First Trip

[Mike Dickinson]

Well WE went on our first trip this weekend. Was not fun. First night was cold, almost into the 30s. Did not sleep well at all. Woke up the next morning. I found the thermostat the next morning at breakfast, because I was facing the thermostat. I did not realize that the thermostat had an OFF switch for the heater. I turned from off to on and TADA there was heat I live in house that is over 120 years old. So no central heating, Just set the thermostat at one to ten. Next morning I went to work on the new trailer mirrors. Electrical windows, forgot to turn the truck off of accessory mode. Tried to start later in the day. No luck, Thank God we had two cars. Was able to jump from Wife's car. Tried to install a leveling devise. The one with the ball in the tube. The problem is the front wall on the trailer slanted (1 3/4 Inch off). So now I need a shim that will fill the gap. Tried to layer some wood to that size. Totally messed that up. I need to work on that project today Then it started raining, all work stopped. This is the third time we have been to this campground. Rained every time. So now We have a trailer with wet canvas to dry out. Finally got home and fell asleep quickly
Maybe next trip will be a lot better.
Mike Dickinson

[RogerR]

Glad you made it. You aren't the only one to wake up to a dead battery(me). Except mine was permanently dead and a neighbor jumped me for a trip to the nearest auto store.

On the thermostat. Replace with a digital, lots better heat control and only about $20.
Wet canvas, I assume a popup or hybrid. We always put up our popups (3 over the years) at home and cleaned them out and waited till dry to put back in storage mode.
Add your make, model and year plus tow vehicle for best advice in the future.
It will get better, think Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Smokies, Glacier, and on and on. See you down the road!

[Old and soft]

The kids in the old scout troop would just lay a tarp on the ground and then pull another one on top of them. Not my idea of fun.

[CAG]

This is by far the best batter jump going. The brand that I have appears to be "unavailable" on Amazon right now but this is similar. Small, easy to store and enough power to jump a diesel which is what I wanted. I have used this twice and both times the jump drew the jumper down about 20% so no doubt you can more than one out of a charge.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWSYYZR...dDbGljaz10cnVl

[DocBrown]

The beauty of the "canvas" bunk ends, is that they are vinyl covered. We've had 2 hybrids since 2003. In all that time it's never taken more than an hour or so to get them completely dry when we had to pack wet. Take an old bath towel and wipe the heavy water off. Then just wait a while. Bonus if it's breezy out.

[Randel J]

Trailer RV'ing is ALWAYS an adventure ... and usually a learning experience with each trip!

[deano]

Maybe try another activity that's more enjoyable

[RogerR]

Forgot to suggest. If you camp with electric hookup then get an electric heater. Since you already pay for electric it saves the cost of propane. If it is to small and can't keep up than the LP furnace kicks in. If you have bunks exposed on both ends 2 small ones near each on low (750 watts) will not blow a 30 amp and will give you better regulation and comfort than one hot one in the middle. I upgraded to one with a digital thermostat and really prefer it and it also much quieter than the cheaper ones.
If you are boondocking watch out for the furnace sucking up a whole battery in one night. Those fans are power hogs and a 24 or 27 may not be enough for more than a night at most without a big charge the next day.