So far, no breakage and they are microwave safe and very nice to eat off of. We also have a Keurig single cup coffee maker (for when we have the luxury of having electrical hook-up) and also have an 8-cup Bodum Brazil coffee press for when we are boondocking. I carry 12 two-foot long 2x6 planks for leveling, and jack use. Haven't had any issue there. We're only in a 21 footer, but so far we have ample storage space for everything we need.

[clubhouse]

I carry a 25' and 50' hose. The 25' is used nearly every trip...the extra is for when we are in state parks and I have to stretch to a spigot to fill my holding tank mid way though the trip. The extra hose isn't used often, but worth it when I need it.

For my Stab Jacks I carry (8) 14" 2x8 sections that are notched in the middle so they can be put together in a "+" shape of laid flat if I only need 2" or 4". Also, I carry a pack of lynx plastic levelers for the tires and tongue jack. I find this combination or some wood and some plastic gives me the best combination of materials to meeting 99% of my needs. When I carried all wood, it felt I always so many extra pieces.

We carry reusable melamine and disposable plastic dishes. Our Melamine came from Target, not sure on Microwave safe -- we so rarely use the microwave it isn't an issue for us.

Don't go crazy buying stuff up front. You will end up with things you never use and you will constantly be adding because there is something you didn't think about and need. Rather, I suggest you buy the minimum and then carry a note pad to write down the things you discover would be helpful to add before the next trip.

[Proud Grandpa]

I had never thought of this, but when picking up our new 32TSBH last month, the technician doing the walkaround suggested carrying wood blocks, but said be sure to glue or nail a rubber matting onto some of them. Use these as the ones actually touching the tongue jack and stabilizers. He said this ensures the electronics in your trailer don't get fried if lightning strikes anywhere close to your rig. This breaks ground contact and insulates your electronics. Cheaper than replacing all your appliances and tv.
I carry a plastic bin filled with rubber gloves for handling sewer hoses, insect spray for treating around tires and stabilizers, silicone spray for those squeaky things and various nails, screws, rope and wire for whatever. Also carry a container of electrical zip ties for handy little projects, etc.

[Power247]

After our last trip to at State Park we now carry 3 25' drinking water hoses. They all the roll flat type and fit nicely in a 5 gallon bucket with the filter housing and and other fittings.

For leveling i use a mix of 4"x6"x12" treated blocks for the jacks and 1'x4'x3/4" under the tires. All from scrap wood I had out in the shop.

+1 on the notepad. We take time on every trip to note what needs to be replaced/refilled and what we want to remember for our next trip.

Best of luck!!

Greg

[RoyBraddy]

Just remember no matter where you go you will most likely be close to a WALMART or a LOWES. Also the camp ground store usually has all the necessity items...

Roy Ken

[ktbarrentine]

Originally Posted by RoyBraddy

Just remember no matter where you go you will most likely be close to a WALMART or a LOWES. Also the camp ground store usually has all the necessity items...

Roy Ken

The last thing I want to see when I am camping is ...... civilization!!!! (although it is nice to have a backup plan!)

[Nighthawk 96]

We carry 2 25' white hoses for drinking water and a 50' green hose for washing trailer or truck. Also a 15' hose to use for black tank cleaning at dump station. We carry and extra 25' 30 amp electrical cable. We have several different size 1 and 1/2 inch thick wood blocks for leveling and sandpads, plus a 6' long 10" x 3/4 board for leveling. We use paper plates and plastic cups, except for ceramic coffiee mugs and real glass for wine glasses. We do not use plastic silverware. We store alot of stuff in 14 x 16 inch plastic crates in the front compartment.

[Snake Plissken]

We use an old set of Corelle dishes with real silverware. Most of the cups are disposable but I do have a few plastic cups for mixed drinks.

The bathroom could use more storage so we have a shoe rack that hangs from the door that we put soaps, insect spray, shampoos, etc. in.

[wayfun]

Thanks everyone. I'm getting some good ideas. I picked the trailer up this evening and was pleasantly surprised to find that the previous owner left it well equipped with hoses and leveling blocks. He also included a WD hitch that definitely needs some adjusting. I'll need a new receiver insert to drop it a couple of inches lower because the Tahoe's hitch comes out of the center of the bumper. Here is a photo that I snapped in a Walmart lot where we pulled off to check everything. The trailer is riding nose high.



Dennis

[jdorant]

I bought silverware and a lot of kitchen essentials at Ikea. Not sure about our plastic dishes but they are microwave safe. They came from Home Goods. I like the Lynxx Leveling blocks as the stack nicely and come in a convenient carry bag and make leveling very simple. I used to carry wood blocks now I have 2 sets of lynx. I carry for water hoses 1- 25' and 1- 10' white hose. I usually use the 10' but nice to have 35' if I need it. I carry the same 25' and 10' green hose for black flush and just to have a outside water. I also use a brass L to connect into the fresh water intake on the side of the trailer and a y connector on the water spigot.

Someone told me this piece of good advice that I use. Never connect to the black water flush and leave it unattended. Only connect when you plan on using the flush. If it accidentally gets turned on and its connected and you are not around, your black tank will fill and come up through your toilet and you may come back to a big mess. Although this never happened to me... I did come back once to find no water in the trailer and traced it back to the spigot being turned off. It turns out the park had some water issues while we were out one day and was messing with the spigot at certain sites. Imagine if they had turned it back on and it was connected to the black flush.... I don't want to ever experience that. Just a thought!

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by wayfun

.... I'll need a new receiver insert to drop it a couple of inches lower because the Tahoe's hitch comes out of the center of the bumper. Here is a photo that I snapped in a Walmart lot where we pulled off to check everything. The trailer is riding nose high.

Attachment 8369

Dennis

Looks really nice

[maromeo]

We have 2 sets of Lynx Leveling blocks and caps for jacks in case ground is soft along with wheel chocks so it all fits together. Makes set up easy.

As far as dishes we also use corelle and use this http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...-a-plate/38323 to keep the dishes from shifting or breaking. They have worked great for us over many many miles and roads.

Mary Anne

[ktbarrentine]

Originally Posted by wayfun

Thanks everyone. I'm getting some good ideas. I picked the trailer up this evening and was pleasantly surprised to find that the previous owner left it well equipped with hoses and leveling blocks. He also included a WD hitch that definitely needs some adjusting. I'll need a new receiver insert to drop it a couple of inches lower because the Tahoe's hitch comes out of the center of the bumper. Here is a photo that I snapped in a Walmart lot where we pulled off to check everything. The trailer is riding nose high.

Attachment 8369

Dennis

Really nice rig... Almost identical to my setup with a 21FB TT and Yukon TV (w/ a Drawtite WD hitch and a Curt sway strut).. What kind of suspension setup do you run in the Tahoe? I have the SLT Autoride system in the yukon and the compressor runs quite a bit while I am hitched up.