First TT- White Hawk 2016 25BHS-advice and tips

[Glamping_Girl]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I just bought a 2016 White Hawk 25BHS TT. We are beyond excited about this new adventure in our lives. With that said, I am wondering if any of you have tips or advice you would like to share. Anything from:

How to make a corner bunk bed
How to use various aspect of the TT
like water storage/ pump, stabelizing jack, ect...

Thank you in advance!

[Bsikes]

Congrats and welcome!! Ask anything. Lots of experience and knowledge on the forum.

[Hattie]

Welcome! Notice our signature - and here are hints we'd share for your TT:
Bunks: Save money and purchase your favorite regular full sheets and fold the corner of the sheet under. We use quilts and 'clip' our top sheet onto them; for visitors ... we ask they bring a sleeping bag. FYI, invest in mattress enclosures to keep them clean and moisture-free.
Master: Convert it from 'short' to 'regular' by adding a topper and again purchase your favorite regular queen sheets - the extra depth from the topper helps the sheets fit well. Don't waste $$ on RV-sheets! Suggestion: you can get 'dirt-friendly' colors (beige, tan, brown).
Entertainment Center: Purchase 12 shoebox-sized plastic boxes and you can maximize your storage ~ we have them all through-out.
Lav/Shower: Consider upgrading to decent lav faucet and shower nozzle (Oxygenics).
Thermostat: Consider upgrading to digital - it'll be more accurate.
Power: Get generators - you'll need them when dry-camping (as we learned from our 2nd shakedown trip) - we had run our batteries down and the alarm went off Sunday at 5:30am. BTW, install a battery shut-off.
TV: Get an RV articulating arm (heavy duty for the 32" tv) so you can easily view the television.
Storage: Change all the 751 locks to combi-cam locks ... combinations you select are certainly more secure AND you don't have to carry a key!
Cookware: The Magna Cookware (with ceramic lining - can get as induction) are fantastic ... heavy, easy to clean, and nest for storage.
Kitchenware: Go for collapsible (wash tubs, bowls, colanders, etc.).

[need-a-vacation]

For the storage can locks, rvlocksandmore.com has cam locks that can be ordered to match the key code of your entrance door.

I changed out our main door, bathroom door, and pass through cam locks to match the outdoor kitchen keys. Now I only have 2 keys, one for the outdoor shower (stupid cam lock was to short to match the pass through!!!), and the rest of the trailer door locks.

Do lots of reading for tips. It is hard to say where to start. But I'll try! Lol

Good set of wheel chocks- even if you want a set of the "x chocks", still use normal wheel chocks also.
Boards or plastic "Lego blocks" for leveling.
30 amp extension cord, fresh water hose (white), and a sewer hose- longer than the "prep pkg" that may have been included with the trailer.

Will you be staying in a campground with at least electric, fresh water, and sewer? Or dry camping "off the grid"? If in a cg, have some water in the tank for possible restroom stops while traveling, but no sense hauling a lot of water if you have water hook up (extra weight).

Make sure you learn how to adjust your wd hitch (weight distribution) because when the dealer sets it up, your trailer is empty! As you load it you may need to re-adjust it.

Camp for a couple nights in the driveway if this is your first trailer. As you notice you need this knife, or that measuring cup, write it down. Then go shopping for the trailer! We have a set of plastic nesting bowls that seem to have become popular. Bought them a few years ago. I think they have measuring cups also.

Congrats on the new rig!!!

[Glamping_Girl]

Thank you guys so much for the great advice! I made my husband read it also because some things were over my head lol.

Hattie- you will be my go to with questions specific to the white hawk!!!! Thank you.

Need-a-vacation- staying in the drive way is a great idea. That had not crossed my mind. Thank you.

We ordered the TT and it should be here in about 6 weeks. So I'm sure I will have a ton of specific questions by then.

Love that I found a place to ask people who know what they are talking about.

[Crabman]

Welcome to the forum. Consider these two links for new owners:


Things To Do Before First Outing with a New Jayco:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f1...ayco-2359.html

Top ten must haves;

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f1...ting-5081.html

[NVGun40]

You will love your new rig. Congo Ratz. Once we saw the 2016 25BHS had the door exiting the bathroom we wished we had waited for one. However, we are in love with out 2015. most of the advice here is great stuff. Hattie is correct regarding a generator for dry camping if you really want to utilize the TV or microwave. Good power discipline can stretch your battery usage a long time. We have made it as long as 6 days and only went down about half. We do have a generator, but rarely use it. We have since purchased a good solar panel with a charge controller. When I set up camp, I usually climb up and place the solar panel on the roof (I store it in the front cargo space) and hook it up. I keep a quick disconnect hooked to the battery so I can plug the controller and solar panel up quickly.
As Hattie said, replace the bathroom faucet and shower nozzles. There are pictures on my profile of some of what we have done. I also built shelves in my cabinets to maximize storage space.
Good luck and enjoy.

[SouthCo]

Welcome to the forum. We were in your shoes last year. A new trailer and stuff to learn. Have fun, just get out there and ask questions as you go....

[need-a-vacation]

GG,

YW!!! Just don't use the toilet if you can help it unless you have a way to empty the black tank at your house! Speaking of that, try to let the black tank get at least 2/3, or 3/4 full before emptying. And leave the valves closed if you have full hook up.

Also check this thread out for more "tips".

[tolbert]

Originally Posted by hattie

we just got a white hawk 33 rsks. So im assuming the same parts used and needed. Could you please advise what you used in the following?

lav/shower: consider upgrading to decent lav faucet and shower nozzle (oxygenics).
thermostat: consider upgrading to digital - it'll be more accurate.

tv: Get an rv articulating arm (heavy duty for the 32" tv) so you can easily view the television. is this for the bedroom where there is a mounted area?
storage: Change all the 751 locks to combi-cam locks ... Combinations you select are certainly more secure and you don't have to carry a key!
what size did you get for your white hawk?

thank you!

[tolbert]

Originally Posted by NVGun40

You will love your new rig. Congo Ratz. Once we saw the 2016 25BHS had the door exiting the bathroom we wished we had waited for one. However, we are in love with out 2015. most of the advice here is great stuff. Hattie is correct regarding a generator for dry camping if you really want to utilize the TV or microwave. Good power discipline can stretch your battery usage a long time. We have made it as long as 6 days and only went down about half. We do have a generator, but rarely use it. We have since purchased a good solar panel with a charge controller. When I set up camp, I usually climb up and place the solar panel on the roof (I store it in the front cargo space) and hook it up. I keep a quick disconnect hooked to the battery so I can plug the controller and solar panel up quickly.
As Hattie said, replace the bathroom faucet and shower nozzles. There are pictures on my profile of some of what we have done. I also built shelves in my cabinets to maximize storage space.
Good luck and enjoy.

could you please tell me what panel and charge controller you got? our TT has a 'solar ready' plug in on the tongue. trying to learn about this to keep our battery full at all times. thanks

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by tolbert

could you please tell me what panel and charge controller you got? our TT has a 'solar ready' plug in on the tongue. trying to learn about this to keep our battery full at all times. thanks

Renogy 100 watt solar panel kit. Comes with everything you need.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tolbert]

that plugs into the 'solar ready' plug on my tongue? thats it? that simple?

will one 100 watt panel keep my battery full?

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by tolbert

that plugs into the 'solar ready' plug on my tongue? thats it? that simple?

will one 100 watt panel keep my battery full?

Honestly, I do not know if this will plug into the solar ready plug on your tongue. My TT did not come 'solar ready'.
As for if a 100 watt panel keeping your battery full? There are variables there which I cannot speak about regarding your rig and set up and usage.
My rig has two deep cycle batteries with what I would call medium high amp hour ratings. Does my solar panel keep my batteries full?
During moderate to heavy use; no.
However, when we are out camping for several days and during a bright sunny day with is being out of the trailer most of the day, it tops the batteries off ok allowing me to extend my stay out a few days past most others. During the height of summer here in Alaska, I can maintain a full charge, as the sun is up and it's daylight for 24 hours.
There are many others on this forum who utilize solar to a much greater level.
I also still utilize an inverter genset from time to time. It all depends on the length of our stay and what we are doing. When we go out for just a three or four day weekend, there are times I do not even bother with the solar panel or generator.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hattie]

Wow, Don't remember all the model numbers and details, but almost everything (combo locks, tv articulating arm, thermostat, shower wand) was acquired through Amazon except the lav faucet (Lowes) and are universal sizes so they work for all rigs ~ query and you'll get the details. Also, many of the things we did (like the TV mounting arm that stores virtually flat in our swiveling entertainment center) are detailed in other posts -- suggest you query this site for some of the key words. Must say, LOVE the Oxygenics shower head - makes the water go much further ~ 5 days in Yosemite and with a rigid use of the water in sync with lathering/rinsing - I didn't need to use the shower house as I took daily showers in the trailer.

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by Hattie

Wow, Don't remember all the model numbers and details, but almost everything (combo locks, tv articulating arm, thermostat, shower wand) was acquired through Amazon except the lav faucet (Lowes) and are universal sizes so they work for all rigs ~ query and you'll get the details. Also, many of the things we did (like the TV mounting arm that stores virtually flat in our swiveling entertainment center) are detailed in other posts -- suggest you query this site for some of the key words. Must say, LOVE the Oxygenics shower head - makes the water go much further ~ 5 days in Yosemite and with a rigid use of the water in sync with lathering/rinsing - I didn't need to use the shower house as I took daily showers in the trailer.

X2 on the oxygenics shower. Love that thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk