Ok, Congrats. Looks like heaven.
You're gonna need STUFF:
1. Gorilla glue on a screw that loosens or falls out acts like LocTite. Use sparingly. Bring a felt tip marker to "paint" any ooze after you scrape.
2. LocTite...again for anything that vibrates loose. The stove burners are a big culprit, and some of the "proprietary" screws don't come with replacement parts. Let me repeat. LocTite.
3. A plastic parts box full of stainless nuts, bolts, screws...all sizes. Don't forget nylock nuts for the bolts. Don't be afraid to replace a crappy screw with a bolt. Stainless is compatible with aluminum, and it doesn't rust. Get screws all the way up to #14, because you may need 'em.
4. Tools of course...mostly in the truck. But get some simple slip joint pliers and a 4 way screwdriver for the kitchen drawer. Handy.
5. You're gonna boondock? Cool. Bring lots of LED lights and lanterns. Save the battery for essential stuff...like the furnace, water pump, spark ignition on the fridge and hot water heater. Battery power is PRECIOUS.
6. Check the hangers on your fresh water tank. Most likely, they will need reinforcements. The forum is full of stories of fresh tanks falling out of rigs. Search the forum for these.
7. Get an adapter to allow you to dump grey water.
https://smile.amazon.com/Valterra-Bl...9651749&sr=8-1 Grey water fills quickly, and with a short hose an bucket, you can dump it and water trees with it - well away from the lake or stream.
8. Does your grey water merge with the black water and all come out the same disgusting place? Many do. If not you're lucky. If so, adapt your grey tank dump pipe with a Fernco T, a Valtera 1 1/2" valve, an 1 1/2" glue-to-thread and a bit of 1 1/2" pipe. Use a tiny bungee to support this extension.
Fernco:
https://smile.amazon.com/EVERCONNECT...651970&sr=8-32 Go to Home Depot...they are $7.
Valtera valve:
https://smile.amazon.com/Valterra-71...s%2C207&sr=8-4
9. Boondocking? Get solar. a 100 watt system and your tiny dealer battery can enable indefinite boondocking if you are very frugal with power:
https://smile.amazon.com/Renogy-Mono...652297&sr=8-19 You can simply add 3 more panels to this and upgrade your batteries to two x 6 volt golf cart batteries once you see the solar light.
I had a system like this on my popup, and with care, I never ran out of battery.
10. Boondocking?: you get to use 1/2 of your battery...that's all, or you'll ruin it. I presume a standard group 24 "marine" battery from the dealer. You get to use 35 amp hours.
This formula will help you:
https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html Voltage is ALWAYS 12 on battery power. Figure out your loads from the data plates on appliances or owners manuals.
If you run a 10 amp load for 30 minutes (1/2 hour), that's a 5 amp hour (AH) drain. Add 'em up. Check the furnace especially. They use between 5 and 10 amps when running. Determine the "duty cycle"...let's say that on a cold night the furnace runs 25% of the time for the 8 hours you are in bed. 10 amps x 8 hours x .25 = 20 amp hours....out of the total 35 your battery holds...EVERY NIGHT. You need solar in blue sky Montana...and you need...
11. Boondocking? You need a simple inverter generator. <$500 at Harbor Freight will get you this.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2000-W...UaAuBAEALw_wcB Consumer Reports recommends this, and it costs half of what a Honda costs. It is SLIGHTLY louder...but not $500 louder. There are other good options from Champion and others. Ask before you buy, though, because you can get junk.
12. Boondocking?: Bring more water. I carry 4 of these in my pickup bed.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001QC31...s%2C216&sr=8-5 Note that you can make an adapter from the cap (get a couple spare caps) using 1/2" npt thread to barb plastic fitting. Add clear plastic hose and a hose clamp, and you can transfer water from the jug to the fresh water tank fill very easily. 4 of these are like a second fresh water tank. Does your wife shower...now she can shower guilt free, and you won't be paranoid about running out of water.
13. Towing? You need a good jack for the trailer. Again, Harbor Freight comes to the rescue:
https://www.harborfreight.com/8-ton-...ack-96648.html Your truck jack can't handle a fully loaded RV. You probably have a scissors jack in the truck. This and some 2 x 6 blocks will lift your trailer easily.
14. Jacking? Learn WHERE to lift the trailer. Typically jacking the axle is a no-no. Read the manual or ask where to place the jack.
15. Towing? Get a decent 12 volt air compressor. Not the junk that plugs into the cigarette lighter. A good compressor may draw 15 amps, and they clamp to the battery. Your jumper cables can act as an extension cord. I have this jack. It's enough...barely enough but enough.
https://smile.amazon.com/VIAIR-90P-P...9653193&sr=8-1
16. Got Bears?:
https://smile.amazon.com/Counter-Ass...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== I have 3 of these.
17. Almost forgot. Got generator? Switch the fridge from "auto" to "gas" to prevent the fridge from loading the generator when you try to use the microwave or another powerful appliance. Your wife will LOVE the microwave. The fridge makes heat to evaporate the refrigerant. Heat takes LOTS of power. Gas has LOTS of power.
Something to remember. Batteries SUCK as energy storage devices. The 2 "5 gallon" (20 pound) propane tanks on the tongue of your rig contain the energy equivalent of 87 of the "gold standard' of RV battery banks: 4 x 6 volt golf cart batteries wired in series/parallel. 87 times the energy. That's about 600 times as much usable energy as the puny battery the dealer gave you!! Use propane when you can.
I can't say this is everything you need to know, but it's a start.
Happy camping!!
This better get me a Pulitzer.
2009 Jayco Jay Feather 17C 130W Solar, 2021 F150 2.7L Eco Boost, 2021 Toyota Highlander
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