New campers

[Kdz1976]

Hello everyone my wife and I just brought home our first camper and are in the process of outfitting it for a trip from Texas to California and were are looking for advise on things we should not go without.

We purchased a jayflight slx 183rb trailer and have already grabbed some things we thought were essentials like a second battery and second propane cylinder a drinking water hose with filter adapters for 15-30amp as well as 50-30amp leveling blocks waste pipe with supports

Things that would really like info or links about deal with screening I have seen some that go outside and some that go inside the vents and was wondering if anyone had ideas on what works best with these trailer.

Thanks
Keith Z

[dalfaro]

One thing I didn’t see you post but definitely should get is a surge protector.

[JFlightRisk]

A full set of wheel chocks, a digital volt/ohm meter, and some basic tools including a square drive screwdriver. An extra 25' 30 amp electric cord, and water hose for when the pedestal's a little too far away.

[Jagiven]

Welcome aboard..

For hoses, I use my 10' hose most often. Have a 25' as my backup.

You will want some type of leveling blocks. Also tts do not come with tire changing tools. I carry an 18" breaker bar and impact sockets that fit each trailers and vehicles I have. I also have a bottle jack.

Have a great trip

[Big1]

Welcome to JOF! Congrats!

[sturgissteele]

Welcome aboard and congrats! Here's a page that has some other great tips,

Linky

Enjoy your trip and happy camping!

[fochman]

Welcome from York County, South Carolina!

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

Not sure of the water hose you got, but I like the zero g hose- packs up in a very small space, level blocks, extra fuses, surge protector, 15 to 30 amp adapters, magnetic knife mount, rhino sewer hose, nitrile gloves, sewer hose wrench, valterra twist on waste valve, separate hose for use with sewer clean out only, wheel chocks, leveling blocks, lots of 3m command hooks to hang clothes, towels, hats or jackets, water pressure regulator, water filter, rug for bottom of steps and top of steps to help keep stuff out of the camper, broom and dustpan, fan for inside of fridge to help move air around, assortment of general tools, jack, breaker bar with correct size socket or 4 -way to remove tire, air pump (always check pressure before leaving for the next place, most tire failures are under inflated tires), upgrade to oxygenics shower head- can find at Wally World.

I may have forgot a few things, but the above is what I use/have with me on a trip.

Congrats and welcome to the forum!

[Finally Able]

Plastic storage bins to fit inside your cabinets, holding dry goods, etc. Also think of weight whenever you add anything -- we went with plastic drink holders, dishes and coffee mugs. Weight builds up quickly, so choose lighter weight options when possible.

Also, I made a binder and use plastic sleeves to hold indexed systems info on the furnace, AC, water pump, water heater, slide out, awning, etc. etc. This is helpful when I have to look something up.

[kwalsh]

is nobody going to mention more photos of the bug in the driveway??

good luck with the first trip

[mokurt]

Electric tongue jack.

[wiscampsin]

Welcome from Wisconsin. Congrats and enjoy your Jayflight slx 183rb.

[Philo]

Etrailer.com has screens for the furnace and water heater vents. I've got the furnace ones and they are super easy to install.

You would probably appreciate having a small toaster oven. We use ours frequently. Otherwise we mostly cook everything outside on the grill or camp stove. It keeps the heat and cooking smells outside.

I dont know if your model comes with a powered vent, but if not you will want to add a fan.

We really benefited from adding 2 more stabilizing jacks to the front of our frame.

[Kdz1976]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions many of them have been put to use. In the past week have made some changes and additions as well as found some damage and what I think is an assembly issue.

Made a bracket to hold a lockable 26inch tool box to hold my leveling blocks adapter plugs some disposable gloves and the elbow of the discharge tube. I found a small fairly lightweight (61lbs) 4kw generator Amazon special for $369 that is doing ok to power the ac fridge and lighting will need to turn ac off to use microwave but not a big deal to us.
My wife found some fantastic sealing stackable containers to save on space. I added a second propane tank for backup/ outdoor cooking. We were able to find screens and screen material at a local rv store and added the mesh to the back sides of our vents so they are not visible added the same mesh around the water heater vent and purchased the premise furnace vent cover.

Now to the bad stuff found out our trailer was hit in the rear at some point not enough to damage the bumper but it tore up the spare tire mount and actually put a slight bend in the spare wheel that dealership begrudgingly is going to replace. While I was under the trailer checking to see if there damage I saw the electric brake wire run thru the frame with no protection for the wires that will be rubbing directly on the frame and at the end instead of adding 3 inches of extra wire they decided to run it over the axle where if hit a large enough pothole it might get damaged so I will make that change before we get out on the road.

Have been learning a lot in the past week and we are having fun getting our little trailer outfitted and can’t wait to get started on our trip

[Jay2504]

I really like what you did with that toolbox. As I am sure that you have read/know that RV bumpers won’t hold any weight, what you put in there is going to work out just fine, and it frees up a lot of pass through space. Jay

[Brian D-J]

X2 on the tool box! Did you fabricate the toolbox bracket or purchase it?

[spark of insanity]

I sounds like you have all the bases covered. We added an over the toilet cabinet for more storage in the bathroom and we also added a shower lite weight door as well. Mostly old towels to dry dishes with and sheets for the bunk beds. I had to really get organized with the RV because it has a lot of storage cabinets and I wanted to make sure I had items that I could use. Its always fun to make your home on wheels homey. Enjoy the making it yours.

[Kdz1976]

Thanks… I did a quick fab job with some angle iron I had laying around. I did go one step further and found a 62 pound generator so made another mount but this time it’s clamped to the frame rails and barely resting on the 4 inch bumper and for the last add on found a really inexpensive ($27)wireless camera set up and added onto the spare tire mount so I can hopefully avoid any issues while backing

[TXJACO]

Did I miss something along the way or did you say this is your first trip as new RV’ers and you’re off to California? I think I would think again. If I’m not wrong, take your new TT out a couple times to a couple nice Texas parks. I live in Texas and the parks are fantastic! Planning to travel and camp in one is great, but you need to DO it….preferably local if something goes wrong with your TT. You will learn a tremendous amount about camping, trailering, what works, what doesn’t, and a whole host of things. We all make mistakes (I still make them after 40 years of camping), but you really want/need to work out the kinks close to home.

Enjoy the RV!!! Welcome to JOF…

[Will P]

With the weight of the generator hanging off the rear end, you really have to make sure you have plenty of tongue weight. See “Safe Trailer Demonstration U-Haul” on YouTube.